Dave Darby

John, you posted this build 8 years ago and I still never get tired of looking at it! It just sings to me. Now when you get that Ranchero done, get back on that Model A coupe!

Thanks Tim. It's an honor to have our hobby's Keeper of the Flame enjoying some of my work. I haven't made a lot of progress this week, but I did stumble upon the Tim Boyd 80's Tribute thread the other day (I think I poked my head into the WIP trucks section for the first time). I was awestruck by great construction going on in there that was obviously influenced by you. It is ironic in light of the 80's subject matter, that this build was a a semi 80's style build in the beginning, and is now getting back dated to an early 60's vibe. Even more ironic since it's painted with a Boyd Coddington color! I recently found a hood that I had modified for it over 25 years ago... maybe I'll catch myself in a Miami Vice mood for a future project... While this build is a bit of a tribute to Don Emmon's "California Orange" and Andy Southard Jr's roadster, you are also one of my evil influences (including some of the construction on this one), with your prolific body of work, from Street Rodder to SAE. Certainly you have far eclipsed Don's output. Your enthusiasm and support mean the world to all who know you. For those folks who are not familiar with "California Orange", Here are a few photos from the 1962 AMT Model Car Handbook that feature it. I remember well the first time I picked up a copy of Here is Your Hobby: Model Car Building from the bookmobile - anybody remember those? The book was assembled by Bill Neumann, but the lion's share of the content was by Don, with unfortunately no credit. I hope to make some more progress soon, so I hope you will stay tuned!

I was wondering if you were still alive! That Ranchero is gonna be peaches!

McLovin' it! What paint did you use?

Holy cow that's gorgeous, Gary!

Looks very, very good to me.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened this, but it sure is cool. Based on Monogram Green Hornet I presume. Looking forward to the finish.

Liking the colors and concept. I've heard tales of those coming with warped windshield frames. Luckily mine is straight. You might check in with RoG for a replacement. Looking fwd to seeing your finished progress.

Well I can see we have an AMT 57 Ford right here.... What are your plans for it?

Looking good Steve!

A few years ago, I let my Fotki account lapse, and consequently lost a BUNCH of photos. I've since restored them to both my Fotki account and to this thread. In almost 9 years since last time I've posted any updates, I've yet to finish it, although it's pretty close. Here's what it looks like since I posted last time.... This is the same paint I used on it originally, in a NOS can. Ironic that's a 67 Vette on the label! By the way, that is the original glass, polished out. (Compare that to the before photo!) The side pipes and bumpers are held on with Fun tak, but one of these days I'll buckle down and give her the big finish. The right side wheels are my originals, complete with the gold spokes I added around 1980-81. There will be no foil or clear coat, and I did not repaint anything that still had the original paint intact, so it's a semi survivor. I wanted it as close to the way I originally it built at age 16 as possible. Altho those green wipers ARE bothering me a bit now... Anyway, for those who didn't see it the first time around, or if you just want to revisit it, enjoy the journey. It's a long way from this basket case!

It cuts a nice profile and has the right attitude. Nice short wheelbase and a mean rake. I like it.

Dimes to dollars your build looks way cooler than the box art. Beautiful build Gary!

I don't know how I missed this one, but it's way cool. Great job on an underrated kit!

I like that idea. Might just have to try that myself.

Sounds really cool. I can't wait to see your build. At an earlier point in time I was going to use the chrome wire wheels from the Monogram 32 roadster on this one. But I like your idea better.

All photos are now restored, plus some new bonus photos added. Hope you enjoy!

I don't know how I missed this beauty, but it certainly deserves a bump. Beautiful work.

I restored a bunch of photos that Fotki lost for me (my fault - I let my account lapse), and added some new bonus construction photos.

Thanks Dave. I have two old threads and one current one at the moment. I'll PM you the urls.

Bump. Going to try and restore missing photos and add link to build process.

Very nice build! I have a question though... I can't even edit a post I added a week ago. The edit option simply is not there. How were you able to edit a post from 2017?

Dave, thanks for all of your hard work. I have a question/suggestion. Would it be possible to extend the window of editing posts indefinitely? I have some older posts from a few years ago that have broken image links, and I would like to fix them. I also have a thread I started a couple of weeks ago, which I added an update date to, but now I cannot go in and edit to reflect my latest update (ie; "Updated June 10" to "Updated June 21"). The idea that unlike a certain other forum, the threads are long term and don't roll off the map is great, but there are posters out there (particularly those who use/used Photobucket) who lost their photos, leaving a trail of broken image icons. Hence the need for the long term ability to edit posts. Any chance of this happening?

While I admit I liked the survivor look, I think think you really knocked this one out of the part. Makes me want to get one myself. Super nice work!

Both looking good Helmut! I'm not usually a fan of the Continental kits, but I like that one>.