The Hawk Model Company was one of the first American manufacturers of injection-molded

Injection molding

Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...

 polystyrene

Polystyrene

Polystyrene ) also known as Thermocole, abbreviated following ISO Standard PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...

 plastic model

Plastic model

thumb|300px||4-year-old boy starts painting a plastic model he has assembled of the South Goodwin LightshipPlastic models, often called scale models, are models manufactured as kits which are assembled by hobbyists, and intended for static display....

 kits (in the late 1940s), in business from 1928, until it was purchased by Testors in the early 1970s.

The company was started by brothers Dick and Phil Mates, in Chicago, Illinois. "Hawk - America's Oldest Model Company", and other associated brands, such as "Weird-ohs," are currently trademarks of toy conglomerate, J. Lloyd International, Inc. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...

.

Along with a wide array of realistic scale replicas of aircraft and vehicles, one of Hawk's best selling kit lines was the "Weird-ohs Car-icky-tures", dragster and hot rod caricatures (along with the related "Frantics", and "Silly Surfers" series), based on concepts and art created by their oft-used freelance illustrator Bill Campbell

Bill Campbell (illustrator)

Bill Campbell , is a former freelance illustrator and cartoonist, and creator of the "Weird-ohs", "Silly Surfers", and "Frantics" plastic model kit series for the Hawk Model Company, which were wildly popular in the early 1960s.- References :...

.

Weird-ohs characters:

• Daddy - The Way Out Suburbanite (racer; aka. "the Swingin' Suburbanite")
• Davey - The Way Out Cyclist (outlaw motorcycle club
  Outlaw motorcycle club
  An outlaw motorcycle club is a type of motorcycle club that is part of a subculture with roots in the post-World War II USA, centered on cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals celebrating freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the...
  
  rider: "He's a Psycho cyclist! This cat's a terror on the road ...")
• Digger - The Dragster (racer)
• Drag Hag - The Bonny, Blastin' Babe (racer)
• Endsville Eddie - The Shortstop Stupe (racer)
• Freddy Flameout - The Way Out Jet Jockey (test pilot)
• Huey's Hut Rod - The Way Outhouse Bomb (racer)
• Sling Rave Curvette - The Way Out Spectator (race fan)
• Wade A. Minut* - The Wild Starter (race 'official'; aka. The Timeless Timekeeper)

• Francis the Foul - The Way Out Dribbler (basketball player)
• Killer McBash - The Dazzling Decimator (football player)
• Leaky Boat Louie - The Vulgar Boatman (motorboater)

Silly Surfers characters:

• Beach Bunny ("Beach Bunny Catchin' Rays")
• Hodad Makin' the Scene ("Hodad Makin' the Scene With a Six Pack - Detailed Personable Pelican and Crusty Crab, Insect Pests, Sand Crawlers, Etc., included")
• Hot Dogger Hangin' Ten
• Riding Tandem ("Hot Dogger and Surf Bunny Riding Tandem - The Dazzling Duo of the Surf - Goony Gull, Crusty Crab & Friendly Fish included")
• Woodie on a Surfari

Frantics (the frappin' family of fidgeting...) characters:

• Frantic Banana (drummer: "Frantic Banana Punishing The Skins - car plugs not included in this kit")
• Frantic Cats (dancers: "Shifty Snuffling at its best - This is the Livin' end!")
• Steel Pluckers (guitarists: "Bopped out Steel Pluckers having A Bash - the twangin' and sangin' stars of the Sappy Swingin Sixties")
• Totally Fab (guitarist & groupie: "...Screamin' Meemies Two Legged Model of Fort Knox & Security Guard")

External links

• History of the Hawk “Weird-Ohs” Plastic Model Kits at Old Model Kits.com
• Official Weird-Ohs web site Classic 60s model kits reissued
• J. Lloyd International, Inc. web site