The Modeling Hermit

I thought that I'd posted this here before, but I can't find any record of it. This has been a fun build for me. The tractor was part of a community build on another forum. It's an original Chevy Titan90 from the box with the red and white truck on the cover. I detailed the dash, chassis, grill, etc. The frame was lengthened just over an inch, and I built a combination tool storage/ headache rack. The decals came from my stash. The trailer had to wait for over a year from my idea inception to completion. It didn't take that long to build it, but I had to wait for the load. That load is of what is called Pyxis tubes. There is a patient monitoring machine at the hospital where my wife works. It produces a strip of paper with a readout on it about the patient. The tube that this paper comes on is plastic, and when I first saw one, I immediately thought of a truck load. My wife started to collect them for me, and when others saw her doing such, they too, started to save them. It took nearly a year to collect the 60 tubes for the load, but in my opinion, it was worth the wait. This could have been done by purchasing some Plastruct, but it gives me an opportunity to show how modeling can encourage recycling. Every one of those tubes was destined for a garbage can, and then a landfill. Little Eva does keep her truck looking nice.

As my signature says, I live on an island in Alaska, and there are no other modelers surfacing here yet. The forums are my communication with the modeling world. I'm not a very good modeler, but I still post my work, because it's the only way that I get to share it. I have made improvements over the years, and by showing this, others can take courage and show their work, and we get the enjoyment of watching their improvement. I find it unfortunate that I take away more knowledge than I can give back, but then that's a testament to the quality of modelers that are on the forums, and their willingness to share. I feel it an honor to be able to comment on the work of others, and to know that my comments are important to them. There are some who are new to building, and to be able to offer them encouragement is important to me. Others may not be new, but are just discovering detailing. Some of their results might be humorous, but only because I can see myself; not that long ago. There are also masters on the forums, and just because their work blows everybody else away, doesn't mean that they too don't need some of our encouragement. One of the biggest reasons that I post, as well as most of the rest of the members, is simply to inspire others. Mike, you say that you don't have anything worthwhile to post until you improve. I say post anyway. The real fun is to watch you improve, and to share that experience with you, as well as others in your circumstance.

Thanks everybody. Ebay is where I started, and the detail was always covered by the air cleaner. Lyle the link to Dave's site was just what I needed. I replaced a computer several months ago and lost my link to Dave's site, and I couldn't remember his name. His site is to car people as Hank's truck pictures is to truck people. Jon, Sorry, I should have mentioned that I'm going with an alternator, but I'm still keeping that excellent drawing. Art, I've tried using the thin plastic, and I do on flat surfaces, but I never can get it to mold in to curved surfaces. I guess that most of us have one thing that we just can't make happen, and this is mine, but I'll still get there in the end. You've all been great, and I appreciate this very much.

Are you sure that you didn't take a shrink ray to a real car? LOL That is an impressive build. I do love '60 Chevies, and yours is one of the best models of the subject that I've seen. I also like the foot scorchers.

I like your last picture with the box. I had that kit when I was younger, but I can assure you that it didn't turn out anywhere close to as fine as yours is.

Welcome Michelle. I love the clean, highly detailed engine bay in that 71 GTX. Those interiors are killer. Keep posting your beautiful works of art.

Happy Birthday, and may the Plastic Gods smile upon you.

I building a 56 Chevy Del ray, and I need some pictures of carb linkages and return spring details. I'm also updating the power steering, and I need some modern power steering unit location and detail pictures. I've been all over the net; actually just coming off an over two hour search, and all I can find is general engine pictures. There must be an unstated law somewhere that any thing that you need a good detail shot of, must be hidden in shadow. This is for a late model small block Chevy V8. Does anybody have any good CLEAR pictures of the things that I just mentioned? Just a side note here. When building the framework to go around the inside windows, straighten the ends of the windshield. It angles against the wing windows and is thicker than them, and that makes it hard to build the pieces for the inside frame around the windows. Also don't forget to make the assist straps that hang on the center posts. Centered above both of the side windows was a small hook that was usually chrome. This was used to suspend a rod for hanging clothes. If you look closely, you'll note that this is modeled here, although I think in this case, the application is a window location, but one could go ahead and BMF it, and add a little detail.

My purple pond is brake fluid. My glue removal is a dip in water and a trip to the freezer. Both of these are simplified, but you get the drift.

Check out the medical ramifications of having a tattoo, before you get one. My wife is a Nurse, and it's amazing some of the things she runs into. Think about the fact that if you have a tattoo, you can't give blood. That might tell you something. I'm not saying anything for or against. I'm just advising that you do some research first. Check your family history for such things as diabetes.

Johnny, it's good to hear that you're doing better. My brain doesn't work as well as it used to. I wonder if a brain replacement would make a difference?

That is cool. I'm also a 68 Impala lover, and I've had at least 4 over the years, including a 1:1 version that looked just like the one that Jeff uses in his avatar, only mine was red and had whitewalls and fender skirts. I like what you did with the paint, and I can almost see the flames coming out of those pipes.

I do love "old school"

I was riding my bike past an ongoing garage sale. The people are moving this weekend, so they are running every day until they move. As I was passing I noticed some old magazines, so I thought that I'd stop and check for car ads. While there, I spotted some models. Most were exotics from the seventies, which are not things that I'm usually interested in, but I went ahead and asked about them. I was told that they'd been trying to sell them for almost a month, and nobody was even looking at them. If I wanted them, I could have them for $5.00. There were 11 of them, and I wasn't sure how I was going to get them home on a bike, but I snatched them up. Then things really got weird. They started handing me things like a tackle box filled with model paint and tools. Then came a case, like what one would carry a laptop computer in, and it was filled with spray paint. Next came the fairly socket set with a lid that wouldn't close, but I was able to tie it shut. At this time, I'd found some string, and I was busy tying things to anything that stuck out. I have paniers (spelling?), but they quickly overflowed. At this pint it was already established that I was walking this conglomeration home. While I was cinching and hooking, I got to talking with the people at the sale, and they stated that they were in the Coast Guard, and were moving. I made the mistake of mentioning that two of my sons were in the Navy, and they asked if they built models. They asked what kind, and I said ship models...big mistake... One of them walked into their house, and came back out with four big battleship models, and said for me to give them to my sons. Now as if the poor bike wasn't suffering enough already, I had to find places to tie those big boat model boxes on. I got it done, and there was barely room for me to squeeze around to walk the bike, and I'm sure that I looked the a bag lady, but for $5.00 for all that, I'll look like a bag lady for two miles. I almost forgot about the eight magazines that I rolled up and tied onto the handle bars, and they didn't charge me for.

I got one of these about a year or so ago. The only issue that I had with it, was that there are holes that have to be opened from the inside of the fuel tanks to locate the steps. I missed that and had some fun mounting the steps. Italeri has these things to where they almost build themselves.

One of my uncles drove a '60 Chevy dump truck, and I agree that they do look cool. A thought that came to mind was to use the Ford dump truck chassis, which would give you the suspension. Then I read the post about the Astro/Titan chassis giving you the more correct wheels. I may have to get one of the resin bodies, and try to replicate my uncle's truck. I might also add that you might want to get a dealer brochure, and possibly a repair manual. I keep these around for many of my projects.

"Dear did you clean the garage like I told you to?" "Yep. It's all done."

Is there any idea of a release date for that Freightshaker?

in 1963 or 64, the local Chevy dealer gave me a couple of small metal semi-trucks for Christmas. I think that they were probably in the 1/64 scale area. One was a cabover without a sleeper and a van trailer, and the other was a conventional. I would like to find these again, if possible. Does anybody have any idea what these could have bee., or what I could be looking for?

Back in '69, I had a 59 Corvette. The body on that had bubbles in it, not just the paint, but the actual body. I don't know if trucks have that same problem, but it would be cool to replicate.

Welcome to the forum. Good luck on finding one of these. I've turned down an offer of $200.00 each for the two that I have, so I'm guessing that they're quite rare and expensive if you can even find one.

You do some beautiful work. I've been saving some of the pictures for future reference. I hope you don't mind. I've got so many irons in the fire right now that I don't know when or if I'll ever get to it, but it's good to be prepared.

I may not build them, but I sure enjoyed looking at them. Thanks for posting, and don't be stingy about sharing more of your work. When I was in school, I had dreams of becoming a car designer. I got to take an art class back in the eighth grade, but it was short lived. We had a class where one of the female students was placed as subject and we were supposed to draw her. In my defense, there were no instructions given that we were supposed to draw her with clothes on, but the teacher still became angry because I forgot the clothes. After that I never got a chance to take another art class, so I really can appreciate your work.

It looks good enough to be in a brochure.

Wayne, you would have liked a car that my uncle got into his junkyard back in the seventies. It was a 56 Desoto sedan that had been owned by a Sheriff in southern Iowa. On the outside it looked stock, but under the hood was a dual quad setup. He'd also stiffened the suspension. This guy obviously didn't have any intentions of watching taillights drive away from him. It was sad that a piece of history like that should have been so extremely rusted; too many years on Iowa's gravel roads. I wonder if there is a museum dedicated to police cars?