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16/07/2020 2:59 pm
More help needed with that supposed Duesenberg by John Day. (pics)
John Seneff, I think, has a possible answer. My unsigned model is NOT a John Day Duesenberg, even though it has some similarities to that one on the directions sheet. But as I considered his suggestion and looked for more information on the web, I think he is right. So what is it?
It seem's to be a one passenger racing car.
It has a rather distinctive radiator cover.
photo no longer available
And maybe I should be more careful about buying incomplete old kits! But it's kind of fun for an old guy to use them as puzzles.
Here's what I have:
photo no longer available
It has no manufacturer's mark, name, number, or any other information except for the John Day directions sheet that sent me on my Duesenberg wild goose chase.
Now I'm tired and going to bed. G'night all.
16/07/2020 3:12 pm
I don't know this race car but your model is different than the car in each of the photos in that it has louvers all over it and the 1:1's in the photos don't so is it the same car or at least it might be a different rendition of it.
16/07/2020 3:18 pm
All I can say is mine is on the right like the real car.
16/07/2020 3:21 pm
Is the model supposed to be this particular race car? your model instructions also say the color of the model should be white with blue chassis and blue wheels, but the original car has a black chassis and red wheels.
You could easily modify the model to replicate the original car David.
16/07/2020 3:23 pm
Harvey, did you post a pic of it yet?
16/07/2020 3:25 pm
I found your pic Harvey.
16/07/2020 3:26 pm
That is not the correct John Day body....
Unfortunately, I had this John Day kit for many years and this does not look at all like the body that was in my kit, let alone the real car that I see at the IMS museum when I go about once every month. I never built my kit and sold it several years ago but I studied it many times. Besides the louvers not being correct the overall shape of your kit does not look like the Jimmy Murphy Duesenberg. Where did you get this? I think you might have been taken. Sorry.
16/07/2020 3:31 pm
The real cars chassis/frame rails are dark blue, navy blue...
The picture of the car in the above post, as it sits in the IMS museum, does not show the "blueness" of the frame very well. It appears black but it is navy blue. I've seen this car hundreds of times in person.
16/07/2020 4:11 pm
I still have the DG Models kit and it's very accurate...
and I will never build it, it's too rare. Instead, I bought a built version from MA Scale. It looks good as well
16/07/2020 5:29 pm
Thanks, John. I was looking at my various shades of blue today, and you've convinced me to go with a dark blue.
16/07/2020 5:31 pm
Many thanks, John. If I were trying for an historical reconstruction, I would worry, but I just have fun with these old kits. I will eventually post my results. As for now, I think I'm going to disregard the John Day directions, build it as seem most apparently correct (including putting the exhaust pipes on the left!), and revising this post in the hope of someone else having an idea. I really appreciate your good information.
16/07/2020 7:54 pm
I haven't been there since last year, but here it is in 2017...
I guess it does look black in my photo...
photo no longer available
16/07/2020 8:54 pm
PICs David, the grille looks like a british E.R.A. racing car of the 1930s...
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The "Romulus" - here are two pics of a built kit (for sale on Ebay Germany, images from there).
Unfortunately the seller does not provide information on the brand of the kit.
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And a 1/24 drawing, also found on the internet.
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Ralf Buyer
Wiesbaden, Germany
17/07/2020 2:47 am
Ralf is correct
It's an ERA (English Racing Automobiles) voiturette from the 1930's.
There is much on the web about these legendary and beloved (in the UK) racing cars, many of which are still actively and enthusiastically vintage raced.
I have this kit, purchased secondhand, already built, and painted black, representing the car Richard Seaman raced. Same as yours--no maker's mark--so I can't help you with that either, David.
SMTS also made a much more detailed model of the ERA in a variety of liveries back in the 1990s. I have a built up of the one in Prince Bira's light blue with yellow chassis rails colors, which is a most attractive combination, representing the national racing colors of Thailand.
I have a second SMTS built up as well, in pale green with dual rear wheels, representing the car in which ERA principal Raymond Mays set many fast times in British hillclimbs.
.
17/07/2020 3:13 am
Many thanks, Ralf & John. Yes, you have both identified it. It is a model in white metal of the E.R.A. Romulus, associated with Prince Bira's racing. I found pictures on Facebook of this exact model, without paint, but with no manufacturer. A less detailed version was made as a Matchbox Yesteryear, with no scale mentioned, as Y14/4. I have seen only pictures of this one. I also see a mention of SMTS making it, but with no details.
Gentlemen, I thank you, and I will continue the search for this model's manufacturer.
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