Mike999 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 On 11/18/2018 at 10:01 AM, Greg Myers said: The Badman II and the American Graffiti '55 , both actually have a 348 /409 "W" block engine. "American Graffiti" used 2 of the '55 Chevys from "Two Lane Blacktop." One had a 427 L-88, the other a 454. Here's a page full of interesting info about the cars and what happened to them. The Criterion Collection DVD set for "Two Lane Blacktop" also includes a special feature on the restoration of a '55 Chevy used in the movie: "Guide to the three Two-Lane Blacktop/American Graffiti '55 Chevrolets: Main Car 1 - Equipped with a 427 crate motor, M-22 Muncie, 4.88 Olds rear, fiberglass front end, doors, and trunk lid, straight axle front suspension when built. Used for exterior shots in "Two-Lane Blacktop," modified for "American Graffiti." Main Car 2 - Equipped with a 454 crate motor, M-22 Muncie, 4.88 Olds rear, fiberglass front end, doors, and trunk lid, straight axle front suspension when built. Used only in "Two-Lane Blacktop" for interior scenes. Stunt Car - All steel-bodied car equipped with a 454 crate motor, TH 400 automatic, Olds rear of unknown gearing. Used in "Two-Lane Blacktop," modified for "American Graffiti." Crushed in the late 1970s." http://unofficialamericangraffiti.weebly.com/the-1955-chevy.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Darby Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 5 hours ago, bisc63 said: Me as well. I love seeing the process of an illustrator's ideas from thumbnail sketch to drawing to finished rendering , and in this case, to 3D model. Fun to see the ones that got away, too; those that just halted or changed direction for whatever reason. A friend of mine saw a rendering of a Tom Daniel proposal to Monogram for a kit update of the Woody Wagon. That would have been pretty interesting to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 On 1/7/2019 at 9:14 PM, bisc63 said: If you want a legit 1/24 BBC in your BADMAN, look no further than Monogram's '65 Vette; stock or street machine version, it's a VERY nicely done Chevy Big Block engine. The Monogram '39 Chevys as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 20 minutes ago, Jantrix said: The Monogram '39 Chevys as well. The Monogram '70 Chevelle engine should work, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Force Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 (edited) On 2018-11-18 at 4:01 PM, Greg Myers said: The Badman II and the American Graffiti '55 , both actually have a 348 /409 "W" block engine. 3 hours ago, Mike999 said: "American Graffiti" used 2 of the '55 Chevys from "Two Lane Blacktop." One had a 427 L-88, the other a 454. Here's a page full of interesting info about the cars and what happened to them. The Criterion Collection DVD set for "Two Lane Blacktop" also includes a special feature on the restoration of a '55 Chevy used in the movie: "Guide to the three Two-Lane Blacktop/American Graffiti '55 Chevrolets: Main Car 1 - Equipped with a 427 crate motor, M-22 Muncie, 4.88 Olds rear, fiberglass front end, doors, and trunk lid, straight axle front suspension when built. Used for exterior shots in "Two-Lane Blacktop," modified for "American Graffiti." Main Car 2 - Equipped with a 454 crate motor, M-22 Muncie, 4.88 Olds rear, fiberglass front end, doors, and trunk lid, straight axle front suspension when built. Used only in "Two-Lane Blacktop" for interior scenes. Stunt Car - All steel-bodied car equipped with a 454 crate motor, TH 400 automatic, Olds rear of unknown gearing. Used in "Two-Lane Blacktop," modified for "American Graffiti." Crushed in the late 1970s." http://unofficialamericangraffiti.weebly.com/the-1955-chevy.html The Bad Man II and American Graffiti metal kits are kind of "phantom" kits, well at least the American Graffiti car. As the Chevy Mk IV Big Block engine wich are in the Two Lane Blacktop cars wasn't available in 1962 when the AG movie was supposed to take place and they never showed any engine in the movie car because of that, they had to come up with something that could have been realistic for the car and timeframe when they did the kit...and the Bad Man II is a spinoff of that kit. The movie car also have a fiberglass flip nose same as the TLB cars wich the kits don't have. I read somewhere that the sound of the car in the AG movie was from the TLB movie, and some of the sound was even used for the Trans Am in Smokey and the Bandit. Edited January 16, 2019 by Force Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 12 minutes ago, Force said: I read somewhere that the sound of the car in the AG movie was from the TLB movie, and some of the sound was even used for the Trans Am in Smokey and the Bandit. From the article I linked above: "A studio mechanic spotted the three '55 Chevy hot rods on the back lot and bought the camera car since it was in the best condition of the three. He pulled out the Chevy big block for use in a boat and his son ended up with the car. The son repainted the car white with a candy-colored stripe down the sides and over the back, dropped in another 454, and drove it to high school as a daily driver. The car saw movie duty again when, during filming of Smokey and the Bandit, it was used to record motor sounds that were dubbed in for the Trans Am." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 (edited) Thinking back to my youth, the 348 swap was quite popular. being an actual bolt in and an upgrade in power from the increase in cubic inches regardless of the weight increase. Interestingly enough the "W" block was included in the early fiddley Revell '55-'57 Chevy kits, most people assuming these were 409's Edited January 16, 2019 by Greg Myers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Anybody notice the reference to "file card" stock to represent the fabbed sheetmetal panels (26, 32) in this 1965 build? Interesting, because though railroad modelers still routinely used card stock for building a lot of things, by the late 1950s, sheet and strip styrene had begun to make serious inroads into the RR modelers' repertoire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 I don't think the "car guys" latched onto sheet styrene that early. Don Emmons was still using file card stock on his builds into the late Sixties. I've got all of the Auto World catalogs, and if I remember right they didn't offer it until the late Sixties. AMT actually tooled small pieces of sheet plastic into the '61 flat-box Styline series kits (Ranchero, Galaxie, etc.) My mom cleaned the prototype shop when she worked at Fisher-Price Toys in the late Seventies, and got permission to bring home some stuff they were tossing out. She brought me some sheet styrene, thanks Mom! This was in the late Seventies. Prior to that, all I could get at the local hobby shops was that dark gray Plastruct sheet stock, which might have been ABS and not styrene. It wasn't until another local store opened in the mid-Eighties, that I'd heard of Evergreen products, and they were selling white styrene sheet, oh boy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Kourouklis Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) Welp, I'm back from that wretched hive of online auctioning scum and villainy, and what I wanna know is this: since when did the lousy Badman start trading so high-falutin' within a mere seven years of the last pressing? I just snared a clean and complete PC83 variation for about half the typical buy-it-now asking on the TD kit! A starting bid on one of those is now in pretty extravagant territory. Edited January 17, 2019 by Chuck Kourouklis detail correction on price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 48 minutes ago, Chuck Kourouklis said: Welp, I'm back from that wretched hive of online auctioning scum and villainy, and what I wanna know is this: since when did the lousy Badman start trading so high-falutin' within a mere seven years of the last pressing? Since eBay started dishing out free listings, to inflate the number of available items... Earlier is better. I've got a recent issue kit; the body tooling is showing wear in some areas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 1 hour ago, Chuck Kourouklis said: since when did the lousy Badman start trading so high-falutin' within a mere seven years of the last pressing? I think this is just one of those timeless, ever-popular kits which sell out quickly when currently available, and aren't produced often enough to satisfy demand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Kourouklis Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 I'm old enough to remember shelves awash in the black version and the "Badman" reissues, but still 'n all, I can buy what you're saying, Mark & Casey. I'm still a bit flummoxed as to how a Badman can command a premium over one of the original PC83 kits, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisc63 Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 On 1/16/2019 at 9:09 AM, Jantrix said: The Monogram '39 Chevys as well. On 1/16/2019 at 9:31 AM, Snake45 said: The Monogram '70 Chevelle engine should work, too. Vette engine is the most detailed, I meant to say. Of course there are others. Only nits I pick on it are the undersized radiator hose (easy fix) and too small cooling fan (also easy fix/replace). Dig the intake texture, separate water pump, starter, etc. Very nice engravings. (OK, the valve covers could be better; rob from kits mentioned ) Here's the stock version... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 7 hours ago, bisc63 said: Vette engine is the most detailed, I meant to say. Of course there are others. Only nits I pick on it are the undersized radiator hose (easy fix) and too small cooling fan (also easy fix/replace). Dig the intake texture, separate water pump, starter, etc. Very nice engravings. (OK, the valve covers could be better; rob from kits mentioned ) Here's the stock version... I quite agree. It looks much better. I was only throwing out options, not comparing them. A combination of the Vette engine ands parts from the others would create a fine looking piece indeed. If I had all three I would give that a try for my Quicksilver '60 Chevy. Ah heck I might try it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 14 hours ago, Chuck Kourouklis said: I'm still a bit flummoxed as to how a Badman can command a premium over one of the original PC83 kits, though. I thin the separate roof(s) is (are) a deal breaker for many people, plus, the Badman version just checks so many boxes-- '55 Chevy, Tom Daniel-designed, gasser, etc. It has 'The Look' that makes you pick up and buy the kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russosborne Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Given a choice, I would always pick the Badman between those two. As Casey said, it just checks so many boxes for me. It is probably one of my top 5 all time favorite model kits ever. And those 5 are so close together it is more of I have one favorite that is made up of 5 kits. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgefever Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 (edited) On 16/01/2019 at 4:06 PM, Greg Myers said: Thinking back to my youth, the 348 swap was quite popular. being an actual bolt in and an upgrade in power from the increase in cubic inches regardless of the weight increase. Interestingly enough the "W" block was included in the early fiddley Revell '55-'57 Chevy kits, most people assuming these were 409's Only the '55 has the 409. It is presumably intended to represent a Z-11, since that was the only W engine to have a valley cover separate from the intake manifold. Edit - why they decided to couple the "hot" engine to an iron Powerglide is anybody's guess. Edited January 19, 2019 by dodgefever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 3 hours ago, russosborne said: Given a choice, I would always pick the Badman between those two. As Casey said, it just checks so many boxes for me. It is probably one of my top 5 all time favorite model kits ever. And those 5 are so close together it is more of I have one favorite that is made up of 5 kits. Russ Just out of curiosity, what are your other four? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Force Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 On 2019-01-19 at 2:37 PM, dodgefever said: Only the '55 has the 409. It is presumably intended to represent a Z-11, since that was the only W engine to have a valley cover separate from the intake manifold. Edit - why they decided to couple the "hot" engine to an iron Powerglide is anybody's guess. Well you can call it a separate valley cover, the tall intake manifold on the 409 based Z-11 was casted in two pieces...and the Z-11 was stroked up to 427 cui. For transmission the old iron Powerglide was not that strong so the old Cadillac/Oldsmobile 4 speed Hydramatic was popular in drag racing modified by B&M and often called "Hydro Stick", a heavy beast but a much stronger alternative, when the aluminum PG arrived it's another thing and a prepaired PG withstands a lot of power and torque and is a lot lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgefever Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Yes, I forgot it was stroked to 427. The kit engine is obviously meant to represent a Z-11 though, because that was the only one to use such an intake. The point I was making about the iron PG is that it's an odd choice for the drag version - as you say, it's heavy and not very strong. A Hydro would have made more sense. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russosborne Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) On 1/19/2019 at 7:41 AM, Snake45 said: Just out of curiosity, what are your other four? T'rantula, Ala Kart, QuickSilver/Street Fighter, and the AMT 40 Ford Coupe. That last one is one of the first I remember building myself, and I built several of them way back. I'm 59, and I still dream of building a real Quicksilver car. And I am a Ford guy! Russ Edited January 21, 2019 by russosborne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Myers Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) 17 hours ago, dodgefever said: Yes, I forgot it was stroked to 427. The kit engine is obviously meant to represent a Z-11 though, because that was the only one to use such an intake. The point I was making about the iron PG is that it's an odd choice for the drag version - as you say, it's heavy and not very strong. A Hydro would have made more sense. . so many available in those Revell gassers and they have the same "tear drop" connection point, and a cool shifter Edited January 21, 2019 by Greg Myers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted July 27, 2023 Share Posted July 27, 2023 (edited) Funny think about the Badman...it's what we consider to be a typical looking period gasser, looking at it with today's eyes...but the box art at the time referred to it primarily as a funny car: (I know this box is from the more recent reissue, but the copy is the same) Edited July 28, 2023 by CabDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted July 27, 2023 Share Posted July 27, 2023 Gassers were on the wane in the late Sixties, so calling it a funny car would have been logical. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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