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The "Beatnik Bandit" is a first class resin model not a die cast replica.

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was one of the best known and influential artists in America. But his medium wasn't "fine art"...it was hot rods. His wild and crazy designs sped away from the establishment to defin…e a whole generation. Using a new material called "fiber­glass," Roth took a fresh and futuristic approach to hot rod design, making each custom car a kind of rolling sculpture never seen before.

His most famous rod of all, the Beatnik Bandit, was created in 1960 and won him instant acclaim. The hot rod culture was instantly mesmerized by this sculptural creation, the first of its kind to be unveiled.

Built on a ’55 Olds chassis that was shortened to just 85 inches, the car was operated by a single joystick that controlled steering, speed, and shifting — completely engineered by Roth. The bubble top was made from clear sheet plastic that Roth put into a pizza oven and then blew up like a balloon! Its pearl paint was something Ed Roth came up with himself; it was not commercially available at the time. He hauled the Beatnik Bandit to shows in a Cadillac hearse, and that hearse was also where Ed Roth slept.