43rd and More - Kit reviews by Wayne Moyer Archive Edition

Showcase Review: Mini-Marque "Clark Gable" Duesenberg Rollston JN Convertible Coupe
by Wayne E. Moyer

Hollywood's dashing male stars of the pre-World War II era were expected to be "bigger than life" in every way and nobody lived up to his fans' expectations better than Clark Gable. We won't get into his other interests in this "family" e-zine, but as far as automobiles went, Gable owned-- and drove-- several Duesenbergs when they were acknowledged, both here and abroad, to be among the world's finest cars. Not content with just having a coach-built body on the best chassis available, Gable often had his cars "customized" by the Hollywood firm of Bohman and Schwartz. While this company made some rather garish bodies for other customers, the work they did for Gable always seemed to enhance the bodywork with which they began. That's certainly the case with Duesenberg chassis #2585, a 1935 short-wheelbase Model J fitted with Rollston's "N" Convertible Coupe body.

Rollston's original Convertible bodies for the Duesenberg were very handsome, very large two-passenger designs that were quite popular with "sporting" gentlemen of means. In 1935 this body style was re-designed, given lower window sill lines, and lowered over the frame rails. The Model J's fitted with this sleek new body (between 5 and 10 were made, depending on the source you choose to believe) are known as "JN's", the only Duesenbergs with a coachbuilder's suffix commonly attached to the designation.

Owning one of five or so rare high-performance cars wasn't enough for Gable, so his JN went to Bohman & Schwartz, where the radiator shell and headlight bullets were de-chromed and painted and the cowl was eliminated by extending the hood all the way back to the sharply raked windshield. While they were at it, B & H, replaced the standard bumpers with curved, chrome-plated single tubes, made the "skirts" on the front fenders deeper, added skirts to the JN's rear wheels, and stacked two metal-covered spare tires on the tail. The cockpit must have been a bit warm in the California weather, too, as two fairly large scoops were added to the top of the hood to duct fresh air into the passenger compartment. Although simple, these changes made Gable's Dusie look even longer and lower without destroying its excellent proportions. I finally found one photo of this car with Gable at the wheel; its lines are so good that you simply don't realize how big it is without some form of reference.

Mini-Marque 43 has produced superb hand-built 1/43 scale white-metal models of American classic cars for more than 20 years, and a couple of years ago began the "Cars of the Stars" series, featuring (to date) Packards and Duesenbergs owned by American movie stars of the 1925-1940 era. Model CS-4 in this series is Gable's beautiful Rollston JN, available in either top-up or, as seen here, top-down form.

MM-43 models are among the best you can find, so naturally the big metal body casting is flawless, and its cream finish is both smooth and very glossy. The beltline molding has been carefully masked and painted a dark maroon that matches the "upholstery"; color separation lines are crisp and sharp. MM-43 has very accurately incorporated all the changes that Bohman & Schwartz made to Gable's JN. This model is fully finished, with separate chrome-plated parts for the bumpers, grille, head and taillight bezels, windshield frame, and external exhaust pipes. The wheels are chromed, too, of course, but so are small parts like the "Duesenbird" radiator mascot, the separate door and trunk handles, and the steps for the rumble seat.

The centerline hood hinge, small stripes atop the scoops, spare tire cover trim rings, door hinges and hood latches (note the left and right side hood panels are different, as they should be), and the running board/rear fender trim strips have all been cast in relief, then scraped to bare, shiny metal after the body was painted. Photo-etched hood vent panels and windshield wiper complete the external trim.

Inside, the "upholstery" is nicely detailed and painted a semi-gloss maroon with relief-cast inner door panel details. The dashboard is another photo-etched piece with white gauge faces, but they lack numbers or pointers. Both the handbrake and gearshift levers are chrome-plated.

The frame, with integral oil pan, transmission, drive shaft, rear axle, and exhaust pipe, is a separate casting that's been cleaned up nicely and painted semi-gloss black. Mini-Marque 43's big whitewall tires really "look right" but there is a tendency for the separate whitewall to separate from the tire; use a small amount of rubber cement when you put them back together for a permanent fix.

I found several photos of Rollston JN 2585; the best are in Roe's "Duesenberg, The Pursuit of Perfection". They show that MM-43 has modeled the body lines and details very well, and have gotten all the changes made by Bohman & Schwartz correct, too. Everything I can see matches the photos perfectly and chassis dimensions are just as accurate. Finish and assembly workmanship are first-class, as they should be on a model in this price range. Only 250 examples of each version were made, and once they are gone, they're gone. Sinclair's Auto Miniatures, P. O. Box 8403, Erie PA 16505 (PH: 814/838-2274) stocks Mini-Marque 43's "Cars of the Stars" series; Gable's Rollston JN is priced at $279.00 plus shipping.

Contact Wayne at mailto:wmoyer@infinet.com

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