All balsa wood construction scratch built 1959 Cadillac coupe from November of 1975.

 Here is a model that I have not paid any attention to for years and years. To tell you the truth, I kind of forgot that I still have this thing. It is kept in a really dark and secluded spot in my hobby room. It dates all the way back to the same year I got my 5 speed Schwinn Corvette bicycle, only in the fall of that year, right before I turned 18.

Series sixty-two 1959 Cadillac coupe is a scratch built model that I made in November of 1975 entirely out of hand shaped balsa wood, except of course for the window "glass". I was a senior in high school when I made this. I did it because at the time, there were no model kits of this car available, and I wanted one. Plus the fact by that time, 1959 Cadillacs were considered to be just old junk, and not worth anything by the general public. So I drew up plans for it, based on some pictures of a 1959 Cadillac that was sitting in front of the Goodwill building on N. Plum Street in Lancaster, and a coupe picture I found in a magazine. When I was done with it, I took it in to my high school, and showed it to my industrial arts teacher, and he really thought it was neat. It is approximately 1/22 scale, about 10 + inches long.

Jim.

Jo-Han's 1965 Cadillac scale model, A miniature masterpiece of an automotive masterpiece!

I have always admired the styling of the 1965 Cadillac ever since it was introduced in October of 1964 as a seven year old boy. Back then, I asked my dad if he could buy me a toy model of the thing, but money was tight, and he either could not, or he would not. I knew that they made already built up promotional models in 1/25 scale plastic, and that is what I wanted more than anything, but to no avail at that time. I was too young to know how to build model kits at that time, so that was out of the question, too. My dad did get me a Japanese tin litho friction toy of a gold 1966 de Ville the following year, but the detail was not there, and I did not like it. I ended up trashing the toy.

I was finally able to get a Jo-Han annual model kit with my allowance money in the fall of 1966 of the redesigned again 1967 Cadillac Coupe de Ville at my local hobby shop, "Smitty's Hobbies" in the Manor Shopping Center in Lancaster, PA. That shop is long gone, now. I still really wanted the 1965, though.

As I grew into a teenager in the early to mid 1970's I started building and collecting model cars and kits of cars, thereof in earnest. Model kit companies started to re issue models and kits from the 1950's and 1960's of all different kinds of cars. Then Jo-Han Models got into the act in around 1974 with their re-issues of some of their stuff from the early '60's through the early 1970's in their "USA Oldies series line, which included their re-issue of their 1964 Cadillac coupe and convertible kits. A year off, but close.

At the time, I was going 1959 Cadillac crazy, and I had my driver's licence, and I had a chance to buy a REAL 1959 Caddy, but my dad would not let me, so I wrote to Jo-Han Models and asked them if they would re-issue their plastic model they did of their '59 Cadillac. Their response was that they sent me a comprehensive survey, asking me, as a collector, what models that I would be interested in seeing re-issued. That survey list had EVERY car model that they ever  made, going all the way back to 1955, and all the way up to the then new for 1977 model year cars. I was very excited to say the least.

That survey list included the 1965 Cadillac, and of course, I checked that one off, along with about half the cars they had listed there, including a 1956 De Soto Fireflite 4 door sedan, as well as others. The result of that survey was the formation of Ex-el Products, a division of Jo-Han Models. That company proceeded to re-issue their old dealer promotional models in a choice of different colors, in the amount of four different cars at a time in very limited quantities. I was  hoping they would re issue the 1965 Cadillac, but that never happened. So I put it out of my mind....

 That is, until 1983. That was the year I was able to fulfill my dream of buying, owning and driving a 1965 Cadillac. It was a very weather worn Hampton Blue Metallic Calais 2 door hardtop that I bought for $500.00, fixed it up, and had repainted in the original color. I had already started going to car shows and swap meets, looking for nice parts for this car. I  thought, why not look for original promotional models and/or kits of '65 Cadillacs, there. In the spring of 1984, at the big Carlisle meet, I found my first one. an old scratched up blue plastic one with a friction motor, but it was intact. I paid $35.00 for it.

 In the fall of '84, I went to the big Hershey AACA car show, and swap meet. There, I found at a vendor called "Grandpa's Attic", an off white, mint, still boxed 1965 Cadillac Coupe de Ville in absolutely perfect shape. That is the very model you see in these pictures here, right now. When I got it home, I tore it completely apart, spray painted it light metallic blue, and super detail painted the body and interior.

I had my real 1965 Cadillac for almost 25  years, and I enjoyed owning it very much,(We used it in our wedding in 1989) and once I was able to afford to buy my REAL dream car, a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air sport sedan, I sold the Cadillac to make room for the Chevy.

I still own this 1/25 scale Jo-Han model that I did up of my car, today, as it is one of my favorite models that I have in my collection.

In my opinion, of all the subsequent models that have been issued of this car by different companies, this Jo-Han model stands out as the most accurate in scale proportions, and the nicest in appearance.

In around 2008, I was finally able to fulfill my childhood dream of finding the original annual 1965 Cadillac model kit issued by Jo-Han models in 1964. It is only missing one stock clear red taillight insert and the custom clear red taillight inserts.But otherwise, it is all there, and in good buildable condition. A not too common kit that I found on eBay . Since these were only issued during the original model year run in 1964-'65, these kits and dealer promo models can command some crazy prices, as they are in high demand, today, where they are found in decent condition.

Jim.

Blue Jada 1965 Cadillac diecast The reason behind the work.

Model is NOT for sale.

These pictures are only meant to show that it is possible to rework, and repaint this model, and the purpose of them thereof, is meant to be informative, and reference purposes, only.
















After seeing a request on my very first post on this blog, I feel I need to revisit the reasons behind why my model subjects are done the way I do things.

First and foremost, my models are not for sale.

Most of my model cars that I have posted, or will post are models of actual cars that I either have, or did have. If it is of another subject, such as my Hotel Brunswick model, I built this model because I remember this building from when I was a little kid, and I watched them tear it down in 1967. Such a beautiful building laid to waste simply because it was old.

Other subjects that I will post about later on such as a wood model of the Parthenon that I did in 1993, posterboard models that I did earlier than that, back to 1971, as well as a menagerie of different scale model subjects will be posted here. I did them all because I liked the originals of the model that it replicates in scale.

The Jada 1965 Cadillac Coupe de Ville was a labor of love, as I owned a Hampton Blue Metallic 1965 Cadillac Calais coupe for 25 years. The Calais coupe looks just like the Coupe deVille, but with narrower windowsill trim on the sides of the car. The interiors are a simpler cloth design, as opposed to the deVille's mostly leather interiors. I got it in August of 1983 for 500 bucks. It was used in our wedding in 1989. it was such a sweet running car that I really loved the design of. But when I got a chace to buy a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air in 2006, I did not have room for the Cadillac anymore, so I sold it. I have two other old cars, now, besides the Chevy, and I still may have to get rid of two more cars. Hopefully, it will not be the Chevy, as this car is the same year as I am, hence the reason that I wanted one of these more than I wanted my '65 Caddie. The main reason I bought the '65 in the first place is I fell in love with the car's design as a seven year old in the fall of 1964, and never fell OUT of love with it.

I also have three Jo-Han models of the car. Two promos of it with one detail painted up like my real car,and one molded in blue, and I also have an original unbuilt 1965 Cadillac Coupe deVille kit.

When Jada came out with this big 1/18 diecast model, I knew that I had to do it up like my old blue '65. It was not the easiest job to do. Taking the trim pieces off was not too easy to get them off without breaking them, either. I had to use a very toxic chemical stripper on the body after the model was completely disassembled of all plastic components, and the doors, hood, and deck lids were also removed for stripping, cleaning, primering, and repainting with "rattlecan" automotive touchup spray paint. This is not an exact match for Hampton Blue Metallic, but it is close. It is a tad darker, though.

Here is a resized copy of that first image, as well as two more pictures of the model that I took later on with my own digital camera. That first image was taken with a borrowed camera in 2009.

What I really do not understand is why Jada did not produce this model in more colors besides just the light yellow replica of the car used in the movie, "Reservoir Dogs" It also is missing key details, such as door handles and lock cylinders, rear window opening mouldings, wheel opening mouldings, and most blatantly, the cowl vent grille in front of the windshield. I added these to my models, both the yellow one, and this one. The interior has a 1964 dashboard, which is completely different in design than the 1965 dash. What Jada could have made into a very impressive model for it's size, is at best very mediocre, because of it's extreme lack of detail. Fortunately, it is a very easy model for someone like me, who has been building models, and reworking models, and scratch building models for about 45 years, to rework!!

Jim.