W Humble

I'd be glad to swap the Luftwaffe sheet (Blohm & Voss P 194, Revell Ger. 1997) which is about all the a/c I have not otherwise committed for some wing/fuselage emblems. I wouldn't need the rest. :-<) This sheet is about 4x5", but doesn't appear to be cracked. I'd forgotten about the 'red line' around the border motif! I haven't built an a/c model since the 'fifties, but looking at and judging the stuff in IPMS and Yuba City chapter show, I was impressed with what's done nowadays!! My two 'canards' are moving along well enough; lots of liberty taken with the jet conversions, but they are apocryphal (always misspell that one!) anyhow. I left a/c, ship and armor when I discovered 3-in1 customizing kits about 9th grade, in 1959! I couldn't drive yet, much less afford a car -- much less customize one -- so AMT/SMP/JoHan/Revell came to my rescue! Thanks! Wick If you want to swap, pls PM me your address?

Wasnt Steve Martin's character who said "Mother?" Emil Schulffhausen? No, I remember, it was Bruno, or something! Oops!

Emil: "Mother?"

I realize that I re-entered this request! Gettin' old! Wick

I'm building two aircraft models (after not touching one since the late 'fifties), and I need some of the late WWII USAAF type 'star and bar' decals in 1/48 scale, enough for two a/c. Probably should not have the later red stripe, as the Curtiss does not. Not having started this project: a Kyushu J2W7 Shinden and Curtis XP-55 Ascender which I am converting to turbojet power (well, gotta' customize some, huh?) at the last IPMS show/swap where I could have gotten a half-pound of them for five bucks, I now am asking for some -- and I have some A/C and car stuff to trade. I'm doing the Shinden as part of an allied 'enemy aircraft flight' example (pure fiction, oc) so won't need it's Hasegawa decal sheet, nor a Luftwaffe set -- both unused -- that I can swap. Also, I need a few RAF roundels, about 17-mm. diameter, for a Tomahawk toy (Hubley, very old) that I 'saved' from hanging on a fence! Any help out there? :-<) THX! Wick

Wicks very old art: Forgot to note, I'm building the 'Studebaker Shrike' Roadster in 1/1 -- as soon as I finish Dad's old '51 Chevy for my son, 1/1. Using '54 Champ sedan body, shortened, w/s chopped 2-in., on S-10 frame with IROC-Z Vortec V-8 and T-5 five-speed. Now to learn my new TIG welder! Maybe MIG will have to do! Also doing a resin '51 Chevy replica for him based on AMT B-A kit; 350.five-speed, M II front, power discs, steering, and FiTech FI, etc. Ole' Wick

I met 'Little Daddy' Roth at a Sacto swap meet, had a really great conversation about the olden days. I still have a BDR tee with "Pontiac Man" logo, from '63, but it depicts a generic weirdo guy in a T-bucket, not necessarily Poncho powered. SIze S... looks best on a hangar! Bought a tee from him too, XL, signed. Roth, Mouse, and a host of others so very popular! I was our high school weirdo artist with marker pens (rare, then) , for better or worse! Our local garage band had a hand-drawn bass-drum head (done by Leon Holloway, the bassist -- serious 'fifties guy!) with a caricature of Frankenstein -- with one eyeball speared out on the end of his drumstick! It's no wonder Mrs. A, our class adviser, fought having 'The Delrays' for our senior prom! But that's another story... Wick

Very accomplished and polished stuff! My first car ('55 Chevy post in '61) was striped by a local guy who signed his name 'COOP', and I think he is the Cooper who later made an impression in the 'Van Craze' era. Think he also specializes in Devil Girls now, and some softcore. Mayabe not. He once did a new '65 International pickup (destined for farm chores!) for a case of Lucky Lager. Could do the hood, work around the side, do the trunk, and finish up the opposite side with perfect symmetry -- amazing talent! No I don't have pics; wish I did! Wick

I was thinking of snapping a better angle; the trophy is 'roped' to the roof now, with a Bell helmet atop! Also, pic doesn't show the truck tires buried on the track initerior, etc. That slash paint scheme was popular in small towns mid-50s! Wick

Gary, et al, This is a lot of time to cover; 1960 through 2005-ish -- all on one of my favorite autos, the 1953-54 Studebaker coupe! Influenced a lot by car mags! Wish I'd had the guts to go to ink -- on decent paper -- earlier! Only Stude I've ever had i(that ran) was a '62 Hawk GT; gorgeous, but it was a crummy B-W automatic, and I never drove two-pedal cars! I sold it in late '70s for about $2K, now it's fairly priced at ten-times that, but still local. Now I have a derelict '54 Champ sedan that, should I live long enough, I'm converting into a two-door roadster, Chevy s-10 frame, '82 IROC-Z engine and T-5 5-speed -- so far! My last 1;1 project! Earliest are aboug 1960, then 'eighties, finally about 2005. Ah, the stories! Wick

Sounds like a philosophical question to me! Besides, I dunno' ! Created by shadow, oc. Wick

Dad never drove, but he loved to attend our local bullring (literally: it was used one week of the year for the Alturas CA Rodeo, then the 'hardtoppers' took over. This was about 1955, and we lived right across the street; so close a Ford 'wide five' wheel and tire came off, broke the 1x10 pine fencing, crossed the street, and broke into our chicken house. Scared my 4H rabbit into hysterics. Our next door neighbor, Lyle Dunn, had a Mobil station, so I gave him credit as mechanic/sponsor. Dad passed in 1958 of a heart attack; too much stress and Lucky Strike cigs! Dad started smoking during battle of Okinawa; both men were vets, both gone now. Oh, my very first diorama! Age 77... For you, Dad: Wick

Very evocative! I had an art prof at Chico (CA) State who did a series of old truck fronts, rusting, sinking into the weeds, etc. Very expressive 'faces', almost dog-like. Named Brian Paulsen. He also did a completely different style, b&w 'funk' -- all this in the mid/late sixties, 'way before the things that were popular in the nineties! Wick I think you can google his stuff.

Nice! Ambitious work! I used to do a unit with my Kindergarten class (no, I was the teacher!) that used images from a PPG paint calendar; nice b&w line drawings to color by (I think) Darryl Maybabb, famous hot-rod artist. Some incredible 'paint jobs' from some, and they all loved it! They'd often dictate stories about their 'creations'. One was so amazing I offered the child cash for it, but -- wouldn't you know -- he declined! Wick, MA in Art Ed.

Guys, lets put shame/modesty behind us, and keep this thread going. Or one of the others? Sketches and doodles are okay, esp if 'from the day'. Wick

Nice! Great modeling of form! Don't we all wish we'd had time and inclination to take just a bit more time and refine the detail one more degree? Still, just getting stuff on paper is the challenge. Ole' Wick, MA in Art Ed., but I became a sculptor, then a writer. One of my sketches, for a friend who had wrecked his Honda bike and had a freshly rebuilt 305 with a 350 kit; interested in karts, about 1965.

Oh, re: my silly wierdo: I'm sorry I forgot to blot out the Nazi symbols; in those days I was very naive, I guess. Hope no one is offended!!! Sorry! I still have my Big Daddy Roth tee "Pontiac Man" from '63; it was just a b&w silkscreen, not an original. Boy, if I could squeeze into that today!! 30-in. waist and 145 lbs -- long past!

The only one I can still find, done about 1964 by me. I usually did tee-shirts in marker pen. This was from study hall, with ballpoint, not a good choice for expressive line work! From the Italian Swiss Colony Wine commercials on TV (Gallo Bros) 'The little old wine maker, me!' Wick

Bill, too true! Love your quotes in blue; how do you add them? Wick

I know this forum topic is from the stone age, but: I've had input, subtle and not-so, that I might have put my criticisms in milder prose and not been offensive, which may be true. At the time a.) I was a bit offended, and b.) I guess I didn't realize that to possibly be accepted as a hale fellow-well met on model forums was also to just smile knowingly and pass on all of it. Anyhow, Sorry! I repeat: the authoritative writer, when dispensing wisdom and insights into his area of expertise, should still be held (or hold himself*) accountable for what it put in print under their by-line. Errors occur (by me, too!) but taking offense at any correction or criticism is just saying that accuracy really doesn't matter. Still, one last time, if I offended you, I am contrite in proportion... but let's get it right, if possible, the first time. Thx! Glad to have my 1st Amendment rights in a good magazine! Wick * (or herself, though I haven't noted any female contributors to MC...)

In the day: Duro Plastic-Aluminum, Duco cement, Pactra and Testors bottle paint (later rattle cans), and plastic from old soap dishes, etc. We've come a long way, baby! I did use AMT body putty too, but it seemed to swell-up under some finishes. When I re-started in the 'eighties, I was doing 1;1 cars, so Ditzler and Fiber-glass Evercoat products and the inevitable CA glues -- which is pretty much standard for me today. I discovered aerosol touch-up paints from dealers parts counters in the 'sixties, which was pretty good, but now it's 95% PPG products for me, sometimes with U-Pol clear. For those who can, 1:1 finishes (often with catalyst) are a good option, especially if you can find a friendly store who gives away mis-matches. As I worked in one as a retirement job, that's my go-to, and for primers/sealers also. Where else could I get a free gallon of Hemi Orange? Well, almost that... Wick

I remember: Smittys, Pacemakers, Cherry Bombs, and finally... Corvair Turbos! I had 'em all, and more. The good-flowing turbo was ostensibly developed for the single exhaust on the turbocharged Corvair flat-six as it had to use a single exhaust; it flowed well, sounded all right, AND could sometimes squeak your car past the cop's listening post; since it had the oval section, rather than round like the straight-through 'can' style, they might be convinced it was still stock. I have one now on my '62 LeMans and '71 240Z, both in-lines with single pipes. I had a Magnaflow (also oval, but polished stainless steel) on the Z-Car, but it was too raucous for a Grandpa driving on the street, likewise on my L-28 powered M-B 230. Some of the local tuners thought that one was funny until I raced it...

I've been using aluminum tube with solder pipes for a long time, but I'm going to try this trick. Just don't want to melt the styrene! I know that the chromed brass radio antenna is going the way of the dodo bird, but I use them for exhaust tips: if you make a cut with a rolling-blade tubing cutter, it chamfers the cut (good for two tips!) just like what we used to call 'pencil tip' extensions. Or, a careful cut and some light work with #400 wetordry paper can make 'bologna tip' shaped ends. Very good for 'Bellflower exhausts' too, though it will not bend happily. A couple of antennae will do a lifetime of kits, even the large-scale ones and die-casts. Carburetor velocity scoops, too. Plus, if I sharpen the solid top segment it will work as a plastic scriber. Several similar tops make stanchions for a show car, or sign posts, too. Wick

Gary, et al, I saved all of my stuff from about 1955-onwards, but I drew on school-surplus newsprint, and all are disintegrating so many decades later! I had one pal in Modoc Union High School who drew very well, Tom Johnson -- we traded stuff sometimes, and even drew on one another's work; still have a few of his! I'll scan and post a few soon _very busy, trying to become a self-published author on DKP ('young adult/historical fiction' category) with teen-age stories -- lots of cool cars -- beginning in 1959. A PLACE ON MARS is the series name, if you want to risk a read. I had two HS girls, my grand-daughter and a cohort, do the covers of the first two books. My drawings range from decent if imitative to wild and/or embarrassing, but what part of our past can we change? Soon! Wick Class of '63

Chuck, I've been working on 'getting things right' for about 70 years, from when I built my first plastic kit, one of Aurora's 'Famous Fighters' Spitfire. So, dropping the ball is okay with you? A mis-typed vowel doesn't seem like much of an issue, but I apologize to Tom. Okie dokie? Wick