Violent Violet Volkswagen in the making

Illustration by David Hudnut of the Violent Violet Volkswagen described in Stephen King's novel The Shining

Some of you may recall an article I posted last year about the Violent Violet Volkswagen. In brief, the Violent Violet Volkswagen is mentioned in the novel The Shining by Stephen King. It's described as a model kit by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth of Rat Fink fame. As far as I can determine, such a model kit never existed. Neither did any art. So I illustrated my own version of it. You can read the full article here.

The plot has now thickened.

When I was at Emerald City Comicon in March, one of the people who came up to my booth suggested I try and get an actual model kit of the Violent Violet Volkswagen produced. Since this is a gray area in terms of copyright, I thought I'd start by emailing the estate of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. I wanted to make sure that they were on board with the idea.

Here's a portion of the email I sent them on March 6th:

"Greetings-

I'm a big fan of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's art. So much so, that when I recently read a description in Stephen King's novel "The Shining" of Ed Roth's model kit of a Violent Violet Volkswagen, I had to look it up. I could not find it anywhere on the internet, nor do I know if such a model kit ever existed.

Because I couldn't find one, I designed and illustrated an image of it myself, as an homage to both Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and Stephen King.

I posted the art and an article about it on my blog, which you can find here:

http://davidhudnut.blogspot.com/2012/05/violent-violet-volkswagen.html?showComment=1340835611757

I showed the art to a number of people, and everyone seems to like it.

What I want to discuss with the estate of Ed Roth is whether or not you guys have any interest in seeing the Violent Violet Volkswagen turned into some sort of product.

My feeling is that if the estate of Ed Roth were to authorize this, and Stephen King were to authorize it as well, there would be an interest out there for such a product. Whether it's a model kit, a resin-cast sculpture, or prints, t-shirts & decals, I know there is a niche market for this idea. I'm sure it's small, but I know that for me, as a fan of both Ed Roth and Stephen King, I'd pay $200 for a 1/12 scale replica of such a piece, if it was of high enough quality. I would also buy a print-on-demand T-shirt for $30, or a print for $20.

But before any of this can happen, I want to make sure that everyone at the Ed Roth estate, including the spirit of Big Daddy himself, would be on board with such a product. If you guys like the idea, the next step would be talking to Stephen King.

Thanks in advance,

David Hudnut"

So far, I haven't heard back from the Ed Roth estate. That doesn't mean they aren't interested. Who knows.

But what I want to find out from all my faithful blog readers is the following:

Are YOU interested in seeing the Violent Violet Volkswagen come to life in the form of a sculpture, T-shirts, prints, etc.?

As a big fan of both King and Roth, I know I'd love to see it. But what about you all? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Thanks everybody!