AirDave's Kool Wheelz Collection

[airdave]

[MichaelS]

I'm with you Dave

[airdave]

New for February 2018!
...
Ed Roth's Beatnik Bandit

It was a recent discussion on the forums that reminded me I had not included any Ed Roth customs in my Koolwheelz collection...yet.
How can that be?
No custom car collection is complete without at least one tribute to Big Daddy Ed Roth!

I have to pick one...at least one...
and why not his most famous, most iconic kar kreation of all time....the Beatnik Bandit!

This car is probably the most recognizable Ed Roth creation
....and one of the most well known Revell plastic models of the 1960s
...and one of the original 16 Hot Wheels of 1968.

Built in 1960, the body was hand molded from Plaster, resin, Fiberglass and wood.
This two seater featured a 1955 Olds chassis and motor, and a supercharger.
And it was the first Ed Roth kreation to feature his signature clear bubble-top canopy.

A unique feature of this car was that it did not have any foot pedals or a steering wheel for driving.
It was operated by a central "joy stick" style hand control that managed steering, throttle and braking.

I'm not really a fan of the colours and paint scheme on this kar,
but I did my best to be true to the original Big Daddy concept....Koolwheelz style, of course.

The 1968 Hot Wheels versions had slight differences in body styling due to toy and diecast limitations
and came in solid colour "spectraflame" paint finish. (Red, Green, Aqua, Orange, Pink, Purple, Gold, Green, Copper, Brown and Blue)

Obviously the bubble-top canopy is a difficult thing to recreate in paper.
And I'm not sure it would make much sense.
I can fudge the interior with some artwork, but without a clear bubble, I don't see the point.
So that makes this Koolwheelz model a little unique.
There is no top included...the model is incomplete.
You can choose to build it with no canopy top at all...but to finish it properly, you need to add the clear bubble-top.

I've created a small diagram to help you with the addition of the clear canopy.
there will also be an Assembly Sheet for this (in the Assembly Diagrams section at my forum - papermodelforum.com).

Find the Beatnik Bandit model in the ShowRodz section of Koolwheelz.

[MichaelS]

Kewl! I remember the neighbor kid building all of these Wierd-oh cars in the 60's. Even by that time I was hung up on more historical subjects.

Thanx Dave.

[airdave]

This was not a "Weird-Ohs" car.

The original Weird-Ohs were a series of models by Hawk Plastics.
They were cartooned cars and characters that appeared to steal from the Ed Roth Rat Fink style.
Although, by that time (mid 1960s), the Ed Roth style had permeated lots of kustom kulture!
Ed Roth had nothing to do with the Weird-Ohs designs as far as I know.

The Beatnik Bandit was a real custom car built in 1960, long before Weird-Ohs.
Ed Roth built it as a showpiece to attract attention at his T-shirt painting booth.
It was the first of many well known Roth cars and became a showcar icon.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...nik_Bandit.jpg

It was also one of the first "kustom kar" plastic models produced by Revell in 1961.
Again, long before Weird-Ohs.

[Vermin_King]

I'm just curious. What did you use to create your bubble?

[airdave]

I'm just curious. What did you use to create your bubble?

I used a plastic bubble.
LOL

Clear Plastic....from some sort of packaging.
I explain on the Model sheet...and on the Assembly sheet...
lol
I used a clear plastic bubble.

Just find something that will give you a bubble of the correct size and height.
Cut off the section you need...a smaller bubble of the correct size,
but make sure you leave some extra material to cut the four extended tabs to locate the bubble.

Again, I put a little diagram on the model sheet.

You can start with a round bubble if you don't have the correct shape.
The tabs will help you reshape it..
As you locate the four tabs into the car body, you deform the bubble into more of a square shape.
Glue the tabs to the body from underneath and lock the bubble in shape!

If you wanted to heat it and shape it better, you could do that.
If you wanted to vacuform it, you could do that.

Mine doesn't fit too good, but its not noticeable unless you examine it real close.
Look closely at my photos and you'll see.

[papermate]

Sorry I don’t see any Assembly Diagram section on your forum, perhaps cos my old eyes.

Papermate

[airdave]

are you a registered member?
If you are, then you already have access to the Koolwheelz section...and the Assembly Diagrams thread.
They're right there.

If you're not a registered member, then you still have access to my information threads
and theres plenty of explantion as to where to find the Koolwheelz stuff and the Assembly sheets.
All easy to see, even with tired eyes.

In all comes down to how hard you look.

This is for all who keep asking about the Assembly sheets and where to download things.
Everything you need to know is there on my forum.
Theres no cryptic riddles...no secret passwords...its not that hard if you look.

But you have take the time to look...I will not be hand holding and leading everyone to free stuff.

[airdave]

sorry...one too many people asking for directions.
can make you a bit testy.

I even got a recent request for me to email a bunch of koolwheelz models
because it was "too much work" to find them and download them all!

you can imagine my response to that one!!