Thursday, September 2, 2010

But Where's the Varsity Dude?

The reissued 2002-vintage box and cover art for the '58 Thunderbird scale model I had as a child. Something is missing from the original cover art though!


The original 1964 box cover art for the very same Monogram scale model. What a dreamboat, and the car ain't bad either! I don't have this box anymore, but was able to find the image online, and with a little artandcolour cleaning up, it was suitable for publishing... Images clickable as always.

R E M E M B R A N C E — This is the third copy I've owned of the same Monogram scale model kit of the 1958 Thunderbird.

The first time I set eyes on this model I was seven or eight years old. It was 1964-65 and my aunt Hoohoo, who drove a '58 T-bird, the first car I ever fell in love with, and in '64 had just bought a new one, bought the scale model for me on a shopping trip to New Haven. We were shopping for new school  clothes, and a new pencil and lunch box and looseleaf notebooks. Hoohoo always wanted all of my school supplies to match, and to have something artistic on them, and as I positively adored her, I didn't care what she bought me. I knew she would pick out something nice! On trips like that, if I behaved properly, saying Thank You, and Excuse Me, and You're Welcome, at the appropriate times to everyone we came in contact with, and she really meant EVERYONE, I was allowed a 'special' gift that had nothing to do with school. It was ALWAYS a model car for me to build, or a Matchbox car or a Corgi or a Dinky Toy.

This particular day we were in Grant's Department Store, a much larger store than anything we had in Guilford where we lived. There were two floors and the toys were in the basement. Of course I was a good boy, I always was, so after we had gotten my supplies and some shirts, pants and sweaters, we went downstairs so I could pick out a model car. There on the shelf was HER THUNDERBIRD! Her car was Silver Mink, and the car on the box was black, but it was the same year. It was the same car I would sit in the driver's seat and pretend to drive, the same car I would help her wash from top to bottom (I was on the bottom of course, being so young and short, lol) and I had eyes for nothing else on the shelves that day. I remember it was a bit more expensive than the other models. I'm not sure if Monogram was more expensive than AMT or the other model makers, or if it was because it could be built in four different ways, and the box was larger than the normal scale model, too. I really didn't know if I could pick that one out, I was always conscious of not being presumptuous! She said yes, and the gorgeous model kit was mine. I'm sure you could have seen my smile on the Moon that afternoon. Gosh I wish she had lived to a ripe old age so I could treat her as specially as she treated me, but that's another story for another post!

What I didn't know how to articulate at that young age, and something I remember so clearly I could be seven years old right now, was how drawn I was to the box cover art. They had placed the Thunderbird in a college scene, with a Varsity College Boy and his girlfriend standing outside of the car, and another attractive couple inside the car. They reminded me of the older kids I would see on the Patty Duke ShowDobie GillisThe Donna Reed Show, or any number of early sixties TV. I always had crushes on high-school or college boys, even at that young age, although I didn't realize what I was feeling. I liked their 'Letter Sweaters' their chinos, their crewcuts or 'butch' haircuts, their unwavering, smiling good looks. When I hear some TV commentator or political hack talking about gay being a 'choice' or a 'lifestyle' I get mad or laugh, depending on how my day went. I was gay the minute I was born, probably before that, and by the age of seven or eight, though I had no idea what those feelings were, I knew that the Varsity Boy was as intriguing to me as the car he was standing next to. Long story short, I really don't know what happened to that actual scale model. I have a feeling I assembled it poorly, lacking painting and gluing skills, and I also have a feeling the "demon seed" brother probably destroyed it at some point. But I never forgot the model or the box art.

The second time I purchased that model, in the same box, with the same cover art, was in 1981 or so, just after I found out that Hoohoo had been diagnosed with cancer and probably wasn't going to recover. I was 24 years old, and searched all over for the kit so I could recreate her coupe for her. In those pre-Internet days, that involved a lot of driving, but I managed to find one. My modeling skills had improved quite a bit by young adulthood, and I really put everything I could into detailing it for her. I painted the interior black with white pleated inserts like her original, the exterior color was as close as I could get to Silver Mink, and I painted the engine and undercarriage in realistic colors. She loved it, and kept it where she could see it whether she was at home, or in the hospital or eventually, the hospice. A couple of years after she died, her husband, my Uncle Bill (also my father's brother) killed himself, and when we had to clean out the house, I found the T-bird model in many pieces in the back of a drawer. I'm not sure what happened to it, maybe my uncle smashed it in frustration or something. I still have it in a baggie so all the parts won't get lost, but I've never had the heart to put it back together again, and that was 25 years ago.

So in 2002, on a regular "scouting mission" for my now-vast model collection, I found this re-issue of the model at Toys R Us. The actual kit is exactly the same, although it's advertised on the front as a convertible. There is clearly a hardtop option visible on the boxsides, and the original had a separate hardtop too, but the box it came in is totally different. Now it's the same shoebox-shape as 99% of all 1:24 scale models, rather than the oversized box of the original. The box art is generic too, lacking the college kids and the rest of the painted artwork. I haven't put this T-bird together, but I enjoy having my kits in unbuilt condition these days. I have enough dust-collectors to stare at and watch disintegrate from what life throws at them. Now I like my kits to remain fresh and clean in their plastic wrapped boxes, unbuilt, but also perfect and unblemished—much like my memories of Hoohoo, her low and sleek '58 Thunderbird and a certain Letter-Sweatered Varsity Boy.

Here's a link describing the original kit and its box graphics.

17 comments:

  1. Casey, what a totally interesting story! You have such a way with words. Thank you for sharing that one. And I don't blame you for wanting your models to stay pristine in their boxes now!

    When we moved to this house 4 years ago, we unpacked all but about 6 boxes. I didn't find my most special treasures, so they have to be in one of those boxes. I can't really figure out why I've left them packed in the music room for so long. Now I'm unpacking one a week. I did the first one yesterday! No treasures in that one but I did find an antique table scarf which had been completed with some lovely needlework. I don't know who made it but I now consider that a treasure. (I can eliminate all but about 4 people in my calcs to figure out who made it.) Maybe I'll have some stories as I open these unpacked boxes. I know I will when I get to my treasure box. Gee, and you have a treasure HOUSE! :)

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  2. Casey,

    You should really charge admission to your mind.

    You have an extraordinary memory - such a recollection of details.

    Of the three shows you mentioned, I'd have to choose between Patty Duke and Donna Reed. Donna gets the nod because she was so lovely and her home was so nice. Somehow, it even smelled spic and span.

    You probably would have strangled me last year after my brother died. He collected die-cast and plastic models of everything for 35 years. There were hundreds of cars, planes, ships, tanks, trucks, tractors, harvesters, etc. And then there were the train sets. Dozens.

    Every square inch of his apartment was covered with things. He literally had pathways to the kitchen, the bathroom and the living room. In the living room. he had one place to sit in front of the television, which itself, was really just a display stand for more models.

    Half of a spare room was set aside just for radio-controlled cars.

    Had I know you then, I'd have let you take your pick of his collection. My younger brother and I really had no space for his stuff, so we brought the whole lot of it to St. Vincent de Paul's resale store.

    I kept a blue Bugatti that I gave him about twenty years ago.

    Just a another bit in closing - My teacher, Miss Lupo, had a '57 bronze T-Bird. When we went out for recess, I have my snack with her car.

    This could be her car.

    http://www.vintagemotorssarasota.com/Car_pages/Ford/1957%20Ford%20T-Bird%20Copper%20ext%20White%20top/1957%20Ford%20T-Bird%20Copper%20White%20Top.htm

    Wow, that's quite the link. Oops.

    Thanks for you memories.

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  3. Casey, what a lovely way to start the day...I always so enjoy your stories, and the telling thereof! Through your words, we are coming to know "Aunt Hoohoo" and love her too (I for one loved how she loved YOU!) Anyway, I think Marius has the right idea (and one that me SMILE) you should definitely be charging admission to your mind.
    I hope you continue to work on your personal book..I can hardly wait to read your story (do we get first edition signed copies????) :)
    Katie, I look forward to the 'next edition' of storage box opening at your house! Safe travels to see your mom..
    Px, hope you and the rest of the gang don't have a hangover this a.m. (the sugar kind or otherwise!)
    It is cloudy and chilly here today in the middle of America...Thanks for the sunshine from all of you!
    mare

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  4. GOOD MORNING CASEY AND ALL OUR BB'S, I READ YOUR STORY TO GRAMPS AND I REALLY GOT CHOKED UP AND EVEN A TEAR CAME TO MY EYE AGAIN,YOUR AUNT SOUNDS LIKE MY SPECIAL AUNT AND I MUST ADD MY UNCLE.MY AUNT DIDN'T HAVE A MEAN BONE IN HER BODY. SO KIND AND LOVING LIKE YOUR HOOHOO. WE SURE HAVE BEEN BLESS. RIGHT?

    WHEN I WAS SMALL MY AUNT BOUGHT ME A TEDDY BEAR.THE KIND WITH THE MOVEABLE ARMS AND LEGS.SHE WOULDN'T LET ME TAKE THAT BEAR HOME. SHE SAID IT HAD TO STAY AT HER HOUSE TO BE SURE I'D COME BACK TO PLAY. LONG STORY SHORT, SHE FINALLY GAVE ME THAT BEAR NOT TO LONG BEFORE SHE DIED. I KNOW SHE WAS ENTERING HER SENILE DAYS BUT WAS FINALLY READY TO LET ME HAVE THE BEAR.I HAVE IT PUT AWAY AND HOPE THAT ONE DAY MY GRANDKIDS WILL LOVE IT BECAUSE IT WAS MINE.
    I HAVE TO ADD SOMETHING ABOUT MY UNCLE.HE NEVER MET A CHILD THAT HE DIDN'T GIVE THEM A NICKLE OR DIME.WHEN MY YOUNGEST DAUGHTER WAS IN COLLEGE,HE SENT HER 25 CENTS EVERY WEEK AND TOLD HER IT WAS BUBBLE GUM MONEY AND ALWAYS SIGNED THE NOTE BIG EARS.SHE TOLD HIM THAT HE HAD BIG EARS WHEN SHE WAS LITTLE SO IT WAS KINDA LIKE A JOKE BETWEEN THEM I GUESS.THANKS GOD FOR OUR AUNTS AND UNCLES.

    PX, SO GLAD YOU HAD THE PERFECT BDAY.THE REAL THING SOMETIMES AREN'T AS MUCH FUN AS THE MAKE BELIEVE ONES.

    GRANNY

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  5. Sean Austin from the Goonies is her son and his dad is John Astin (Gomez from The Addams Family) but unfortunately Patty Duke lived a miserable life from drugs, alcohol, anorexia and bipolar disorder. Not sure how much Sean loved his mother.

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  6. thanks everyone. this one was a fun trip down memory lane last night. Around 2:30am I almost had a heart attack though. The piece was all written, had been revised a few times, and I was adding the links and art, but i hadn't saved it to the Drafts folder yet. When I went to YouTube to get the Dobie Gillis link, the video caused my mac to freeze up. This happens often enough on my old mac that I KNOW better, but it was late I guess. I walked around the place swearing and doing a couple shots of Tequila to calm my FRAZZLED nerves. There was NO way I could rewrite the entire piece in the way I wanted it to be read. I had really sweated the wording and syntax! When I restarted, I found out the Blogspot automatically saves drafts every so often. OMG you could see THAT smile on the moon too, lol. It all came together in another 1/2 hour and I was able to post it. I think you would have had to see another sunflower this morning if I hadn't been able to get the story back!

    Woody: I've read Patty Duke's biography, and what a life she lead with vicious ups and downs. I think that's probably the case with all of us though. I know it has been the case with me!

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  7. Marius: I've seen an early Bird in that color. It's such a late fifties touch. You can just imagine Tab Hunter or some other young star driving it! And is the blue Bugatti model you mention the one that came out in 1990 or so, the first revived model, the EB110? I can't quite put my finger on it right now, lol, but I have that model too. I always wanted to fashion some rear fender skirts for it. The very first photo of the EB110 had the rear wheels covered, but by the time they introduced it they were gone.

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  8. Oh, and Marius, you've described my apartment to a T, including the TV set used as a shelf for more models. Every horizontal surface in my place hold cars of some sort, as well as a million other "collections" of stuff. I took some photos of the TV a while ago, I'll see if I can find them.

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  9. I see I posted this story at 2am, so my meltdown must have been 1:30 and not 2:30 but as I said, I was frazzled, lol. : )

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  10. Good Morning Casey, as always I enjoy your stories and fond memories. I'd put that model back together again in honor of your Aunt Hoohoo, I bet it would put a smile on her face.

    Are you going through an special hurricane preparation or are you in a no worry zone? I will be checking in to make sure. Of course if you loose power, I will loose my mind with worry.

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  11. Casey,

    I've been thinking about your piece all day and couldn't quite decide what comment to make. Of course, I love the stories about your aunt -- you were very fortunate to have someone who understood where you were coming from at an early age and appeared to be completely fine with it. I too am annoyed by the "Choice" business. I think there's been a lot of scientific evidence recently that the gay card has been played by the time we're born. I knew at three, but of course I didn't realize what it meant for quite a few years after that. Having known for almost 60 years, and looking back on how my life has played out, I can say that had it been a choice it's a choice I would have made. But of course, how would I have known to make that choice? It's complicated but I can honestly say today that, even with all the loss and heartache that I've experienced, I wouldn't have chosen any other way. Does that make sense?

    I'm very glad to have found your blog (thank you Peter DeLorenzo) and to follow your journey. You have a unique take on things with which I can identify a great deal. Thank you!

    Paul, NYC

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  12. Hi Annie,
    So far the huuricane is supposed to miss us by a couple hundred miles, but I'll be listening to the forecasts closely. We could use a lot of rain, but not all at once, and not with very high winds! we lose power at this house at the drop of a hat. The little road is bordered on both sides by old trees and the wires are all crossed up in them, so even breaking limbs cuts our power off. I'm sure it will go off at some point.

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  13. Paul: I totally understand what you're saying. If 'gay' was a choice, I hope I would have made it. I have known the coolest people in the world, and have been place I never would have if I had 'chosen' another path in life. Am I happy about the discrimination, the bullying, the negativity directed towards us? NO! But I truly feel I've known some of the brightest and most interesting and creative individuals around in the past 35 years, and they were all gay, or hung out in gay establishments for one reason or another. many aren't around now, which is sad beyond belief, but I'm so glad to have had them in my life.

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  14. Casey,

    The Bugatti was and oldie. A Type 35 with one of those small straight 8s they used. I think a 2 liter.

    Off topic but I came across a Caddy concept from the 60's. I had to be an Eldorado:

    http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/markin208/1960s-cadillac-concept-cars-7.jpg

    http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/markin208/1960s-cadillac-concept-cars-8.jpg

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  15. Marius: That was a fanciful prototype for a contemporary V16. At one point, Bill MItchell thought he could really cement his place in GM's history by reviving that storied engine architecture. It really would have been something! I assume the board of directors are the one that shot it down, but then again, GM had its ass handed to them by Nader in the mid 60s and with all the new safety and gov't regulations, I think the idea of a V16 just faded away.

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  16. Casey and Marius,

    The idea for the V16 didn't really fade after this one -- I'm sure you remember the "concept" Cadillac 16 of just a couple of years ago -- probably more than a couple at this point. There were high hopes that this might signal a new direction for Cadillac but again it seems to have faded away.

    Paul, NYC

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  17. another era..............

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