Sixties Sam

I love hot rods and customs, but a stock model built with the high level of finish and detail that this one has can be more impressive than anything else. This GTO is just beautiful, Marcos. GREAT JOB!!

Very cool truck with lots of character! I like it! Nice job!

Lookin' good so far! I like the color combo. It will be a beauty when it's finished! If it was mine, I would be looking for a Continental kit and skirts for it for a real period mild custom look.

Wow! nice job, Ed. It's like stepping back in time. It's great that you are preserving a piece of history like that. Gas prices 18 and 21 cents a gallon?! Wow! That was a long time ago, wasn't it?

That is way cool, Chuck! A really creative design, and well made. That rifle might get you in serious trouble on the highway in this post 9-11 world, though! Great build!

Whoa! That's cool! A marriage of old and new. I could see Ford making something like that to compete with the Chevy SSR retro styled truck! Very original and well done!

Thanks for all the nice words, guys. The lawn chair was a bit of work. It is not soldered. My soldering skills suck! It's held together with thin CA glue. The ends of the wires that form the seat & back were pounded flat and small holes drilled for the wire that goes through them. The arms are wooden with holes drilled to receive the legs. A thin piece of aluminum is glued over each arm. It was a little tedious to build but not nearly as tough as the ones I made in 1/25 scale! Here's one with a dime for size comparison. The 1/12 one came out better. I hope to have the whole diorama done in a week or so.

Hi, guys! I recently scratch built a teardrop camping trailer to be a companion to my 1/12 scale 57 Chevy model. I decided that the best way to display the pair might be in a diorama showing the camper in its natural habitat - a space in a campground. It will be built on a piece of 1" thick blue foam insulation about 32" x 20". I plan to make a gravel camping area in the center, with some trees, grass and shrubs on the sides. Here is a mockup of the layout. I've made a few accessories for it. Here is a picnic table made from pressure treated wood that I ripped down to make scale lumber. The carriage bolt heads are cut down common pins. The fire ring is aluminum flashing, and the grill on it is sticks of balsa. It's painted with flat black and red oxide primer with some real rust from a rusted Brillo pad sprinkled on it to give it a well used look. The firewood is short pieces of twigs from my back yard. The "fire" ia a tiny flickering battery powered LED candle Christmas light, recessed into the foam so just the flame sticks out. It looks real in the dark! The lawn chair is copper wire painted silver with paper for the seat & back. I drew the pattern in AutoCAD, then printed it out to scale and wrapped it around the wire frame and glued it. There's a quarter for size comparison. The figure is a 1/12 scale resin man from ebay in the dolls section. He came painted, and is pretty realistic - not too doll-like looking. The trees are cut from branches of a shrub. I don't know what it is, but it makes nice scale trees. I've got lots of work to do on it yet! I'll post more as I work on it. Hope ya like it!

My favorite Camaro! Great score for $2.95! I like the textured paint for the chassis. Hugger Orange will look good on the body!

Nice rescue of a rare model. Looks great!

Ditto what George said! Love it!

That is cool beyond words, Bill! It looks just right in front of that old garage, too! Very nice build! I bet it roars with those pipes!!

This project has been in the "On the Workbench" section for a while, but now it's finished, or at least done enough to display. Here's how I made the final details: The hatch hinge is medical tape which simulates a flexible plastic hinge like I used on my 1:1 teardrop. It's covered with two strips of 1/32" balsa. Door hinges are cut down R/C plane control surface hinges. Hatch supports are 1/16" alum. tubing with small R/C ball links on one end. Running lights are made from a 1/4" dia. disc of aluminum flashing bent into a taco shape and a piece of plastic glued in for the light. The tongue jack is made from a section of an R/C transmitter antenna. this allows the caster wheel to be raised and lowered, and there is enough friction for it to stay where you put it. The caster is alum. flashing, and the wheel is a slice of alum. tubing filled with a disk of balsa. The hitch on the 57 is made of wood and styrene with a ball from an R/C ball link for the hitch ball. The drawbar & ball can be removed from the square tube receiver like a real one. The safety chains are from one of my wife's old necklaces with craft wire S-hooks. I've had fun building this trailer (and the 57 Chevy), and I'm pleased with the results. I hope you guys like it too! If you want to build something really different and fun, try a teardrop trailer! For larger photos, visit my Flickr photo album at http://www.flickr.com/photos/12482094@N07/ Sam

I've used a heat gun held about 8 to 10 inches away from the plastic. You gotta be careful, or the plastic will just shrivel up! Guess how I found that out?

Looks clean and mean! Great build!

I like it! The clean, understated look with a bright color works well! Nice job!

Wow! Those are beautiful models! Great craftsmanship! The wood really makes them pop! Excellent job!

Whoa! That's gonna be nice! It's amazing how a chop and section job changes the 40's looks, but yet retains its classic lines! Glossy black will look good - kinda sinister looking!

Now there's a school bus that's really a cool bus! Can't wait to see this one finished!

Very nice builds - all of them! I really like the 59 El Camino. I wouldn't mind a real one showing up in my garage!

Now there's a rare car, in real or model form! I'm eager to see how it comes out. It looks like you have a bunch of cleanup to do with all those glue blobs! Have fun!

Great lines, nice color. Looks like one Ford might have made! Nice!

Cool! Very innovative design. It's gonna need some loooong handlebars!

Wow! That is beautiful! Excellent scratch building work. You won't see another Big T like that! I have an original Monogram Big T that needs a rebuild. You've given me some ideas. Verrry cool build!

That should be nice, Tom. I haven't seen one of them in a long time. I think I had a Johan kit back in '61! I'm eager to see this one finished!