SCALE MODEL NEWS

THE ERA OF CLASSIC CAR CUSTOMS seems to be passing, with the deaths of such well known names as Ed Roth in 2001, Dean Jeffries in 2013, Mike Alexander in 2014, and George Barris, self-styled ‘King of the Kustomizers’ in 2015. Mat Irvine:  So it’s the right time for a biography of George Barris to be published. And the 500 colour pages of King of the Kustomizers: The Art of George Barris certainly do him justice. The book jacket ( header ) shows George Barris with his most famous creation, the TV Batmobile. Barris created some of the wildest custom cars, and although there have been other books about him, this one is probably going to be the definitive title. The book is authored by George’s son Brett, together with Douglas Nason, an anthropologist with a keen interest in American culture of the period. The two have produced a book that covers just about everything you might want to know about George Barris and his kustom creations. The back cover ( below ) illustrates some of the ...

Mat Irvine: Dean Jeffries, the famed American car customizer, died aged 80 earlier this month, May 5, 2013. He was probably best known as the designer and builder of the Monkeemobile, stylish wheels for the 1960s pop-band, The Monkees. And here it is again in 2013, a 1:25 scale kit re-released by Round 2 Models. The Monkeemobile was produced originally by MPC in 1967 (above) but it’s a model that has been reissued a few times since then, the last being in 2000, under the AMT name. This latest 2013 release restores the original box-art or, to be more accurate, ‘almost’ the original box-art. The 1967 box (above) featured the four group members (dubbed at the time, 'America's answer to The Beatles') from left: Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and lead singer and heart-throb Davy Jones, who died in February 2012. However, rights for their likenesses could not be obtained this time around, so the box-art now features musical notation instead of photos of The Monkees. ...