Dr. Cranky

You might have a point, he is a working artist afterall, and like all artist he needs to be paid for his work . . . hum . . . I'll have to find out . . . That's about the only thing left that I am worried about with this build . . . it's just getting those graphics right and if you look closely, they seem to be hand painted, but done well, like with artistry I should have done more with my AA from Art Instruction Schools in Minneapolis . . . of course, I can always re-enroll!!!

You might have a point, he is a working artist afterall, and like all artist he needs to be paid for his work . . . hum . . . I'll have to find out . . . That's about the only thing left that I am worried about with this build . . . it's just getting those graphics right and if you look closely, they seem to be hand painted, but done well, like with artistry I should have done more with my AA from Art Instruction Schools in Minneapolis . . . of course, I can always re-enroll!!!

I had also been meaning to say that everything about this build has been different for me, including where I've been building this one . . . I normally keep my workbench in the garage with all my other toys, but for this one I came inside the house where it's still cool and the mosquitos don't bug me . . . the kitchen counter is usually no place to build models, and things can easily go wrong with the family coming and going, so . . . I've been taking my chances at keeping everything in one place . . .

Thanks, James . . . yeah, I love all my back issues of the mags . . . I almost have them all . . . and spend a great deal of time re-enjoying them!!! Would it be cheating if I asked Jairus to pen the graphics for this?

I am spending most of the day finishing up the engine work and chassis, and then getting the parts ready for the paint booth . . . and this would be as good a time as any to sit back a moment and discuss a few things about my interest in this build . . . not that you asked or anything, but I thought it'd put this one in particular in perspective for me and my own history with this kit . . .the AMT '50 Chevy, both the street rod version and the 3100. I am sure most of you have your own trajectory when it comes to this particular vehicle . . . I mean, for me, for the longest time it was one of the better kits out there, and in just coincided with my getting back into the hobby in the late '90s after about a 25 year hiatus . . . I'm sure lots of this sounds familiar to many of you . . . but one day I went to the hobby shop and this was the first kit I bought, then I found out they had re-realeased it and that Wal Mart sold it cheap, so I bought a whole bunch of them because while I was getting back into the hobby (you know, getting familiar once again with handling styrene, tools, paints, etc . . . ) I kept mangling the bodies or making severe mistakes (like stripping the paint off with nail polish remover, etc . . . That gives you an idea . . . ) Then came the moment where I felt sure enough to build something interesting, but reading the magazines I felt so far behind . . . and I was jealous and awed and surprised by how many great builders there were . . . so I applied myself. I read up everything I could, but most importantly, I found books authored by Pat Covert, Ken Hamilton, Mark Gustavson, Terry Jesse and many others, and I got all the magazines I could get my hands on . . . etc . . . and I went about it as if I were returning to school. All these things were helping me get back into a hobby . . . Not that when I started I was working with just the '50 Chevy, but it was a vehicle I kept coming back to . . . and finally a few years ago, I started cutting up one kit and finding ways of challenging myself with it and finally came up with this . . . And though I finished it and everything worked, it look garrish to me . . . and the doors didn't close right and so many things went wrong, so wrong that instead of throwing it out I kept it because it was a reminder of not only how far I had challenged myself and the few skills I had learned at the time but also how far I still wanted to go . . . the funny thing about this one is that it's sat on my shelf all these years and over time everything got stuck in place . . . and so I never fiddle with it but I keep it . . . A few years later, I got into wanted to build beaters and junkers, heavily influence here by Pat Covert (all his Hogdoo Grundy builds are classics in my book), and so I went back to this kit and build this one . . . I keep going back and forth between building shiny vehicles and wathered vehicles because they each require different levels of stress, and mood . . . so it varies and I feel like this kind of ping-pong keeps me interested in wanting to build . . . Then, a few years ago I was reading through old issues of Scale Auto Enthusiast (before it changed its name), and ran across an article co-authored by Pat Covert and Ken Hamilton about building a "camp mule," and so I was hooked. It's a great article, if you've never seen it . . . Pat C. scratchbuilt the vehicle and then send it on to Ken Hamilton in New Jersey, and Ken painted and weather and detailed the vehicle, and once again I returned to wanting to do something with the '50 Chevy . . . and I put this thing together and I have to say it's the most fun I've ever had building a vehicle . . . and everyday I worked on it was like going over the edge . . . not knowing what I was doing next . . . I just knew it was the strangest model I'd built to date . . . It's clear to see how and why Jairus's illustration would appeal to me . . . I had been tinkering with the idea of building a '50 Chevy that would lose it's front fenders and be dropped closer to the ground, and of course Jairus took it a step further and chopped the grill and front of the hood, and THAT DID IT!!! Just a little bit of history, that's all . . . thanks for lending me your ears . . .

Walt, I perused your album last night and you got lots of great builds, but it clearly shows you have a weakness for Chevys, though it appears you are building a few intesting things too! Keep up the great work, and keep sharing it with us . . .

Love the weathering . . . and that hay almost made me fall off my chair. Great work . . . I can't wait to see more!

That looks great, Walt . . . I love the color . . . nice and shiney the way it should be!!!

Walt, that's exactly what I did . . . so thanks to you, Fred, and others who suggested possibilities . . . All right, I am happy now with the welds . . . so I took another close up comparo with the illustration . . . this, I believe, is much better . . . and it still has that haphazzard look . . . and its ON the cab body, so once I primer it and paint it with some of the metal showing through like Mr. Watson has it, it should look okay. Now all I need is to get my hands on a company that will make decals so that I can have them print up the sign . . . if you know of a place, please let me know. Thanks. . . .

And, of course, since I was goofing around looking for graphics to add to a little display I will build for this in the future, I ran across these and I could not help it but shrink them and use them to have a little bit of fun . . .

Let's see what that frame looks like with a bit more on it! I really like this next one because I can see it is beginning to look like the illustration . . . if I stopped working on this baby right now I would feel pretty happy with everything I've learned about chopping a body in the last few days . . . I think along the way I will have to make a few slight variations from the illustration, like the mexican blanked and probably also that tiki shifter just because the few times I've tried carving one out of round toothpicks it's come out wrong . . . something to definitely worry about later . . .

Slowly, I've been working on the front and rear suspension, and today I got the frame ready . . . Most of the time I get headaches from having to deal with suspension systems, my least favorite of any build, but I have to say the elements for this one came together nicely and it all worked towards making sure the stance and rake are preserved . . . of course only time will tell when I get to mock it up . . . Whe I did, I got a big smile from the results . . . this puppy is going to be pretty low to the ground . . .

I also had to shorten the dashboard to fit the new cab specs . . . so since I was at it I thought I drill out the speedometer and other instruments to create a bit of depth . . . and I also opened the glove compartment . . . I can see a few bolts and nuts and some rolls of tape sticking out of this one . . .

I also had a bit of fun today on ACME Plate Maker and I fiddled around with a few possibilities for the plate, but finally came down to these two. My particular favorite is the blue antique plate . . . At the last minute I thought of STITCHES, but I like thinking that if you were driving behind this vehicle and the plate read: ITSALIVE, then you come around and see the vehicle you would not be able to stop smiling, or maybe I'm just crazy and have too much time on my hands!

Fred, the closer I get with the camera and see how absolutely right you are about the welds . . . I am going to have to bringing them closer to the body. I will shave the plastic I put on there and use the hot #11 blade suggestion . . . and let me see if I can make it less bulky, though I have to say I think it's cute in a cartoonish sort of way, but Jairus's art is not cartoon, so . . . Here's the seat in place, and you can get eyefull of those welds!!!

All right, folks, I made a little bit of progress and had some fun doing upholstery based on that Hollywood Jim Fernandez how-to I posted earlier . . . I also made a couple of props to make the taking of photographs a bit more fun. . . you'll see what I mean shortly. Okay, my advice, if you are going to upholster your seats is to look for the Mexican blanket pattern on Google Image like I did and you can find some pretty interesting patterns . . . I went with Saltillo Mexican because it was the closest to the colors Jairus used . . . I think it is as good as I was able to find after an hour or so of searching. Anyway, you copy the pattern, like Jim says, to your word processor or painter and enlarge it to scale, or eyeball it like I did . . .you print it, and then I sprayed some fixative on both sides of the paper just to make sure the ink would not run . . . Once you have your blanket on paper, follow Jim's suggestions . . . here's a picture of what I ended up using to get the job done. A pair of scissors come in handy too . . .it also helps to cut lines on the paper as you glue it around the edges . . . anyway, on my first try this is what I got . . . which is pretty good, I think . . . now all it needs is a little weathering powders to make it look like it's been sat on! I like the fact that the wrinkles make it look more real . . . I also held the plastic over a candle flame to put indentations on the cushions, subtle ones cause you have to becareful with the plastic and with your fingers . . . The graphics you see are shrunken stuff I plan to use as props . . . for the bedload . . . some records, posters, books . . .

Thanks for the tip, Fred . . . I will try it . . .also, thanks everyone for all the comments . . . they keep me going. Update . . . some of the work has been going slow because I am working out the front and rear suspension so that this stance is just right . . . I am almost there. Today, I also spent part of the day working on the seat upholstery from a great how-to my friend Hollywood Jim lead me to . . . it's a great how-to and it gave me the right results on the first try . . . Here's the link if you are intersted. Jim 's a great builder and if you peruse his site you'll see some amaing builds . . . http://rocketfin.com/mcc/48_woody_2.cfm I will have some pictures later tonight . . . stay tuned in and thanks for all the help.

I could not agree with you more, Ken. Thanks for the encouragement . . . 'preciate it!

All along too I've been tweaking the interior just to make it stand out a little, and since the illustration doesn't show any of it other than the Mexican blanket upholstery and the tiki shift, I figured I'd try some stuff too . . .

Here's a side by side sequence to show you a few of the subtle changes . . . but I have to say I like it the second time around . . .the first was just a lazy excuse that didn't come close . . . the second one's got that Jairus wicked rake . . . Also, I figured I didn't need those strange riser cleats . . . in short, all I had to do was make a few cuts to fit the frame to the chassis rails . . .

Thanks for all the great advice fellas. . . and they've all been taken to heart. I spent the day building a new body, one that fits the drawing a lot better . . . and I have to say I like the results . . . but you be the judge. Having said that, allow me to present you with a comparo . . . I would agree that working from a drawing is difficult, but Jairus's illustration has a "feel" to it that my first cab lacked . . . but this new one has it. You be the judge. Let me know . . . I still think the welds are too lumpy . . . but you know that's a small point compared to the rake and stance! I think I got that now . . . Okay, here's the original (for comparison purposes, remember tan = first try and gray = second try . . . capiche? First Try: Second:

Between the work on the engine and trying to seal up the sides by the front panels and fire wall, most of the morning has been shot . . . but I took this picture just to see how far the project's traveled in just a few days . . . The above picture reminds me of some of the difficulties in working from an illustration that is not a blueprint . . . and since there are no measurements you have to go with your gut instincts . . . and here I might be full of hot air (when am I not, right? ) but some of the lines and angles don't match up between the illustration and the replica . . . What can I say? You make your cuts and you follow your instincts and for someone who tends to eye-ball it this is as close to good as I can get . . . Note to self: It's too late to stop now!!!

I got a bit more work done on the engine . . . right now I got more concerned with the exhaust system just to get that 1-2-1 look from the illustration . . . I think I found a way of doing it by using plastic strip and tubing . . . The plastic rods will provide a pin for the aluminum tubing to slide over . . . like this . . .

Well, I got up to some bad weather in North Florida this morning but am determined to push on with this little rat rod FrankenSHtein!!! I've been mocking up the cab and the bed to see how they will look on the frame and to tweak them accordingly into the right stance. This is the kind of build where the "look" and the paint have to be just right. But I'm not going to worry about the paint right now . . . The back is really up in the air now . . . and it meets up with the back of the cab nicely . . . pretty tight . . . and everything sits on the frame just right . . . Eventually I will decide wether to glue both components together for extra strength and also to affix the final "look".

Thanks, Mark . . . rat rods were not my thing at all until I got rat rod FEVER!!! Not only with the concept behind this particular build, but with a lot of great stuff I have seen on the show tables and at real car shows, the folks who build rat rods have a wild spirit and imagination, and I tend to like that . . . They simply make for a lot of fun at the workbench, and little stress . . . I mean, if something goes wrong or doesn't look right, it's not that big a deal . . . plus it also helps clean out the spares box!