THE GREEN HORNET AUTOART BLACK BEAUTY

 Continuing my look at The Green Hornet TV series, here’s a few photos of the 1:18 scale Black Beauty, produced by Gateway Autoart Limited.

The model or packaging isn’t actually dated, but I would imagine it would have appeared shortly after the poorly received 2011, Green Hornet film was released, which, in spite of it’s shortcomings, did lead to lots of newly created and quality Green Hornet merchandise being released, especially for Hornet fans who enjoyed the short-lived 1966 TV series.

The Autoart Black Beauty is a static model set in it’s stealth mode, with forward and rear rockets and gas guns. It also has non-retractable brooms behind the rear wheels, which were never shown in the series. These were suggested by Batmobile creator, George Barris, who I’ve read liked to take some credit for the Black Beauty build.

I believe Autoarts original intention was to have all these gadgets retractable, but unfortunately, they decided against it at some stage. I’d have been happy if they’d just made the brooms removable!

Nevertheless, it is still a fine, highly detailed and fairly accurate representation of what we saw on screen.

Dean Jeffries is the actual customizer behind the Black Beauty, which is based on a 1966 Imperial Crown hardtop.

The Chrysler Imperial was altered to give it’s heavy duty muscle car look, with those distinctive 15” ‘Apache’ cast alloy wheels. These were then given a custom black and alloy look.

The body length remained the same at a touch under 19 feet, but the rear of the roof was extended by around 14 inches. The exterior of the door were fitted with hidden button handles, and the rear lights were extended to run over the top of the boot, or trunk as our American cousins call it.

The interior was full of additional control panels and storage areas for the Hornet Sting and the Hornet gas gun, although hardly any of these compartments are seen on screen.

Jefferies used designer Howard ’Buck’ Mook to do the working drawing of the Black Beauty, who was apparently inspired by the 1955 Pacard Request for the distinctive front grill. Jefferies also enlisted the help of car body builder, Dick Dean, who amongst some 20 others completed the build.

Two Black Beauty’s were built, a filming car and a back up. Black Beauty #1 was the hero car fitted with the gadgets, the second, #2, was the clone car, used for publicity events. Both cars are used in the episodes ‘Corpse of the Year’ parts 1 & 2. It’s unclear whether the clone car turned up in other episodes, although it apparently shared the same circuitry for the gadgetry as the ‘hero’ car.

Both of the original Black Beauty cars still exist. The last I heard the #1 hero car resided at the Peteren Auto Museum in Los Angeles, although I believe it is no longer on display. The second car is privately owned and has been restored to it’s former glory.

The Black Beauty was supposed to have revolving number plates, although the only plate we ever see on screen is V 194.

The actual original registered plate for the #1 car is SUE 206, and car # 2 is X62 994.

All the Autoarts model car doors open revealing the interior detailing. If you look carefully, there’s even the fold down ‘infra-green’ visor enabling Kato to see the road ahead through the green radiance of the Beauty’s polarised headlights.

Although not obvious in the TV series, it is mentioned in some small detail in the first of the three Gold Key, Green Hornet comics. In Britain we got to read it in The Green Hornet annual published by World Distributors which reprinted the comic strip, as well as a truncated version that appeared in issue 7 of the TV Tornado comic.

Like the number plate, the headlights were intended to switch between normal and green ‘polarising’ lights. Some publicity photos show the head lights in normal mode. Aurora released their Black Beauty kit with that headlight arrangement.

The story goes that the headlight motor stuck and stayed that way throughout the series.

In the middle of the trunk (boot)lid is the scanner, the small flying video and audio surveillance gadget, not unlike a modern drone.

The hood ( bonnet) lifts to reveal a highly detailed Chrysler Imperial engine.

“Let’s Roll, Kato!”