Kurtis-Kraft Konstruction Kwestions

[Harry P.]

I just started building the newly re-issued Kurtis-Kraft 1955 (or thereabouts) Indy car. I remember building this kit as a kid, and now that it's available again I wanted to give it another shot... more out of nostalgia than any particular interest in Indy cars.

The kit I built as a kid was molded in a stiff and sturdy gray styrene, while the reissue is molded in a softer (and bright yellow!) styrene. I assume this is a straight reissue off the old tooling, so it would be identical (besides the plastic formulation) to the kit I remember from way back when.

Even though I realize this kit is simplified and lacking a lot of detail, I do want to build it as well as possible... so that means I started out by opening up the wheel slots and the grille:

Now we come to the "kwestion" part. On the inside of the body there are various items molded in place that are not referred to in the instructions, and as far as I can tell, no kit parts attach to any of them:

So what are they there for? Was this kit once available in a motorized version? Is that square thingie in the back (it's on the inside of the other body half, too) where an electric motor mounted? If not, what are all those inner gizmos there for? Anyone know?

[george 53]

Harry, I never built that kit, an have NO idea at all what those little details are for, But I'm GLAD ta see ya back buildin somethin!!!

[Harry P.]

Harry, I never built that kit, an have NO idea at all what those little details are for, But I'm GLAD ta see ya back buildin somethin!!!

George, I build all the time! The problem is, I've gotten interested in other subjects lately besides cars. In the past few months alone I've built a tugboat, a 1/24 scale San Francisco cable car, and a 1/10 scale stagecoach! I build a lot... just not always stuff that's appropriate to post here!

(and I have a 1/16 Model A roadster and a 1/16 Model A pickup under construction, plus a Civil-war era steam locomotive! I'm all over the modeling map! )

[CAL]

I just started building the newly re-issued Kurtis-Kraft 1955 (or thereabouts) Indy car. I remember building this kit as a kid, and now that it's available again I wanted to give it another shot... more out of nostalgia than any particular interest in Indy cars.

The kit I built as a kid was molded in a stiff and sturdy gray styrene, while the reissue is molded in a softer (and bright yellow!) styrene. I assume this is a straight reissue off the old tooling, so it would be identical (besides the plastic formulation) to the kit I remember from way back when.

Even though I realize this kit is simplified and lacking a lot of detail, I do want to build it as well as possible... so that means I started out by opening up the wheel slots and the grille:

Now we come to the "kwestion" part. On the inside of the body there are various items molded in place that are not referred to in the instructions, and as far as I can tell, no kit parts attach to any of them:

So what are they there for? Was this kit once available in a motorized version? Is that square thingie in the back (it's on the inside of the other body half, too) where an electric motor mounted? If not, what are all those inner gizmos there for? Anyone know?

Slot car perhaps?

[Harry P.]

Slot car perhaps?

I don't think so. Wouldn't a slot car have had the motor mounted lengthwise with the drive gear 90 degrees to the rear axle gear?

And all of those attachment points inside the body have to be there for a reason... I just wonder what the reason was.

[High octane]

Harry, Molded in grey styrene? I just picked up a '65 edition of that kit and it is molded in white styrene plastic. The earlier issues were in '56 & '57.

[Harry P.]

Harry, Molded in grey styrene? I just picked up a '65 edition of that kit and it is molded in white styrene plastic. The earlier issues were in '56 & '57.

That kit has been molded in many colors over the years, including red. The one I remember from my childhood was molded in gray, but I don't know if it was an original issue or an early reissue (I don't remember exactly how old I was when I built it, but it was probably somewhere in the 1968-72 range).

[Harry P.]

When was this kit released in a motorized version? I've never heard of/seen that one...

[Harry P.]

So they took out the engine and put the batteries there! Interesting. I've never seen that version before.

Thanks, Mark. You answered my "kwestion!"

I love this forum!

[Danno]

Thanks, Mark. You answered my "kwestion!"

I love this forum!

Kewl!

{PS: Mine was molded in red.}

[Art Anderson]

The motorized version of this kit was circa 1958-60 or thereabouts. If you look on the bottom of the car once assembled, you should see a pair of posts with a hole through them, which was for stringing the built model on a guideline (think string or fishing line) so the car could be let run free powered by it's electric motor.

I believe this version was inspired by the Strombecker series of 1/24 scale battery powered motorized model car kits which came out in 1958-59 (Reventlow Scarab, MGA Twin Cam), Lancia Ferrari GP car, Mercedes-Benz W196 GP car, '32 Ford Roadster hot rod). Strombecker's cars were made with posable steering, had rubber tires, could be let run free, tethered to a central pylon (which held D flashlight batteries for a longer run time), or down a guideline as with the Monogram Indy roadster.

Hope this helps ID.

Art

[Harry P.]

The motorized version of this kit was circa 1958-60 or thereabouts. If you look on the bottom of the car once assembled, you should see a pair of posts with a hole through them, which was for stringing the built model on a guideline (think string or fishing line) so the car could be let run free powered by it's electric motor.

Nope, smooth as a baby's behind. They must have removed those posts somewhere along the way.