Harold

That appears to be a 1941 Studebaker Champion.

That's the fun part- jumping into the deep end of the pool and finding out what happens.

Hint- it's based on a GM car, but it's way smaller than a Caddy.

I really like the body work you got going on it- the shaved trim and molded lights are really going to set it off.

Okay, so I lied- it's been more than two weeks, but I will have it done this weekend. I set it aside for a week because I was getting frustrated with the foil (for a car with minimal trim, it sure as hell has a lot of minimal trim). I started clearcoating last week. Three coats, a day of curing, polishing, three more coats, well, this process went on for three days. The dashboard was a real sticking point- I can usually shoot white over the dash and wash in some thinned black watercolor to bring up the instrument details- not this time. The engraving is a bit too shallow. I wound up strippiong the paint off twice. I finally foiled the whole thing and blackwashed with Steam Power black mixed with water (gotta love acrylics). I then buffed the paint off the raised areas and flowed some Tamiya clear across the top half and into the smaller gauge bezels (yes, the gauge faces were white). I inserted a piece of aluminum tubing into the hole for the steering column, and used the T-Bird column, which gave me a shift lever and signal stalk. I also used the pedals from the T-Bird dash. For the grille, I hogged out the molded- in lights with an X-Acto (I hate molded-in lights) and from behind I epoxied in the center caps from the Revell '05 Impala cop car for reflectors. The lenses are from the AMT '50 Ford, and then I threw a wash on the grille. I was really pleased with the result, and decided to hold it up to the body to preview how it would look. Aaaaack! The hinge I added was not lettin it fit flush with the body. Hmmmmmm. After determining where to nothch the grille from behind, and sweating profusely from dread, I proceeded to grind away at the back with a small drum sander chucked into my Dremel, all the while thinking, "I hope I don't screw up". Success. It now clears the hinge and will fit where it's supposed to. Finally, it shall be done.

Okay, let's try this one on for size:

Welcome, and great work on your Fords- especially the '50.

I remember Revell's Jeep Pickup that was reissued in the mid- nineties had an AMC eight that looked close to what I had in my Matador. How accurate is that one?

Jiminy Christmas- that is great. Seriously- did you just shrink a real car and say you built it?

REO came about after Ransom Olds got disgusted with the direction his company was taking, and struck out with another venture using his initials- Ransom Eli Olds. Is it a Flanders?

Interesting concept, but (fortunetaly) "edge' design has about run it's course. I just can't reconcile with all the hard edges and sharp angles- people should really stop designing concepts solely on the computer.

Well, I've drilled through a tie rod and into my finger with a #62 bit (ouch), laid my fingertips open more than once (owwww), had a trace of CA on my loup (kinda burned when I put it in place on my eye) and myriad other hobby- related injuries. Last summer, I fumbled my X-Acto (with a fresh #11 blade, no less) off the table and into the top of my right foot. I wonder if they give out purple hearts for this stuff.

That is my Holy Grail I've been searching for- the '61 Starliner is one of the prettiest Fords ever. I love your work (I'll trade you an ex-wife for it...).

Some of my other favorite comics are 'Herman' (Jim Unger is a Larson-class cartoonist), 'Mutts'. 'Fusco Brothers', 'Dilbert' (we've all worked at dysfunctional outfits like that one), 'Get Fuzzy' and 'Bloom County'. I'm sure I've omitted several, but this is off the top o'my head.

Wow- the fastback roof really works on that. Great paint and stance.

Yet another example of the government protecting us from the big bad auto companies whose aim is to kill us all (if that were the case, do you think they'd be all that worried about repeat customers?). Beautiful work on the Camaro, MJ.

There was one about four years ago where it was supposedly drawn by his neighbor, 'Nunzio J. Penagatti' where he and Pastis went to the bookstore so Pastis could sign a bunch of books. When Nunzio mentioned they didn't even ask for Pastis' ID, he replied they never do. Nunzio:"The next day I returned to the bookstore and walked right up to the sales counter. 'Gimme a pen', I sez- I'm John %$#&^*( Grisham". An absolute classic.

I'm a big fan of the comics page, and five years ago (when the only paper in this neck of the woods that carried it was the Detroit Free Press) I discovered 'Pearls Before Swine'. Rat and Pig were on the curb and Rat says, "I'm going to a wake", Pig asks, "Who are you going to awake?" Rat (glowering): "My cousin died". Pig: "That won't be easy". I have all the books (the only other collections I own are The Far Side series), and whenever I need a pick-me-up, I just read a couple pages worth of strips. Rat is a wannabe Ernest Hemingway who occasionally writes about 'The Adventures of Angry Bob', who almost always manages to die, and he created Danny Donkey, a children's book character who drinks beer and breaks into stores to steal cigarettes. Yesterday's strip was plain nuts- Pastis is not above some really bad puns, and this one was hysterical. If you've never seen it, check it out sometime.

Lookin' sweet, there, evilone. That red is great. Kinda looks like you're transporting a 600# cookie monster in the back (lol). Great stuff.

That is absolutely beautiful, jeryd. The paint is great, and you nailed the stance perfectly.

Here's three from my collection This is the 1933 Pierce Silver Arrow from Yat Ming How about a 1955 Packard Carribbean in all it's Neopolitan ice cream glory? And finally, a 1956 Continental Mk. II.

That's a beautiful Chevy there, Andy. I love the paint and foil work on it. Yeah, the Scotsman was rather pedestrian (but cool in a hose-the-interior-out sort of way), but the President hardtop had a great side profile

That looks like the remains of the gas station in 'Mad World' after Jonathan Winters trashed it. I bet the realtor listed it as a 'handyman special'.

Sounds like the Revell/Monogram kit. Nice kit and easy to throw details onto. I have the 1/25 '69 Shelby (Revell used the same master that Monogram did for the Boss), so I just might drag it out, start building and we can compare notes. Good luck.

My mom is great. She just turned 81 and still is able to drive her car the 180+ miles to Flint to visit (my older brother and I live in town). She's able to get out and walk her two miles every day and she's happy her beloved Red Wings won another cup. I was fortunate enough to have a good upbringing in a slightly dysfunctional family (but all families are dysfunctional to a point). Dad and I were never that close (he passed away four years ago) and I miss him a lot. So, enjoy the fact that your mom is still around.