Dr. Cranky

Another progress vid just went up:

Beautiful work on that Miata. I use pastels in colors that are not available in the Mig Pigments line . . . it all works beautifully, the trick is to practice and experiment until you are happy with the results.

Goes to show you if you take care of your work, it will last decades. Beautiful paint job.

Wow, I love the color and that interior, in particular that steering wheel, is fabulous. Great job so far, Don. Keep it going.

You are really hitting the ball out of the park over and over with this one. What an amazing job of scratch-building, and in METAL! Can't wait to see more. Doctor Cranky is Happy, Happy, Happy.

Here you go, enjoy the base-making discussion . . . I will try to build the rest of the model through vids . . .

Thanks, Rob. I am looking for some signs now . . . thanks for the tip, which comes it at the right time. I am putting the base together and making a couple of vids for Doctor Cranky's Lab-RAT-Ory.

Wonderful job. Boy, that bad boy would make a great element in a diorama. Thanks for sharing your work with us.

Woo-hoo! Doctor Cranky's doing the Curly on the floor. This one is fabulous. What a great little Rat! Congratulations and that engine looks great too.

Great find, I had not seen that one before. Another J. Watson beauty!

We are letting everything dry, and thus we have turned out attention to the base this ride's gonna go on . . . stay tuned in for a progress report. Doctor Cranky says making bases helps your model stand out even more, and it's as easy as making a cake!

Thanks, Kevin, yes there's a great industry of these mod artist out there doing some great work.

Immaculate is the word that comes to mind right away. Fabulous finish.

Oooh, that's looking good. More, please.

That's looking good. The wheels and tires are looking perfect. Keep it going.

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This one's coming along. Great work so far, keep it going. Man, it'd be great to make a body mold of it.

Doctor Cranky LOVES this one! Great job on the weathering, and that interior really draws in the eyes. I think it's a keeper, and you know what it made Doctor Cranky scream? LONG LIVE RUST!

Can't wait to see more. For some reason I have had bad luck with that kit. I tried to build it twice and both times I gave up. I don't think it's the kit's fault. I can't wait to see yours painted.

Beautiful design work, keep it going.

Those wrinkled tires are beautiful. Great job, can't wait to see these bad boys painted.

Cool subject matter, and they lend themselves perfectly for dioramas.

Looking good, keep it going. It's going to be a nice one.

Donald, I think asking why is a great question. I think military modelers eventually, after so many decades of building the same kits, started experimenting with subject matter out of boredom, and thus they started building burned out and abandoned tanks, etc . . . the idea is to do something different with the kit you are given. It's happened to me with both the Revell 41 Willys and 49 Mercs. I can't resist them, but after building and painting so many I had to take the hacksaw to them.

Thanks, everyone . . . for the kind words. Phil, I use cheap pump/mister hairspray from the super market, scented so that the smell reminds me that I've used it. When it comes to salt I use Sea Salt, Rock Kosher Salt, regular Morton table salt, and a pinch or two of baking powder. I mix all the grades together in a little cup and use it from there, one pinch at a time.

You always build an immaculate, classy car, Tom. Amazing.