Brian Austin

At local shows I have seen a late-model Chevy pickup converted to battery power.

Front-wheel-drive, hybrid power drives, and V-8 engines (among other things) were also invented a lot longer ago than when the average person might think they were. One should remember that a hundred years ago and earlier, all automobiles were short-range and horses were still in use for work. Roads were poor, speeds were very low, and long-distance driving wasn't common prior to the development of paved roads. So electric cars were viable, and were popular with women, particularly affluent ones, who didn't want to have to hand-crank to start a gas car. In more modern times electric cars were seen not as superhighway cruisers, but as runabouts for shopping or running errands around suburbs, for commuting to work, or more recently, for use in cities to fight pollution and cut congestion. Perhaps common electric cars aren't well suited to commuting in modern urban sprawl with hundred-plus commutes to work out west. UPS and other companies had battery-powered delivery truck fleets in the early days. (I know of one '30s UPS "package car" that had wound up at a trolley museum in Maine after it had become surplus, and then in later years the company had re-aquired it. It was treated to a full restoration and was used for promotional purposes. UPS was promoting electric power again.) I think the mid-20th century drive for interstate highways had erased the institutional memory of electric automobiles. Also, every once in a while, someone reinvents the steam car for a newer era, but these efforts never seem to gain traction.

It kind of looks industrial, like it belongs on a crane. :-)

Where would you put the Smallblock Chevy in the 1902 OLds? :-)

http://www.northwestclassicautomall.com/ClassifiedAds.html?pid=9525&step=4 There is at least one diecast model of a Jeep pickup that could donate the cab...

From Facebook...

From a Brazilian sales site. Looks rather peculiar as a six-wheeler. :-)

Translation from Brazilian sales listing: "Ford F100 1981 Rat Rod, factory equipped with 4cil engine and four-speed gearbox, revised mechanical part and running perfectly. Original can and paint with minor repairs between the front and rear bumper, not worth restoring, stayed years abandoned under a tree until it was rescued, resurrected and put back to run, so before closing deal have absolute science that you are buying a real mouse, if you need to consult your wife before closing business. If for a moment pass in your head a willingness to restore, easier to buy a new cabin and bucket.* It's running perfectly, I walk every day, documents strictly in days, 2019 paid, registered engine. Value for sale at sight R$ 24.800,00. We are located in the city of Dois Irmãos-RS, service only by appointment. Acquisition by photos is at the buyer's own risk, because it is an old vehicle is sold without warranties and without possibility of further complaints. We deliver throughout Brazil, request budget for your region. Request photos and video." *Pickup bed.

Yeah, it's a shame the ARII/IMEX kits are so far off. Jo-Han's '58 Cadillacs are also "off" in proportion as well. It might be mentioned elsewhere in this forum, but these kits were copied and issued under the LEE brand. Detail is said to be somewhat more soft. According to Scalemates, these kits were reissued by Heller. These kits do seem to get around. FWIW, Danbury Mint did a '57 Eldorado Biarritz in 1:24. For their price I hope they're better in proportion! :-) Scroll down this page for an idea or two for finishing your own Revell Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. For instance, someone kitbashed one into the Town Car concept car. https://www.newcadillacdatabase.org/static/CDB/Dbas_txt/photoy57.htm

Literal shower thought last night: Round2 might have to modify the interior bucket to remove the molded-in "Ecto" equipment. The Polar Lights version seems to be less of a problem here than the AMT one. Just for fun here I dug out some old comparisons I made. The AMT kit is the lovely opaque off-white plastic, while the Polar Lights kit is in a more translucent white with violet-ish cast. (Parts generally won't interchange well between the two kits.) IMHO each kit has its own plusses and minuses. I'd be happy to see a reissue of either one, as I cut up mine for projects long ago.

In art school I learned to work with guache for class assignments, and found it OK to work with, but didn't pursue it to any degree on my own. Interestingly, I was fascinated by commercial art (particularly the work of Maxfield Parrish) but my art history professor was rather condescending toward that field of art history. One of my model club friends was involved in the Boston advertising art scene decades ago. He had many fascinating stories. The artwork and props generated for each shoot are valued only as a means to get the job done, and are often tossed afterwards. So many manual processes involved in comp work are lost today. So many materials and products made for this very specific work that the majority of the population won't even have heard of.

Pyro's VW Beetle kit went through several iterations. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/pyro-329-volkswagen--1094633

This is the first I've heard of #1242, sounds interesting. IIRC the Polar Lights Ectomobile was a different from the older AMT version. The respective movie cars were slightly different. It would be nice to see the AMT kit again, even in modified form, since I'd only toss out the Ecto-stuff anyway.

The ARII/IMEX kits have their share of issues. The chassis and mechanicals seem very close to the Revell 1959 in size, at 1:25. The body, bumpers, windshields, interior, etc., however are way, way too wide. Note these kits represent the regular Cadillac Eldorado models. The old Revell kit in question represented a premium Cadillac, handbuilt. These were unrelated to the regular production models except for the chassis. Period promo info regarding the '57 Eldorado Brougham: http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Cadillac/1957_Cadillac/1957_Cadillac_Eldorado_Brougham_Press_Release/dirindex.html. http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Cadillac/1957_Cadillac/1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham Salesmen's Data Book/index1.html

Sometimes airport limos get rebuilt into novelty rental limos. One example of a '57 can be found on this page: http://my.net-link.net/~dcline/l_s_own1.htm

Funny I remember watching IROC racing decades ago, and they were identically-prepared cars. I'm a bit disappointed that I saw the hype surrounding the dirt race for weeks, but in the end it got moved to a day I had to work and so I missed it. The race got further publicity when Richard Petty made some public comments that were less than positive.

I just went to a HL in my area for the first time. Got a Revell snap '57 Chevy and a can of Testors spray paint for a touch less than $20 total.

The "Paper" commercial reminded me of this classic:

TV Guide, 1981 & Readers Digest (date lost, from the same era). Note the crushed MG at the end of the article.

Esquire magazine, 1978. Interestingly the article touches upon the use of computer graphics in this field, though perhaps it is not remembered. Do any of you remember the Pacer wagon?

I was reminded of some old magazine clippings I've had for a long while. I'd love to find these commercials on YouTube. These two from TV Guide (Citation article dates from 1980).

Tom, the funny thing is I had presumed the Tech Toys signage was made up by the production company, because I thought I had read in a discussion somewhere that storefronts were altered in other commercials in the series.

That's just part of the humor. We'd never suspect that from Jamie.

Somewhere in my pile of VHS tapes (some digitized) is a behind-the-scenes TV segment from the '90s showing the work behind the first commercial shown below. Miniature props were utilized.

As of yet he's posted seven or so videos of this build. He stated he was initially going to stockpile the entire contents of the subscription segments before starting, but he figured while in a lockdown situation he might as well start now. So we won't see the finished project for a long while yet. It would be fun to build the kit as a stock Miller-Meteor hearse or ambulance, but at the price these go for I'll pass. :-)