Feeling nostalgic for a few 60s Good Vibrations? I decided to make a retro kit from my model stash. It’s a re-release of a 1964 Hawk Classics “Silly Surfer.” He’s titled “Hodad Makin’ the Scene with a Six Pack.” For you non-surfers – myself included- “hodad” is a pejorative term for a guy who pretends to be a surfer. He dresses like one, hangs out at the beach, and generally puts on a front, but is really just a wanna-be poser. He silently screams, “Come on, I’m tryin’ really hard, man!” This would be surfer dude comes complete with a six pack of drinks (you can choose what to make them,) a few empties laying around, a clam, a pelican, and a few other characters to round out the scene.
As I already said, it’s a kit that was first released in 1964 (that’s even before I was first released!) It came into being as a part of the “Wierd-Ohs”, “Nutty Mads” and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s creations. His exaggerated expressions and borderline grotesque features make him fit right in with those other wacky caricatures. The molds are original, so the fit of the pieces is a little loosey goosey, and the gaps are really obvious. The white plastic is also pretty low quality, and very brittle. I did some work at cleaning up the gaps, filling with sprue goo (left over plastic sprues, dissolved in model glue to a goopy putty-like consistency.) I even resorted to some Green Stuff for the worst offenders. In the end, I decided to just lean into the vintage vibe, and not worry too much about perfection. Some seams still show, but (in my entirely biased opinion,) that doesn’t really detract from the charm of this guy.
I did up the 6 pack carrier and cans with some photo-shopped Hamms beer labels. Might as well go full retro, and use a vintage (now extinct) brand. (Other contenders included Schlitz, Olympia, and Falstaff.) I’ve seen some completed versions of this kit with the stogie painted white to look like a marijuana joint, but chose to stick to the box art for that particular feature.
I decided not to attempt a flowery shirt – went instead with a pale sea foam green. I thought it looked relaxed with his red, fading to pink shorts. His sandals have rubber soles and a green strap. I gave a little medium brown wash on his teeth – he doesn’t look like the bright white type, with that Havana knock-off he’s chomping on (He’s a wanna-be. His smoke probably should be, too!)
I really like this kit. It’s a cool break from the precision-focused real world military models, and the science fiction / fantasy figures that consume the majority of my hobby space.
As I’ve stated in other entries, I love the retro vibe – especially this era. It was already a little past its heyday when I was a kid, but I fondly remember the style on older cousins’ shelves and hand-me-down toys. I got it at a flea market table while on vacation (it was such a good deal, I picked up all 9 different Hawk kits they had!) Even without a bargain table bonanza, they can readily be found on Ebay for under $20. This damn hobby needs to be sustainable, right?
So slather on some Coppertone SPF 1 and grab your Wayfarers. Hang with the cool kids down at the beach. Dude.
-Toph
