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Id put it in a case and put it with mine...what better way to be a tribute to your friend..?...looks good as it is to me...sorry for your loss.  I have whats left of my dads oldies...some will remain the way they are...others have to have work done on them and parts found they need repairs in order to save them due to damage.

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Very sorry for your loss. It is obvious that he is a very close and personal friend so to honor his memory, I would not touch it, just leave it as he had it. I agree with all the above posts. Cherish his memory and display it with your models.        Jeff 

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I've often debated this question myself. I got this Johan Olds 442 from a friend's collection when his girlfriend was selling off his collection about 8 years ago. 

Part of me wants to just get the wheels and bumpers on it and call it done, then part of me wants to finish the entire thing, but yet still part of me just wants to leave it be. 

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I have partially built kits of a friend of mine that passed away over ten years ago now. I contemplated building them and finishing them, just can't bring myself to do it. If I finish it, it won't be by his hands.... They will be boxed as long as they are with me, maybe some year a voice will tell me to build them but for now, they rest!!!!

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I'll be That Guy. Where 1:1 cars are concerned, when someone dies; like a father or friend, the family/friends will finish a project car - often in a way that the deceased would have liked to have finished it. It's a tribute, and a feeling like they are doing something creative in remembrance or productive in terms of working out grief. I've been involved with that process - twice. Where models are concerned, I believe that much the same applies.

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I've often debated this question myself. I got this Johan Olds 442 from a friend's collection when his girlfriend was selling off his collection about 8 years ago. 

HPIM3317.jpg

Part of me wants to just get the wheels and bumpers on it and call it done, then part of me wants to finish the entire thing, but yet still part of me just wants to leave it be. 

I think I'd leave the body and trim, and whatever chassis details that were done, and put the rest together.  That way, you aren't so much changing his vision as just finishing the job.  Looks really nice, BTW.  :)

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I think I'd leave the body and trim, and whatever chassis details that were done, and put the rest together.  That way, you aren't so much changing his vision as just finishing the job.  Looks really nice, BTW.  :)

I agree on this one...finish her up like he would have built it then put her in a case...in a sense it would make it just that much more special...a final build between you and him.  That is the way I feel about the ones of my dads that need finished or restored...others will remain just as they are.

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I think I'd leave the body and trim, and whatever chassis details that were done, and put the rest together.  That way, you aren't so much changing his vision as just finishing the job.  Looks really nice, BTW.  :)

I agree on this one...finish her up like he would have built it then put her in a case...in a sense it would make it just that much more special...a final build between you and him.  That is the way I feel about the ones of my dads that need finished or restored...others will remain just as they are.

That has been what I have been thinking, too. I like the colors and what is done on it, that is why I've thought of just putting the finishing touches on it and calling it done for him. This one also gave me a scare about a week ago, life caused everything to go into storage a little over 4 years ago, and one other WIP that was painted and wrapped in a paper towel to protect the paint job, and the paper towel was stuck to the paint on that kit. It was a heavier Scott Shop Towel though that one was wrapped in, the Olds was just in a regular paper towel the way he had it in the box. As soon as I seen the damage on mine, I checked the Olds for damage too, because both kits were packed away in the same packing box. Thankfully this one was good, because I would have been heartbroken if it received damage too, because I would never be able to match the paint. 

 

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I've decided to take your advice and just clean it up and find the bumpers etc. and put it in my display case with his "never finished" '49 Merc. Thanks for all the responses guys!

And thank you for asking for the advice on yours Wayne, because it has also helped me on deciding what to do with my late friend's build as well. I actually have it on the bench right now and was looking it over earlier today, but as soon as I figure out if his idea was going to work, I'm going to put the finishing touches on the Olds. I do know that it is not all Johan, the frame, firewall, and front header panel are all a mystery, and there are a few parts that are mixed in that I have no clue if he was intending on using on this or not. 

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I think everyone knows I am a big cheerleader of preserving ancient models built by folks in past eras.   I also find it important to remember our friends who have passed by having one of their models.  I have several on my shelves that were built by friends who are no longer with us.  It makes me feel good to have something of theirs to remember them by.

I have a slightly different view than many of those above.  I find it important that we don't destroy unfinished models from our friends.  We don't just throw them away or dump them out into a parts box.  I wouldn't strip one down and rebuild it completely.  But I would finish it, in their style and intent, as a tribute to them.   I see those unfinished models as broken dreams,  models that our friends had good intentions of finishing, but their lives were cut short before they had the time.  

A while back I had a friend that was rebuilding a diecast '55 Ford Ranch Wagon from a custom to a stock vehicle.  We emailed back and forth about his progress, and I donated some parts for the effort.  He was very cautious of showing his work at club meetings, but I prodded him to show me his progress.  At a meeting he carefully pulled it from a box,  showed it to me, and immediately put it back and out of sight.  A few months later I learned that he had passed away. I was sad to lose a long time friend, but also sad that this model that was so important to him wasn't finished.  I never stopped thinking about it.

About a year later, Dave Burket told me that this fellow's widow called him, and he bought the collection.  I told Dave about the unfinished Ranch Wagon and my desire to finish it in our friend's honor. He said he'd look.  He called me a few days later and gave me the news that it was actually completed!  He knew I'd want to have it, so we got together at our next club meeting and he handed it to me.  At first he refused to take money, but I made him estimate what he paid for it, and reimbursed him.  This model now sits proudly on my shelf as a momento to a friend.  I would have been honored to finish it. It deserved to be finished.  But I was very pleased that my friend did manage to complete his final model before he left us!

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