The Modeling Hermit

Danno, everybody can use some inspiration.

Here's the concept; Save the Edsel Challenge Imagine that it's mid 1959 and you're a well known car designer. You've been called into the corporate offices at Ford Motor Company, and are just about to have a monumental task offered to you. The conversation might go something like this; "Ford Motor Company introduced the Edsel late in 1957 as a 1958 model. Extreme research and development went into the car. It should have been a success, but at introduction time, the market dynamics had all changed. What should have been a Lion has already turned into a Turkey. There are some issues with quality, but the other companies are also experiencing quality problems. When introduced there was a recession in progress and many were concerned about the size and economy of the car, and others were confused about the myriad of models which mirrored those of other Ford products. Why should somebody buy from an unknown company when they can purchase what is essentially the same car in one of our other makes? Of course, there remains the issue of the love it/hate it style. The variables affecting the the future of the Edsel are many. No company wants to have one of its product go through history as an example of failure. Since the car has only sold in limited quantity, FMC has chosen to market it in the future as a limited production vehicle. You're skills are known and respected throughout the industry and we're asking you to help save the Edsel and its reputation. You'll have a clean slate for design and engineering, and you can chose what genre such as sports car, personal luxury, etc, that you want to follow. You're vehicle must be realistic and fit the times. We don't want some strange futuristic dream car. We want something that the public will appreciate and respect. What we're asking for is a limited production 1961 Edsel. Do you have what it takes to save the Edsel and will you accept the challenge?" You may choose your own concepts. I could see some going back to challenge the Corvette, while others might take a full out luxury aimed at the Imperial, still others might want to beat out the Riviera for personal luxury, or even get a 3 year jump on Ford's own Mustang, and there's always the compact approach. The only limitations would be to stay in the themes of the era and keep Edsel styling, resulting in a vehicle that might have been seen in a new car showroom. I thought about getting more input into this, but why get caught up into a bunch of details and rules, and I was going to wait until Fall to start this, but I'm going to go ahead and start it now with a year to build it in. You may enter more than once. Completion date is 15 April 2015 (ish). Go forth and have fun and let us see what you think the 1961 Edsel should have looked like.

This 1958 Edsel is in the shop being prepared for the weekend's show. We have a couple of kids that come in after school for a couple hours each day, and we'll put them to work on the final polishing and touch ups. This one was built straight from the box. The colors are Testor's rattle can copper & brown with an overcoat of gloss pearl.

I'm not sure what the process is of starting a CBP here, but... While working on an Edsel model last night I got to thinking of an idea that I thought I'd suggest and see if anybody thinks that it's as much fun as I think it would be. Participants could be given the summer to form their concepts and the project would start in the fall, continuing through the winter, and end in the spring. Registering would take place from the announcement until the starting date. Here's the concept; Save the Edsel Challenge Imagine that it's mid 1959 and you're a well known car designer. You've been called into the corporate offices at Ford Motor Company, and are just about to have a monumental task offered to you. The conversation might go something like this; "Ford Motor Company introduced the Edsel late in 1957 as a 1958 model. Extreme research and development went into the car. It should have been a success, but at introduction time, the market dynamics had all changed. What should have been a Lion has already turned into a Turkey. There are some issues with quality, but the other companies are also experiencing quality problems. When introduced there was a recession in progress and many were concerned about the size and economy of the car, and others were confused about the myriad of models which mirrored those of other Ford products. Why should somebody buy from an unknown company when they can purchase what is essentially the same car in one of our other makes? Of course, there remains the issue of the love it/hate it style. The variables affecting the the future of the Edsel are many. No company wants to have one of its product go through history as an example of failure. Since the car has only sold in limited quantity, FMC has chosen to market it in the future as a limited production vehicle. You're skills are known and respected throughout the industry and we're asking you to help save the Edsel and its reputation. You'll have a clean slate for design and engineering, and you can chose what genre such as sports car, personal luxury, etc, that you want to follow. You're vehicle must be realistic and fit the times. We don't want some strange futuristic dream car. We want something that the public will appreciate and respect. What we're asking for is a limited production 1961 Edsel. Do you have what it takes to save the Edsel and will you accept the challenge?" I just think that something like this would bring out some very interesting concepts. I could see some going back to challenge the Corvette, while others might take a full out luxury aimed at the Imperial, still others might want to beat out the Riviera for personal luxury, or even get a 3 year jump on Ford's own Mustang. The only limitations would be to stay in the themes of the era and keep Edsel styling cues. What are your thoughts? Should I propose this or do I just have too much time on my hands?

This is an awesome build. Your attention to detail is impeccable.

This is absolutely a work of art; not just a model but a true miniature.

One better hang on tight at the stoplight in this one.

Nice colors on a cool looking model.

You dig up some pretty good barn finds.

I always had a thing for the big classy cars and I sure would love to have a ride in this one. Now I just have to find my shrink gun.

I've got one to work on and I hope it comes out looking at least 1/2 as nice as this beauty.

Thanks to everybody for your help. I was able to get it going. I brought up the Google images for it and was able to find some people who have had it apart and posted photos and information on disassembly, trouble shooting, cleaning, and most important, reassembly. The unit itself checked out alright. The problem was where I expected; in the nozzels. I used the information I found and disassembled them, which because of extremely poor maintainence, was a huge amount of work. Some were literally glued solid with paint. I spent all day cleaning this thing, but now it works beautifully. I've still only run clear water through it, but I'm going to wait until I'm fresher and can find some actual operating and cleaning instructions before I proceed any farther with it. Once again, thanks for your assisstance.

I haven't tried anything so far except to try running some water through it. I wanted to first see if it worked, and if it didn't, come here first to get sugestions before I do something stupid and ruin it. I've also searched the web for instructions and diagrams for it, With what I now have, I feel a little more secure in checking it out further. You've been a big help and I appreciate it.

I know you get tons of these, but I'm having issues with my Aztek airbrush. I've actually never used it. I got it about 15 years ago and had one of my children that used it. She recently sent it back to me, but it has issues. Air goes through it fine, but it will not pick up from the cup or jar. It will push air through the nozzels but not fluids, and there seems to be plenty of air coming through. What are my steps to trouble shoot this?

This is from the AMT reissue of a few years ago, which can still be found at reasonable costs on the auction sites. The decals are Keith Marks offerings.

This is a model of a 1969 Ford Galaxie 500 XL GT that I owned when I was young. I liked my cars big, but a little muscle like I got from that 429 didn't hurt any. I'm sure that mother was lecturing her daughters to stay away from any guy that would drive a car like that.

On the issue of decals, I never use the original decals that come in a kit, even the modern ones. I scan them on the computer, set my original back in a dark climate controlled storage container, and print the decals on to a high quality decal film.

Some of us have amazing wives who not only support our hobby but strongly encourage it. My wife insisted that I stop hiding my models in the model room and place them on display in the living room, then the dining room, and now there are models in her sewing room. I'm also encouraged to weather them. Once she saw Don Yost's videos I was doomed to super detailing. George you are most certainly right that his work is stunning. It just draws one into the scene.

I like your lighting too. It gives quite an eerie affect.

This is a new diorama that I built for photographing models. The first diorama that I built was nothing more than foam core with brown paper glued to it and lines applied to look like brick. After that wore out I built one mae from 3/4 inch wood with brick Plastruct for the walls and tile for the floors. It contained large amounts of boring and was about as convincing as me entering a beauty pageant. I've spent years with people telling me to clean, clean, clean. While I was building this all I heard was dirty, dirty, dirty. If it gets any worse it will get condemned. I have a shelf for it in my model room that sets it at eye height when sitting. This is perfect for placing the camera on the tripod to take photos.

1960 Mercury Parklane convertible restoration. This was an easy project as the original builder hadn't loaded it up with custom pieces that could have damaged the body. I replaced the bumper/grills and hubcaps with Modelhaus units. The condition of this model was worth it.

I never did give a completed photo for it. This is what it looks like in it's final glory.

I've had several request for information on how I built the cab. I finally have something written up and you can find it on my website. www.kodiak-island-modeler.com Look under Ford race car hauler.

Very well done. I'm loving this one.