THE WONDERFUL RETURN OF BOX ART

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1 Multa paucis qui coeperit finiatur JANUARY 2014 THE WONDERFUL RETURN OF BOX ART Nothing says 1960 s more than a couple of Willys gassers howling down a drag-strip especially when that scene is on the box of a model car kit. The competition was fierce during the golden age of the hobby, and eye-catching art work could really put a young man s imagination on high as he ventured through the hobby shop. Military kits displayed exciting battle scenes, while car kits featured custom parts or go-fast goodies. This concept has returned with the retro box art that AMT has been releasing for the past couple of years. Some of the art is newly created designs, while the rest has been tribute work reflecting the past creations of many forgotten commercial artists. The kits have had some long missing parts returned, and some new features added, chiefly new decals and the lettering and striping pre-painted on the tires. Some other companies have been bitten by the retro bug, namely Revell as they recently re-issued some Renwal as well as Monogram kits with the original box art. Chinese company Trumpeter has also used the concept, although their kits are all new tools. In this inaugural issue of the CAR Courier, little history of box art, the results of the 2013 year end contest, Robb will show how to modify a Cherry Bomb chopper from the Monogram kit, and Bench Racing gets organized.

2 FROM THE EDITOR by Mike Jinkens Welcome to the CAR Courier. I felt it was time for a new look, which also comes with a new name. I want to feature different automotive kits, not just hot rods or muscle cars. I have eclectic tastes, and I m sure some of you do too. I also want to look at model company histories, as well as automobile manufacturers. The box art article, although a bit small, is an example of what is in store. To really dig into all of the different box art and cover the artists who did the work, would take an entire book. Most importantly, CAR meetings and events will be covered in detail as well. I wanted to do a kit review of the 40 Willys, but I didn t get as far on it as I had hoped. New box art doesn t mean the tooling has been improved. This kit has a lot of mold lines, flash, and rather soft styrene which doesn t sand well. Besides, I d like to get it built than just do an open the box and look at the parts review...there is also all of the vintage speed equipment that is in this (and others) kit. I want to cover some of that stuff too. By the way, this newsletter isn t all about what I like. I welcome articles and suggestions. To send something to the Courier, me at CARTimeseditor@aol.com. You can also give me your article at the meeting. Try to keep articles at one page, two at the most. Sometimes I can edit things down without removing any text or pictures. I realize that some of you aren t computer literate (I m not) but the secret to adding photos to your article is simple. When you paste the picture, while it is highlighted, look for Format in the tool bar. Click on format. Look for wrap text and click on tight this allows you to move the picture and the text won t be affected as much, if at all. January is the first contest of the year. The theme is Salute to the 60 s Which I assume means vehicles from that era. Since most model car kits are of cars from the 60 s, so the theme competition should be quite large. Some of Revell s new releases slated for CHEVY PANEL MONOGRAM SLINGSTER DRAGSTER 49 MERCURY WOODY WAGON VW T1 TRANSPORTER (KASTENWAGEN) REVELL OF GERMANY

3 This is the oldest model box I own. It s actually a promo of 1951 Ford, by the Aluminum Model Toy Company, now known as AMT. As you can see, there isn t much to look at, not even a hint of what is inside. Companies used generic boxes with what the particular car was inside stamped on the end of the box. This practice would continue into the early 1960 s. JO-HAN s kits were boxed in a similar fashion, but this 1960 kit shows that there is a car inside, with customizing options available. Early kits were unassembled promos and lacked engines and chassis detail. Again the end of the box is stamped with what kind of car is inside. Monogram was one AMT s biggest competitors, and they hired some of the best artists in the advertising industry. Their 1936 Ford kit was originally issued in 1961 as a 6-in-1 kit, complete with engine, chassis detail, and lots of customizing parts, this is the 1965 issue. In my opinion, this was one of the most artistic model car boxes ever, it really puts you in the scene of a vintage car show, note the other cars and people in the background. As the 1960 s turned into the 1970 s, the model builders took to adulthood, and model kit sales began to fall. Lower sales figures, and decreased revenue meant less money would be spent on advertising and artist fees. I don t own any of the worst boxes. Revell/Italaeri really had some terrible artwork on their military kits and AMT s Cruisin USA series were pretty bad. Here are a few more recent examples, same kit different era of artwork. AMT s 1966 Mustang released in different decades. Which one catches your eye if all three were on the shelf at the same time? 2013 END OF YEAR CONTEST RESULTS

4 FACTORY STOCK - 1 ST BILL OWEN TRANS-AM, 2 ND DENNIS TULL 82 BMW 320i CUSTOMS - 1 ST JAMES NEWMAN 66 HEARSE, 2 ND PAUL SNODGRASS CHRYSLER 300, 3 RD BILL OWEN 56 FORD STREET MACHINE -1 ST PAUL SCHNEIDER 70 ROADRUNNER, 2 ND BILL BENCH 66 STANGWAGON, 3 RD BILL OWEN 65 FALCON ST. LINE COMP.-1 ST JEFF SPRAUL 68 ROAD RUNNER, 2 ND BILL BENCH 71 CUDA, 3 RD AL RICHARDS 57 CHEVY COMP. OTHER - 1 ST BILL OWEN LOTUS/FORD INDY CAR, 2 ND BILL OWEN EDMONDS SUPER MODIFIED, 3 RD CURTIS EPPERSON ASA THUNDERBIRD STREET ROD 1 ST PAUL SNODGRASS 41 WILLYS CONV., 2 ND VINCE KELLY 37 FORD, 3 RD JOHN GINANDT MT PICKUP CURBSIDE STREET - 1 ST JEFF SPRAUL 71 DUSTER, 2 ND BILL BENCH 73 MUSTANG, 3 RD JEFF SPRAUL 09 CHALLENGER PRE-DECORATED - 1 ST JEFF SPRAUL 71 DUSTER, 2 ND RANDY WILSON 65 CORONET, 3 RD RANDY WILSON 06 MUSTANG COMMERCIAL- 1 ST CURTIS EPPERSON LIL MIXER, 2 ND SCOTT SPRAUL LITTLE PURPLE EXPRESS MISC 1 ST PAUL SNODGRASS OLD SCHOOL BIKE COLLECTORS DIECAST 1 ST ROBERT RUDNEY DREAM TRUCK, 2 ND ROBERT RUDNEY 55 STUDEBAKER SPEEDSTER, 3 RD BEN GIBSON 69 PROSTOCK CAMARO OUT OF BOX 1 ST DENNIS TULL 70 ½ CAMARO, 2NDBILL OWEN ALUMA COUPE, 3 RD CURTIS EPPERSON JR. DRAGSTER OUT OF BOX PLUS 1 ST BILL OWEN SHOW BOAT, 2 ND BEN GIBSON 63 AVANTI, 3 RD DENNIS TULL 71 LAMBORGHINI JOTA

5 BENCH RACING by Bill Bench REBOOTING THE MODEL ROOM! We ve all had our frustrations with computers and cable boxes misbehaving and not responding the way we would like. When all else fails, you have to shut things down, unplug it for a minute, then plug it back in while it reboots and hopefully things work wonderfully. If only our model rooms were this easy. Most of us are guilty of starting more than one model at a time. Before you know it, you ve got a huge mess on your workbench that you spend hours trying to clean up. My model area had become a situation where I was unable to manage the 15 pounds of mud that I was trying to put into a 5 pound sack! My solution? Reboot my model room! In my basement is the model room and a slightly larger room that was full of junk. It had become a catch all for anything we didn t want to deal with for way too many years. So I started pitching and donating whatever I could to make a little room. My Bonus Daughter had purchased a Sauder wardrobe that had been in the room over 6 years ago. Nobody really wanted to mess with it, so I decided to go ahead and assemble it. It was kind of a hassle trying to assemble that beast in such a small space, but a day and a half later, I was victorious! While I was in Wal-Mart, I stumbled upon a 10 pack of Banker s boxes for $ This allowed me to eliminate all the uneven boxes of junk that I didn t want to discard the contents of and make for smaller, stackable containers. Clutter controlled! Now I NEEDED something to work on. Ten years ago I bought a really nice L-shaped computer desk. It was a little skinned up from 10 years of abuse, but it was perfect for my needs. I was a little concerned when the bottom fell off getting it down the basement steps, but it was easily repaired. I ve decorated it with mementos of my life and all the tools I need to have fun working on models again. Got a few Mustangs waiting to be assembled as I write this, so I hope this gives you some ideas. See you at the meeting. Bill

6 Cherry Bomb Trike One of my favorite model kits has always been Monogram's Cherry Bomb (a 1/24th scale combo kit featuring a turbine-powered, bubble-topped custom with a 'Harley-ish' bike & a surf board shaped trailer). I don't think I've ever built the car or the trailer. I acquire this kit for the bike. & while I once used the engine in a C-cab three wheeler, I've never tried to use the whole bike to generate a wheeler. I thought it was about time. THE ORIGINAL BOX ART CHERRY BOMB POWERED TRIKE Before we get too far into the 'two-to-three-wheel' conversion, lemme cover this: the bike itself presents one or two miscues I feel need fixing & some things I don't wanna fool around with. Major design features of this model are that the entire frame is two pieces (right & left halves, that come together to trap almost all other components of the build) & that the fuel tank is part of the upper tank tube (the frame member that extends from the goose neck back to the junction of the seat stays & the seat down tube). In order to remove the fuel tank, I'm gonna have to replace at least a portion of the upper tank tube. THE CHERRY BOMB FRAME, STRAIGHT FROM THE BOX Another notable design feature of this frame is the relationship of the seat down tube, the engine cradle cross-member & the engine/transmission unit. In a nutshell, everything is in the wrong place, because the engine & transmission ain't supposed to be a single unit, but rather an engine unit & a transmission unit, with the seat down tube passing between' em. So this is something else that needs to be modified. Not difficult, but necessary. First step, glue the frame halves together. To generate a proper trike frame, I should replace the seat & chain stays with longer pieces, mounted at a wider angle, but I'm not gonna do that because I think it would probably require some sort of jig to get it anywhere near right. For the moment, I'm gonna settle for replacing the wheel hub with a short length of plastic tube, & spacing the wheels out from the dropouts with additional tubing. It won't look right, but I think it will look OK. Next: actually doing it THE FRAME WITH THE OFFENDING TUBES CHOPPED OUT THE FRAME WITH NEW MEMBERS IN PLACE In the end, I decided to replace the entire upper tank tube, with it's 'bowling ball' fuel tank, from the gooseneck to the seat stays, as well as both the seat tube & the frame cross-member. Using rod, angle & sheet, I recreated those frame members, locating the cross-member so that the seat tube passes between the engine & transmission, & is perpendicular to the tank tube. I also added some gusseting plates behind the gooseneck & ahead of the seat stays. A major modification, to go along with the moving of the seat down tube, is the separating of the engine & transmission. The engine, as offered, is an 'OK' representation of the Harley 'Pan Head' design, with most inaccuracies falling under the sin of omission rather than being done poorly or inaccurately. The glaring exception being the trans. As presented, there is no separation between the engine & transmission. My first step will be to cut the RH engine half between the crankcase & trans, staying as close to the engine as I can. I cut all the way through the inside portion of the primary cover. I address the engine crankcase first, cleaning up & rebuilding the rear of the 'case. LEFT SIDE RIGHT SIDE

7 The transmission case, once removed from the engine, presents itself as a rather fat & formless affair, pretty much unidentifiable as engine parts. Nonetheless, I separate the transmission from the original inner primary cover, discarding the cover. Next, I generate a cover plate for the inside if the transmission case using a small piece of.040" plastic & sanding it to shape. Cherry Bomb cont. The next step, remaking the inner portion of the primary cover, is fairly simple. I cut a piece of.040" sheet to the approximate shape & size needed. After gluing it in place, I sand the case & cover to what I hope is the correct shape. Then, I generate a shifter boss & shifter, locate & mount the boss to the top of the trans case. At this point, I glue the engine halves together. I locate the transmission to the inner primary cover as far rearward as I can. Then, I drill holes for ignition leads, generator wiring, oil line plumbing & the like. My engine & transmission are, for the most part, ready for painting & detailing. THE TRANSMISSION BLOB SEPERATED FROM INNER PRIMARY BLOB THE ENGINE WITH NEW INNER PRIMARY COVE IN FRAME THE HEADERS & FORKS STRAIGHT FROM THE BOX For the moment, the decisions about the style & location of the fuel tank, the seat & any body work can wait. For the sake of expediency, I plan to use the kit-offered forks & headers, though I will modify 'em some. The headers, as presented in the kit, exit the cylinders, follow the contours of the engine & transmission down to the bottom rail of the frame, travel rearward parallel to the frame & each other & then curve up to run parallel to the chain stays. Chromed, the headers are a very visual bit of customizing, pulling the eye from the chrome of the engine back along the frame to the sissy bar & up. I'll run the forward pipe low, along the right side of the bike, to the point it starts to rise to match the angle of chain stay. From there I'll fab a new pipe to run parallel to the ground, past & below the rear axle. I'll have to fab the entire pipe from the rear cylinder, taking it to the left side of the bike (really haven't thought that'n through.) & out under the axle. They won't be chrome. The fork/handle bar unit & front wheel/tire assembly will be retained, at least the fork will be, probably the wheel/tire as well. These items already fit the bike, in that the length of the fork extension compliments the frame rake, as do the wheel/tire diameter. It's difficult to capture that relationship properly, unless you're building in a jig, so I'm gonna keep the assembly as offered. On the other hand, I won't be keeping the the handle bars. Those bars, along with the risers, will change. My personal preference would be either simple 'ape hangers' or drag bars, clamped to the upper triple tree without risers of any kind. Again, while offered as chromed, the finished piece may well not be so. At this point, I think I have most of the major modifications to the kit-offered parts done or at least, decided upon. Next comes the item that will be fabricated. I think this is a pretty comprehensive list 1) Driveline: chain/sprocket; axle housings; brake backing plates 2) Handlebars, grips, throttle cable 3) Fuel tank, fuel delivery system & oil tank 4) Clutch & brake pedals, linkages & foot pegs 5) Seat 6) Lights & license More later,

8 Robb C.A.R 2014 THEMES: JAN.13 FEB.10 SALUTE TO THE 60 s - CONTEST NIGHT PAINT IT RED MAR.10 AMC NIGHT - CONTEST NIGHT APR. 14 MUSTANGS MAY 5 JUNE 9 OPEN WHEEL COMPETITION -CONTEST NIGHT 6 CYLINDERS JULY 14 RED WHITE AND OR BLUE - CONTEST NIGHT AUG FORD vs 57 CHEVY SEPT. 8 MOVIE OR T.V. CARS - CONTEST NIGHT OCT.13 SAME KIT NIGHT- AMT DOUBLE DRAGSTER NOV.10 END OF YEAR CONTEST DEC. 8 AWARDS AND PIZZA PARTY UPCOMING EVENTS 2/15/2014 BLIZZCON 2014 IPMS Aladdin Shrine Center 3850 Stelzer Road Columbus OH CONTACT INFO: Graham Holmes /15/ Roscoe Turner I.P.M.S. Indianapolis Annual Contest & Swap Meet Raymond Park Middle School 8575 East Raymond Street Indianapolis,IN CONTACT INFO: Charles Haines /12/2014 CINCINNATI CHALLENGE 19 Clermont County Fairgrounds Multi-Purpose Building 298 Locust Street Owensville, OH /03/2014 HOOSIER MODEL CAR CLUB CONTEST AND SWAP Knights of Columbus 511 E.Thompson Rd Indianapolis, IN CONTACT INFO: Swap Meet: Dave Williams, or indyhmca@hotmail.com Contest: Duane Tripp, or DCT2136@aol.com

9 Newsletter articles must be received by the last Saturday of the month. Submit to The newsletter is also posted at the C.A.R. webpage- CincinnatiAutoReplicas.org