The Diecast Zone · Model Car Club Since 1994
Diecast Collector Forums
Eight forums, every scale, and thirty years of shop talk — new arrivals, restorations, reviews, and the finds you won’t see posted anywhere else, with the full archive back to 2002 restored and searchable. Free to Register.
8Forums
195,000+Topics
1,276,000+Posts
10,000+Members
Notifications
Clear all
Forum 18
8
Posts
2
Users
23
Reactions
45
Views
Topic starter
11/11/2026 10:00 am
For all you young'uns out there, that's a jingle for Phillip Morris' king-size Commander cigarettes. For this 1951 Studebaker, the "Commander" moniker meant that the car had, standard, the 120 HP 232.6 cid OHV V8. Like Ford, this Raymond Loewy design paid tribute to the jet age with its 'bullet-nose' front grill. This particular variant is called the Starlight coupe with its wrap-around rear window. This was a 2 year design that was supplanted by the streamlined Studebaker with a chassis that was virtually unchanged for a decade with dramatic body pane changes over the years. This H-61 model finished in Maui Blue with period Hawaiian license plates is very well done with H-61'a signature opening glove box. Floor and trunk bed mats by Ned Anello.
11/11/2026 10:21 am
Ah yes, a beautiful model and the ONE that started it all for HW61. We were BLOWN away when this was released! 😮 😮 😯
I have blackwalls on a few of mine.... those whites are a bit skinny for 1951. But everything else, including the rotating drivetrain (wheels, driveshaft, fan... ) are VERY nicely done!
Topic starter
11/11/2026 10:50 am
@chris I don't know about the white walls. Each company seemed to have slightly different widths. I found a US Royal tire for 1951 and it looks very similar with the white walls extending to the wheel rim .
This post was modified 2 days ago by Rich Sufficool
Steve Jacobs and Christopher Moroni reacted
Topic starter
11/11/2026 11:21 am
@chris Again, it may just depend on the tire brand. The advertisement may employ a white wall style the ad men felt was most esthetic at the time.
Christopher Moroni reacted
11/11/2026 11:45 am
Topic starter
11/11/2026 3:02 pm
@chris Well, I wasn't about to lose sleep over it. I notice the wheel on that yellow Stude is painted red and not body color. Did you do that? Back in that post war era, at least NJ mandated that all wheels should be body color to prevent theft with prices were still relatively high from war time shortages that peaked with the Korean War.
This post was modified 1 day ago by Rich Sufficool
Steve Jacobs and Christopher Moroni reacted
11/11/2026 3:11 pm
"Well, I wasn't about to lose sleep over it."
Dude! I will lose sleep over it - come on now, how long have we known each other? I DO sweat the small stuff! 🤣 😆 😀
Those red Studebaker rims are ALL HW61; that's how they released the model. As you know, occasionally "accent rims" were optional on some cars back in the day. 🤓 🧐 Their green release also has "accent rims."
Rich Sufficool and Steve Jacobs reacted