Sixties Sam

This won't work on plastic pipes of course, but here's what I did on an old T bucket model I rebuilt a few years ago. I made pipes from 1/16" dia. titanium wire a friend gave me. After I bent them up, I clamped them in a vise and put a propane torch to them. They "blued" nicely. Here's a before and after shot of the T. It has a Buick V6 from an Opel GT kit in the 1960's. It still has the original metal front axle, now rusted!

A beauty! The wood dash and running boards really add a lot! Nice job!

That is nice! The red wheels and WW tires really set it off! Your diorama is a perfect background too!

I've seen a zillion 57 Chevy's that all seem alike, but that one really stands out! Great colors and trim. Excellent job! Sam

Randy, that is beautiful! I thought your 65 Chevy wagon was the best wagon model I ever saw, but now I can't decide! Sam

That Buick is lookin' good! I always liked them. The side sculpturing was so cool! The 59 Lincoln is gorgeous! It really pops with the red paint! It's fun restoring old models like that!

A beautiful classic rod. Perfect! Love the license plate!

Now THAT'S the way to "go green"! Excellent model!

Nice, clean build! I love the '49's! The chrome side strip really looks good. It breaks up that big slab side nicely! Great! Sam

Hey, that's nice! I've shot some pics of models on my driveway, but it looks way too "rocky". Your base looks real!

Very nice, Nick! The toolbox is a nice extra touch. Makes it look like it's actually being used for work! Sam

Nice job on the bike! You're right - you don't see many dirt bike models around. I have an old Yamaha 250 DT-1 Enduro model from 1971, made by MiniCraft in 1/10 scale, I think. I've never seen another one since then! A motocross diorama with a couple of those CR's blasting up a hill would be cool! Sam

Very cool classic rod! The matte gold works well with it. Looks mean with that low chopped top, too! Nice work!

That's amazing artwork! Was it all done freehand? Your ride sure does stand out now!

This must be an early prototype of the Smart Car!!

Superb! The color combo is perfect, and the wheels really compliment it!

Torgny, that boat is really beautiful! Wow! The 53 Ford is looking good, too! That will be a great combination! Sam

I don't have photos, but my first car was a 1965 Corvair Monza convertible, bought in 1970 for $700! GM had just stopped making Corvairs, so they were cheap on the used car market. Mine was white with a red interior and black top. It had the factory wire wheel covers with fake knock off spinners. I sheared one off on a high curb once (######!). It had the 4 carb 140 HP engine, but had that crappy 2 speed Powerglide automatic. The shift lever was on the dashboard. No "park" position - you had to use the parking brake all the time! The heater (if you can call it that) blew smoke that smelled of burnt oil into the inside. I often rolled a window down a few inches while driving with the heater on! Still, it was a cool ride back then, and I loved it! I built a model of it from a 1969 kit back then. I cut the top off of a coupe to make it, and used a boot from some other model. I still have the model (falling apart!). Sam

Wow! Nice job on a beautiful car. I think I had that kit back in the 1960's too, and IIRC I saw the real car at the New York World's Fair in about 1965. I remember also seeing the Chrysler Turbine Car there. I have snapshots buried in a box somewhere. I'll post one if I can find it. Sam

Nice! A great rendition of a seldom modeled subject. I like to see something different done well like your Nash.

The purple van looks like the resulting offspring of Godzilla humping a van!

It's a beauty! Nice clean build, tastefully done. It's great to see one being rescued! Sam

I'm not a real lowrider fan, but I like this one! The paint is beautiful, and very well done, and not overdone IMHO. I have neither the skill or patience for a paint job like that. Excellent work!

Well, I still feel like an old man, but apparently I have plenty of company on this forum! I remember the AMT annual kits costing $1.49, and some of the Trophy Series kits were $2.00 ("But Dad, you get two whole cars for $2.00!). I built hundreds of them over about a 12 year span. At one time I had 250 built models in my bedroom, and that didn't count the many I had burned or blown up! We all had burn barrels behind our houses, along the alley, and it was my job to burn the trash. I often burned a model car, doused with gas from the mower gas can. Yeah, stupid and dangerous, but fun! Instead of a Sting Ray bike, I had a Ross Barracuda, which was the same style with 20"wheels, high bars, and banana seat. I put on a larger front sprocket and a longer chain so it would go faster. I repainted it with Dupli-Color paint in that light metallic green color that the 1967 Mustangs used, and painted red lines on the tire sidewalls. I thought it was soooo cool! It was mail ordered from the Spiegel catalog, and arrived by train at the railroad station just down the street from my house. They tore the tracks out in 1971, and I rode my Yamaha 125 Enduro motorcycle on the abandoned trackbeds. Those were indeed fun times for a kid like me! Sam

How about a rusty old pickup truck with flat tires peeking out from behind a half rotted door somewhere in the barn? Or make a separate garage for it. A weathered tractor might be nice if you can find a plastic model or diecast in 1/24 or 1/25. Food for thought. Sam