| Very well detailed large 1/16 kit from 1949. Features two large plan and instructions sheets, a large number of detailed drawings of sub-assemblies,numerous actual photos of the built model, stamped metal hood, plastic wheels, grill, headlamps, spotlight, running lights and other accessories and die-cut wooden main parts. Builds up a rolling chassis just like the actual car. Although all of Hudson's 1/16 kits have excellent detail, this is 'super' detailed thanks to Hudson's engineers having access to the actual car during and after restoration. It was restored at the Hudson Miniatures factory and was on display there at the time! This kit has never been started. The small parts are still in the internally sealed factory bag and all other parts have been inventoried 100% complete with two large sheets of full size plans and instructions. In the 1940s, Hudson had established a name in making 1/16 scale 'Old Timer' models of automobiles. These were excellent kits with wood and metal parts, but a high degree of skill was required to carve and finish the wood parts. In the late 1940s, they added some injection molded plastic parts (usually acetate wheels, grills and lamps) to the series but did not consider a completely plastic kit. When Hudson saw what was happening with the Gowland/Revell Highway Pioneers, he began to design his own 1/32 scale line called 'Lil Old Timers', which hit the stores in 1954. An early paper fold-out catalog shows 18 models including some real gems like the 1910 International Harvester Passenger Car, 1911 Brush Delivery Truck and 1906 Columbia Electric Car just to name a few. The plastic line was bought by Revell a short time after it's release, and Revell did reissue some (but not all) of the kits. The wooden 1/16 scale car line was discontinued in the early 1950s. To this day, these fine kits are often the only large scale models of these historic vehicles. The 1914 Regal Coupe is perhaps the rarest of all cars ever built in America. It was underslung, which was rare for the time, and the body was all wood and similar to old horse-drawn carriages of colonial times. The design was sometimes called a Colonial Coupe. The large car seated only two people and could hit 40 mph with it's 25 hp engine. |
