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Herb Grasse, best known for his work as designer for the Brcklin died August 24th of complications stemming from pancreatic cancer. Herb led a highly regarded professional career as a designer for many of the top car manufacturers in the US and abroad. Herb was a wonderfully entertaining person with a unique style and flair for life that showed in his design work, artwork, and keen sense of humor. All of us at Automodello who had the pleasure to work with Herb and spend time with him will miss his vitality and passion for automobiles.
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A memorial service will be held for him at his home in Scottsdale, AZ september 11, 2010 - details can be found on his website homepage
http://www.herbgrassedesign.com/. |
What is Automodello?
There is a question asked all too often in the diecast world: “Why doesn’t anyone make a good model of the …” Automodello started with just such a question, and has grown into a new series of precision 1:43 replicas specifically targeted to fill voids left by mainstream diecast manufacturers, starting with the Griffith 200. Automodello uses the finest materials and exacting craftsmanship to produce a model that will stand wheel to wheel with best in the industry, and brings to life cars that deserve to be collected and celebrated in diecast. Hop in, and let us engage your dreams!
Who are we?
Automodello is the brainchild of Jim Cowen, British sports car enthusiast and proprietor of online diecast retailer Diecasm LLC. In the course of operating Diecasm, Jim began to take note of important and interesting cars that were being overlooked by the mainstream diecast manufacturers. Not content to let these models remain neglected, Jim enlisted master designer Raffi Minasian to craft the prototypes for this exciting new line. A small team of talented enthusiasts with a mixed background in the diecast and full-scale auto world have since signed on to help bring you the very best in 1:43 scale diecast.
Why Griffith?
Put simply, because it was overdue. Griffith’s interesting, sometimes convoluted history has produced a number of fantastic and memorable sports cars that have inspired a dedicated and loyal following, even through the marque’s troubled life. Cars with that much charisma deserve to be immortalized in scale, but to date no one had successfully done so. Automodello looks to change that with its very first release, the original Griffith 200 from the 60’s. From there other, overlooked, neglected, interesting as well as new models will follow from British, European, North American and other marques.
What’s next?
Automodello was born out of a love for British sports cars, but first and foremost it was created to rectify an omission among high-quality 1:43 diecast replicas—something that there are still all too many of. Is your dream car unavailable in scale? Do you have a car you’ve always wanted to see, but no one has seen fit to build? If so, we want to know!
Click here to tell us about it. Who knows? Your dream might just be the next project Automodello engages! |
