december - Cincinnati Auto Replicas

DECEMBER 2015
Multa paucis qui coeperit finiatur
George Barris passed away on November 5, 2015 at 89 years old. He was one the pioneers of custom cars and would
gain fame as the creator of many famous TV and movie cars such as the Batmobile, the Munster coach and Drag-u-la,
the Beverly Hillbillies truck, and a host of many others.
In 1928, George and his brother Sam were sent to California after their mother died to live with relatives. Here the boys
would work in the family restaurant and go to school. The boys were given a run down 1925 Buick as a gesture of
appreciation for their hard work. They rebuilt the car and modified the body to suit their tastes and managed to sell it for a
profit. Although George was still in high school, the Barris brothers were becoming popular car customizers. Older brother
Sam, would spend some time in the Navy during WWII, but would return and join George at his ‘Barris Custom Car’ shop
in Los Angeles.
Business grew swiftly, much of it from
movie production companies looking for
specialty cars and vehicle modification
for production purposes (making the
fenders easier to damage for instance).
Sam would help define the Kustom Kar
Kulture with the Hirohata Mercury. It
began as a 1951 Mercury Club Coupe,
but was chopped, decked, nosed... Later,
he would build the Ala Kart, a heavily modified Ford Model A roadster pick-up. Both
of these vehicles set the standard for what a custom car should look like. Sam would leave the car
business in the later part of the 1950’s, but George would continue on, until the day he passed away.
George Barris got involved with the model car industry early on as
well. AMT and MPC worked with him on many kits, some were of
Barris designs, such as the Sonny and Cher Mustangs, others,
might be your basic model car with customizing accessories. He
even made 1:1 cars using a design created by the AMT or MPC kit
designers. Revell worked with Barris on occasion too. They only
did a handful of kits, however, as Big Daddy Roth was generally
their custom car guru. To my knowledge, Monogram did not have any ties with Barris,
using Tom Daniels as their designer of choice
Some of these kits came off better than others. The Ala Kart came off quite well, but the
AMT ‘Cruisin’ USA’ series of kits were poorly executed, offering mostly some decals
(usually ugly) as the customizing option. These kits came out in the 1980’s, which may
explain why they were so poorly done.
There were some controversies with Barris, he would receive credit for cars he had nothing to do with, such as the
Monkee Mobile which was designed and built by Dean Jefferies. This happened more than once, especially in recent
years. Perhaps credit was given in error by an ill-informed press, but Barris enjoyed the spotlight, so he wouldn’t go out of
his way to correct the mistake...
Whether or not you like the man or his work, another automotive legend has passed away.
CLUB BUSINESS SECTION
DECEMBER 2015
FROM THE PRESIDENT by Rockne Riddlebarger
Greetings Model Citizens! Here we are, wrapping up another year. This year is special, however, since it marks the 30 th
year for the Cincinnati Auto Replicas Model Car Club. Thanks to all the former and current members for giving the club a
long life and a bright future. Bring on number 31!
The upcoming meeting will feature, pizza, gift exchange, End of the Year contest awards and we will confirm Randy
Wilson for another term of Vice-president, Mike Jinkens for a new term of News Editor and we will vote for either Edgar
Linz or Robb Shelby for Secretary. These positions will be for 2016-2017.
This has been a very enjoyable year at C.A.R., as every year has been for me. I look forward to 2016 and the next
meeting on December 14.
FROM THE EDITOR by Mike Jinkens
End of the year already.
For those new to the club, here’s a rundown on how the gift exchange works: Bring a sealed kit that is gift wrapped (there
will be a table set up to put them on). Tickets will be handed out, and a number drawn. When your number is called, you
can pick something off the table or ‘steal’ one from someone who has already picked. You be stolen from 2 times then
you’re safe. We’ll clarify the rules at the meeting.
WINNER’S CIRCLE by Curtis Epperson
Hey guys and gals its end of the year and we will be giving out the award for the end of the year contest. We will also be
having the pizza party and gift exchange. If you choose to participate in the gift exchange bring a new sealed kit wrapped
at least once. Its fun. Bring your own drinks. See Yall Monday.
MEETING NOTES by Edgar Linz
We had 32 members and guests in attendance last month and 89 models filled the tables.
It was decided the same kit for 2016 would be the new Revell ’29 Ford Hot Rod.
Steve Bowser (also a CARBS member) announced that the CARBS show in October had a turnout of 339 models which
was one of their best shows.
The club raffle was won by Kevin, he took home a Moebius Ford pick-up. Door prizes were won by Vince and ’?’ (I didn’t
write down the name, sorry) they took home an Audi R8, and a BMW Z1 roadster. A couple of Porsche posters were
donated by Bill Owen and were raffled off, as were some kits donated by Marshall King.
A trip for some nails led to a discovery, probably well known by our Kentucky members and friends. Landwehr Hardware,
826 Madison Ave in Covington, KY also sells model kits. So if you’re I the area, you may want to stop in.
Hamilton Hobbies Contest Results by Bill Bench
Several members entered the contest and hung out Saturday afternoon. Thanks to all of you who showed up at the
Hamilton Hobbies fall contest. We had 75 entries and a great time.
STREET ROD 1st Jesse Talmage ’36 Ford
2nd Liam McCreary ’32 Ford 3rd Robb Shelby ‘A’ Tub
STREET MACHINE 1st James Norman ’58 Plymouth 2nd Bob Kilgore ’68 Roadrunner 3rd Jess Talmage ’77 Mustang
CUSTOM 1st Curtis Epperson Orange Hauler 2nd Liam McCreary ’49 Mercury 3rd John Ginandt ’53 Chevy
DRAG RACING 1st Bob Kilgore ’68 Roadrunner 2nd Don Perkins ’66 Nova
3rd Jesse Talmage ’55 Chevy
RACE OVAL 1st Robb Shelby #9 Mercury V8 2nd Curtis Epperson Pinto Modified 3rd Robb Shelby #4 Ford Modified
COMMERCIAL/TRUCK 1st Robb Shelby Sierra Club 2nd Kevin Belanger ProStar 3rd Robb Shelby Hauler
MILITARY 1ST Paul Holfrich Destroyer Z-25 2nd Robb Shelby
Ambulance 3rd Paul Holfrich Panzer IV F2
SCI-FI 1st Paul Helfrich Monster & Sub Diorama 2nd Rockne
Riddlebarger Mad Max Pole Dancer 3rd Curtis Epperson Dark Knight
Bat Pod
BOX STOCK 1st Bob Baker ’49 Ford Coupe 2nd Jesse Talmage ’55
Lincoln Futura 3rd Jess Talmage ’55 Chevy Bel Air
MISC 1st Rockne Riddlebarger ‘In The Outback’ 2nd Liam McCreary
‘Model Night’ 3rd Kyle Peterson ’65 Chevy P/U
BEST OF SHOW Rockne RiddleBarger ‘In The Outback’
2016 KIT RELEASES
Here are some of the kits scheduled next year. Courtesy of CyberModel
AMT
'29 Ford Model A Roadster
25 1000 Mar-16
AMT
'57 Chevy Bel Air Cindy Lewis
25 0983 Jan-16
AMT
'61 Ford Ranchero
32 0984 Jan-16
AMT
'65 Pontiac Grand Prix Grand Slam
25 0990 Mar-16
AMT
'67 Chevy Impala SS
25 0981 Feb-16
AMT
American LaFrance Aero Chief Fire Truck
25 0980 Jan-16
AMT
Surf Woody George Barris
25 0976 Jan-16
AMT
VW Volkswagen Van
25 0992 Mar-16
Lindberg
'37 Ford Custom Convertible
24 0129 Feb-16
Moebius Models
'52 Hudson Hornet 'Mels Drive-In'
25 1216 Mar-16
Moebius Models
'61 Pontiac Catalina
25 TBA
Moebius Models
'61 Pontiac Ventura SD
25 1211 2016
Moebius Models
'65 Mercury Comet Cyclone
25 1210 2016
Moebius Models
'65 Plymouth Belvedere
25 1218 Mar-16
Moebius Models
'72 Ford Sport Custom Pick Up
25 1217 Mar-16
MPC
'70 Bonneville Convertible/Pickup
25 0840 Feb-16
MPC
75 Chevy Corvette Convertible
25 0842 Mar-16
MPC
'84 GMC Pickup
25 0847 Feb-16
Revell
'13 Camaro ZL1
25 4370 Jan-16
Revell
'66 Chevy Fleetside
25 7225 Feb-16
Revell
'67 Nickey Camaro
25 4377 Mar-16
Revell
'72 Porsche 914-6 2in1
25 4378 2016
Revell
Ford GT
24 1987 Apr-16
Revell AG
Ferrari 250 SWB
24 7056 Jan-16
Revell AG
Schlingmann HLF 20 (MAN TGM Euro 6)
24 7452 2016
2016
It’s been a long time coming, but we finally have a
mid-1970’s Torino. Jo-Han kitted a 1972 model,
both as a snap kit and a glue kit. These kits are
long gone and hard to come by. A few years back,
Model King released the the MPC Torino stock car
which I believe originated from the Jo-Han tool.
This kit could only be built as a race car so any
ideas of building it stock would take some work.
The new Revell kit ties into the Starsky and Hutch
TV show, the car being more memorable than the
show’s storylines. It’s a bit befuddling to me why
they would tie into a 40-year TV series, but
someone in their company was willing to pay for
that licensing, but not for some tire company
names... Oh,well, on to the kit.
The kit is molded in red and black, which nobody likes to see red plastic, but there it is. The kit is simplified to some
extent, much like the Monogram kits from the past, but don’t let that put you off. The detail is actually quite good, but in
some places lacking. For instance, there is no spring (coils) detail on the suspension, but the exhaust has the tail pipes
indented.
The engine is a 351 with dual quads and chrome valve covers and air cleaner. Oddly, the exhaust manifolds appear to be
factory stock instead of headers, which seem more appropriate for an engine with that much carburator. The radiator
lacks a fill cap and there is only the top hose provided. There are decals for the oil filter and engine compartment.
The interior is molded in red which struck me odd considering the 1:1 car has a black interior. The dash is well detailed
and there are decals for the instrumentation and steering wheel.The column for the steering wheel has the turn signal
stock, the gearshift, the ignition switch and the gear positon indicator molded in place. The glass is thin a distortion free.
The body looks to be shaped right and there are few parting lines to clean-up. The hood has underside detail molded in,
but there is a clunky hinge provided for the hood to operate The wheels are aftermarket type mags, and the tires are no
name big and littles.
I’m in the process of building this kit, and so far no major issues other than my poor paint job. Maybe it’ll be on the
table for the January contest.
C.A.R 2016 THEMES:
Jan - Odd Ball 50s-Not from the big three.
Feb - VW Night.
March - Going Racing.
April - Galaxies & Comets Night.
May - Cops & Robbers.
June - Dart Night.
July - 1966 (Fifty years ago).
Aug - Chevy Nova Night.
Sept - Show Rods
Oct - Same Kit Night - Revell ’29 Ford Model A Hotrod
Nov - End of the year contest.
Dec - Pizza party & Gift exchange
UPCOMING EVENTS
Newsletter: [email protected]
Club info: CINCINNATIAUTOREPLICAS.ORG