What 1930(ish) Luxury cars did Monogram do?

[Aaronw]

Thanks, I've saved the lists you guys posted.

I've got a Bentley 4.5 litre, and a Boattail Packard on the way, and started the 1928 Lincoln. These should keep me busy for awhile.

[Aaronw]

What is the quality of the Monogram metal bodied cars?

I remember doing a metal kit as a kid and thought it was one of these Monogram kits. It was a real problem, but I've run across some Hubley's during my searches and realized I might have built a Hubley, not a Monogram.

[Eric Stone]

I've got a Bentley 4.5 litre, and a Boattail Packard on the way, and started the 1928 Lincoln. These should keep me busy for awhile.

And a 31 Rolls Royce.

[Aaronw]

I ran across this photo I took at NNL West 2009, it is a rather striking car. Any idea what kit this is?

And a 31 Rolls Royce.

Well that was still in negotiations at the time.

[Modelmartin]

That is a Japanese 1/16 37 Packard that was sold in the US by Entex. I believe they also did a sedan.

[Junkman]

That is a Japanese 1/16 37 Packard that was sold in the US by Entex. I believe they also did a sedan.

You are correct, it's the Bandai Packard, which was also available as a formal sedan. It's a 1937 V-12.

[ZIL 111V]

Where are the molds of both Bandai's 1/16 '37 Packards V12??? Totally vanished since the mid 80s.

...(Collecting dust in China's FUMAN warehouse? ) Surely two of the most beautiful 1/16 plastic "Classic" car kits ever made.

[Art Anderson]

What is the quality of the Monogram metal bodied cars?

I remember doing a metal kit as a kid and thought it was one of these Monogram kits. It was a real problem, but I've run across some Hubley's during my searches and realized I might have built a Hubley, not a Monogram.

The two Monogram metal-bodied Classic Cars (Duesenberg Model J Murphy-bodied boattailed disappearing top coupe (that's what Walter Murphy Body Co. of Pasadena CA called it), and their 1931 Packard Model 745 Dual Cowl Phaeton have EXCELLENT cast metal bodywork actually. There's no comparison between these two kits and the arguably rather crude Hubley kits, which themselves were tooled and engineered in the years 1959-about 1964, for production on the same molding machines, in the same Zamak metal as Hubley Toy Company produced their line of toy cap pistols. Monogram did these kits in the same manner as their plastic 1/24 scale offerings (in fact, the Duesenberg boattail uses exactly the same styrene parts for chassis, engine and other details as their other all-plastic Duesenbergs, with only such minor styrene details unique to this one as were unique to the real car).

If there is one inaccuracy to the Monogram Metal Bodied Duesenberg, it is that the tooling for their Duesenbergs is irreversible SJ tooling, meaning the supercharged engine, while the boattail is done from the famous Murphy LWB (153.5") 1929 Murphy car, which was one of a series of 4 boattails Murphy Body Company did, the others being on the shorter 141.5" wheelbase. So, Monogram had to compromise, give this car the screen-sided hood panels, outside exhausts and supercharger of the SJ, but other than that, it's a great kit. The Packard, on the other hand, was done from the tabletop up as a new kit, shares nothing other than tires (perhaps wheels) with the two 1930 Model 734 Speedster series (boattail and phaeton), and again, it's very typical Monogram Classic Car--NICE indeed.

Of course, as with any cast metal model (that series of Monogram metal bodied kits included the Packard, the Duesenberg, a '48 Jaguar XK-120, '48 MGTC, and '53 Corvette), there is some prep work to be done, flash is minimal, but the edges of all the metal body parts will need a bit of file and sandpaper work--there is, however, NO "miniscus" cracking in the surfaces, just a bit of sanding with 400-grit, clean, prime with self-etch primer, and paint.

Hope this helps!

Art

[Art Anderson]

Joe, the proportions are different than what we are used to seeing on American cars... even the big American cruisers of the '30s like Duesenbergs and such didn't have the extremely long look that the mid '30s Mercedes had. In fact, Mercedes deliberately emphasized the long look by extending the front end of the car a good foot or more beyond the radiator grille... long meant "powerful" back then, and those cars were the "muscle cars" of their day. Maybe tastes have changed, but most people agree that the mid '30s Mercedes 500 and 540s were among the most beautiful cars ever made.

One thing to remember, and this goes for nearly all cars produced through at least the middle 1930's, is that with luxury cars, except for Cadillac, where the V8 reigned supreme from 1916 on, the key to power, and the smoothness of the engine in the days before flexible engine-mount setups became common (starting with the 1932 Chrysler line, with "Floating Power") was the inline multicylinder engine, either inline 6 or inline 8. Granted, most inline engines of the day used but one main bearing for each two crank throws, some had a main between each cylinder (Packard, for example, whose straight 8's had NINE main bearings), and when the water pump, crankshaft pulley and fan were added, most straight 8's were at minimum, five feet long. In addition, I-beam front axles, which EVERY carmaker used in one form or another until Cadillac and Mercedes adopted true independent front suspension systems in 1933, precluded mounting the engine over the front crossmember, particularly the rather tall inline engines of the day (a Duesenberg DOHC 420cid straight 8 Model J engine is approximately 40 inches tall from oilpan to cam covers) which all meant that the engine simply had to be mounted aft of the front chassis crossmember.

Also, long wheelbases meant smoother riding, in the days before independent suspension, and in order to get a low seating position for a sports type car, that meant moving the driver's seat farther back, with lower seat cushions, making the driver's legs stretch out more flat, thus requiring a longer distance between seat and firewall. A look at any Duesenberg Model J, for example, will show almost 2' of cowling, plus at least 3' of hood, then a radiator and shell nearly 8" deep, and that's just to get to the front frame crossmember. Add to that the rail frame with the rails extended forward at least a foot and a half from the crossmember, for mounting the front ends of the parallel leaf springs, and you should get the idea. I use the Model J, simply because it's perhaps the Classic Car I know and revere the most, but the Model J was designed in 1927-28, to fairly conventional patterns, meaning that other Classics (indeed just about any other car of that time) had similar characteristics. This all lead to a "conventional wisdom" that "long hood, short deck" proportions meant beauty, a seemingly perfect set of proportions, not really forgotten even decades later--look at any of the Pony Cars of the mid-late 60's and beyond, they had similar proportions, abeit not the exaggerated-looking lengths though.

Art

[Junkman]

Where are the molds of both Bandai's 1/16 '37 Packards V12??? Totally vanished since the mid 80s.

...(Collecting dust in China's FUMAN warehouse? ) Surely two of the most beautiful 1/16 plastic "Classic" car kits ever made.

No, the molds are with Bandai in Shizuoka City, together with all their other car kit molds except the three that were leased to Fuman. I have seen them there with my very eyes. Unfortunately, the Company Directors of Bandai don't consider reissuing the car kits. The Robot business is too much a runaway success.

[Aaronw]

Thanks, I won't write off the metal bodies then.

Too bad the '37 Packard is 1/16, I'm not really interested in adding yet another scale to my building.

[Terry Jessee]

If you're interested, I did a story for Car Modeler's 2002 annual called "The Veteran Motorcar." It includes a pretty comprehensive listing of kits (done by Kirk Bell), and discussion of some pretty unusual antique and classic car kits.

Terry

[Terry Jessee]

This, by the way, is probably one of the oldest 1/24 car kits of one of the oldest examples of automobile. This is Mod-Ac's model of the 1877 Selden Patent Wagon (patented in 1977, but not actually built until about 1911). The Mod-Ac model dates back to about 1946. This one appears to be factory-built.

And here's another sort-of oldie but goodie. This is the Minichamps 1/24 1885 Benz Patent Motor Wagen. It's kind of a promo.

Terry

[Kodiak Island Modeler]

One of these days I'm going to get a Duesenberg to build a wrecker from.

[charlie8575]

Hmmm, I may start keeping an eye open for those Monogram metal kits. I always did like boattail roadsters.

Great, and informative post.

Charlie Larkin

[Aaronw]

This, by the way, is probably one of the oldest 1/24 car kits of one of the oldest examples of automobile. This is Mod-Ac's model of the 1877 Selden Patent Wagon (patented in 1977, but not actually built until about 1911). The Mod-Ac model dates back to about 1946. This one appears to be factory-built.

And here's another sort-of oldie but goodie. This is the Minichamps 1/24 1885 Benz Patent Motor Wagen. It's kind of a promo.

Terry

I was out of town when you posted these, so I never saw them. Very neat the 3 wheeler in particular.