The Modeling Hermit

I like the aggressive look.

That's a nice save.

I can just about hear the siren behind me now. It looks great.

I think that the mail is from Campus Friends. The female came from a company in Japan or possibly China. Somebody told me that the line of figures that she came from can now be found on the ebay.

Only in my dreams. LOL

That 63 rocks.

Welcome to the current Otto Ray Sing Classic Car Center. After rather humble beginnings, and now under new ownership, the business has expanded and become even more efficient. The garage area is much larger than the previous versions, and results in more efficient repairs, as well as increased customer satisfaction. The show room is large enough to display three cars. It follows the mid-century modern theme and allows customers to view their dream cars at all times.. The dealership is inviting and always stocked with beautiful cars to please any taste. Actually, there is one detriment. In front of the garage is a cement walkway, that has so far, resisted all attempts to remove it. These two workers will attest that it is much easier to stand around and look at it, than it is to perform the exercise in futility of trying to remove it. Management had a sense of humor when they put up the restroom signs. The entryway to the showroom was also well thought out to draw customers eyes to the vehicles found within. A classic car is always in view while approaching the building. This is what I call a 'photographic diorama', as the purpose is for it to be able to have scenery, vehicles, & figures changed to suit the needs of the vehicle being photographed. I will be adding a history to this as well as introducing figures, etc, if there is interest.

This is a kit bash. I started with the Supernatural 1967 Impala, and a 1968 Resin Impala hardtop that I've had sitting around. I used the grills & bumpers from the 68 kit to the 1967 kit. I also did some modifications to the 1967 body to make it into the 68 four door sedan. I'm sure that at some point, I'm going to finally get around to building that resin 68 and wish that I still had the parts that I used from it.

That's a lot better than my first attempt, which thankfully is forgotten to distant time.

This is the first classic car dealer that I built for the complex. Unfortunately, life took some twisted directions, and it had to be left in Alaska when I left.

This scene represents an abandoned 1960 Ford Galaxie that has spent several decades at the mercy of a flooding river.

This 1967 Chevrolet Impala is a tribute to a car my father owned in the early 1970s.

Those 58 Buicks were some of my favorite cars, and yours is amazing.

This 1968 Chevrolet Impala was a tribute to a car that I once owned.

My handle sounds a little strange now, since I now no longer live in Kodiak Alaska. With my wife passing in May of 2017, I've been transplanted to Hemet California, where I'm taking care of my older sister. I checked to see if there was a way to change my handle to something more fitting, but it looks like your stuck with a California Alaskan. By way of reintroduction and a tie-in for those who know me by my name on Facebook, here's a picture that pretty well sums up who I am. Thanks for letting me back in.

One of the last cars to have true class. I had a 71 Regency 4 door hardtop, and a 76 Station wagon. I absolutely loved those cars, and am excited to see that a master is being made so that I can someday have a model of one. I will be following this big time. Thank you for doing this.

Many have stated that they would love to have a photo of their model in a diorama setting, but lacked the skill to do so. Maybe this will change your mind. This setting consists of a dining room table, a 61 Cadillac model, a calendar photo, and a cereal box placed behind the photo. The camera was brought down to 1/25 scale eye level, and that's about it.

This is a cyberdiorama that I've done to represent a New England flavor. I once lived in Wolfeboro New Hampshire, and will always have wonderful memories of that beautiful fall scenery. Construction started with a semisceniced base, consisting of a gravel drive and grass in the background, to that was added a small office type building and a garage. The backdrop is a calendar photo which has been mirror imaged and retouched. Shrubbery and ground cover was then added to blend the foreground into the background. The camera angle is that one is walking up a hill towards the scene.

I've had several complaints through emails and other feedback about the photos that I post of my models. Some just don't like all the “clutter”, “garbage', and other “distracting” elements that my photos contain. These are terms that have been used in communications. There have also been accusations that I'm attempting to mislead viewers into thinking the models are real. Considering that my talents aren't very high, maybe I should take that as a compliment. I guess that I owe some apologies here. It is not my intent to mislead anybody in any fashion. I place the models into real life scenes, because that's the way that I remember and appreciate them. In my home, I've only got room to display around 200 cars and about 50 trucks, so the vast majority of my models are stored in boxes. I build them, take a few photos, and depending on where they fit into displayability, they are either placed on shelf or stored. By photoshopping the models into a real life setting, I get more enjoyment out of the photos that I take than a car just sitting on a table or shelf. These are the same photos that I display on forums. I felt that others would enjoy seeing the models as they saw the real cars back in their glory days as much as I did. I was blind-sided and quite shocked at the level of agitation that these photos caused. Since I didn't feel that they were actually dioramas, I placed them in the under glass section. This caused several viewers great distress because they wanted to see the model and not the (expletive deleted) stuff around it. I removed the offending posts, and then made the mistake of placing them in the diorama section. I was informed that I was unfair to those artists that spent hours constructing their dioramas, and that what I was posting was not a diorama. I've since removed all of the posts that caused agitation. I do once again apologize for my lack of consideration of the feelings of others. I would like to post some of my models again and I'm now in the process of trying to develop a disclaimer warning viewers that the model in the post will be in a real life setting, and to not proceed if this is going to cause them distress. This is one of the photos that caused problems. I just thought that it was a nice way to display the model.

The law stated that he had to have room for two cars, and he just qualifies. In the back the floor had to be leveled and several more cars are on display where patrons once sat to watch the latest movie offerings. On the second level, offices reside in what was once a balcony. The walkway that looks like it goes to nowhere actually led to the outside door for changing the marque. The area under the stairs is perfect for displaying vintage car dealer posters. Not only are posters for sale, but so are vintage dealer brochures. Mr. Sing even kept the tower lights in operation. It's not perfect, but it works, and as the company's success continues to grow, someday Otto Ray Sing Classic Car Sales will have the proper facilities that Mr. Sing dreams of.

I like old car dealership showrooms and thought that I would like to build a small one. I placed it in my Otto Ray Sing Classic Model Car Sales collective. I feel the best dioramas are those that have a history to them. In this instance I've relied on some of my own. During the late 1960s to mid 1970s, my sister worked for and eventually became manager of the local movie theater and drive-in theater in our hometown. I had the fun of running projectors at both theaters. Both those theaters are now long gone, but I've incorporated my fond memories of them into this diorama. In the beginning Mr. Sing had purchase a used car dealership from a couple that wanted to retire. With the purchase complete, he chose to go into a different direction and start selling collectible cars. The lot was rather modest, with display limited to maybe 20 cars on a gravel surface, a one car garage for repairs, and a small office. It wasn't much, but it was a beginning. Mr. Sing eventually found a building that would provide space for two vehicles where he could perform more involved servicing. Things were progressing quite well as the business grew and he saved money for proper, more fitting accommodations. However, as is so often the case, government regulations intervened. Newly elected government officials decided to enforce an ordinance that had long gone ignored to the point of becoming forgotten. It stated that all automobile dealers must have a showroom. This sent many used car dealers scrambling including Mr. Sing There wasn't much available, but he found an abandoned movie theater in what had been the central business district. It was not large, but with some imagination he could make it work. The little lot as it appeared in the mid-sixties. A larger garage added to a much higher quality of work while at the same time making working conditions more bearable Remember the days when we were teenagers and had a crush on the "hot chick" that was at least ten years our senior. Here in the larger garage a young kid leans on a broom telling the classic car appraiser some of his favorite stories, which she knows are all lies. After a hard days work, there's nothing like a good blues jam session to wind down. How many people does it take to change a license plate? The Tall Pines Theater is now Otto Ray Sing Classic Model Car Sales. Mr. Sing has a respect for community history as well as a love for Art Deco, so he was very careful to retain as much of the facade as possible. The location may not be perfect, but there is now a showroom nestled between Popazit's Beauty & Figure and Scianda's Clothing for the Elegant Woman.

You have some beautiful art there. I like your last two photos the best where the camera angle has been lowered to eye level. This brings the viewer right into the action of the scene. You do have some high talent.

It's quite difficult to believe that this is your first diorama. The attention to detailing and implementing of said detailing is beyond measure. I've built many dioramas, and yet, have been inspired much by yours.

I've got a diorama much like this that I built some 20 years ago. One thing that I did has bothered me ever since then. I glued all the walls together. The only way that I can get an eye level photo is to shoot through a door. Most shots are from above. I might suggest that you leave one wall removable to take realistic photos of your excellent work.

Your attention to detail is magnificent. This is one of those dioramas that keeps one riveted, slowly moving from one section to another. The only thing that I can see that one could add to this would be a few clumps of taller bushes scattered about, maybe one coming up through the whitewall tire.