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This is a box of neck ties in the back of one of my trucks. I built it with logos from a favorite old restaurant. It was a casual place in Denver whose gimmick was that if you came dressed up, they'd cut off your tie. Then they'd buy you a drink and tack the tie on the wall with a card you filled out with your info. So people wore throw away ties there for the experience. So I decided that a box of ties was needed. They are made from masking tape.

Not to hi-jack, but Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse in Scottsdale, Arizona did something similar when I was last there 12 yrs. ago. My Father-in-law gave me a cheap tie to wear into the restaurant. As you walked in, the waitress was cutting your tie off as you were seated. It was a goofy tradition as they'd staple the tie to a ceiling beam as your sitting down. I also stapled my cousins NYC Police PBA card to a doorway. It was "that kind of place…" and it was fun. They had personal memorabilia all over the place. Remains of neck ties hung from the rafters like icicles and every flat surface had a business card, student ID, or sticker on it. Too bad the Steak wasn't that good…..

Everyone is posting some really good tips. Thanks!

Edited by FASTBACK340
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Those old left over clear parts trees can be used to make soda,etc. bottles like the ones in my 64 Chevy junkyard pickup build in my photobucket here. You just take and heat the parts tree stock and once its starting to melt carefully pull to the desired shape or size and hold blowing on it till its cool...then you cut it to the desired bottle neck size and sand or trim to your liking.

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Not to hi-jack, but Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse in Scottsdale, Arizona did something similar when I was last there 12 yrs. ago.

DSC00342-vi.jpgramcharger_matchbox-vi.jpg

Hey John, since you mentioned it, mine was the Trail Dust Steakhouse in Denver. Here's the rest of the model. I built this before computer printed graphics. I did the logo on clear decal stock I ran through a Xerox machine.

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Need something to simulate seat/interior fabric? Look at the peel off lids for most Yogurt containers. Also look for some that are "quilted". I think Folgers red plastic coffee containers use these. Real easy to cut and fit on a bench seat. Paint a flat or semi-gloss and you have a nice custom seat pattern.

When I did the master for the "Aztec" '55 Chevy for R & R I used a Klondike bar wrapper to cover the seat. It was VERY thin foil over paper. The yogurt covers are nicer to work with.

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Cool Mark-

I used to save the covers for restaurant butter patties because they had a neat honeycomb pattern on them. Too small for seats but I used them for vents and such.

But here's my tip... old business cards... I have a box of an old card of mine that has a nice soft pattern on them....

MVC001F-vi.jpgMVC003F-vi.jpg

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This used to be a good idea I came up with: I needed a lot of scale broken glass for a junkyard diorama, and I hit on the idea of used flashcube bulbs. They were very thin glass with a plastic coating; all I had to do was crush them with pliers until the glass crumbled, then cut off the top of the bulb and sprinkle the glass where I wanted it.

It worked well 35 years ago, but who knows where you'd find used flashcubes now... :huh:

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This used to be a good idea I came up with: I needed a lot of scale broken glass for a junkyard diorama, and I hit on the idea of used flashcube bulbs. They were very thin glass with a plastic coating; all I had to do was crush them with pliers until the glass crumbled, then cut off the top of the bulb and sprinkle the glass where I wanted it.

It worked well 35 years ago, but who knows where you'd find used flashcubes now... :huh:

Not exactly "household" items, but you can use the very thin glass "cover slips" used to cover sliced specimens on microscope slides!

Art

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Excellent tips. I'll add mine. Foil from a discarded "BOX" pack of cigarettes can be glued to the underside of a car, to replicate heat shields, by exhaust components.

That foil is also good to glue behind taillights to give them that prismatic look.

I recently bent up one of those jumbo paper clips to make the rear sway bar in my 66 El Camino. I have bought some cheap computer speakers from a thrift store and used my cut off wheel in the dremel to cut the metal screen off and use it as a grille on a Mustang.

Later-

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Well they come with the kits but you can make your own soda or pop bottles from the clear or other plastic parts trees left over from builds for free. Take them and carefully heat and gently pull to desired shape...blow on them till cool...cut to the shape you want and done....I have one or two of the ones I made in my 64 Chevy junkyard pickup build under my profile here in my photobucket photos. A lack of any real budget to work with makes one learn to be very creative.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Cool Mark-

I used to save the covers for restaurant butter patties because they had a neat honeycomb pattern on them. Too small for seats but I used them for vents and such.

But here's my tip... old business cards... I have a box of an old card of mine that has a nice soft pattern on them....

MVC001F-vi.jpgMVC003F-vi.jpg

Great tip Tom..

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