Hollywood Jim

Beautiful. I love the holes !

Very cool !! Thanks.

That looks great !! You really have that rust look nailed. How did you do the glass cover ? Did you start out with a glass case that had a wood base; and then build the diorama in it ? . . .

Thank you all so much for your comments !! The name of this diorama will be Making Memories. (Thank you Mercman, Rich and Clayton !) Here is the final design. I have painted the Dad and added a little friend for the young boy. . . . .

Don't worry, I'm sure our gassers will look different from one another. LOL Here are some gasser rules: Byron's Gasser Madness! It's a matter of class! By Byron Stack © 2004, 2005, 2010 byron@gassermadness.com At first, there were no "classes". It was "run what ya brung" in the purest sense. Interestingly enough, by the way, more often than not, it was a motorcycle winning the top eliminator. By 1953, some general classes were introduced. They were pretty loose and included classes like "Pre-War Roadster" and "Post-War Heavy Sedan" among others. As time progressed, the classes became more formalized. That was also the year that the NHRA held it's first drag race at Pomona. In 1958, a gas class racer was basically a hot street coupe. No engine setback was allowed, all gassers had to have working lights, wipers, starter, generator and all other street equipment. Fans and belts were optional, but radiators were required. The car even had to be currently licensed for the street. Full exhaust systems, including mufflers, were required but could be unhooked for competition, although they had to remain on the car. Those of you who (like me) are old enough will remember "cutouts" that were used back then up into the early to mid 60's. What all this provided for was a class for guys to run a "hopped-up" street machine. The cars were required to have full "factory-type" upholstery although two buckets could replace the standard bench seat as long as both were fully upholstered. Customs were allowed as long as the car wasn't chopped, channeled or sectioned a total of more than four inches. "Four stock fenders" and a rear bumper were also required. Full transmissions were required, as were "Quick-change rear-ends, locked differentials or ratchet-type rear-ends (high torque) are permissible with safety hubs." Four-wheel brakes were required as well. There were only five gas classes, classified according to total car weight divided by total engine displacement cubic inches. Designations were A/G, B/G, C/G, D/G or E/G preceded by car number. Use of a supercharger moved you up one class. WEIGHT OF CAR / CUBIC INCHES OF ENGINE = POUNDS PER CUBIC INCH The breakdowns were as follows: Class A 0 to 8.99 pounds per cubic inch Class B 9.00 to 10.99 pounds per cubic inch Class C 11.00 to 12.99 pounds per cubic inch Class D 13.00 to 13.99 pounds per cubic inch Class E 14.00 or more pounds per cubic inch As you can see, this class was designed for what was basically a modified stocker...much like the later Modified Production classes. By 1960, the rules had changed significantly. By then, engine setback of up to 10% was permitted although most of the street equipment rules were still in force. 1962 was a sort of "sea change" year for the gassers. As Don Montgomery, in his book "Supercharged Gas Coupes & Sedans" states: "The NHRA rule changes for 1962 were evidence that drag racing had finally accepted the gas coupe/sedan competitors to be serious racers." The rules that required full street equipment including mufflers, wipers, horns, generators, emergency brakes, license plates and registration were now gone. Roll-up side windows were no longer required and could be replaced by Plexiglas windows screwed to the window frame. They were now real racecars. . . . .

OK thanks !!

Super !!!

Nice job !! I like it.

Thank you all !! Bryan: I'm new to this gasser thing. In 1960 when some guy wanted to race his dads old car, he had to cut out the rear wheel wells so that the slicks would fit. What do you mean radius job looks correct? Matching the front? I don't get it. I thought the guys would take a hack saw and just start cutting until the slicks fit........ ?????????? . .

Hello !! Here are some progress shots of my 50 Olds Gasser. This is the first gasser I have ever built. I trying to replicate an old barn find gasser. Maybe something like this: Here is where I'm at so far. I need to add the transmission linkages. I used the front suspension from the 1933 Chrysler kit. It fit so well, I just had to use it. The white parts are scratch built items. Here I’m experimenting with some different rust colors. . . .

Here it is. I think it is a 1964 Cad. . . .

I waste valuable building time reading threads on model car forums. . . .

Mine is one of those closets that you put together yourself. I modified it and installed a squirrel cage fan on top. . . .

$50.00 with shipping. Can I sell it for $100 next month ?? . .

With cool exhaust pipes ! Why they did not kit this one ???? It's got no cool looking hot rod engines !! With cool exhaust pipes ! LOL And creating a 1/25th scale kit of the insides would be an engineering nightmare. . .

If I show you and someone else builds it; then I won't want to build it anymore........ LOL . .

Kool !! I like your color choices !!

OK fellow diorama lovers, here is my final layout for this diorama. I just realized I have no name for this diorama. The main theme of this diorama is the little boy and his apple cart car. I added a light hidden under the shelf that spot lights the boy and the cart. I painted the father in colors that will not highlight the father. And I tried to get the viewer's eye to go to the little boy and then to the hot rod. ( I want to try and add a dog sitting next to the little boy. The dog is coming in the mail. ) All critiques and comments welcome. . . . .

Here is the car I originally built for the diorama. . . . .

The diorama is finished ! With the help of some of your comments I decided that I can always simply put a model car in this diorama to achieve my original goal. So before I show you what I decided to do for the final layout I will take some photos of some of my cars in this diorama, just to see what color car looks the best. Tell me what you think. It is amazing how this yellow car looks in the diorama !!! . . .

Thank you. Yes, it is a pedal car. . .

This diorama will be done in a few days !! Yesterday I added some lighting over the work benches. (It is difficult to take good pictures so that you can see the lights.) . . . . Thank you guys for the compliments and for your help !! . . .

I may be wrong here, but I thought stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby, WalMart (when they did) and other large chain stores rely on the distributor to decide what goes on the shelf. The distributor decides what is selling and what might sell. . . .

You have to be careful and lightly dampen the paper and slowly remove it. . .

Here is what I would try. I got this technique from Mike Napoleon. Who is one of the best diorama builders. You take a piece of drywall and you gently soak the paper off of both sides. You can tear off the first layer then gently soak the remaining paper with a sponge until it peals off. What you end up with is a piece of gypsum. Then you scribe the grout lines and make the bricks the size you need. Here is what I ended up with when I was testing the technique. . . . .