Bill Cushenbery Silhouette show car

[Rich Chernosky]

Here is a re-visit to my earliest days of car modeling. Back then, anything sporty or custom looking really caught my eye. Saw this kit in my local department store. Had to have it, had to build it. It looked like nothing on the road and I was hooked. This turned out to be the 2nd model car for me. The build, the paint, everything thing turned out horrible and it was eventually discarded save for some pieces. This kit has since be re-issued at least three times and finally I decided to take another shot at it. 50 years of building might make a difference.  I have actually worked on this on and off over the past 15yrs and finally decided it was time to finish.  Paint finish on this is Pactra Candy Apple Red. (so was the original) A note on the paint. I had saved a can from 1964. It was decanted  and airbrushed. It was still good. Pactra Candy Undercoat Gold (also saved) was used. Along the way I discovered why this kit didn't turn out so well. It had a two piece body shell and in order to get a smooth seam between the upper and lower halves the interior, engine, frame and suspension all had to be completed and installed. This would mean some careful masking later on. Much  more details on this build are in the picture captions. Thanks for looking. 

Completed car in its trailer. This trailer was AMT's idea and never part of Cushenbery's original build. It had lots of fit problems all by itself. The top hinge in particular had to be re-engineered. Car is a tight fit BTW

\Finished car on its wheels. Several items in the kit were left off. Those included the front and rear nerf bars, engine fairings, and a few other bits. I feels they ruined the sleek look of the car and looked awkward.  Getting the front wheels to steer was fairly easy. Had to make a tie-rod though.

All three pieces to this project.  The Hot Wheels diecast is a stylized version of this car and it was painted to match. Allegedly Bill Cushenbery had planned a Silhouette II and it might have looked like this.  Never happened.

Imagine seeing this baby on the road even today. Wire wheels were my choice and still are some of the best I have sever seen in a plastic kit. I even have the originals from my first build. Picture was taken in my backyard. the sun finally co-operated. 

This is a 427 engine that was not originally in the car. It was a later addition. It was a very tight fit. Distributor was a pre-wired unit.

Interior is Tamiya flat white with some detailing accents. Note the interesting steering yoke. A little history on the Silhouette. It was revolutionary in the fact that it was the very first  "from the ground up"  custom.  Frame and suspension was a shortened Buick and Cushenbery hammered the body out of sheet steel. The car was a hit of the show car scene in the mid 60's. It was also featured in the movie Beach Ball in 1965 and also in 1968 on the Wide World of Wheels driven and narrated by Lloyd Bridges. After that it resided on a trailer in Cushenbery's shop where it slowly fell into dis-repair. It was stolen in 1983 and never recovered. Someone apparently wanted the trailer or the 427 engine. Rumor has it the the bubble tops have been found but that is unconfirmed. 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2024 by Rich Chernosky

[espo]

Beautiful looking paint color and finishes. I always thought the enclosed trailer should have an engine and interior of its own. 

[karbuildr]

Outstanding build and interesting information/back story. I wish I had saved/decanted all those old Pactra and AMT paints, they were so cool back then. Your Candy finish looks great. 

[Phildaupho]

Great to see a fresh build of this venerable kit. You certainly did a fabulous job.

[Kenmojr]

This is cool and many thanks for sharing....

[spencer1984]

Beautiful job on this, and the wire wheels really do look great on it.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Great to see one of these built well. Love that kandy too. 

[XYHARRY]

When I first looked at this build I thought I had seen it before, and I had, watching those beach movies on TV as a kid in the 70s. Really well done Rich, and thanks for the trip down memory lane. 

Cheers, 

David. ??

[ChrisR]

Very nice!!

[mrm]

Thank you for sharing your build and the story of the car. I love it when a model is presented with a good side story. 
 About your build, all I can say is wow. I have never attempted one of these kits, altho I love show cars of the era. You did an amazing job, from the perfect candy paint to the subtle details.  I love the trailer and how it fits the car like a glove. Really fine work on display here. 

[Rich Chernosky]

23 hours ago, espo said:

Beautiful looking paint color and finishes. I always thought the enclosed trailer should have an engine and interior of its own. 

The trailer was an interesting addition to the kit, that fer sure.  Now I'm looking for something to tow it.

 

23 hours ago, karbuildr said:

Outstanding build and interesting information/back story. I wish I had saved/decanted all those old Pactra and AMT paints, they were so cool back then. Your Candy finish looks great. 

Thanks David. I was surprised that 60yr old spray paint was still good. 

 

22 hours ago, Phildaupho said:

Great to see a fresh build of this venerable kit. You certainly did a fabulous job.

Thank you very much

 

18 hours ago, Kenmojr said:

This is cool and many thanks for sharing....

Youi are quite welcome. 

 

18 hours ago, spencer1984 said:

Beautiful job on this, and the wire wheels really do look great on it.

I always thought so too...thanks Bill

 

18 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Great to see one of these built well. Love that kandy too. 

Appreciate the compliment Bill.  Kandy is tough to paint but when it comes right...!!!

 

9 hours ago, XYHARRY said:

When I first looked at this build I thought I had seen it before, and I had, watching those beach movies on TV as a kid in the 70s. Really well done Rich, and thanks for the trip down memory lane. 

Cheers, 

David. ??

Beach Ball was kind of a "B" movie, teenage stinker but World of Wheels was awesome.

 

7 hours ago, ChrisR said:

Very nice!!

Thanks

 

 

5 hours ago, mrm said:

Thank you for sharing your build and the story of the car. I love it when a model is presented with a good side story. 
 About your build, all I can say is wow. I have never attempted one of these kits, altho I love show cars of the era. You did an amazing job, from the perfect candy paint to the subtle details.  I love the trailer and how it fits the car like a glove. Really fine work on display here. 

Michael, fine words of praise indeed,  greatly appreciated. I don't think you would have any problem with that kit if your Pagani  is any indication. That was something else.  The Silhouette was about as exotic as it gets in the early 60's. It was probably responsible for turning me on to the exotics of today.

 

[PappyD340]

Very cool build!

[slusher]

Looks fantastic!

[Fireball Ben Franklin]

Hi Rich,
Nice work on the Silhouette.
I am a filmmaker and interested in using your photos of the Silhouette to create a 3D model of the car, possibly for use in a film, if I can get the neccessary permissions.
I'd also like to find someone like yourself to build the AMT model, I bought the kit locally a few years ago and it is a little beyond my expertise to do satisfactorily.
My website: https://luxoreum.com
Email is internet@luxoreum.com
Thanks, Charles
 

[ea0863]

Wonderful build and photos Rich. Thank you also for the history on the vehicle

[Rich Chernosky]

1 hour ago, Fireball Ben Franklin said:

Hi Rich,
Nice work on the Silhouette.
I am a filmmaker and interested in using your photos of the Silhouette to create a 3D model of the car, possibly for use in a film, if I can get the neccessary permissions.
I'd also like to find someone like yourself to build the AMT model, I bought the kit locally a few years ago and it is a little beyond my expertise to do satisfactorily.
My website: https://luxoreum.com
Email is internet@luxoreum.com
Thanks, Charles

Cjharles, you are certainl;y welcome to use these photos. I will send them to your email as well. This post got lost pretty quick and thanks to another member for reviving it. 
 

 

1 hour ago, ea0863 said:

Wonderful build and photos Rich. Thank you also for the history on the vehicle

As always, you are quite welcome Emre.