Rat Fink models by Revell from the 1960's
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ส.ค. 2024
- Rat Fink was the brainchild of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth back in the1950's. Ed was best known for wild custom cars, hot rods, and chopper bikes. But later Ed became better known for "Rat Fink", a cartoon character of a huge rat that lived in a junkyard. The proto "anti Mickey Mouse".
Ed had for years had also been a sign painter and graphics artist who painted graphics and lettering on cars. Trying hard not to digress or get boring, it's important to know that the nose art of the US WW II bombers had become infused into American culture. As had the basic white tee shirts worn by US Navy sailors under their standard uniforms. Young men would peel off their outer shirts to cool off and the image of these men in nothing more than their standard-issue underwear became the classic look of the "Rebel Without a Cause" made famous by Marlin Brando and James Dean. The plain white tee with no other overshirt. Well, it was destined that these two icons of the post-war era would come together, and soon the basic tee had crazy graphics printed on it. And so, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, king of crazy car graphics soon became Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, king of the crazy graphic tee shirt. And the most popular shirt was always, the Rat Fink tee.
In the 1960's Ed entered into deals with Revell models to make 1:24 scale models of his best-known custom cars and hot rods. Interestingly Revell skipped his well know chopper bikes as they felt them inappropriate for children. But Rat Fink, not so much, so they also started making models of Rat Fink and any other Roth "monster". And this was a home run for Revell.
The basic Rat Fink model consists of just nine parts. It builds in a few minutes. and then becomes a painting project. ANYWAY, let's take a look at one of the many releases of "Rat Fink".
www.ratfink.com/
I grew up with Rat Fink, Roth, and all his caricatures fun stuff
I was such a fan. Never ever thought I’d know him. Wow.
Never boring or never bored. Keep it up you two.
Thanks
More fascinating, VALUABLE information! You two are sooooooo perfectly matched! What fun!!
Thanks again!!!!!
Cool .takes be back to good times .I saw one at Michaels craft store . going to pick it up today . thank you . Have a great week.
Thank you. Love the story about Ed Roth.
Thanks. Many of those. This was a fun one!
Those are cool rat finks 👍😎
Way to cool! And far out!
I was never into rat fink, (I am 73), but I love that you were and have such great stories and models! Cool!
Thanks
Thanks
When I was a kid I was so broke I could not pay attention it's amazing what survives from your childhood hello from Detroit Michigan great video video thanks for sharing
Hi again. Boy did we love these. And generally could afford them. I got about a buck a week allowance. About $10 in today’s money. So damn good. Candy bar was five cents. Or a dime for snickers.
Im going to build my Mr Gasser. You have inspirsed me.
Oh my God, Rat Fink! I haven't thought about him in decades! I lost it when this video popped up!
I never built one myself, it was a little too "low brow" for my tastes. I built models of WW1 aircraft but I DID have the occasional foray into Aurora monster model kits, my favorite being Dracula.
Good times.
Time warp to the max. On my high school classroom notebooks, inside-outside-back and front RAT FINK. One drawing I had was RAT FINK in a hot rod with a big steering wheel and a long shifter with a shift knob that was a #8 que ball. Thanks for the thoughts and memories. I think I have RAT FINK in my high school junk. 17 then and 75 now.
My neighbor in Ojai was a Mad Magazine artist. Don’t remember his name… anyway his job was to doodle in the margins of the magazine. They called it marginal art. No rat finks sadly.
Brother Rat Fink and Boss Fink w/Tweedy Pie are probably the 2 hardest kits to find. Several Slot car kits were also created!!
I bought the Brother for $2 at a Doll Show near Chicago. Seller had a dozen of them. Wishing I would have bought more.
Boy it has been awhile since I heard Mahogany row. I wish that I had gotten to know Ed Roth. My kinda guy!
Little known he was a Hells Angel. Sort of. Rode with them. As rowdy as they came. But then after only about 15 years of that he became a Mormon. ????? Well it fits actually.
Great as usual ......
All that I can say is.......
" Same Rat Fink Time ,
Same Rat Fink Channel "
Thanks!
Rat Fink brings back some memories, I had a friend I went to school with and he was excelent in drawing Rat Fink doing all kinds of diffrent stunts. I used to get into so much trouble laughing out loud in class because of those drawings. But just classic memories thank you both.
So I had no idea you went to school with Karyn!!? And of course Carl who taught her everything she knew about Rat Fink by the time she in the fourth grade! I’m afraid some of my English books also ended up with the odd Rat Fink doodle them till the margins OK and the inside and outside covers. Index pages and I could go on.
Nice to see. I did a rat fink eliminator myself last year on our channel, Fun!. Liked and subscribed
I have one and i need to get another one with the cardboard display
They are around. Between 20 and about 50. Well an original 60’s is more. But the white box goes for about 20.
I can completely believe the Ed Roth top hat story.
A cop, who I didn't know personally but my friend did, was suspended for quite some time, as it turns out without foundation. He was painting his house when he was told to come in IMMEDIATELY to a meeting. So he did, in a painty tee shirt, shorts and flip flops! The meeting went ahead, but he was told to be dressed smartly for when he was to be officially reinstated. He hired a morning suit and grey top hat for the occasion!
He was duly reinstated, but, yes, he was mad as a hatter! ;-)
Well Ed had ratatude. I mean rat a tude. Now he was sleepy compared to Von Duch. But a pair of bikers from LA. And well….
ah what a great show ! strange character that little rat. Did Disney ever have any thoughts on any similarity with their own mouse ? or maybe they are cousins ....LOL
Ed said Rat Fink was the anti Mickey Mouse. I doubt Disney cared. Best to just ignore it.
Thanks for this video, you made my day.
Thanks for watching!
Good stuff Bud!! I too have an original up in the attic in a box of my childhood treasures, I think he's missing his tail though!!☻
Easy fix. But in the box is a great memory.
During the slot car craze in the 1960's, Revell made "Rat Fink in Lotus-Ford" and "Mr. Gasser in BRM" versions of their Lotus-Ford and BRM F1 racers.
Remember them well!
Not into That but love the way the 2 of you interact both of you are a kick
Fun times. Good memories.
I never built one of those but I made a lot of cars and planes.
Fun!
Watching the vid and reading all the comments is a treat.
Thx
🐭🐀🐌🐞🦂🍸🍸
Ha Ha, a blast from the past: Grand Central, was that the one on 21st South and 700 East? Awesome video and Ed Roth stories.
Well no. 33rd south and 3300 east. But before that always the 2100 south store. But we were about 1/2 mile from the other one. It’s the REI now.
@@ToyManTelevision Gotcha, I forgot about that one.
I remember the "Rat fink racer" car models(as I called them)
Are you aware that, back in the early sixties, Alan Sherman, on one of his comedy albums, took the song "Ragmop" and turned it into "RATFINK!"?
Oh, F. I say F-I, F-I-N, F-I-N-K
FINK,!
F-I-N-K. FINK, FINK, FINK, FINK!
Oh, R!
I say R-A. R-A-T, R-A-T-T
RAT!
R-A-T-T-F-I-N-K
RATFINK! Doodley doo de doo doo
RATFINK! Doodley doo de doo doo
RATFINK! Doodley doo de doo doo
RATFINK! Doodely doo de doo doo
R-A-T-T-F-I-N-K, RATFINK!
FINK FINK!
That was the song
Very very cool! We’ve been trying to remember the lyrics to that thank you!
@@ToyManTelevision LOL
Not exactly Guillbert and Sullivan!
Might look good with a couple of small LED's to replace the eyes
Hum….
My very first exposure to Ed Roth was an article in "Hot Rod" magazine about (sorry I can't remember what he called it) (the first model car you showed), the real car,
Shortly after that I bought and built the model kit. Then came "Rat Fink". Fink is defined as an unpleasant or contemplable person. So, a "rat fink" is the worst. I kind of remember that the term fink came out of the beatnik era.
One of my first, and very few drawings was of "Rat Fink" driving a "hemi" powered VW, similar to the models of RF driving a car. The art teacher didn't like it. My drawing was too technically correct, if a Hemi VW could ever be technically correct, with a huge rat driving.
What a neat trip down memory lane. I'm waiting, with baited breath, for the next installment. ;-)
Ed said Steve Allen came up with the name. He was watching the tonight show and Steve was doing his read the newspaper as a gangster bit. And he said “that guy is a rat! He ratted on his friends! So he’s worse! He’s a Fink!! A Rat Fink!
I so love Rat Fink! Ed Roth was an amazing Man. Do you have any of the Rat Fink trading card they use to make. I know it devalues if when you build him, But I would love to see you bout paint and build this guy. Ed was defiant that is why I loved him.. Just like I love Kenny Howard AKA Von Dutch. They did things just to piss people off. God blessed them both. people like them are why I am defiant and rebellious to this day.
Von Duch was an ass hole. And proud to be an ass hole. Extremely racist. And proud of that too. Well it was an era. And these guys were bikers. And roders. And well… kar kulture. Anyway Ed said he put his millions up his nose. And lost everything. All his cars. Everything. And then the Mormon missionaries showed up. Only one of the old crew is still alive. McGoo. And yes, same ratatude. But he puts it away when he’s at the Roth home. Because respect.
Was a bit less complicated for me , at age 12 ( 1968 ) , they had Rat Fink in miniature , via a small plastic figure . They sold them for a quarter in coin operated vending machines in the grocery store . Loved that character a great deal and played with it for several years until it was lost .
Oh the fink merchandise. Decals. Key chains. Miniatures. Costumes. Perhaps a tooth brush. Well probably not. But you get it.
Have you ever met Ed Roth before when he was alive.? I have and loved the meeting. He was air brushing T-shits before Rat Fnk came along. He was very fast at doing them and I think they were 15 dollars with multi color ones at $25 That was alot of bucks in the day and my mom said no. We talked to him for quite awhile. He was very nice.
Yup. Quite a guy. I wanted a tee and he said come to an event when I’m doing that. Otherwise nope. Anyway fun but forceful guy. But the fact I got to meet him, even know he a bit, and he married Ilean who we know really well and karyn grew up with… anyway as a kid in love with everything Roth I never ever ever thought that would happen.
I grew up with ratfink. I had two ratfink rings. I cut off the ears off a yellow one and called him molefink.
Ouch.
the original rat fink kit had the inside of his mouth molded open.
Sad thing is if this kit gets re-released, it will cost $30 with no improvements what so ever, but maybe an improved decal sheet.
Yup. 9 parts. Anyway fun kit. I think the ones on Amazon are $20.
ok, let's see the finished kit!! LOL i don't think she's giving it back!!
Will do
yup
testors
I put one on the dash of my car and it got hot and started leaning forward.
Ouch.
And I assume that y’all have heard about Amtrak in Missouri
Damn. Yes. That truck. Not recognizable.
You Finks you... have you ever seen mini ratfinks like 2" or so?
Yup. Some story there too. Need to do a show on them.
I built all those models and many more. Then they made the glue and paint non-toxic and took most of the fun away. But then you get older and graduate to the real thing.
I prefer building the models. But we need to have a few just to drive!
Pease build rat fink
Yup!!
why did they have to use and ugly rat and not a cute bunny rabbit or something
Oh heck. He’s cute. In his own way..