![]() No matter how feral Rat Fink’s design appears, the satirical edge of Roth’s intent is always there to serve as a self-reflexive wink, creating a sense of solace for the counterculture without ever pandering to a wider market. He is usually drawn behind the wheel of either a car or motorcycle with the engine roaring, and even when he isn’t, you can tell by the look in his eyes that he’s up to some kind of mischief. While echoes of Mickey can still be seen in the ears and nose, this still comes across clearly as a new beast. Usually colored green or gray, the rat is known for having a dramatically exaggerated body shape to capture his depravity including a twisted smile, eyes bulging out of their sockets, and rows of sharp, crooked teeth. Rat Fink embodies everything that makes Roth’s style so simultaneously kooky and clever. ![]() As a response to Mickey Mouse’s chipper demeanor, Rat Fink - the inverse of everything cutesy, sanitized, and family friendly - was born. Seeing that poverty and suffering in the world were largely ignored by consumer culture, Ed Roth felt the same way. If this sappy, utopian portrait of life makes you want to barf, don’t worry. Life in a Disney movie is cheery, carefree, and upbeat, with any problem being easily solvable in the length of a motion picture. The expansive pop culture effect of Walt Disney’s films was his primary inspiration. We’ll break it all down for you right here.Īfter selling airbrushed t-shirts for a few years at the end of the 1950s, Roth would come up with the idea for Rat Fink. If you don’t know the history of one of Kustom Kulture’s most underappreciated figures, just keep on reading. ![]() You’ve more than likely seen shirts and patches indebted to Roth’s signature style, or even featuring one of his designs, including from us. His work as a custom car designer was defining in the Southern California scene, but it was his playfully malformed monster caricatures like Rat Fink that led to his now cult status as a pop-art iconoclast. Our love for the rat extends to a love for his creator, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. In fact, we love that gnarly little creature and the mayhem he represents so much, that he just might be our number one choice. If Rat Fink wasn’t one of the images that just appeared in your head, you may want to reconsider your answer, at least if you’re in earshot of anyone in the Lethal Threat family. Oh, and by the way, if you have any information regarding Mega Cycle (current whereabouts, specific engine, build specs, etc.), or any good pictures of it, get at me.Take a moment to think about the iconography from hot rod and biker culture that holds the most significance. So just enjoy the pictures and soak up the authentic 60s-era cool of the Mega Cycle in all its glory. Oh, and that it was painted metal flake blue on one side and metal flake green on the other. We know it was a Triumph, and that it was owned by a guy named Bob Aquistapase before Big Daddy got hold of it, but that's about all I could find out. Info on the actual bike part of this vehicle is extremely scarce. I know this thing is only tentatively motorcycle-related, but you'll have to indulge me here. The guy who bought it at that 2009 auction had owned the car before, four times to be exact, and I assume he still has it. ![]() ![]() It was restored by a guy named Fritz and was auctioned off for charity in September of 2009. The last real news I could find about the Mega Cycle is from 2009. During that time it was restored a couple times, toured on the show car circuit again, lost its Triumph, regained its Triumph, and generally lived a hard-knock life. Roth traded it again, and the car changed hands numerous times throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s. When Big Daddy came to pick it up a year later the interior was utterly trashed. The car sat in front of the junkyard for a year where it served as a sign for the yard and, sadly, a home for the yard's resident dogs. Powered by a Buick V6, Mega Cycle-originally called Captain Pepi's Motorcycle and Zeppelin Repair, which was changed by car show promoters-did the car show circuit for about a year until Big Daddy traded it to a junkyard owner for the rear clip out of a VW Bug. ![]()
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