Hollywood Jim

Let me get this straight. Kataranga got an envelope from Kalkaska, from a guy named Kaelin. ? Will there be a test on this later ? . . .

WOW !! That's great photoshopping. Now I want to build a car that looks like your photoshop work. A model car with just a hint of see through. . . .

Welcome. Great work !! What's going on with that white Ferrari? Clear body? But it looks semi-clear?????? . . .

Thank you all for your input. You have given me a lot to think about. Thank you so much !!

I need your help !! I have been so close to this diorama I can’t see it anymore. I mean I can’t see it objectively, I’m too attached to it. So I want everyone to give me your opinion. I need some new eyes to tell me if I’m missing something. As soon as I figure out how I’m going to layout the items on the floor, I will think about maybe adding some lighting. Please don’t be offended if I don’t use your idea. One note. When figures are added to a diorama it can quickly go from serious theme to cartoon looking. I want to use the least amount of figures as possible to get the point across. Tell me which layout you like the best. Or if you have other ideas. A Only one red hot rod. B Only apple crate car and kid. C Apple crate car, kid and hot rod. D Apple crate car, kid, big sister, hot rod E Apple crate car, kid, hot rod and Dad (looking at his hot rod) F Apple crate car, kid, hot rod, Dad, and grandfather G Apple crate car, kid, hot rod and Dad. Motorcycle or a second car to fill the space of the double car garage. This second vehicle would be painted in black and white. Thank you for your help !! . . . .

Thank you Tom ! I don't like dioramas where there are model car wheels and hub caps glued all over the walls; too high for the 3 inch figures to reach them. LOL. The wheels and tires are outside the back door, where most people would keep them. ( I still may add a wheel and tire leaning against the wall. ) . . .

OK, all the details on the shelves and walls are finished. Standby for the floor layout. . . . .

Thank you. I found a little boy figure I like. Last night I modified his arms. It is not finished yet. . . . .

Thanks guys !! The last few details are added, before I start work on what goes center stage. I painted the lawn mower. Making a water hose. Trash box. This area is finished. Here are a few things for the floor. I don't want to glue down anything that goes on the center of the floor. This will allow me some flexability in subject matter. . . . .

Right on !! They would be better off giving us a list of subjects and taking votes. Votes at hobby stores, votes at model events and votes on the internet. . . .

Thank you for the compliments ! The tarp is dried. Now it's time to decide what color to paint the tarp. Experimenting with color. Too much color in the tarp seems to take the focus away from the apple crate car. So I decided on this color. My friend Rich in Las Vegas, noticed that the tarp did not look smooth enough. So I painted it with two coats of paint. . . .

Thank you guys !! Experimenting with some tarp materials and thinned white glue. Here is the test body. First I tried some cotton material, like a pillow case. But it came out with lots of wrinkles. Then I tried aluminum foil. When your working with it, once it is wrinkled it is hard to smooth out. No glue needed, just paint it. It works OK, but not for large areas. I found only one paper towel that had no pattern on the paper. It was Viva. Very easy to work with after it is soaked in thinned white glue. Works perfectly. But when it dries it is kind of porous. The texture is pretty rough, like an old weathered canvas tarp. Viva tarp painted. My Viva tarp is drying. . . . .

It would be easy if you did it with an older car with simple outside hinges, like this one. Or with suicide doors like this one. . .

Excellent !!! Perfect. Great job on the metal work. Everything looks absolutely realistic.

Thank you for the encouragement guys !!! Now that the focus of this diorama is on the push cart, I am able to finish the car. The car will be unfinished with a tarp on it. Here is the finished (unfinished) car. I still need to weather it with some washes. . . . .

If your favorite builds are Dr. Crankys, then your addiction is something to be concerned about; you really have a serious problem. The only cure is to build something like Cranky would build............... . . .

Time to work on the work bench. Testing some ideas. Final layout. Can you see the story line on the bench? From right to left. Working on the hot rod. Wife says fix the toaster. Son needs help building his apple crate push cart. ( I'll add some pieces of wood to the bench. ) . . . .

Holy Mackerel !!!! That is incredible !!! This could stand all by itself on any model show display table. . .

Thanks. Gotta tell you a story about the brakes. My friends and I built a car a few years after my first car. We installed only one brake on the left side. We were racing down a hill with several other cars in the neighborhood. When my friend put on the one left brake, (at about 10 miles per hour) the car swerved to the left and flipped over !! My friend recieved a few scrapes. Advice: Always put two brakes on these cars and use both of them !

Haircut? Ah, you are just jealous…….

Thank you Tom !! Building my apple crate car just like I did 53 years ago. . . . .

Welcome !!

Someone suggested I add jumper cables. So I made some tonight. . . .

No ! Father, not Great Grandfather !! LOL . .

Something happened that somewhat changes the direction of this diorama. This diorama is a loose representation of my father’s garage and the one I remember growing up with. I saw these very cool pictures the other day and it brought back some strong memories of me and my Dad building a soapbox car out of a wooden apple crate. So, I want to somehow incorporate a small boy and an apple crate car into the diorama. So I built a 1/25th scale apple crate. Maybe I can create something like this. A father and son building an apple crate car. And an unfinished hot rod. . . . .