Ed and Eyeball John 1995 |
Eyeball John
Ed and Eyeball John 1995 |
Born in Brooklyn, New York back in ’59, I was bitten by the car bug at an early age. I can remember riding in my father’s big fifty-six Buick Special and sitting on the front stoop looking at all the kool cars going in and out of the Sinclair gas station across the street from where I lived (with the big green dinosaur).
I spent a lot of time as a kid with a pad and pencil drawing cars, monsters, robots, etc. When I was old enough to use glue I started building car models; I liked the wild looking models that Tom Daniels had designed—like the Paddy Wagon and the Red Baron. Hours were spent building and customizing these cars.
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Eyeball John's 1950 Chevy Delivery with custom paint job. |
When I was about seven years old, I was shopping in an A & P with my Mom, when I got a nickel for being good (I guess not annoying my mother while shopping was worth five cents back then). I went straight to the gumball machine, placed the nickel in, gave it a twist and out came the round plastic container. Opened it up and inside was a little red figure with RF on its chest. At the time, I didn’t know what it was, but it was the coolest thing I ever saw. And that is where it all began---my obsession with Rat Fink.
Later in high school, I took auto shop class and had my first hands-on experience working on cars. I realized I like doing body and paint over mechanical. I bought my first air brush and taught my self how to paint. I practiced on "everything". There were flames everywhere you looked.
Over the years I taught my self custom painting, metal fabrication and restorations, and later fiberglass fabrication. I started making my own parts out of molds that I made. At first the molds were crude—made of cardboard, tape, bondo and whatever else was laying around (I am firm believer of using what you got). Later I learned the art of making a plug (original part) and then making a mold from it. Around this time I started carving little things out of, what else, bondo.
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Some More Of Eyeball's work
All through the years, I was reading in hot rod magazines, about the custom car hero’s—Roth and Barris. These men have influenced me throughout my life. In 1992 while in California at the L.A. Roadster Show, I had the chance to meet and speak with them.
Three years later Big Daddy was at a car show on Long Island, New York where I had another chance to talk to him and show him some of my work. At that time he asked me about a project he had in mind and would I like to work on it with him (like he had to ask). I ran out and got some clay and spent the day working on the sculpture with him, which turned out to be the "flying eyeball clock". Big Daddy said finish it make a mold and send me one. He was impressed with the clock, so he told me to create a shifter knob. This was the first time working with RTV silicones to make molds.
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Flying Eyeball Caste From The Original Sculpture that Eyeball and Ed worked on. |
Since then I have been making my custom fiberglass parts, creating my little shifter knobs out of clay and bondo (hey, if it works, use it) and making molds for resin casting. I am always trying to come with new and innovative products with a Kustom Kulture feel.
More of Eyeball's Stuff |
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and Moldy Marvin for this opportunity to offer my products on their website. IT’S "KOOLSVILLE MAN"!!!!!
(Ed "Big Daddy"
Roth, Rat Fink, Beatnik Bandit, Road Agent, Outlaw, Mysterion, Tweedy Pie, Stealth 2000,
Surfite, Wild Child,
Angel Fink, Robin Hood Fink, Mothers Worry, & Dragnut are all trademarks of Ed Roth
(C) '99)
This Page Last Up Date 07/21/00
Rat Fink™ name and device and Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and "Moldy Marvin"
are trademarks of Ed Roth © 1999/2000 Rat Fink device © Ed Roth 1984
Copyright 1999/2000 @utomated Entertainment Burbank CA 91510
