"Playboy 40th Anniversary Stratocaster" Marilyn Monroe Centerfold.

1994 Fender Playboy 40th Anniv. Commemorative Stratocaster.

This "Playboy 40th Anniversary Stratocaster" is one of just one hundred and seventy-five examples specially built by the Fender Custom Shop staff and hand-painted and signed by Pamelina H. in 1993 to mark the fortieth anniversary of the iconic Stratocaster. Inspired by Tom Kelly's iconic 1949 calendar nude of Marilyn Monroe (which Playboy published as its first centerfold in 1953), Pamelina adapted the design to this guitar as a forty-fifth anniversary tribute to the pin-up that made Monroe a sex goddess and the object of American male fantasies ever since.

Sinuous lines…full, lush horns…curves that don’t quit…contours that take your breath away…headstock angled oh so gracefully…Don’t get us started on the tailpiece.

And the guitar ain’t too shabby, either. We’ll get to it in a moment. Right now we’re enchanted by Marilyn Monroe.

In 1953, the first issue of Playboy magazine featured Monroe on the cover and used Tom Kelly’s 1949 calendar nude shot of the pre-movie star Marilyn as its first centerfold.

In early 1994, that now iconic nude of Marilyn Monroe graced the Fender Custom Shop Limited 40th Anniversary Commemorative Playboy Stratocaster. Only 175 were made; this is number 160.

California artist, Pamelina H., creator of the Fender Custom Shop logo, pulled out all the stops on this, her air-brush-with-paint-brush-details interpretation of Kelly’s hot shot. The image and guitar are drop-dead gorgeous.

Pamelina is the Fender Custom Shop’s go-to artist. Master Builder and Custom Shop Manager John Page told the Strat Collector New Desk that “even in the early years her work was spectacular, it just seemed to have a soul, you could feel the artist coming through…There are a lot of painters out there but very few true artists. Pamelina is one of the few.”

Her original design was rather tame; she felt it more appropriate for Fender. But, as she told the SCND, “the guitar with my original ‘no nude’ design was presented to Playboy and scrubbed. They asked if, instead, the first pin-up of Marilyn Monroe could be done…I painted the Marilyns for a year…"

“Since each one [of the 175] is painted by hand there’s always some very minor variation. That’s what makes each instrument special and unique.”

As if Pamelina’s artwork wasn’t enough, this instrument features acclaimed artist LeRoy Neiman’s Femlin character on the headstock and Art Paul’s classic Playboy rabbit-head logo as fingerboard inlays.

Hang it on yourself with the accompanying red leather Playboy strap or hang it on the wall, this is a serious piece of collectible art, one of the greatest of the great amongst Fender Custom Shop Art Guitars. It is featured in the art guitar showcase book, Fender Custom Shop Guitar Gallery, centerfold-style, on pages 122-123.

The guitar is ranked on Tom Watson’s “A-List“ as the #2 Fender Custom Shop Strat; Pamelina's ’93 Harley taking the top spot.

But what would you rather hold in your hands and run your fingers over, Marilyn Monroe or Harley-Davidson? You might get better mileage out the Harley but Marilyn is a hotter ride. Pick it or lick it, to hold this guitar is to love it; to play it, sublime.

This solid alder body guitar is finished in black, weighs 8.40 lbs. and has a comfortable nut width of just over 1 5/8 inches, a medium-to-thick neck profile, and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. One-piece 'birds-eye' maple neck with with twenty-one thin frets, inlaid black pearl "bunny head" position markers at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th (two bunny heads), 15th, 17th, 19th and 21st frets and black side dot markers. Headstock with "Fender" in red with black trim, LeRoy Neiman's 'Femlin' character in black and Playboy "40" bunny head logo in red and black. Individual "no-name" Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons. On the back of the headstock is a black and gold decal "DE2 - 160 of 175 / Custom Shop / USA". Gold-plated four-bolt neck-plate engraved "Custom Shop / USA". Matching hand-painted pickguard with eleven screws. Gold plated tremolo cavity cover with six screws engraved "Playboy / [bunny head outline / 40th Anniversary". Three beautifully matched gold-covered 'Lace Sensor' Stratocaster pickups with outputs of 7.05k, 7.02k, and 7.00k. Three controls (one volume, two tone) plus five-way pickup selector switch. Special gold-plated knurl-sided hat-shaped knobs and special gold switch-tip. Fender combined tremolo bridge/tailpiece with six saddles and through-body stringing. All of the hardware is gold-plated and this amazing guitar is in absolutely mint (9.50) condition. Complete with the original gold-plated bridge cover, gold tremolo arm and specially made red silk body cover. Housed in the original handmade red leather gigbag with black plush lining, which in turn is enclosed within a specially made black flight-case with grey foam lining. With the original Fender Custom Shop Certificate of Authenticity signed by John Page and dated "Jan. 26, 1994". Original red leather guitar strap with "Playboy" in black letters and two black cloth and red leather gold-plated hanging chains for the gig bag. Custom Shop owner's manual, guitar lead, spare tremolo springs, two spare strap buttons and 'optional' circular string-tree and polishing cloth.