Scale Rodding

Show Rods – Are They The Real Thing?

- Alan Barton

I am quite an avid collector of all things hot rod and that also includes show rods. I do draw the line at show rods made from bathtubs, pool tables or poker machines (they’ve all been done!), but if it has a recognizable vintage aspect to it then I want to add it to my collection.

The Vending Machine kit was produced around 50 years ago by MPC and was built in real life by Steve Tansy, at the peak of interest in themed show rods. As such, it hovers right on my borderline of what I would call a hot rod. Your opinions may differ.

I never owned this kit back in the day, nor have I ever actually seen one in the flesh until this was re-issued last year. Round 2, the people who now re-issue all those old AMT and MPC kits have a deal going with Coca Cola right now and so I guess this was a natural choice for them. Just on that topic, if you like building dioramas, the Coke decals that are being released in all these Coca Cola themed hot rod kits are fantastic and would look great in a scale servo, diner or old barn.

Once I opened the box, I was intrigued. There are some great parts, some pretty average parts and some positively odd parts but hey, it was the seventies, right?

The body comprises of one main assembly with a small floor board and a roof section. You need to be careful attaching the roof to avoid a messy seam. Once assembled, it is a little tricky to support for painting but you will see my solution to that issue later.