Russell C

A designer named Carl Green did a prototype 1:1 for AMC of a pickup. Look out for an old copy of Petersen's Trucking Trends 1977 with an article in it about it, or a copy of the July '77 Pickup Van & 4WD magzine. Another repaint of the car at Green's own page here.

Or a variation on that theme is to heat-stretch some sprue out of whatever kit the body came from - same color plastic, in other words - and glue it into the line via capilary action with either Tenax or methyl ethyl ketone. Allow it to dry for hours, then sand it smooth.

Many thanks for the nice words. I'm impressed, too, but in a different way, which sorta beats up on teensy models when they are viewed at actual size. Way back when I entered this one in a contest or two, in rooms that weren't so well lit, it seemed to get lost in its own basically dark color and its small size. Funny how on the computer screen, it is much bigger and the details come to life out in the harsh sun. That's one reason why I get a kick out of a diecast Cobra I have, its dark metalic blue is ok inside, but the color really pops out in the sun. And from the pic below, it reinforces how my apartment is actually really murky at night with just the 60watt lamp behind me. I had to turn on whatever the extra light is in the ceiling fan above....

I'd argue that 3D printing is "here" and available for general use among hobbyists in no different manner than destop publishing is here. Destop publishing will never replace mass-publishing by traditional printing presses, but the average citizen with a computer can print up rudimentary "lost pet" flyers with photos and clipart graphics, or they can go full tilt and publish a model car magazine like Roy Sorenson does. Or they can design their own decals from scratch, perfectly replicate old sheets and resize them as needed, or do artwork for photoetch parts. But the barriers are learning the software, and finding service providers to complete the work, and having the money for all of that. It's all a matter of how involved each person wants to get. In the case of both publishing and 3D printing, the technologies were totally out of the reach of the average citizen. Check out this short tutorial on what looks like a simplistic drawing program, and you get an idea of how a person can create a part that injection molders will never be able to justify making, due to their own barriers of low-volume / niche market problems. Then rummage around in YouTube for other tutorials on how to draw 3D cars and the parts on them. I can hardly wait 'til the time I can take the total plunge into this myself.

I built this one way back in 1991 for a club theme contest where we had to build "a vehicle for sale". I figured nobody was expecting anything this small. The kit is a model railroad N-scale '34 Ford, and as can be seen from this first photo which I snagged off eBay, there's only 4 pieces to the kit. Really primitive. I hollowed out the cab, and wiped out the passenger side door purposely so I could hang a crooked scratchbuilt new one made from clear sheet material. It has a very narrow bit of scotch tape to simulate the beltline, and a tiny bit of wire for the door handle. The interior has a scratchbuilt steering wheel, and some scrap bits to simulate the remains of a seat base. The gear shift lever is either very fine wire or heat-stretched sprue, I forget which. To simulate a bent-open tank compartment door and partly open hood, I gouged away the metal and simulated those panels with the same clear sheet material. The "4 sale" sign is just stiff dirty paper, marked with a fine marker pen. I 'lathe-turned' the headlight buckets, horn and wheels/tires on my motor tool. I'll have to do up a photo tutorial to show how easy it is to make small plastic parts like that from scratch. No need to own an expensive lathe to create such things. The headlight cross bar is stretched sprue, so that the headlight buckets could be solidly glued onto it. The weeds are also heat-stretched sprue, yellow plastic pulled to hair-thin thickness, wound into tight ovals, stuffed into holes in the base, then the tops were cut off which resulted in the toothbrush bristle look. The tumble weeds under the truck are wadded up (and glued to hold that shape) stretched sprue, placed there to hide the rods that holds the truck to the base. The 'dirt' is a combination of tan paint heavily sprayed onto the base and then immediately covered with extremely fine windblown dust gathered from a roadside curb. The wood base was a cheap craftstore pine item, stained to look like better quality wood. I forget exactly what paint I used, probably an airbrushed model railroad color with a bit more work with watercolor brown and tan and some dust rubbed into it to get it looking like good ol' out-west rust patina. Handy thing with derelict vehicles, you aren't obligated to create windows.....

Appears the domain registry lapsed or something. But using the internet archive web site, you can still view what used to be at that site: http://web.archive.org/web/20110622062249/http://straightlinemodeler.org/parts/parts.html

Aaargh. Zip ties are what holds the aftermarket used '88 grille on my current ride, a 1986 with 300k miles now (plastic odo gear broke right after I got it, so it sill says 86k. Yes, indeed, I would have rather had what I have now as a first car instead of the truck I had in high school. More fun than some ordinary boringmobile. I avoid going offroad for my Colorado vacations like I used to (a bit tough on vehicles not intended for such things), but mine is still a hoot to drive on the curvy paved roads. Remember to keep the shiny side up on yours, and you'll have many happy times.

That one, plus 6 others relating to '70s era Chevy Blazers.... and I got roped into being the #2 moderator at the Blazer Chalet / GMC Jimmy Casa Grande owners' & enthusiasts forum.

I want a 3-D printed Buckaroo Banzai Jet Car.

I did quite well with this paper Bluesmobile kit at the GSL 21 contest where I ̶̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶w̶a̶r̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶ awarded myself first place. (borrowing KCSlammer's Fotki photo of it)

Then there's the integral sleeper version....

I favor "dust art" cars, being that it takes a bit more talent to create one.....

Cheapo junk mail adhesive-backed chrome mylar sticker material from a particular auto club is what I use. Various stickers are smooth all the way across instead of being partially textured, with enough material for sideview & interior mirrors, plus random reflectors for taillights & front turnsignals.

And for those of us who can't read (like me), use that trick under Google's Image search option. Like this.

Or something. I have no idea what prompted me to get this. Might have been something given to me, instead. Most likely I blacked out the windows as an experiment for a slammer look. Says "Aston Martin" on the bottom of this one.

Truly demented. If only I had more time, I'd love to make models of the Ghostbusters VW and the silver Prowler SUV.

Watched a program last night about Windsor Castle, I have the model car part of it cued to start at the 19:50 point of it - that bit is much too short. A little web surfing turned up this site for the castle itself and specifically Queen Mary's doll house, where if you click on the link at the bottom of that page and rummage around a bit, you can end up on one for the garage and another for the Rolls Royce model. Pre-1925 stuff here, imagine haveing a model car in your collection that is around 90 years old....

The ultimate perfect scale model would be one that could be magically brought up to full actual size and be indistinguishable from a genuine vehicle. So, my vote would favor the model with a filled-in firewall even if the hood now was a hingeless mass of sheet metal. You'd at least be a step ahead of your competitors on that particular detal, with the next goal of figuring out a way to make functioning hinges closer to scale size. Other simpler little details might call for attention before something more elaborate. For example, hollow out flat areas where clear color taillight and fron turn signal lenses are glued on and cover those areas with adhesive-backed chrome mylar sticker material so that the lights come alive with depth.

I never paid all that much attention to 'em, but from the photo below of my former Chalet and from a quick glance at other '77 & '76 Chalets in my mega-pile of photos, I can say at least these two years of GM 4x4 Blazers & Jimmys had 10 slot 6 lug rally wheels. If I ever get to making a factory replica stock of one of these, I'll have to figure out how to make these wheels or hope someone has already done so. At least from my full size vehicle, I learned the difference between the emblems & colors of the center caps on '76s & '77s (except now I wonder if the background circle was black from the factory or painted that way by a prior owner...)

My condolences. But your thread asks a question, and if I may, here's something I hope will help: Assuming you have not already seen it, find a way to watch the 2000 Tom Hanks movie "Cast Away". It is much less about some guy cast away on a deserted island as it is an eye-opener for anyone who has experienced some kind of major loss and is wondering what to do next. Most people see the answer to that near the end of that movie.

Meanwhile, what if the artist for this original sketch had gone beyond lowering it and hot rodding it?

Looks like my search thingy couldn't count past six without taking its shoes off.....

Top Fuel isn't my specialty by any means, so I had to refer to a bunch of various photos to be moderately sure I was plumbing & detailing it realistically. A fun diversion back in 1998 for me.

That's the old Gowland & Gowland 1:32 scale '29 Duesenberg, a glue bomb which my dad bought at a garage sale 'cause he thought it was rare and valueable. I tried selling it on eBay with a starting bid of 99 cents, to no avail, then I thought about using it as a campfire starter for my Colorado summer vacation, but then I came up with a blasphemous idea of a reasonably fun and simple model to build, that would mess with other people's minds. Stay tuned.