The Cosma Ray

[lizzard]

The Cosma Ray .

Edited December 15, 2010 by lizzard

[TheCat]

Nice build.

[oldscool]

Looks good. A kit I have never seen before.

[davyou5]

Now that is a Futuristic Vett! Excellent Job! B) .

[gray07]

Very nice, never seen this one

[parki]

Very nice build . I would love to find and build one of those. I've always been a fan of the real car. I have a great article on it in one of my old popular customs magazines. you can see it on the bottom right hand corner of this cover.

[Danno]

The Cosma Ray kit by MPC (kit# 505-200) was issued once and only once, in early 1967 or late 1966. It has never been reissued, and sealed, complete, unbuilt kits generally sell for around $200-$300 when you can find them. That's why the Cosma Ray kit is not well known; it truly is * RARE *.

I've never heard an explanation as to why the Cosma Ray kit was never reissued, but an interesting thing about the Cosma Ray might explain it. The Cosma Ray was designed and built by Darryl Starbird. The Cosma Ray was the first custom to win the so-called Triple Crown ~ three major custom car shows in the USA in one year. At the time, Starbird was under contract to Monogram models as a consultant to design and develop kits. For some reason, Monogram apparently wasn't interested in kitting the Cosma Ray. However, the Cosma Ray's owner sold the car to George Barris, who was under contract to AMT as a design and development consultant. MPC was another model manufacturer, closely tied to and eventually obtained by AMT. While Barris owned the Cosma Ray, he began claiming he designed and built the Cosma Ray. MPC developed and released the Cosma Ray kit. But it is interesting to note that nowhere in the box art, instructions or promotional material surrounding the kit does it mention or credit its designer/builder, contrary to customary practice at the time.

It may be that MPC invested the time and money in developing the kit based on Barris' representations (the model has tiny Barris Kustoms emblems on its front fenders) but fear of potential litigation caused the absence of any designer/builder credit and may have led to the decision to release only one run. Throughout my research of the 1:1 Cosma Ray and of the history of the model kit, I've never found any definitive evidence to prove or disprove that legendary story, nor have I found any other credible information as to why the Cosma Ray kit was issued by someone other than Monogram, why Darryl Starbird was not credited by MPC as its creator, and why the kit was never reissued.

Regardless, last year Arizona's 'Master Caster' Greg Wann created a resin reproduction of the Cosma Ray. His kit is amazing! Accurate parts, even the delicate parts that build into working suspension; flawless clear bubble top; immaculate fine white resin body; absence of voids or pinholes; scale fidelity; excellent replication of all parts; it's all there in Greg's Cosma Ray kit. The best part is, unlike the original MPC kit, it is readily available at a fraction of the rare kit's usual cost.

I'm nearing completion of my first Cosma Ray build, and I can tell you Greg's kit is a delight to work with.

I'll post additional pix of the buildup once it's done.

[lizzard]

Tell me about it ! This one cost me over 200.00 Danno , hurry and finish yours , I've been waiting a while to see it !!!

[Blake Rogers]

wicked build dude i love it!!!!

[sobpinstriping]

That is awesome, I never have seen it before, I said to my self I need to build this kit, then you guys went and smashed me dreams:lol:

It does look great!

[lizzard]

The cosma ray today. and back in the day

Edited December 17, 2010 by lizzard