Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild

[4t64rd]

This might be off topic... so disregard if you think automotive design is OT for the HAMB.

My dad collected car brochures and magazines from the 50's and they were around when I was old enough to read (early 70's) and saw mentioned the GM Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild design contests. They ran from 1930-1968. They started out as a model building competition where contestants built a replica of a Napoleonic coach that you see every time you open the door of a GM car. Later they added a class for designs of future vehicles.

Here's one from the '57 competition...



I was reminded of Fisher body when I pulled the sill plates off the Corvair I parted out. Just for giggles I googled Craftsman's Guild and came up with a few sites

http://www.automotivechronicles.com/...v/03/index.php

http://www.geocities.com/sponcom26/

http://www.geocities.com/sponcom26/HoughCarWinner.html

http://fisherguild.com/final_tester.htm

Then I went on evilbay and won a how-to guide from the '58 contest. I got it in the mail the other day and thought it would be kinda cool to build a model in the style that would have been competitive back then (like I don't have enough projects).

Just wondering if any HAMBers that were of an age to compete back when they still had the competitions, actually did submit a model?

I know the industrial designers on the HAMB know/knew about the Craftsmans Guild, Just wanted to post this to expose those who didn't.

[Janne]

Thanks, this new to me (I´m studying ID here in Finland).

[weez]

My dad used to get those in the 50's- I dug the construction tips (tailliights
from red tooth brush handles, bezels and trim whitted from small alluminum stock, lath turned wood tires, oven baked plastic bubble tops) They were pretty fascinating to young auto fanatic.

[Stu D Baker]

In either 1960 or 1962, I applied for the rule book and at that time, they sent you a set of rubber tires (whitewall) to match the scale. I remember gluing several pieces of wood together and shaping them into my "dream", however, it wasn't too long after, and I got my drivers license. Never did get the model finished and have no idea where it ended up. Those are some good sites. Thanks. Stu

[JayD]

I love this stuff, I remember reading about what was going on in the styling studios when I was a kid.

Fascinating stuff.

JayD

[safariknut]

How about a Fisher coach complete with tiny U-bolts holding it to the base?Don't know if it's a real Fisher coach or not;I found it in a secondhand shop in downtown Boston about 25 years ago.Really nice details.

[pimpin paint]

Hey,

Great subject, great post.....

Collectable Automobile Magazine did a great feature on the "guild" and
the contests, complete with photos of models, and builders first part of
this year, or last( bad spot in my memory), check it out.

[50Fraud]

I entered the competition two or three times in the early '50s, but I never got my model beyond the clay stage. I later met Bill Moore and Art Russell, who had competed successfully about the time I was trying unsuccessfully.

When I went to Art Center in '59, I discovered that a number of students were entered in the competition, and had the advantage of design training and a really comprehensive shop. I remember thinking that a kid who was not in a design school had a really uphill job to compete successfully with what were essentially semi-pro designers and model makers.

[willys36]

I entered 5 cars from 1963 (age 13) thru 1968 (age 17). Never won anything but it was a marvelous experience. The photos below are of my cars as they are today in chronological order. The blue coupe was the first and has been restored. The 'airplane' one in gray primer is in the process of being restored (it will be finished in its original candy burgandy with white leather interior) and the others are awiting restoration in various states of decay.

[Chad s]

John Jacobis, author of the new book on the Fisher Body Guild has done a few seminars in the past few months on the guild at the Maryland Automotive Modelers association meetings. Here are some pics of a napolionic coach he purchased, that was originaly built in 1931. Remember, this was done from a kit that had basic raw materials, and some cast white metal parts, but i'd say 70% is scratchbuilt.


I posted a lot more pics of the details on my fotkit page here, its amazing to think that a 15 year old kid built this. http://public.fotki.com/Chads/napolionic_coach/

Interesting thing about the guild was that once the model was entered, the design aspects became property of GM. John had a slideshow (many of the pics are in the book, but in B&W) of many entrants cars, and they were often very ahead of their time. Even early 40's models alwready "predicted" quite well what the 50's would bring.

[Tinbender]

Originally Posted by willys36

I entered 5 cars from 1963 (age 13) thru 1968 (age 17). Never won anything but it was a marvelous experience. The photos below are of my cars as they are today in chronological order. The blue coupe was the first and has been restored. The 'airplane' one in gray primer is in the process of being restored (it will be finished in its original candy burgandy with white leather interior) and the others are awiting restoration in various states of decay.
Attachment 185251

Attachment 185252

Those are awsome willys! The only thing I built as a kid were plastic models that we burned or blew up within a week or two

[hillbillydeluxe]

Great post, man. It's funny, though. I work at GM Design Center, and you rarely hear about the history of this competition. I worked with Stewart Reed for 8 years and knew Bill Scott pretty good before he retired. It would be great to have seen those models and people in the same area. What a span of generations and talent!

[DrJ]

Originally Posted by 50Fraud

I entered the competition two or three times in the early '50s, but I never got my model beyond the clay stage. I later met Bill Moore and Art Russell, who had competed successfully about the time I was trying unsuccessfully.

When I went to Art Center in '59, I discovered that a number of students were entered in the competition, and had the advantage of design training and a really comprehensive shop. I remember thinking that a kid who was not in a design school had a really uphill job to compete successfully with what were essentially semi-pro designers and model makers.

I too sent off for the entry packet several years but in the early 60's figuring If I could customize an AMT car I could do this.
The first year I drew profiles of cars.
Sounds simple, and to read the pages posted here you would think the sky and your imagination was the limit but in reality the cars had to be within a certain range of wheelbase, have a minimum ground clearance and maximum length, and had a minimum height.
That height minimum requirement is probably why the several convertibles shown above have such freakishly tall windshields!
Anyway, the next year rolled around and I was still drawing ideas and the packet included photos of the previous years winners and short bios on them and to confirm what 50Fraud said, virtually all the winners and placers were already students at Art Center!
The prizes by the way were partial scholarships to Art Center.
When I saw that years winner, I think it was that red car behind the green one in the pic above, I knew I was way out of my league, The car was painted with automotive paint with an air brush, (whatever that is, I thought), not Pactra model car rattle cans like I had available. And the bumpers were made out of bars of STERLING SILVER! formed and polished!
Needless to say, I gave up the pursuit and returned my efforts to just graduate High School.
A partial scholarship to Art Center wouldn't have done me any good anyway because at the time I had no means to come up with the difference.

[4t64rd]

Digging up an old one, but I just found a Craftsman's Guild handbook in my stash, and scanned a few pages... if anybody want's me to scan more and post them, tell me... who knows, maybe the HAMB can revive the Craftsman Guild with a semi-annual contest. It's be cool to see progress pics of people creations... It's be interesting to try to come up with designs that DIDN'T look like something that was produced, yet still look like it came from the era.

I got a copy of the handbook, and here's the page where it expains how to make headlight bezels, and tailights out of toothbrush handles:

http://www.traditionalhotrod.com/images/CG_Details1.jpg

and

And here is the basic blueprint for Hardtops and Convertibles:

http://www.traditionalhotrod.com/images/CG_HT_Conv.jpg

The plans below are shrunk down 25%, so just blow them up 400% and they will be right, or 200% twice...