Tom Hering’s Weird-Ohs Daddy
Here’s my second attempt to make a Weird-Ohs kit look more like Bill Campbell’s box art. This is the 2006 reissue from the new Hawk Model Company (J. Lloyd International). Most of the modifications to the kit were detailed in two CultTVman “On the Bench” articles, #285 and #288. Modifications not covered in those articles include
- hair made from plastic brush bristles – glued on one at a time,
- a side feather for Daddy’s fedora, also made from plastic brush bristles,
- a larger steering wheel made from a part found in my spares box,
- a base made from 1/8” ABS sheet,
- asphalt made with a black diorama material produced for military modelers,
- three new signs cut from sheet styrene to replace the kit’s signs,
- two clear stands cut from an acrylic photo frame, allowing Daddy to be shown airborne, just as he is in Campbell’s box art.
Both acrylic and oil enamel paints were custom mixed to match the box art. Most of the model was hand brushed. The car body was sprayed with Testor’s rattle cans: #1237 Gray Primer followed by #1841 Electric Pink (metallic) followed by #1605 Candy Apple Red (transparent). Many parts of the model were triple-coated with Future floor polish, while other parts were finished with Testor’s DullCote.
Bill Campbell has always drawn political and social commentary cartoons, and he continues to draw them to this day, as can be seen on his Facebook page. Daddy is the only Weird-Ohs kit that makes a social statement – about the 1960s rat race, alcohol-soaked suburban lifestyle, and deaths from drunk driving. Daddy’s coffin-shaped car, the martini hood ornament, and the destinations on the road sign are all pretty sharp satire!
Tom Hering
