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Post by rocketeer on May 31, 2008 9:52:25 GMT -6
In another thread, I mentioned that the author of a book about Aurora that I owned had managed to track down some of the prototypes for the 1/32 Aurora hot rod kits. I dug out the book this morning, and I thought you guys might be interested in this list—maybe some of you old-timers (grin) can even fill in the blanks.
This info is from Aurora Model Kits, by Thomas Graham, Schiffer Publishing 2006:
1927 Ford T “Sad Sack”—Keith Heiskell’s car, Hot Rod Yearbook #1, 1961 1932 Ford “Ram Rod”—Clarence Catallo’s “Silver Sapphire”, Beach Boys’ “Little Deuce Coupe” album 1921 Ford “T for Two”—Joe Cruces’ car, Rod and Custom, Oct 1962 1927 Ford T “Shiftin’ Drifter”—no prototype found 1929 Ford pickup “Beatnik Box”—no prototype found 1934 Ford-Rolls “Scat Cat”—no prototype found Ford T dragster “Spyder”—Higley & Hubbard drag car, Hot Rod, September 1964 1923 Ford T “The Charger”—"Modern T", builder unknown 1928 Chevy “Moody Monster”—Hugh Tucker’s car, Hot Rod, August 1963 (This is the one with the marvelous box art of the car pulling out into traffic on a rainy night, with the driver’s girlfriend glumly holding an umbrella) 1929 Ford touring “Road Raider”—no prototype found 1930 Ford fire engine “Hot Surfer”—no prototype found 1939 LaSalle “Hearse with a Curse”—no prototype found 1932 Ford “Skidoo”—Dave Stuckey’s car, later modified into the Lil’ Coffin. 1962 Chevy pickup “Draggin’ Wagon”—no prototype found 1924 Buick touring “Get-away Car”—Jim Morris’ car, Hot Rod, August 1963 1922 Ford Center-door T “High Stepper”—Jim Spurbeck’s car, Hot Rod, August 1963 1930 Ford “Woodie Wagon”—no prototype found 1927 Ford T coupe “Snap Dragin”—no prototype found (This is the only one of the kits that didn’t use a Chevy 409—it has a Ford 390.) 1937 Packard ambulance “Meat Wagon”—no prototype found “Old Ironsides” armored car—no prototype found
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Post by A.J. on May 31, 2008 10:26:08 GMT -6
Well I'm no old timer but I'm very interested in this topic. The first thing I noticed from the list is the fact that not all the Aurora Hot Rods are listed.
The only one that I know of is the Wolf Wagon and I'm sure it definitely had a 1:1 counterpart or prototype as they were referred to.
Thanks very much for posting this information because I had been thinking about working on a such list since the topic came up. I truely believe that most of these were fashioned after 1:1 rods as they are only changed mildly and renamed. This would make a good web page if the magazine images could be found for them. Hmmm, might be a project...LOL!
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Post by A.J. on May 31, 2008 10:47:44 GMT -6
Even more interesting yet was after looking at the list again I noticed that 3 of the cars were featured in the same issue of Hot Rod. I have to check my library and see if I have that issue.
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Post by vwcamperman on May 31, 2008 12:10:50 GMT -6
I'm not sure about the "Scat Cat". If you were going to add parts of a Rolls to a little coupe I know I'd go for one of their V12s! ;D
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Post by ramone on May 31, 2008 12:30:42 GMT -6
I love them old boxes, they look great!!!
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Post by bronzegiant on May 31, 2008 12:54:35 GMT -6
That box art is simply gorgeous!
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Post by davekapp on May 31, 2008 13:06:45 GMT -6
I love those old kits more than life itself!
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Post by Tim Nolan on May 31, 2008 16:07:12 GMT -6
Tom is my neighbor about an hour North. He's a brilliant writer/researcher. All of his books are a wealth of information and a must have for any serious model collector/builder.
You can contact Tom at: graham_s@popmail.firn.edu if you need any information.
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3names
Showrod Basher
Posts: 58
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Post by 3names on May 31, 2008 17:18:23 GMT -6
Aurora did the prototype for Carl Caspers the ghost the car was never issued a prototyped model was made in house. the kit was never issued. but I have an article that says it was going to come out soon I'm currently working on Carl Caspers car the ghost I'm hoping to have it done for your contest the one you've been mentioning about. Just as a side note my wife and I decided to purchase a voice command for me since I'm not the greatest typeor it works pretty cool I don't have to do a thing but talk to the computer 50 $ on eBay. It is easier than trying to type something out that may take me a long time. In school I was more worried about what I was going to build after school and not how fast I could type. I have a lot of things to say and I hope people enjoy hearing from me. happy modeling.
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Post by rocketeer on May 31, 2008 18:52:09 GMT -6
Well I'm no old timer but I'm very interested in this topic. The first thing I noticed from the list is the fact that not all the Aurora Hot Rods are listed. The only one that I know of is the Wolf Wagon and I'm sure it definitely had a 1:1 counterpart or prototype as they were referred to. Right you are; I inadvertently missed it: 1929 Ford A pickup "Wolf Wagon"--Ken Kay's show rod, Hot Rod, July 1961 Sounds like a great idea! I'm not in any position to do it myself, but I'd sure like to see someone do it.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2008 19:30:35 GMT -6
I love that box art!
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Post by Phil Patterson on May 31, 2008 20:57:07 GMT -6
I know a glue bombed and fire crackered a ton of those along with Palmer kits when I was a kid. Thanks for the list and the memories!
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Post by mrtc4w on Jun 1, 2008 17:36:41 GMT -6
Awesome thread!! I love the old Aurora kits!
Any word on the "new" Aurora company? The last I heard the only kits they had were the figures.
Marty
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Post by gwangiboy on Jun 1, 2008 19:26:13 GMT -6
The art for a lot of those kits was done by Mort Kuntsler, who has an official website that shows off a large variety of what he's done, including some of the best movie posters of the 70s (I've got one not on his site, and maybe he wants to forget the movie, but his art for THE DEVIL'S RAIN is much better than the movie itself -- although the movie is a guilty pleasure of mine). Here's the site with some of his model box work, but there's a whole lot more to look around in! www.mortkunstler.com/gallery/category94.ihtmlMakes one miss the days of great box art even more.
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Post by rocketeer on Jun 2, 2008 7:02:48 GMT -6
...Any word on the "new" Aurora company? The last I heard the only kits they had were the figures. Marty The outfit that billed themselves as "the New Aurora" a couple years ago seems to have gone kaput--they were never, I think, more than a resin kit outfit with delusions of grandeur and a snappy line of patter. However, Moebius & Monarch both seem to be making real injection-molded Aurora-style kits--although neither has announced any automotive subjects yet (and I rather doubt they will, since the auto market seems to be dwindling ).
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Post by rocketeer on Jun 10, 2019 9:26:12 GMT -6
Recently I found a picture of the prototype for the Charger 23 T. Here it is; it appears to be called the Modern T, although the builder's name is not clear:
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