Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Beatnik Bandit was introduced to the automotive public as the May ’61 cover of Car Craft magazine. The second in his series of show cars, it became popular as it toured the custom car show circuit in the early 60’s. In the next years, “Big Daddy” Ed Roth continued to improve the breed of custom show cars with his creations. The “Fiberglass Wonder” is now permanently housed in Reno, Nevada in the National Auto Museum.

This kit was originally released in the 60’s and has been re-released multiple times. In this incarnation, there are 128 parts, some of which are not called for in the instructions. The kit includes a detailed chassis and suspension, with a blown V-8 engine. The bubble top is hinged and the front wheels are positional. Molded in solid white and clear plastic, there are also numerous chrome-plated parts and soft black tires. The decals are for the authentic Ed Roth designed paint scheme.

Brief History:

The Junker Ju-87 was developed as a dive bomber for a design competition in the United States in the early 1930’s. Ernst Udet was a leading WWI ace who was part of the new Luftwaffe and had a strong influence on the aircraft performance requirements that the companies had to meet. In 1936 three German aircraft companies competed for a dive bomber. The Ju-87 was most impressive, executing an almost vertical dive and pulling out of it with ease. The competitor He-118 had separated from its propeller and gear box, which was the deciding factor to award production for ten Ju-87A-0 aircraft. The B-2 version used the Jumo 211Da engine with a pressurized coolant radiator, larger propeller and rear pointing exhaust stacks to increase speed. A small propeller mounted on one or both strut boots created a sound during the Stuka’s dive that came to be a psychological effect on people below within hearing range.

In the Box: