SURF’S UP A Look at Surfing’s Influence on Model Kits by Robert Fletcher

Surf’s Up
C’mon everyone! Big Kahuna says grab your board and load up the woody. Let’s take a surfari down to the beach where we’ll check out surfing’s influence on model kits and their box art. And we’re not talking about channel surfing or surfing the net. Wet and wild is the name of the game.

Fun in the Sun
At the beginning of the sixties teenage exuberance (with more teens than ever before – the baby boomers), hot rods (an American icon of fun and freedom), weirdo type monsters (repulsive to the parents) and surfing (which seemed to embody the western dream) were all destined to come crashing together on California’s beaches. With the power of a tidal wave, surfing hit the west coast hard and quick. All of the sudden “beach” movies such as Beach Party, Bikini Beach, and Beach Blanket Bingo; Songs like the Beach Boys’ Surfing Safari and Surfin’ USA, Jan and Dean’s Surf City, and their respective album covers; television, magazines such as Surfing Yearbook and Surftoons and more were all unstoppable in saturating our culture with the surf craze. Like many trends or fads, surfing got so big everything got engulfed along with it including the teen staples, such as hot rods and monsters. It was this wild decade – approximately 1960 to 1969 - which encompassed the “Golden Age of Surfing.”

Jumping on the Sandwagon
Catching the curl at the peak of this national obsession, like many others, were the model companies. This was also during their golden age. Revell in Venice, California was lucky enough to be right where the action was and was the first to include a surfboard in a model kit – their ‘56 Ford Pickup in 1962. Although the box did not have a surf-related theme, nevertheless it was a beginning. The model companies needed to keep up with the latest trends from California which was a top priority to ensure sales. Just because the rest of them were not on the left coast was no reason to be left out of the fun. AMT had an important West Coast contact already on payroll whose input they relied on heavily, George Barris. Monogram and others kept their finger on the pulse of what was happening by following the magazines of the time such as Rod & Custom and Life. In 1964 just as quick as a wipeout many beautiful surf-inspired models and box art appeared. Both monsters and hot rods by Hawk, Revell, Monogram, MPC and Aurora were the first to catch the big one for a ride that is still going today.

Cowabunga
Tom Medley’s cartoon character Stroker McGurk was a pure hot rodder from the start, but he was also a surfer. Very early on, that funny hot rodder’s buddy combined surfing with his love for hopping up anything that moves and appeared in the July 1948 issue of Hot Rod magazine riding a Ford flathead-powered surfboard. What a way to go! An updated version of this exact cartoon was made into one of the first surf-related models sixteen years later by MPC. This time around the surfboard had a Chrysler hemi! Stroker McGurk, the Hot Rodder’s Buddy and his Surf/Rod was the first of an eventual three total kits featuring him. The others were the Tall T Phone Booth and Ghost of America Bonneville racer.

The Surfer’s Idol
It was in 1963 on Windansea Beach in La Jolla, California, that a statue was erected as a tribute to the nation’s surfers. The statue was of Hot Curl, the brainchild of two surfers/artists, Mike Dormer and Lee Teacher. Hot Curl was a character they had created as the mad mascot of surfers. This pot-bellied, droopy-drawered, spindled-shanked, long-haired surfer eventually gained international recognition. You can even see his likeness on sweatshirts and walls in some of the “beach” movies. MPC came out with their model of him in 1964 followed shortly by his brother Hot Shot with his pet Hot Dog and Curl’s girlfriend, Curl’s Gurl. Both of these kits had extra differently-styled heads to customize your model with. A few years later Hot Curl showed up in much smaller 1/25 scale for MPC’s Wild Ones kit of a ’29 pick-up.

Last one in is a Gremmie
Going hand in hand with hot rods were weirdo-style monsters which already had been scaring up a scene for a few years courtesy the likes of Roth, Mouse and others. An early example was even seen on Leave it to Beaver in a 1962 episode where the Beaver and his buddies all buy some great monster sweatshirts. So given the coolness factor of monsters it was only natural for them to catch the surfing bug too. Revell had Big Daddy Roth’s creation Surf Fink. Hawk had a set of five Silly Surfers, sort of an extension of their highly popular weird-oh figure kits. These were: Hot Dogger Hangin’ Ten, Woodie on a Surfari, Beach Bunny Catchin’ Rays, Hodad Makin’ the Scene and Hot Dogger with Beach Bunny Riding Tandem. Monogram came out with Stanley Mouse’s character Fred Flypogger as Flip Out! The Beachcomber. One of a series of three Flypogger kits the other two were Super Fuzz and Speed Shift. One last surf/monster style kit came from AMT as the Wackie Wooodie. It did not include a monster but was a perfect ride for any of your other weirdos.

Wooden It Be Nice
Old cheap station wagons with their bodies of wood were the choice of surfers to transport their buddies and boards to the beach. These woodies became synonymous with surfing. Just about the ultimate of all woodies was the Surf Woody show car. One of the interesting things about it is that we can follow along from the original sketch to the building of the car to the finished product with everything being chronicled in magazines. The original Tom Daniels design appeared in February 1964 Rod & Custom. George Barris saw that and decided to build the real deal. His progress can be followed in Rod & Custom August and September 1964. The completed car and a cover shot followed in November 1964. It was then shipped to AMT in Troy, Michigan, where the Woody experienced something for which it never was intended: Snow on the ground. After all the measurements were taken for the model-making process, it started a publicity tour. One of the first places it went was Waikiki where a photo shoot resulted in the cover of Hot Rod magazine, April 1965, and also the picture for the AMT model kit. A few other woodies to be mentioned with some fantastic box art are the Aurora 1930 Ford Woody in 1/32 scale called Woodin Wagon, Monogram’s 1930 Woody Wagon, and Revell's 1931 Woody or Tudor Sedan.

Shoot the Curl
Even if you lived nowhere near the ocean, a surf scene would capture all the excitement of youthful ideals at a glance. The different combinations of the pounding surf, unloading and waxing the boards, riding the waves, the action of parties and dancing, cars and sunshine all contributed to the sense of movement and romance of freedom. Some of the most beautiful model box art ever contains most of this imagery, such as: Revell’s Surfite and Tiki Hut by Big Daddy Roth, AMT’s ’65 Chevelle Surf Wagon, JoHan’s Heavenly Hearse, “a wild surf party machine,” Lindberg’s Deuce Pickup, “Da Sloop.” And don’t forget the two great 1/8-scale figure kits by Pyro, Surf’s Up and The Curler. Luckily, the model companies took advantage of a good thing and tapped in to this wealth of images resulting in some outstanding surf scenes on their box art.

An Endless Summer
The fad proportions that surfing reached in the ‘60s rose to a never-before-seen popularity that has had a permanent effect on our history. Woodies will forever be associated with surfing. Surfing jargon has become a part of our language. And surf scenes still evoke the same feelings. There is no denying the strong visual appeal that surfing’s influence has brought us.

Surf Art, in my definition, basically has to have at least two of these three items on the cover: Beach, water, and surfboards. Most, but not all, of the models listed comply with my definition, but they were still influenced in some way by surfing.

A note regarding slides and photos: As noted in the story, except for Revell, all of the model companies were outside of California. During my interviews with various factory insiders, they all stated their only exposure or view of the West Coast was through magazines, movies, and other media. So it is very interesting how so many kits from different companies had such similar artwork. For example, compare Monogram’s Woody Wagon to Aurora’s Woodin’ Wagon; Hot Curl to Flip Out; Hot Dogger to Surf Fink.

© 2000 Robert Fletcher