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Posted

There was a resin of the Champ pickup years ago. I have one and realized that the master was a Johan Studebaker Lark cut behind the front seat. So this one would be fairly easy to create from that kit.

Posted

Steve- Must've been RMR? They were next to Lone Wolf, next to the door into the photo booth room. On the other side of Lone Wolf was Tara Hobbies (display cases) and Don Banes (older kits)

The one I have was done by STS back better than 15 years ago.

Posted

I saw one of those once and was surprised at how similar it was to the early Japanese pickups in size and style. I mistook it for an early Datsun at first.

It makes one wonder what might have been if Studebaker had managed to survive another decade. They offered smaller economy cars well before they were popular, and probably would have been better prepared than the Big 3 to compete with the small fuel efficient imports that really gained sales after 1973.

Posted

What truck did Studebaker take the beds from? Was it Ford?

On the last series of Champ pickups, Studebaker used their long-running "flareside" (OK, call it a stepside if you will) box that had its debut in 1949, but for the Champ wide-bed pickups, they got their boxes from International Harvester (most likely from Ft Wayne IN).

Art

Posted (edited)

What truck did Studebaker take the beds from? Was it Ford?

Just talked to my buddy that has one of these and he said it is a Dodge bed . He also has an International and says the beds are close but not the same.

The big news for the 1961-model Champs was the optional availability of wide new slab-sided Spaceside P2 pickup boxes, which had previously been used on 1959-1960 Dodge Sweptside pickups. Studebaker purchased the dies and tooling for the 6½ and 8-foot P2 boxes from Chrysler, and designed a new front panel and a new tailgate stamped with the Studebaker name to go with them. The narrower 1956-60 P1 boxes remained standard equipment.

Edited by 1930fordpickup
Posted

Premier eh? based on reputation, I would say no thanks, but could you expand on what to expect from the kit?

jb

Well....

Right off the bat, it's a little bit smaller than 1:25. Not by much, but enough to drive you crazy if you tend to notice such things. Crude by today's standards, and maybe a little crude even by '61 standards, compared to other kits I've seen from that time period. Worst thing is the bed- for some reason, it has two semi-circular open notches at the front end, where it sits against the back of the cab. In it's favor, the basic shapes and features are right, but it'll take a little effort to get it to really look good, even if all you want is a curbside shelf model that will never meet an on-duty contest judge. All in all, I wouldn't say it's the worst kit I've ever seen, but it's pretty far from the best.

I know a guy who has one he built back when it was new- I'll see if I can get pics. Seems like this kit is so obscure today there aren't even any good pictures of a built up example online.

Posted

thanks Chuck, if you find the photos please do post them, even though chances of finding this kit at appropriate price seem pretty slim.

by "appropriate" I mean in the range of maybe 20 - 30 dollars

jb

Posted

Worst thing is the bed- for some reason, it has two semi-circular open notches at the front end, where it sits against the back of the cab.

My guess is those notches are for the side-mounted spare shown on the box art. No idea why they would mold both fenders that way, though.

Posted

There is (was) a 1:25 plastic kit of one. It was released by Premiere in 1961. Good luck finding one today, though.

02b9f2241f01298685fa045295dac7da.jpg

I remember building one of those- it was my first model. I was 5. I always thought it was a Palmer kit.

Posted

Gaute,

I believe I recently read somewhere that Studebaker used Dodge truck beds towards the end of their production, maybe it was in Hemming's Classic Car Magazine. That's why the body lines of the cab and bed don't match up...

Posted

I've got a Premier Lark sedan kit...like the pickup, it's smaller than 1/25 scale, just enough to be maddening.

Posted

Yes, I see it now that it is a Dodge bed. Remember reading about them in a magazine some years ago and I did remember that they used a bed from another source but did not remember who. I do have a Hotwheels 1:64 diecast version of the Studebaker Champ but they have cheated and made a bed that flushes with the cab.

This one is not mine but mine is the same color:

29-%2763%20STUDEBAKER%20CHAMP%20l2.jpg

Posted (edited)

On the last series of Champ pickups, Studebaker used their long-running "flareside" (OK, call it a stepside if you will) box that had its debut in 1949, but for the Champ wide-bed pickups, they got their boxes from International Harvester (most likely from Ft Wayne IN).

Art

No, sorry Art. The wide-bed boxes on the Studebakers came from Dodge. They were Sweepline box from the 1959 and '60 Dodge pickup.

Scott

Edited by unclescott58

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