Spex84

Dang, that's nice!! Thanks for all the detail pics. I don't build in this style but I can learn a ton from observing the various design and engineering choices.

Beautiful so far Thanks for going into detail on the vent window modifications. That's an area that frequently looks "wrong" on model cars, but I've never really put much time into figuring out why.

Cool fade job!

Well done! None of those are easy kits to build, and yours look very well-sorted. I've only ever used them as parts donors for hot rod projects, never had the fortitude to try and build one box-stock!

One of the cars I posted above is the "Brubaker Box", a kit car body designed for a VW chassis. Pretty neat. Well, it has been pointed out that Brubaker produced other designs, and hey, one of them looks a heck of a lot like the Cybertruck! I'd be keen to see artist Khyzl Saleem's take on the Cybertruck. His aesthetic is informed by cyberpunk and a variety of car-culture styles, and it's feeding back into car culture in the form of SEMA builds and video game cars inspired by his work. The Tesla truck is so monolithic; it could use some more fragmented areas of detail or color to relieve the severity of the design. The Brubaker concept above achieves this with a black 2-toned front panel. But then I guess we're getting back into gratuitous styling.

And one more comment, relating to Richard's observation that cyberpunk themes often warned of the consequences of modern technologies....the Cybertruck does NOT look like it's designed for a future (or a present) that we're comfortable with. It looks like it's fortified against an unfriendly world. Timely, maybe...but the world is what we make it!

I was flabbergasted by the Cybertruck reveal. After so many years of retro-mod re-interpretations of old car designs, I expected their version to be a fairly generic crossover-looking truck with some token "cyber" details, similar to the way the new Ford Mach-E is just a generic crossover wearing the stretched-out pelt of some poor Mustang. For years I've been grumbling "what about a truck that is utilitarian, bare-bones, functional instead of hewing to current fashion trends?". And I'm a fan of 1970s sci-fi and industrial design. Welp...I can't say Tesla's new truck design strikes me as functional, but man, did they ever call my bluff. The truck looks like a video game LOD model. Like somebody said "hey, I've been learning Google Sketchup over the weekend; I'm getting pretty good, we should fire the design team!" It breaks many of the aesthetic rules for making a good-looking 3D object. The wheel arches are particularly egregious. It looks like a low-budget '70s sci fi background vehicle made from plywood. Who knows...it might actually work! I'm picturing the Tesla team as soccer players sprinting towards the open net, hoping to score while everyone else is standing there with their jaws hanging open. Here are some cars that were probably part of the design DNA of the Cybertruck. And at risk of being a spoilsport, every single one of them is better looking. Lol!!

Classy! With a nose like that, I almost expected to see a Jag or Ferrari engine or something similar. This model is a great example of how good the late 80s/90s street-rod style can look!

10 years already?? Whoa. Yep, I'm good with it too. Really enjoyed building the one I purchased last time it was released.

If future spacecraft look like SpaceX's Starship (seen below at left as compared with "Destination Moon" (1950), then there's hope! Maybe we'll get those sleek retro wedge cars we're hoping for. Of course, maybe by then, we'll all be commuting by Hyper-Camel.

Wasn't the last issue of the Double-T kit exactly the same as this, just with different box art? Not complaining, just wondering if they changed anything for this version.

That's what my bench looks like too.

Several of my faves are already listed here...Syd Mead, Thom Taylor, Steve Stanford. For modern concept artists, I also enjoy Gary Campesi's concepts! In the past...I always thought Harry Bradley's pencil lines were the sweetest around, and I love the Da Vinci-like cutaways, sections, diagrams, and notes that would frequently accompany the car designs. And Darrel Mayabb's artistry is (was??) spectacular. http://www.automotivegraffiti.com/galery_main_page.html I've posted some images I like, but he also did more concept-y designs. I'm not sure if I'd call Jeff Norwell a "concept artist" as he seems to mostly draw cars inspired by real-life examples, but his style has a lot of the liveliness that I admire in Mayabb's cartoons. Oh, and of course, the fabulous kandy-koated kreations of Keith Weesner:

Cool mods and parts choices so far! I'm looking forward to watching this one develop.

Oh, ok...looks like the waxy supporting material (normally removed by Shapeways) wasn't entirely gone yet. Once its fully removed, you get that white-ish grainy surfacing where the support material was attached. This model appears to have been printed horizontally, face-up. I tend to buff those grainy areas with a toothpick to knock the grain down. Then I primer and figure out how much sanding or filler I'll need to remove the texture/deposition layer lines (the "woodgrain" effect)

Those Camaro styling studies are gorgeous! I don't know why, but it made me think of the Facel Vega. Maybe it's the "American muscle with heavy Euro influence" look...

Behind the Camaro Kammback, on the wall, is that leftmost drawing a rear-engined Corvette concept? Looks sweet!

Anyway, I'm excited to see this one getting built!

I'm a fan of the Invader! I've never built the Eldon/Doyusha kit, but judging from photos of other peoples' builds I've always felt that the carb scoops in the kit left something to be desired Kit Parts on left, the real thing on the right. Here's a discussion of alternative Cal Custom scoop sources, both kit and aftermarket:

Whoa! That's a beautiful model right there. Can't wait to see the rest of it :D

Example sources for a Spalding Flamethrower distributor: Revell '55 Chevy, Revell Parts Pack Ford 427 and Pontiac 421. Here's one added to an MPC '57 Chevy engine. Example source for a Vertex magneto: AMT '53 Ford PU (on the custom Desoto Firedome V8 optional engine). For the mag shown below, I cut the top off the AMT '53 PU part, fixed the bad seams, and dropped it on top of a piece of aluminum tubing to form the cylindrical casing. Drilled 8 pinholes in the cap and stuffed the wires in to match the 1:1 inspiration.

Ah yes, the kustom-haters are out in force. You guys have no idea what an ugly custom car looks like. There was some stuff built that makes the Sahara look like a model of taste and restraint. And if you do...how 'bout let's put them in a different thread and keep this one about the Golden Sahara. Thanks!

This speaks to me...I honestly like doing research and mocking up new ideas more than finishing anything. Once the idea is solid and it's down to bodywork and struggling with paint problems, the fun is over! And when it's done and on the shelf, the main reward is that now I can get back to the fun of planning/starting new projects :D

Love the fusee chain hinge! Very trick.

Clever work on that bucket! This model has excellent proportions so far, nice fabrication.