Silhouette was an award-winning show car built by Bill Cushenbery in 1962. It debuted at the 1963 Oakland Roadster Show. The car was originally powered by a Buick Nailhead V8 that was later fitted with Hilborn fuel injection. By the time the car appeared in Ford's Custom Car Caravan, the Buick engine had been swapped out for a 427 cu in (7.0 L) Ford FE engine. The model came out in the '60's doesn't give exact dates but 4 different box tops the 2006 that you have is a rebox of the last '60's kit. I have the 2001 reboxing of it. The 1987 Prestige rebox of it shows the true colors it was originally painted in ( candy black/red-above the beltline, gold-below the beltline, silver-indent where exhaust is.) It was stolen and in 2013 it was reported that the bubble top and some mechanical parts had been found, but the engine and the rest of the body remained missing. There was also a Hotwheels car of it back in the day.
Thanks for the bit of history. I enjoy learning. Which was a better power-plant? The Buick Nailhead V8 later fitted with Hilborn fuel injection, or Ford’s 427 CID (7.0 L) FE engine? Is the latter also a V8?
There are so many 60s outrageous show rods that became model kits back in the day. The actual car was still on the show circuit when the original kit was released, and both predate the Hot Wheels.
Bil Cushenberry built several unusual show cars. Things like the Phone Booth. Had that kit back in '68. Contemporary to Beatnik Bandit. And Starbird's Predicta. Darrell Starbird built several bubble top show cars. I've got a Predicta kit to build.
It's Bill Cushenbery's Silhouette show car which he debuted at the 1963 Oakland Roadster Show. It was also in a couple of movies, most notably the late Roger Corman's 1965 teen flick "Beach Ball" which starred the late Ed "Kookie" Byrnes of 77 Sunset Strip fame.
Since I am from that time period and built the kit back in the day, I don't think it's weird. I remember Bill Cushenberry and I don't think he's weird. The car being a kit and can be built three ways is just a memory of the 3 in 1's of the day-------not weird. I DO sometimes think you're weird but shucks, that's what keeps me watching your vids! You never know what weird ideas you are going to come up with. I reckon you figure I'm weird too as I still like to watch Tom Terrific and his Mighty Wonder Dog Manfred. Like it or not, welcome to the club Matt.
David R Lentz, USA This Silhouette concept car is appreciably cooler than I initially had expected! In my car models, I generally prefer factory stock, showroom new, original parts and paint scheme colour (I still would highlight recesses, panel lines, etc., with subtle washes), so I usually disdain the really strange (I occasionally make an exception; for example, I would make dusty, muddy, faded, worn, etc., a 1920 Ford Model T pickup truck in a 1930s setting). The tooling looks more up-to-date than what one usually find in molds from 1964. Buy several of this kit to build all three options. Use all the alternate parts from the first kit in your build of the others.
I built this kit back when I was around 12 years old. Loved it. Im almost 72 now so it was quite a while ago. Sure brings back memories. I think the kit I had could only be built one way as the original car. It did come with the trailer. Great memories. Thanks!
I Love those old "futuristic looking" show cars from 60s, they were way cool for sure!!! Man, you were making me super nervous slashing open all the bags with that hobby knife, lol, don't cut yourself. 😂
Thanks for saying that. His "weird" comments p*ssed me off too. And for someone who has a model car channel he should have at least a passing knowledge of early custom show cars. Betcha he never heard of Big Daddy Ed Roth either !
I see that someone in the comments has provided a good history of the car, so I will not reiterate. I built this kit in the 66's. I'm sure it was a glue bomb!! I recently built it again. The frt fender and rear deck chrome bars presented the biggest opportunity for me. I added details like wiring, etc., and even made poseable steering. I enjoyed the build.
I remember having a toy of it as a young kid. But like you not really into the full custom stuff. Those and lead sleds just wasn't a thing in the 60s in middle tennessee.
I have 4 of these two original and twoe re release. I built one into a fantasy hotwheels car in a lime green with black accents colors i put a top fuel dragater engine in it from a revelle topefuel kit with parachute and huge topfuel alicks on rear with topfuel skinnies ob the front i put a huge fast and furious tokyo drift style inspired wing on the rear made some jet engine booster for it on the rear ots really cool i built one box stock and one box stoco dragater. This is a awsome kit that is over looked i love bubble glass so much fun. And that first body you pulled out when you said yoy can make something wild out of that i did i made a futuristic hoover craft with wings off of a snap tite top gun maverick jet used the wings and tail pieces and jet engine rings to make it look like a hey powered hoover craft that can hover across other planets surfaces and then can fly away to other planets if wanted as well with a fantasy scratch built looking generator motor system that you turn on to hoover and jnflate the bags. Its a really cool scifi fiction space craft i built and won a model show with it the category it won was fantasy, futuristic,scifi soace craft and vehicles. It was a category made for scratch built non existent vehicles that you would see in futuristic type scifi movies and comic books. Its such a awsome kit with really cool stuff to kit bash and make really cool stuff. Im currently building one of the original ones i have into a slot car for my 1)24-1/32 scale slot car track that i use to build really cool slot cars and race them around i get to combine two hobbies into one slot cars and model car building cause i can make super scale realistic models of street cars and racecars come to life and race them around and they also make great static models in the glass display cabinets thats all glass with led lights that wraps around the whole perimeter of my hobby room with the slot car track being main attraction in there thats four lanes can be ran as digital or analog just by switching out a few pieces anf the track is a true scale 1 mile oval with a huge road course integrated into the infield and can also be ran as a roval took me a really long time to design the track to be used for three different types of racing indy oval, nascar and vintage oval car style racing then nascar,f1indy , street car road course and roval racing. Its so much fun. There is a guy here on youtube that shows how to make simple cheap chassis to build slot cars that your not gonna use for serious slot car racing but just to bring the models to life and race around for fun out of tounge depressors and a few pieces of aluminum you get from lowes costs me 10 dollars to build every slot car thats the electronics and chassis materials. I also host club racing every other sat night and thats when i bring out my serious purpose built brass chassis lexan and hard body slots.
Not really my forte either, but… I think it would be a super fun build. To me it screams for a large metal flake paint job! Like some of the nail polishes available. 🤔 Peace and love.
i wouldn't normally go for a kit like that, but seeing it out of the box, it looks really cool. Some kits you want not because of the subject matter, but because they look like an interesting build. Thanks!
She is definitely an oddball but still very cool!!... I am planning on building 2 George Barris Custom kits next week -( The Ala Karte Model A Custom Pickup and The Model T Panel Custom Dune Buggy)...
This was one of the original Sweet 16 Hot Wheels from 1968.
Silhouette was an award-winning show car built by Bill Cushenbery in 1962. It debuted at the 1963 Oakland Roadster Show. The car was originally powered by a Buick Nailhead V8 that was later fitted with Hilborn fuel injection. By the time the car appeared in Ford's Custom Car Caravan, the Buick engine had been swapped out for a 427 cu in (7.0 L) Ford FE engine. The model came out in the '60's doesn't give exact dates but 4 different box tops the 2006 that you have is a rebox of the last '60's kit. I have the 2001 reboxing of it. The 1987 Prestige rebox of it shows the true colors it was originally painted in ( candy black/red-above the beltline, gold-below the beltline, silver-indent where exhaust is.) It was stolen and in 2013 it was reported that the bubble top and some mechanical parts had been found, but the engine and the rest of the body remained missing. There was also a Hotwheels car of it back in the day.
Thanks for the bit of history. I enjoy learning.
Which was a better power-plant? The Buick Nailhead V8 later fitted with Hilborn fuel injection, or Ford’s 427 CID (7.0 L) FE engine? Is the latter also a V8?
My very first Hot Wheels car was a Silhouette. A lime green color.
There are so many 60s outrageous show rods that became model kits back in the day. The actual car was still on the show circuit when the original kit was released, and both predate the Hot Wheels.
All I can say is, BUILD IT!
I remember building that kid as a kid and I'm 66 right now so that should give you an idea how old it is and it is an actual car
Bil Cushenberry built several unusual show cars. Things like the Phone Booth. Had that kit back in '68. Contemporary to Beatnik Bandit. And Starbird's Predicta. Darrell Starbird built several bubble top show cars. I've got a Predicta kit to build.
That house is the LAX Restaurant.
It's Bill Cushenbery's Silhouette show car which he debuted at the 1963 Oakland Roadster Show. It was also in a couple of movies, most notably the late Roger Corman's 1965 teen flick "Beach Ball" which starred the late Ed "Kookie" Byrnes of 77 Sunset Strip fame.
There was a Hot Wheels of this car. I had a blue one
If sounds like you are about to revisit Rat Fink.
It's a real car. Look it up on line. Cool car 🤟🤟🙏
Bill Cushenberry built this in 1961.
Memphis Dan LeLoLai
Interesting kit Matt!!! I barely remember this kit from the sixties. Enjoy your weekend
The canopy reminds me of Monogram's "Orange Hauler" kit, though it was based on a T-bucket body.
Matt Hemi Wasn't A Wedge there is a 426 wedge (Non-Hemi Head) Engine During 64 & 65 production
I think AMT kits really suck, WAY to much FLASH. One good thing is there all molded in white.
Since I am from that time period and built the kit back in the day, I don't think it's weird. I remember Bill Cushenberry and I don't think he's weird. The car being a kit and can be built three ways is just a memory of the 3 in 1's of the day-------not weird. I DO sometimes think you're weird but shucks, that's what keeps me watching your vids! You never know what weird ideas you are going to come up with. I reckon you figure I'm weird too as I still like to watch Tom Terrific and his Mighty Wonder Dog Manfred. Like it or not, welcome to the club Matt.
The building on the box art is very similar to the building in front of LAX La Angeles airport. I believe it's a restaurant.
Los Angeles
When all else fails ,read the instructions.
Chucho Agrelot
I have the Hot Wheels version also.
You could make a Jetson's spaceship out of the trailer, lol.
I had like 3 or 4 hotwheels of that one, but I've never seen the kit. I wonder what came 1st? Crazy kit and cool at the same time.
i remember a hot wheels car like this so not so weird for me :-)
I still have my Hot Wheels Silhouette
See ya tomorrow at Simpsonville
Cheers
Terry
I seem to recall a car very similar to this in the Elvis movie It Happened At The World's Fair
I saw that car in the Oakland roadster show in 63. I’m 70. 😊
That space age building looks like the control tower for L A X airport
That’s an awesome old kit. Scalemates show initial release as 196x. I remember when it came out and think it was 63-64.
It was even weird when it was a hot wheels. I think it was released either the first or second year of hot wheels.
I had a lime green hotwheels when I was younger. That is a cool car. I never knew they made a plastic model of it . Thanks for sharing.
looks like this will be a fun build.. thx 4 sharing... vinny
I know hot wheels did this car.😊
you are an American and you never heard of the Silhouette???? wow
Cool kit thanks for sharing 🙂
Very neat kit. I have never seen this one until now. It should be a fun kit to build. Thanks for sharing.
That could be a fun kitbash with a modern V8 and wheels, etc.
David R Lentz, USA
This Silhouette concept car is appreciably cooler than I initially had expected! In my car models, I generally prefer factory stock, showroom new, original parts and paint scheme colour (I still would highlight recesses, panel lines, etc., with subtle washes), so I usually disdain the really strange (I occasionally make an exception; for example, I would make dusty, muddy, faded, worn, etc., a 1920 Ford Model T pickup truck in a 1930s setting). The tooling looks more up-to-date than what one usually find in molds from 1964.
Buy several of this kit to build all three options. Use all the alternate parts from the first kit in your build of the others.
👍🏻👍🏻
Looks like something from a science fiction movie from the 1960s - would certainly be something totally different to build and put on your shelf.
👍🏻👍🏻
I built this kit back when I was around 12 years old. Loved it. Im almost 72 now so it was quite a while ago. Sure brings back memories. I think the kit I had could only be built one way as the original car. It did come with the trailer. Great memories. Thanks!
I Love those old "futuristic looking" show cars from 60s, they were way cool for sure!!! Man, you were making me super nervous slashing open all the bags with that hobby knife, lol, don't cut yourself. 😂
Lol!! I need to be more careful for sure!!
Thanks for saying that. His "weird" comments p*ssed me off too. And for someone who has a model car channel he should have at least a passing knowledge of early custom show cars. Betcha he never heard of Big Daddy Ed Roth either !
Yep.
Hot wheels made one
Nice 😅.....brings back memories 😁
That is a pretty cool kit!
Thats is so different its cool!
Cool vintage kit 👍🏿
Late 60s, early 70s, AMT made a lot of these type kits (custom show cars) which were popular show cars of builders of the era.
This kit definitely stands out and is unique looking. Love the retro futuristic box art as well Matt.😊
This was a very good video. Isn't my kind of kit ,but it was a very interested kit. Is great to see what in the box. Keep up with your good work 😊😊😊
I see that someone in the comments has provided a good history of the car, so I will not reiterate. I built this kit in the 66's. I'm sure it was a glue bomb!! I recently built it again. The frt fender and rear deck chrome bars presented the biggest opportunity for me. I added details like wiring, etc., and even made poseable steering. I enjoyed the build.
I remember having a toy of it as a young kid. But like you not really into the full custom stuff. Those and lead sleds just wasn't a thing in the 60s in middle tennessee.
I have 4 of these two original and twoe re release. I built one into a fantasy hotwheels car in a lime green with black accents colors i put a top fuel dragater engine in it from a revelle topefuel kit with parachute and huge topfuel alicks on rear with topfuel skinnies ob the front i put a huge fast and furious tokyo drift style inspired wing on the rear made some jet engine booster for it on the rear ots really cool i built one box stock and one box stoco dragater. This is a awsome kit that is over looked i love bubble glass so much fun. And that first body you pulled out when you said yoy can make something wild out of that i did i made a futuristic hoover craft with wings off of a snap tite top gun maverick jet used the wings and tail pieces and jet engine rings to make it look like a hey powered hoover craft that can hover across other planets surfaces and then can fly away to other planets if wanted as well with a fantasy scratch built looking generator motor system that you turn on to hoover and jnflate the bags. Its a really cool scifi fiction space craft i built and won a model show with it the category it won was fantasy, futuristic,scifi soace craft and vehicles. It was a category made for scratch built non existent vehicles that you would see in futuristic type scifi movies and comic books. Its such a awsome kit with really cool stuff to kit bash and make really cool stuff. Im currently building one of the original ones i have into a slot car for my 1)24-1/32 scale slot car track that i use to build really cool slot cars and race them around i get to combine two hobbies into one slot cars and model car building cause i can make super scale realistic models of street cars and racecars come to life and race them around and they also make great static models in the glass display cabinets thats all glass with led lights that wraps around the whole perimeter of my hobby room with the slot car track being main attraction in there thats four lanes can be ran as digital or analog just by switching out a few pieces anf the track is a true scale 1 mile oval with a huge road course integrated into the infield and can also be ran as a roval took me a really long time to design the track to be used for three different types of racing indy oval, nascar and vintage oval car style racing then nascar,f1indy , street car road course and roval racing. Its so much fun. There is a guy here on youtube that shows how to make simple cheap chassis to build slot cars that your not gonna use for serious slot car racing but just to bring the models to life and race around for fun out of tounge depressors and a few pieces of aluminum you get from lowes costs me 10 dollars to build every slot car thats the electronics and chassis materials. I also host club racing every other sat night and thats when i bring out my serious purpose built brass chassis lexan and hard body slots.
Srill have my Hot Wheels of this car!! Pretty wild little design!
Not really my forte either, but… I think it would be a super fun build. To me it screams for a large metal flake paint job! Like some of the nail polishes available. 🤔 Peace and love.
Never had this kit but from what I hear from others it will try your patience to the max.
i wouldn't normally go for a kit like that, but seeing it out of the box, it looks really cool. Some kits you want not because of the subject matter, but because they look like an interesting build. Thanks!
Well looks like you have a good challenge ahead of you
Cool kit. I know someone mentioned it but this also was one of the original hotwheels.
BF Goodrich Radial T/A Snow Tires
You could do some really cool things with that kit.
What a super cool model kit.
I think I'm going to try to find one
She is definitely an oddball but still very cool!!... I am planning on building 2 George Barris Custom kits next week -( The Ala Karte Model A Custom Pickup and The Model T Panel Custom Dune Buggy)...
The Ala Karte has a 50s Chrysler Hemi in it and The Model T Panel Dune Buggy has a Corvair Air Cooled engine in it...
Build it Matthew, 👍
The Jetsons house/apartment
Actual structure at LA airport.