Ed Big Daddy Roth Plastic Model kits from Atlantis

The History of Atlantis Models and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth Model Kits

Atlantis Models continues the tradition of classic American plastic model kits by bringing vintage hobby tooling back to life for today’s builders and collectors. Based in the United States, Atlantis produces plastic model kits made in the USA and offers a wide variety of subjects, including aircraft, cars, ships, figures, space and sci-fi kits, and more.

A major turning point for Atlantis came in 2018, when the company purchased many classic plastic model kit molds from the Revell tooling banks. Those molds included tooling originally associated with legendary names such as Revell, Monogram, Aurora, and Renwal, with some dating back to the early 1950s. This allowed Atlantis to preserve important pieces of hobby history and reintroduce classic kits to new generations of modelers.

Among the most colorful and collectible subjects in the Atlantis lineup are the Ed “Big Daddy” Roth kits. Ed Roth was one of the great icons of Southern California hot rod and Kustom Kulture. He was an artist, pinstriper, custom car builder, cartoonist, and designer whose wild imagination helped define the look of the late 1950s and 1960s custom car scene. Roth became famous for outrageous show rods, monster characters, and his most famous creation, Rat Fink.

Roth’s world of wild cars and monster characters became a natural fit for plastic model kits. In the 1960s, he served as a larger-than-life spokesman for Revell, and many of his real show rod creations became some of Revell’s best-known model car kits. His designs mixed hot rod performance, cartoon attitude, monster art, and custom culture in a way that made the kits stand out from traditional model cars.

Rat Fink became Roth’s most recognizable character. With bulging eyes, sharp teeth, oversized ears, and a rebellious attitude, Rat Fink became an anti-establishment hot rod mascot and one of the most famous figures in American counterculture art. Roth’s characters were more than cartoons; they became symbols of creativity, individuality, and the fun side of car culture.

Today, Atlantis keeps that spirit alive with reissued Ed “Big Daddy” Roth model kits such as Mr Gasser, Rat Fink and Drag Nut. These kits celebrate the same wild energy that made Roth’s work famous: monster hot rods, crazy characters, bold artwork, and hands-on modeling fun. The Atlantis Rat Fink figure kit, for example, is a six-inch plastic figure that brings one of Roth’s most famous creations back to the workbench for modern builders and collectors.

The Drag Nut kit carries forward the classic Roth hot rod monster style, combining a wild character with a custom car theme in 1/25 scale. Retail listings describe the Atlantis Drag Nut as an Ed “Big Daddy” Roth plastic model car kit, showing how Roth’s monster-car creations continue to appeal to hobbyists decades after their original popularity.

Atlantis Models’ Ed “Big Daddy” Roth kits are more than just model kits. They are pieces of American hobby history. They connect the golden age of plastic modeling with the bold, funny, rebellious world of hot rods, monster art, and Kustom Kulture. For longtime collectors, they bring back the excitement of classic hobby-shop shelves. For new builders, they offer a chance to discover why Rat Fink, Drag Nut, and Ed Roth’s creations became legends.

All plastic model kits, ready for fun — only from Atlantis!