The ‘J’ & ‘SJ’ Duesenbergs enjoyed the accolade of Americans mightiest automobile in the 1930s as there was little to compete with them at the time of their introduction in 1929.  There were just over 320 produced up to the time the company closed down in 1936 as with so many others at the time, with possibly over 250 still surviving today. They are now considered to be one of the ultimate classic cars, but the particular interest for me was that there were over 200 custom bodies fitted to this chassis.  Tool up for a fully detail engine and chassis and you have a wide choice of some of the most beautiful body styles of the early 1930s, a period that particularly appealed to me.  The first one that I saw in the flesh, and drove, was a 1933 Derham Tourster. I subsequently built the owner a model of his car, plus one of the chassis together with a third model of the engine.  It was through the contacts from this first Duesenberg model that we latter met and  became good friends with Gordon M. Buehrig. who had worked with the Duesenberg brothers as their chief designer.  He had in fact designed the Derham Tourster, the Weymann Speedster, Rollston Convertible Victoria, and Brunn Duel Cowl Phaeton, all of which I later built in model form.