Weird-Ohs

My brother, an award-winning model builder from the Detroit area, was recently on an AM radio program discussing spooky models, in particular Weird-Ohs, a highly successful series of plastic models released by the Hawk Model Company in 1963.  With Proustian clarity, I suddenly remembered my ninth birthday.  My buddies had asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I’d told them all the same thing: Weird-Ohs.  As a result, a received three Diggers, three Daddys , two Davys, and a Freddie Flameout.  I don’t remember how I sorted that out, but I do remember that I was soon bent over one Weird-Oh model after another with my Testors paint and model glue for weeks at a time.

The Hawk Model Company, founded in 1926, produced a staggering variety of car, plane, and boat model kits during the 50’s and 60’s.  But by 1963, William “Bill” Campbell, a free-lance artist who illustrated many box-covers for Hawk, felt that the car model market was saturated.  He dreamed up some ‘monsters in hot rods’ along the lines of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s popular T-shirt designs.  He made up some prototypes for his monster models using wire armature, balsa, marble dust, sculpting putty, and miscellaneous kit parts.  As Campbell recalled, “I brought my little monsters into Hawk one day. Dick and Phil said, ‘They are interesting Bill. We’ll think about it.’ I had been around operations long enough to know that this is the friendly kiss of death. So I left my models with them and went back to illustrating the next box art. Somehow these models ended up on the conference room table where Hawk would host distributors. On that day they were courting a group through the workings of the plant. Upon arrival in the conference room, they saw my little monsters lined up on the table and they went nuts over them. That is how the Weird-Ohs were given the nod for production.”

Following a successful debut at the Sherman Hotel Hobby Convention, Hawk released the original three Weird-Ohs ‘car-icky-tures’: Daddy, a commuter; Digger, a dragster; and Davy, a biker.  The response was phenomenal and a run-away fad began.  Even working overtime, the company could not produce enough kits to keep the store shelves stocked.  Additional Weird-Ohs followed, all with Bill Campbell’s distinctive box-art.  Weird-Ohs sport wild, blood-shot eyes, shark-like teeth, dangling tongues, and a broad range of putrid skin colors.  The cars have over-sided slick tires, flaming exhaust, and bizarre accessories (like Endsville Eddie's anchor and Drag Hag's baby bottle shifter).  Each kit has additional props (like Daddy's martini and Leaky Boat Louie's swimming area float) to add to the fun. And here they are…

Daddy - The Way Out suburbanite commuter

Digger - The Way Out Dragster

Davey - The Way Out Cyclist

Drag Hag - The Bonny, Blastin' Babe, with her baby in the dragster. 

Endsville Eddie – The Short Stop Stupe

Huey’s Hut Rod – The Way Outhouse Bomb

Freddie Flameout - The Way Out Jet Jockey

Leaky Boat Louie – the Vulger Boatman, a speedboat capitan

Wade A. Minut - The Wild Starter, a race official

Sling Rave Curvette - The Way Out Spectator, and sexy race fan. 

Killer McBash - The Dazzling Decimator, a football player

Francis the Foul - The Way Out Dribbler, a basketball player

As the fad expanded, Hawk’s John Andrew promoted Weird-Ohs with a wide array of Weird-Ohs related products including games, Halloween masks, bubble gum trading cards, a record entitled ‘The Sounds of the Weird-Ohs’, and special ‘Weird-Ohs’ paints.  Campbell created two more series of model kits called Silly Surfers and Frantics to mine the popularity of the Weird-Ohs. In the late 90’s, a computer animated series based on Weird-Ohs was seen on Fox Family but it was thankfully short-lived.

Today, original unbuilt Weird-Ohs go for $250 on Ebay!  Fortunately, the Weird-Ohs model kits were re-issued in 1993 by then-owner Testors and are currently owned by J. Lloyd International, the massive toy conglomerate.  The re-issues mean a whole new generation of model builders can enjoy the fun of Daddy, Digger, Davey and the rest of the old gang.  They may be pushing 50 but they still look … weird.

A. Daddy, B. Digger, C. Davey, D. Drag Hag, E. Freddie Flameout, F. Leaky Boat Louie G. Huey's Hut Rod,
H. Killer McBash, I. Endsville Eddie, J. Francis the Foul, K. Sling Rave Curvette, L. Wade A. Minut

Question of the Day: What are the names of the two Weird-Ohs that Campbell left on the Hawk conference table but were never produced?