at the time. But Big Daddy was definitely the hook that pulled ’em in. Before selling the T, Johnston had declined an offer to loan the car to 77 Sunset Strip TV producers, citing his uneasiness with anyone else at the wheel. The TV contract went to Norm Grabowski instead.
Revell # H-1279:200, 1963, 1/25 scale, Designed by Ed Roth/Jim Keeler, Re-issued 1994
The ink was still wet on Ed Roth’s contract with show promoter Bob Larivee when Revell signed him on in 1961. Considered a national treasure (or moral threat, sayeth the holier-than-thou) by 1963, Big Daddy’s Beatnik Bandit broke new ground in styling and design that immediately extended to every facet of American culture. Revell must have been licking their chops over this release. Of the 128 parts in the kit, the infamous large rear decals tend to pose the greatest challenge. Many builders recommend hypnotherapy prior to final assembly. Included in Hot Wheels’ initial 1968 release of 16 cars (Harry Bradley scaled it down to 1/64), Mattel later issued a jumbo 1/18-scale Bandit. (Photo Courtesy Dave Shuten)
The car that drove right over the cool barrier did the same for scale modeling. Big Daddy Roth twists his bandito mustache on the box art with a “Wait’ll they get a load of this” expectation. Sure enough, Big Daddy’s kits accounted for more than 16 percent of Revell’s total sales at the time. Roth’s success with Outlaw and Tweedy Pie had confirmed his intuitiveness and now this providentially timed release begat a worldwide epidemic of Roth Fever. Decades later, there is no cure in sight, despite protests from church groups and nervous parents. The end of civilization is surely nigh.
At last report, the original Bandit was locked up in the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada. Trivia: Designer Joe Henning originally christened the car Beatnik Band-It. Mattel released a limited edition (of 1,000) Hot Wheels Bandits in 2001 (shortly after Roth’s passing), with box art by Ed Newton.
Mattel issued this limited edition of 10,000 diecast tribute Bandits in 2001 (just two months after Roth’s passing), with fresh original box art by Ed Newton himself. Note that Newt thinks and acts both inside and outside the box. (Photo Courtesy Ed Newton)
AMT # 2127-200, 1963, 1/25 scale, Designed by Steve Swaja
AMT promoted this as a “Double Kit,” but the stock 1927 touring, jalopy tub, and XR-6 versions add up to, um . . . more than two. Three trees’ worth of “chrome” parts constitute the bulk of this package. Old friend Tom Allen reminds me, “They put the chrome on those things with a trowel back then.” The Jetsons styling was typical of the day: so timely as to deem XR-6 dated soon after its release. If you’re shopping for a 1963 period piece, this is your kit. (Photo Courtesy Dave’s Show Rod Rally)
Although Hot Rod magazine staffer Leroi “Tex” Smith received a tentative response when he presented Petersen Publishing Company executives with Steve Swaja’s concept sketch, the Swaja dressing on Smith’s styling salad likely saved it from extinction. Smith’s Indy Car, show rod, and traditional T-bucket influences made XR-6 a hit with disparate camps: Petersen broadened its demographic overnight, as issues featuring the inclusive build-up enjoyed strong sales. The happy ending to the series was XR-6 receiving the World’s Most Beautiful Roadster trophy at the revered Oakland Roadster Show, where Bill Cushenbery’s Silhouette won the inaugural Tournament of Fame trophy, upsetting Darryl Starbird’s favored Futurista (which debuted with its Monogram kit, optimistically containing a scale Tournament of Fame trophy).
Malcom Barlow of Toland, Connecticut, owned XR-6 when Gerry Burger shot it in 1982 for a Tex Smith update in Rodder’s Digest magazine. (Photo Courtesy Gerry Burger)
Aurora # 570-198, 1963, 1/25 scale, Designed by Carl Casper, Re-issued 1972 by Aurora, 1997 by Polar Lights
Originally released by Aurora, Undertaker was a must-have kit for show and drag fans alike. A removable hardtop makes for instant roadster, true to appearance on the March 1964 Car Craft cover and at many shows. It includes a “chrome” frame, one of the nicer Potvin-blown race Hemis ever, vinyl slicks on Astro wheels, and a “tombstone” display case with ghost and undertaker figures. Carl Casper’s Ghost show rod was scheduled as Undertaker’s follow-up, but “never made it past the master pattern stage,” according to Aurora. Can you spot the Grim Reaper attempting escape from a gothed-up Casper on the box art? (Photo Courtesy Dave’s Show Rod Rally)
Can dragsters be show rods? Look at this thing! A rare double-winner, Carl Casper’s stylized Comp Coupe made waves and earned raves, both at the drag strip and on the show floor. Undertaker was declared the National Competition Sweepstakes Champion at the vaunted 1963 NHRA Nationals at Indianapolis. Ensuing magazine coverage (it even graced the cover of the March 1964 Car Craft) iced the promotional cake nicely for Aurora. Dave Rasmussen declares Undertaker “a gas!,” but there may have been some nitro involved, too. That’s right; like all of Casper’s wild show rods, Undertaker was fully functional.
Casper’s personal Undertaker (with display), was built by his personal builder, Michael Wazny, who builds kits all day for a living. Don’t hate him, just aspire to develop his skills. (Photo Courtesy Carl Casper)
Undertaker went topless for the cover of the March 1964 Car Craft, inspiring many builders to follow suit and construct Undertaker roadsters. (Photo Courtesy Paul Canney)
AMT # 901-150, 1964, 1/25 scale, Designed by Tom Daniel, Re-issued 1999
The model kit was thrashed together in the same fashion as the real Munster Koach, with the same success. As always, timing was everything. Kits included paint, brush, and glue. AMT released a double Blueprinter Series kit in 1989 that included Munster Koach and Drag-U-La. (Photo Courtesy Dave’s Show Rod Rally)
When Universal Studios hatched The Munsters concept in 1964, Ed Newton was working for Ed Roth, and Tom Daniel was doing design work for George Barris. Both camps thrashed to create an appropriate Munster family car, but Daniel’s concept got the nod from Universal. Scheduling was tight: “Barris called on a Friday, needing the art by Saturday,” confides Daniel. Dick Dean’s Barris crew knocked out the build in 21 long days, while Roth suffered yet another failed attempt at placing one of his cars on the flickering screen. Like Barris, AMT