1:43 Black Diecast Autos

You made me go look!  Displayed I have three Fords, 1923 Ertl sedan, 1932 Eligor

pickup, and a 1935 Rextoy wagon, all in black, plus a 1937 Studebaker hearse picking

up a coffin at a staion.  (I hate black on real cars....one I would be interested in

owning is only available in black, so am surprised there are that many out on my layout, but I try to model the real world)

Black vehicles look real classy. The down side to owning one was that I had to wash it constantly to keep it nice looking vs say silver which seems to hide dirt a little better in my opinion. On O scale it isn't a problem as we can just blow off the dust.

 

Real nice car fleet Spence!

Very nice Spence.  I've collected red pick-up trucks and convertibles for some reason. Maybe it's our personalities.

 

• Black. Black cars denote an aggressive personality or someone who’s an outsider or rebel. This sexy shade represents authority and power. You also appreciate elegance, style and timeless classics. But you may also have a darker side; black is often associated with villains and mystery.
  

I think the next thing you should add on the layout is a funeral parlor

"Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black". - Henry Ford 1922

Hi Spence • Henry Ford, at the start of production you could only purchase the Model T in one color, "Black"

Black is a hot color for cars.

 

Especially in 100 degree southern sunshine!!!

 

Blue seems to be the dominant car color on my layout. I have one black car on the layout, but it seems to be having some trouble.....

Other than UPS, did you moonlight in another industry that uses black vehicles? 

From 1908 to 1913 brass era Model Ts were available in many colors Ford change to "Any color as long as it's black" in 1914 In 1926 and 1927 Ford once again offered a choice of colors to boost sales. By then the Model T was becoming an obsolete design.

Incidentally the Model T was the first Ford with left hand drive. Because of Ford's huge production numbers they likely set that standard for the rest of the industry

 

1909 Brass Model T Ford

Black cars have great color coordination with your steam locomotive fleet.

Nothing like a black car! Scale or real!

 

 

Richard E. has already jumped on that "black T" myth...which sent me to respond as

soon as I saw it....however, wasn't the Model T first introduced in 1908, with Models

R,S, N, and the large K six cylinder with the same crude transmission (which killed its sales), preceding it? A few brass cars, such as the Buick Bug used that planetary transmission, but the car was out of date a decade or more before Edsel finally got his dad to design a replacement, the 1928 Model A.  I never had any respect for T's, gotten from my grandfather, but one winter! I saw a Model T club driving around

the far and remote distances in Death Valley, so they are more trustworthy and cool better than I imagined.

You're correct about the Model T being introduced in 1908. Henry Ford did not want to build the Model K, but he didn't control the company at that time and the major stockholders wanted to enter the high priced market. They forced him to build an upmarket car

Black is not a good color for a car here in Arizona; in the summer the interior of a black car left out in the sun could get a good 20-30 degrees hotter than a white car. That's why both of my current cars are white. I like black cars, but having spent most of my life in the desert or the tropics, I haven't owned many of them. I did have a black Opel Calibra during my two years in Helsinki. Needless to say excessive heat was not a big issue in Finland. Loved the Calibra - it was fast enough with a dohc, 16-valve 2-liter, and with all-wheel drive and studded tires it cruised right through snow and ice. Also had a black '64 Vette for a while in Phoenix in the 70's. I had a carport so it wasn't too bad on the summer, but I sold it to get a VW bus so I could haul a load of rock climbers and gear. 

 

I can't find a picture of my Calibra, but here's a 1/43 model of one. It was listed by Car and Driver as one of the "Ten Best Cars You Can't Buy in the USA."

 

Ben; In a recent post I mentioned that I was thinking about putting a funeral parlor on the layout. I guess great minds think a like.

It seems that I only have a few black vehicles (other than every locomotive that the NYC owned, pretty much) in my collection; and it's the Chairman's personal conveyance. Here he is, with his black tie and fedora taking his T-Bird for a spin:



Also in there is a white topped '55 Chevy, a Texaco service truck, and don't forget the Black & White sitting in front of a notorious purveyor of fine treats.


Just in case you were wondering:


Thanks,
Mario

MIB (men in black)

Great thread, makes me wish for our local glaciers to hurry up and melt, so I can get my own black beauty back...

Nice, Spence.  

 

Now you need some of those black helicopters.  

2015 Lincoln Continental??  Nice retro styling but the hood is too short .

Or a meeting of "The Family".....

 

Here' my favorite in 1:43 scale by Hotwheels.

 

 

I claim rebel!

 

Or maybe vanity. Nothing mirrors out like black.

 

 

 

That's enough close for me!

 

George Barris always visits Detroit for the Detroit Autorama, often hangs with my pals.

One cool guy still building out of love for it, still with the best sense of humor out of anyone you could meet. The man is cooler than his designs if you can buy that! 

"Bat Smart"

 

Hey, I almost missed that quick video Spence. Your voice sounds very much like what I had imagined. I may have heard it before and don't remember, and I know its silly, but I think its very cool when "images" developed from written words reflects reality. 

It even looks like it has suicide doors in the rear. Is that right, or are the door handles in that position to give it the look?

A SMART Batmobile???? LOL

Does it have atomic batteries and a turbine engine like the "real" Batmobile??

I just know that Maaco told me it would cost about $3,000 to repaint a new car that

only came in black to an acceptable color, and that was prohibitive.   And I would have wanted a better, restoration shop quality, job on a new car.  Did I mention on here that I have distant relatives who own a chain of funeral homes in the south, and they only use SILVER professional cars?

I think black cars look sharp too, but I seem to have a weakness for red ones on the layout.  I have vowed now though, no more red.  And no more convertibles!

When you can start a thread about black cars and get this many responses it tells me a couple things.  We have way too much free time on our hands and we spend way too much time on the forum.  I'm not complaining, just making an observation.  And yes I am as or more guilty than anyone.

 

Art

 

My black street toy.

All it needs is a little contrasting color to look classy.  Has anyone done a 1:43 Cord L29?  I'd buy a few.

 

 

Bruce

brwebster

Solido did a 1/43 '29 L29 Cord Roadster and a '30 sedan.

 

I also photoshopped the Continental with a longer hood. I think it looks much better.

 

I've looked at the photos/drawings of what the 2016 Continental will look like if, and when . . .  It would be a big car, but, I could see myself getting one.  It will just depend.  

 

Gotta have the suicide doors though.  No use getting one without.  

Ok. Off topic, but there was a guy selling his black suicide door Conti when I was in college for $5500.

I kick myself looking at these pictures.

 

Spence  Here are some pics of some good names for one

 

 

 

And a little humor

 

Ben; LOL