BZ Banshee RTR

The Banshee was an original design by John Power, the man behind the styling of the Classic Manta Ray. After leaving Classic following a dispute with owner Sam Bergman, Power joined forces with Vernon Beck and "Sonny" Zimmerman and designed the new car, targeted at the very successful Manta Ray, of which over one million were sold. While the Banshee never sold in the same numbers, it was by far a better model, in both looks and construction. The sturdy chrome plated steel frame had a steel wire drop arm and an Autorama guide flag, Riggen wheels and tires and a really sharp coupe body. They were painted in gold, black, olive green and a rare white, and early versions had stripes made with adhesive metal-foil tape. A rare early version even had water-slide decals and the earlier wheels as used on the American Line models, with the "BZ INDUSTRIES" lettering printed in white block letters on the sidewalls. The model came first in a cardboard window box (scarce) and later in the usual clear plastic box also used by K&B and Western Hobbies.