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Topic starter
21/12/2025 12:34 pm
I always loved the 1966 Chrysler Imperial Crown Coupe. Just 10 years ago, there was a beautiful black coupe sitting in a gas station that I eyed every day, but just wasn't in a position to pursue it at the time. Well the best I could do was buy this Dean Jeffries "Black Beauty" hardtop sedan from the the Green Hornet TV series of that year. It seems like AUTOart bit off more than they could chew with this model. The Black beauty was built with Jeffries given "money is no object" license. All the majors were bidding to have their luxury car used in the series and Chrysler won because they just dropped off a free Imperial sedan at the studio. Unlike the low budget Batmobile conversion, Jeffries added a thousand pounds of gizmos and gadgets that made the Batmobile look like basic transportation. There were so many panels that revealed various weaponry. The single headlamps flipped to reveal quad "infragreen" headlights. Being way ahead of its time, Jefferies had the trunk lid panels open to launch a drone equipped with a TV camera (looking suspiciously like a lawn sprinkler). Autoart had to make decisions on how far they wanted to go to reveal all this hidden technology. Well, the first to go was the water-cooled fender mounted twin 50 cal. machine guns. All the rocket pods were modeled open, the sleeping gas nozzle was also modeled as deployed, and the small grill panels between the lamps and grill are closed. The drone is also in position for deployment. They basically couldn't afford all the finger fun possible and keep the pricepoint reasonable. Also modeled as deploy are the brushes used to obscure the car's tire tracks. Yes, there were just too many gadgets and gizmos on the Black Beauty to make functional. Dean Jeffries charged a whopping $50,000 for his work when the stock Imperial was 'just' $5733 new. The model's interior is nicely done and mostly stock and the engine bay with the Imperial's 440 cid is beautifully rendered with just a few doodads added there. Although most of the weaponry shown is well done, I just wish I could have the option to close all the panels just to enjoy the uninterrupted design of the stock car.
21/12/2025 2:17 pm
This weekend, I saw on FB where a modeler modified the AUTOart Black Beauty and made all of the gizmo door panels operable. I should have snapped photos because I have no clue who posted it. However, if I see 'em again, I'll be sure to save 'em and post here.
That said, I absolutely love this model. The Black Beauty AND the Barris Batmobile were high on my model car wish list. When they were produced, acquiring both of them scratched my 1:18 scale itch for these cars. It displays well with my Batmobile, which I also am enthralled with.
21/12/2025 2:29 pm
A great write-up outlining the scale model and the history of the "Green Hornet" gadget-filled transportation vehicle ! When I was a kid, I built a scale plastic model of this year Imperial.
21/12/2025 3:38 pm
Not to mention the power of its V194!
Christopher Moroni and Rich Sufficool reacted
Topic starter
21/12/2025 6:58 pm
@paul-rouffa That "V194" seems to be quite a mystery as to does it have some meaning or not.
Christopher Moroni and Paul Rouffa reacted
02/01/2026 1:11 am
@ Rich Sufficool - I found the modified AUTOart Black Beauty with the operating features.
02/01/2026 7:29 am
@marty-johnson These mods are right up my alley; this sure seems like something I would do! 😉 😉 😉
To be clear: Autoart's GH Imperial has "fixed" gadgets, but this version has "hide-away gadgets," correct?
Q: This is an Autoart prototype or a collector owned but modified (by him ) version?
- The workmanship is very good! 😎 😎 😎
PS
....I'm sorry, but...um.... I'd have to cut that trunk out! 😏 😏 😏
Steve Jacobs and Tony Perrone reacted
02/01/2026 1:01 pm
@chris - I don't believe AUTOart has two versions, and I'm pretty certain this is the only one. The guy did the modifications himself. And yes, this is right up your alley, and there is no way you could tolerate a closed trunk!
I accidentally omitted a photo of the interior of the car. The modeler included a "computer" control in the rear seat.
02/01/2026 1:14 pm
@chris - I tried to post a link but got an error message saying the post isn't available. Weird because I'm looking at it now. At any rate, I just did a screenshot of his text so you can see his description of how he accomplished the modifications.
02/01/2026 1:47 pm
@marty-johnson That is truly AWESOME; he does really nice work! I love it when good models can be made better by a bit of ingenuity & elbow grease! As you may know, I'm hacking out, yet another trunk, on a 1/18 1969 Charger NASACR (posted in the in the Handicrafts section ).....still a long way to go yet.
Topic starter
02/01/2026 1:53 pm
@marty-johnson Sunnuva B**ch!!! I hope AUTOart didn't screw me and some intrepid modeler actually made this. I suppose if Aa retooled the original, it'd probably add at least another C-note to the MSRP.... and I probably would have paid the freight.
02/01/2026 2:23 pm
@chris - Yes, I am aware of your latest project and have been following. It's coming along quite nicely.
Christopher Moroni reacted
02/01/2026 3:13 pm
@marty-johnson Sorry.... sometimes I forget who knows what. 🙄 🙄
Allow me to bore you - and anyone else - further:
Knowing virtually nothing about vintage racing - other than how cool the cars look - I've discovered that this Ertl 1/18 1969 Paul Goldsmith Charger is actually a model of Charger prototype DC-93. With its flush nose and rear window this car was the test bed for the winged-Chargers that followed.
In fact, this particular car was only raced a few times in early 1969 before it crashed and was returned to Dodge who then rebuilt it as a winged car. It has a fascinating history, well known among NASCAR fans.
LSS:
- Needless to say, Ertl did a terrible job replicating the actual DC-93; it's fraught with inaccuracies. So.... I'm trying to learn/correct all I can. 🙄 🙄 😯 😯
The car only raced a few months in 1969 - so there's NOT a lot of info/detail about it.
Then it crashed and was rebuilt as a true winged car.
Which was later re-skinned with a 1971 Charger body and raced until 1973, then abandoned w/the original nose piece close by.
It was then discovered 20 years ago and restored back to its original winged form (after it was Paul Goldsmith's #99 prototype DC-93 )
GOT ALL THAT? NOW YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL !!! 😬 😬 😬