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Testor's Smooothster in Red


curt raitz

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This model laying around for years.

"She Who Must Be Obeyed!" saw the model box in the model cabinet, liked the car, but not the color.

Her choice for color was Tamiya's Metallic Red, so here we are.

I've used the chassis/drive line from this kit as donors in other builds, never have built the kit straight up...actually builds into a very nice model.

Rumor is that Lindberg is reissuing this kit along with the other Codrington cars in this series.

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thanx for lookin' :lol:

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WOW :o

BEAUTIFUL BUILD CURT.

Are those real working struts I see "Lurking" under the hood???

Very, very nice color combo.

I would love to see this in person - dave B)

No they are not working struts...I cheated

painted two seperate hoods...one with struts attached and one without than photographed it using both.

The model sits on the bookshelf in my wife's office with the hood in the open position.

thanx for the compliment... :D

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Ya know what I find ironic though ?? There are people who will proclaim Chip a god of all things automotive and condemn everything " Boyd" and "billit" in the same breath. I wonder if they realize that it was actually Chip designing a lot of those famous "Boyd" cars through the early '90's when he was the top dog in hotrodding ??? :lol:

I don't see a whole lot of "designing" here at all... I see "customizing," that is, taking an existing car and changing the details. Removing the bumpers, the windshield wipers and door handles, filling in the seam between the body and the fenders... that all falls under "customizing." "Designing" would mean designing a car from scratch, the way Gordon Buehrig (sp?) designed the Cord, for example... or the way Alex Tremulis designed the Tucker, or the way Raymond Loewy designed Studebakers or Dick Teague designed a lot of the AMC cars, or Harley Earl and the Art and Color Department at GM, or JMays and his team currently. They didn't take an existing car and change the details... they created a whole new car from the ground up. There is a big difference between "designing" a car and "customizing" one. I guess some of you already know my opinion of the "genius designer" status that Chip Foose has among a lot of people... :D

Anyway, enough lecturing from me! I'll get off the old soap box now. Regardless of the origin of the real car, this is a terrific looking model. Very nicely done, great color choice between the body and the top, very cleanly built. Looks great to me! :lol:

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Actually Harry, the car in question started out as a pile of raw marerial, built from the ground up, not converted from an existing car and Foose drew all the designs of the car...

Sure, built from the ground up. But designed from the ground up?

I see more than a bit of similarity between Foose's "original design" and a '37 Ford... or is that just me??? B)

37f20.jpg

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Harry-

I agree that it does have a lot of similarities to a 37 Ford to say that it may not have been an ORIGINAL design idea on his part. However, I do believe that he is a very fine designer with some very creative designs. Haven't you seen the one called Hemisfear? What a beautiful creation it is. Just my two cents.

BTW- Curt, It is a good thing that you listened to "She who must be obeyed". Look what you've got to show for it. And, yes, it looks great in that color.

Later-

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I have to agree with Harrypri on this one. Although I have no knowledge of Chip Foose original works, I do watch overhauling as much as I can and his methods are quite formulaic and predictable. Not trying to belittle his talents as they are quite formidable, but his approach seems to be to take a vintage car, add a two tone paintjob, wicked wheels and some leather Foose embroidered seats and call it a day. But of course, I would never complain if it was my car that was being used as the canvas. My biggest beef is the celebrity episodes where he fooses cars whos owners actually have the money to pay for his services but are seemingly uninteresting or too preoccupied to have had the car taken in and have the custom work done.

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Very nice build, my old friend!!

I'd better get mine done before the next NNL West so yours will have company!! :huh:

Later,

And ya know because the of the "little lady" likin' this model, I'll still have it in my posession when the next NNL West rolls around...so yes, ya better get yours built by then! :huh:

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I have to agree with Harrypri on this one. Although I have no knowledge of Chip Foose original works, I do watch overhauling as much as I can and his methods are quite formulaic and predictable. Not trying to belittle his talents as they are quite formidable, but his approach seems to be to take a vintage car, add a two tone paintjob, wicked wheels and some leather Foose embroidered seats and call it a day. But of course, I would never complain if it was my car that was being used as the canvas. My biggest beef is the celebrity episodes where he fooses cars whos owners actually have the money to pay for his services but are seemingly uninteresting or too preoccupied to have had the car taken in and have the custom work done.

Just my 2 cents...

In most cases, Foose does more than just slap fancy paintjobs on the cars. He does subtle modifications like takes an inch out of the bumpers and tucks em close to the body so the don't look like afterthoughts, and drops an inch out of the front roofline to get more flow. Many of his changes are so subtle, you never know its fixed, you just know it looks better than stock.

Foose, if your listening, call my wife and she'll tell you EXACTLY where my car is...

If you look at some of his creations like the Grand Master, Impressions and the like, I don't think there is a whole lot of an original car left, if any. Though these were based on actual cars, after all the mods and work that goes into them, they are one of a kind customs.

Oh, and, um, Tucker. Didn't he modify an existing car to build his initial design, or was that just movie hype?

I love to watch all the great customizers from Overhaulin, Rides, American Hot Rod and as many other shows as I can fit on my DVR. Even though I didn't like Boyd's attitude and business practices, (how many of the builds on AHR had a realistic timeline where noone had to work overtime or come in on weekends or holidays?) I certainly admired his vision to customize cars and ability to get the right people for the job. I more saddened by the loss of Roy than I was for Boyd.

BTW, did anyone ever notice that people kept dissapearing from American HotRod and showing up on Overhauling???

Now, about the build.

Like it was told to me "Awesome job on a turd of a kit!" I, too, have done this kit and though I liked it, both my body and chassis were warped to where it did the low rider three wheel bit. I had to snap it apart again and shave sections until they fit. My wife also had a hand in the creation, she picked the interior color (what is it with women and red?)

Anyone up for a "Post your Smoothster" post?

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And ya know because the of the "little lady" likin' this model, I'll still have it in my posession when the next NNL West rolls around...so yes, ya better get yours built by then! ;)

And...maybe you'll have an extra one going home with you when you leave the show...afterall, we must keep "she that is to be obeyed" happy!! :P

On a different topic, do you feel the need for pizza? I'm ready!!

Later,

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This is very interesting…..Curt did a great job building the Boyd Smoothster, and the thread got hijacked into a bash Foose rant.

Foose is a contemporary customizer. He has a great talent for taking existing vehicles and “Fooseizing†them using his tried and true methods. Sure, he copies many of his own ideas into future designs, and who doesn’t repeat successful ideas? I think of Foose, Barris, Roth, Cushenberry (spelling) Starbird to name a few in the same way, all leaders and all very talented.

Charles Banks was a great golf course designer from the early 20’s, and he copied great holes from England and Scotland and repeated them over and over in each course he did here in the U.S., but that does not mean that his designs are not great and stand the test of time. A great design is a great design…period!

The same is true with Foose, his designs and prolific building will be remembered and celebrated for a few centuries to come, provided the planet is still here by then….but Curt, great job, and that is a clever trick to make two hoods, but really working struts are not that difficult to fabricate.

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This is very interesting…..Curt did a great job building the Boyd Smoothster, and the thread got hijacked into a bash Foose rant.

Foose is a contemporary customizer. He has a great talent for taking existing vehicles and "Fooseizing" them using his tried and true methods. Sure, he copies many of his own ideas into future designs, and who doesn't repeat successful ideas? I think of Foose, Barris, Roth, Cushenberry (spelling) Starbird to name a few in the same way, all leaders and all very talented.

Charles Banks was a great golf course designer from the early 20's, and he copied great holes from England and Scotland and repeated them over and over in each course he did here in the U.S., but that does not mean that his designs are not great and stand the test of time. A great design is a great design…period!

The same is true with Foose, his designs and prolific building will be remembered and celebrated for a few centuries to come, provided the planet is still here by then….but Curt, great job, and that is a clever trick to make two hoods, but really working struts are not that difficult to fabricate.

Working struts are easy...hinging the dang thing is the tricky part.

besides "She Who Must Be Obeyed" likes it with the hood open...so there ya go :angry:

Gee, I hope Chip doesn't get mad at me for using his name in reference to this model car... :P

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