BY "BRUDDERS" DICK AND BILL ENGAR

THINK FINK:  "BIG DADDY" ED ROTH'S FAMOUS RAT FINK CHARACTER FIGURE MODEL KIT RETURNS!  ATLANTIS # H1305.  MSRP IS A CRAZY-LOW $19.99!  HE WAS FORMERLY A REVELL KIT.  RAT FINK IS EASY TO BUILD WITH JUST 8 PARTS!  YOU'LL NEED TO PROVIDE GLUE AND PAINT TO ASSEMBLE RAT FINK.  AGES 14 AND UP RECOMMENDED!  MADE IN USA

Ed Roth was an American artist credited as the founder of Kustom Kar Kulture.  He was also influential in transforming the T-shirt from a mere undergarment to a casual wardrobe essential.  We'll explore his enduring phenomenon further in the bonus features accompanying this article.

Rat Fink was the most popular of the monster figures that Roth airbrushed onto plain T-shirts at car shows.  The wild, fly-ridden, bug-eyed character became a symbol of Roth artwork.  Rat Fink first appeared in 1963 and was also released as a Revell model kit that same year.  The kit has been released every few years or so since.  In 2018, Atlantis Models purchased Revell's legacy tooling and has been selling various Ed Roth model kits since 2019.  Rat Fink joins Mr. Gasser, Angel Fink, SurFink, Drag Nut, and Boss Fink and more in a growing line of popular Ed Roth model kits.

For the first time in many years, Rat Fink reappears with the same vintage artwork from 1963!

Rat Fink is a simple kit with just 8 parts.  Atlantis recommends that builders should be 14 years old to assemble the kit, but younger modelers should be able to handle this one just fine if they're comfortable handling model cement and paints safely. It's always a good idea for Mom and/or Dad or Parent/Guardian to supervise youngsters using paint, glue and sharp hobby knives used to separate parts from sprues and also to clean up parts.

Rat Fink is about the size of a large Idaho potato (but don't try to eat him).  He comes in two halves with a rat-tail, two feet, a small, round nose, beady clear eyes and a kidney-shaped base.  We actually counted nine parts--just think, you get nine for the price of eight!

You can put the figure together before doing any painting.  Fastidious contest modelers will want to fill the seam between the two halves. There might be some minor gaps between these parts.  Atlantis molded the beady-eye parts in clear plastic giving you some great painting options.  We'd recommend painting the backside of these parts!  Paint the very center (pupil) with a dot of black paint and use your color of choice for the iris.  The original kit used red plastic but we prefer the clear parts as done by Atlantis.  If you want to replicate the clear-look of the original part, get some transparent-red paint like Tamiya's Clear Red acrylic paint (X-27) and paint front and back of the clear part.

A closer look at the front half of Rat Fink.  But don't get too close (he has teeth).

Sculpting on those hands was really well done!  Psychologists suggest that the hands-behind-back pose denotes smug confidence.  But it could also mean that mischievous Rat Fink is hiding something!

Instructions are printed on a high-grade clay-coated paper.  Atlantis didn't have to do this, but this is a historic kit!  Brudder Dick built the model in the photo!  We'd keep the instruction sheet as a collectible even if it wasn't our model on it.

The sell-sheet was for retailers.  Atlantis includes it on the backside of the 8-1/2X11" (approximately A4) sheet.

The bottom of the base shows the original 1964 copyright stamp.  Yes, the kit is old enough to claim Social Security benefits.

Brudder Dick built the Rat Fink model featured on the back of the box and in the instructions.

We were pleasantly surprised and impressed with Atlantis Models' execution of Rat Fink.  Atlantis has stated that Rat Fink kits are good sellers since he is popular with young and old!

We remember Ed Roth as a unique character and he intended Rat Fink to represent rugged individuality.  You can  use your own creativity in how you decide to build and paint your Rat Fink!

Brudders Dick and Bill give Atlantis Models' Rat Fink four enthusiastic thumbs up and highly recommend this kit!  It's fun to collect and build!

Atlantis always protects parts to its kits in polybags.

Rat Fink in his bag reminds us of this monster from a cheesy 1970's horror movie.

Check out the Atlantis Ed Roth model kits on Amazon!  Click the links -- buy the model -- help the website!  We're an Amazon Affiliate; if you make a purchase after clicking the links, we get a small sales commission -- at no extra cost to you!  Toss an Atlantis Model into that next Amazon purchase!  Note that pricing and availability are subject to change.  2Modeler Secret:  Sometimes, they go on sale!!!

SPECIAL THANKS TO ATLANTIS MODELS FOR PROVIDING THIS KIT FOR US TO REVIEW AND ENJOY!

BONUS FEATURES

THE LEGENDARY ED ROTH

In addition to crazy show cars, Ed Roth was an innovator in the world of custom motorcycles, particularly choppers.

Roth in 1990, building a custom car in his Manti, UT workshop

Ed Roth was a free spirit who relentlessly pursued his passions.  Much has already been written about him.  We'll reflect briefly on his later life, his memory, and his legacy.  

As a youth in the late 1950's, Roth enjoyed airbrushing his "weirdo" characters on T-shirts, selling them at custom car shows.  He soon emerged as a pioneer creating custom cars using fiberglass.  His Rat Fink character and custom car designs were firmly set in American popular culture by the time they were immortalized as Revell model kits during the 1960's.

Perhaps this view profoundly changed the direction of Roth's life circa 1974.  It's Highway 89 in remote Central Utah, southbound on the outskirts of the small town of Manti.

Ed Roth's Manti workshop is now a museum.  It's located a couple blocks southeast of the Manti Temple, not far behind the location of the photo at left.

Cultural trends change over time.  By the mid-1970's, the musclecar era was on life-support.  Safety concerns and fuel shortages gutted the motoring spirit of many Americans and interests shifted away from wild custom cars.  Roth ran afoul of some of his biker clientele and decided to leave Southern California.  While riding a motorcycle through the remote Western United States circa 1974, a disillusioned Roth came across the Manti Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  This unlikely edifice, nearly 200 feet tall in a deeply remote, rural setting, had a profound effect on Roth.

Roth's Beatnik Bandit was one of his early and most famous cars--from 1961!  The car was based on a 1950 Oldsmobile chassis.  It was immortalized as one of the original 16 Hot Wheels cars in 1968.

In 1995, Roth debuted "Rubber Ducky," a 3-wheel custom trike motorcycle design.  The yellow body is one giant 26-gallon fuel tank.  We'd guess this motorcycle would have a phenomenal range.  We love those yellow pants!

In the Rat Fink Museum Gift Shop, Brudder Dick finds a picture of the model he built for the Atlantis Rat Fink model kit box.

We thought that the gift shop prices were very reasonable.  There was a good selection of Ed Roth model kits!

The quiet town of Manti with its castellated temple captured Ed Roth's heart and he never left, setting up shop just a couple blocks behind the temple.  He soon made what must be his most audacious counter-counter-culture decision, joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  While a devout member of the faith, he continued producing artwork and custom cars in his Manti workshop, riding the wave of resurgence in popularity of Rat Fink and Roth Kustom Kar Kulture!

Original-issue Revell Roth kit boxes on display at the Ed Roth Museum.

Two of Roth's custom creations in the Manti museum.  The car in the back is "Stealth 2000", Roth's last custom car.

Sadly, Roth passed away in April, 2001 of a heart attack.  In the late 1990's, a nostalgia craze saw renewed interest in Ed Roth's original Revell model kits and many of them have been re-released.  While the original Revell USA is no longer with us, Atlantis Models was able to save their legacy tooling which includes most of the original Ed Roth custom cars and figure kits.  Atlantis reports that the Rat Fink and Ed Roth models are popular sellers thanks to you, the enthusiasts, builders, collectors and artists who keep the Rat Fink and "Big Daddy" Ed Roth memory alive.

THE ED ROTH MUSEUM AND ANNUAL RAT FINK REUNION

Ed Roth's family opened the Ed Roth Museum and gift shop, located at the former location of his workshop at 404 E 300 North in Manti, Utah.  Manti is in the geographical center of Utah, about two hours' drive south of Salt Lake City.  At time of this update, early 2026, the museum is open Monday-Thursday from 10-3.  During the annual Rat Fink Reunion, which usually occurs during a weekend in early June,  you can enjoy the store and museum on Friday and Saturday during the reunion.

The Ed Roth Museum contains a wealth of artifacts from Ed Roth's career as an artist and custom car/motorcycle builder.

It looks like the Rat Fink steel sculpture has grabbed Dick by the ear.  Don't worry; Dick is OK.

We enjoyed seeing many of the Rat Fink products that were sold over the years including a number of boxes from original Revell releases of the Ed Roth model kits.  The gift shop sells many Rat Fink items including numerous T-shirt choices.  Between the museum and gift shop, we enjoyed several hours looking around.

As kids, we remembered that Testors had a line of special Ed Roth Custom paint colors, perfect for painting Revell Rat Fink models!  A set resides on display at the Ed Roth Musuem.

This large thermoform sign was on display.  Roth had a custom cycle shop in Southern California.

Usually in early June, Ed Roth's family hosts the Rat Fink Reunion.  This annual event, which celebrates Ed Roth and all his artistic creations features a car show (at nearby Manti Park), artist demonstrations, art vendors, and more!  Brudder Dick and I attended this event in 2024.  We were appreciative of the hospitality of Ed's wife Ilene in hosting this major event and we want to emphasize that there was NO CHARGE as a visitor to enjoy the Rat Fink Reunion!  This included the museum.  Good food was available at a very reasonable cost.  We expressed our thanks with some purchases from the awesome gift shop--open on Friday and Saturday during the reunion.  There was a giant assortment of Roth artwork (including T-shirts of course) all at reasonable prices and our biggest difficulty encountered was what to choose from a huge inventory piled to the ceiling.

Rat Fink figures from the Atlantis/Revell kit on display in the Roth museum.  This provides just a glimpse of the creativity you can use to paint your own Roth Rat Fink figure model!

Another view of some of the Revell re-releases of Ed Roth model kits from the 1990's-2000's on display at the Ed Roth Museum.

The Rat Fink Reunion we attended in 2024 attracted quite a crowd.  The group of people could only be described as eclectic ranging from bikers in black leather and spikes to patrons of the nearby Manti Temple wearing their conservative Sunday Best.  What everyone had in common was that they were having a good time!

Included in the museum's collection are examples of tribute-art by Roth fans as shown in these photos.

Additional tribute artwork by Roth fans young and old.  Roth's life was all about artistic expression.  Bring out your inner Fink! 

We believe that what Ed Roth identified in Rat Fink is that little character inside each of us.  At times, he can be crazy and unrefined and we try to keep him behaved and maybe even confined, but sometimes a little of his craziness pops out.  While it's now been a quarter-century since Ed Roth left this earth, Rat Fink remains beloved to this day!  Rest in Peace, Big Daddy!

OUR CONFESSION

The original photo we submitted to Atlantis Models for their kit box.  That's a peice of black posterboard covering up the original base.

Another photo shows the model without its cardboard base overlay!

That's Dick's model, cardboard and all, right in the middle of Atlantis' 2026 catalog cover.  Way to go, Dick; all the other pictures are box art, not built models.

A while back, Pete Vetri, President of Atlantis Models, mentioned to us that he was re-releasing Rat Fink.  Bill knew that Dick had a very nicely built version of Rat Fink that he'd done as his own tribute to Rat Fink not long after Roth passed away and we suggested that Pete might like a photo of the model for the box back or instructions.  The base of Dick's model was decorated with some classic car sponsor decals and "R. I. P. Big Daddy" stencil lettering.  We knew that this decoration, markings not included in the kit, likely wouldn't be appropriate to include on the kit box.  We had to submit a photo quickly, so what to do???  We didn't even have time for Photoshop.  Well, we simply took a piece of black posterboard cut to fit over the base and set it in place to take the photos.  We touched up the front edge with a Sharpie pen.  It took about a minute.  If you look very carefully, you can see remnants of the sponsor decals just below the character's feet since the cardboard overlay didn't fit perfectly.  And you can also tell by looking at the edge that it's a piece of cut cardboard.  Whew; we're glad to get that one off our conscience!

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