"Rommel's Rod" redux - Intro

1969: a year of music, exploration, turmoil, and uncertainty. It was the apex of the “Age of Aqua-rius”, courtesy of Max Yasgur. And while the Beatles gave their last public performance, Led Zep- pelin began their trans-Atlantic conquest. It saw a new, unprecedented chapter in space explo- ration: man had truly boldly gone where no man had gone before. And Richard Nixon was sworn-in as the 37^th POTUS. . . 

AND. . . Tom Daniel continued designing outrageous and inspired wackiness for Monogram (he designed 85+ model cars for Monogram between 1967-1976), following up on the VERY suc- cessful Red Baron (1968) with Rommel’s Rod. I can’t remember when in ’69 this kit was re- leased--I’m tempted to say it was in the Summer, but it may have been later in the year. In any case, by year-end, it was on a bookshelf!

Obviously, this kit begs to be accurized! While a product of Tom Daniel’s fertile imagination, it was a mash-up of historical vehicles—or elements thereof, beginning with Monogram’s 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K kit. This provided the front-half of the model. Using that as a “base”, he then militarized the balance of the vehicle by making it a half-track.  

A number of intrepid modelers have done just that (e.g., here), upgrading the tracks, etc. In spite of all their efforts, little can be done to make this kit more than a fanciful caricature. Which brings us to our project. . .

Even back in 1969, I flirted with the idea of “accurizing” Rommel’s Rod. Models were cheap, selection was relatively limited (i.e. no sensory overload!), historicity was not a factor—and our standards were much more modest! But back in the day, long-term projects were defined as 2-3 weekends in length, and this would have taken me into uncharted territory! So, no. . . no major overhaul of a classic model.

FF to the present. . . In the course of that enjoyable conversation/discussion with Rich about TRP—and modelling in the 60s—we drifted into “the Big 4”, specifically Monogram--and, of course, Shep Paine’s ground-breaking work and the Daniel projects. One thing led to another, and I was soon talking about a more historically-grounded version of “Rommel’s Rod”. . .

I won’t get into the background research; but, in a nutshell, I am proposing a “phantom” version 
of Rommel’s Sd.Kfz. 250/3, appropriately weathered/distressed, with a skeletal Generalfeldmar- schall. Most of the components are already on order . . . 

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003