Scotty Gosson once again wows me with apparently written just for me! This has to be my favorite of Gosson's books! Growing up in semi-rural Tennessee during the 60's and 70's, the availability of the show rod kit was the closest I would get to the hot rods I would see on TV. This book is a well detailed and superbly photographed history of the show kit, from that very first Revell "Club de Mer" from 1956 to modern reissues of the classics designed by Ed Roth and George Barris. This book really delivers on a subject formerly buried in the online automotive kit building communities. I wish I had every kit I ever built that's in this book, plus there are many here that I have never seen.

You get the back-stories on the cars (some existed before the kit and others were built from the kit design). Also included are notes about the kits themselves (like what areas fit poorly and which bits need extra work). I enjoyed reading the Q&A of the production designers and how they were inspired. Finally the section on collectibility will open some eyes at the prices some original unbuilt kits demand. In all, a very thoroughly researched and assembled book for the gearhead geek in all of us. ( )

Guys! Do any of these names bring back a memory: Big Red Baron, the Outlaw, Paddy Wagon or Gypsy Wagon? Which came first – the model or the car? If you don’t know I’m talking model kits, you really do need to buy this book!

Scotty Gosson has done an amazing job of not only bringing you pictures but also the stories behind some of America’s very best models. Originally about $2.00, I can tell you that they aren’t anywhere that price now; but well worth the time to not only build them but to teach the next generation how to as well. I could give you a story that eye/hand coordination is good for kids and painting practice is always good but, heck we all know the building is the thing!

You will learn that Canned Heat in 1973 is the 1962 Outlaw revisited. The collectability of kits (opened and unopened), interviews with icons of Aurora, Revell, Monogram and more. Roth, Bogosian, John Mueller stories and an interview. Scratch-built models – NOT simple but definitely cool.

So, modelers, what are you waiting for? Go get this book, remember all the kits you built and tell those stories to the kiddos. It’ll be good for ya! ( )

I was lucky enough to receive an early review copy of this book through Library Thing. The photos are awesome in here, and I really enjoyed reading about the different model kits. I liked that this book was very colorful and the writing wasn't dry at all. I actually had a lot of fun looking through this book. ( )

Amazing photos! Very detailed and I found it very helpful. Hot rods are very sexy cars. ( )

This book was probably too good to let my friends see. I loaned it out and it took more than a month to get it back. It went around hand to hand with each guy pointing out models he had back in the day when they were brand new.
We all loved the book. The illustrations were drool inducing and the details added to our memories of when we were kids gluing up some of these kits. A winner and a sheer delight. ( )