Art Laski

Nice build, Buddy! I love it!!!!!! Another Alclad masterpiece...

Persistence pays off! It looks great! -Art

Very Nice! -Art

For sure, Ed! It's a great ride...

Thnnks, John. It means a lot coming fom you. I really appreciate the tip on the wood grain. I was very pleased with the result! Working with die cast was certainly strange for me. I have one more project to do for my father-in-law which is a copy of his 37 Ford. This will be a bit different because it will be a hybrid diecast/plastic in 1/25. I have a Revell kit, but it's not a humpback like his car is. But he gave me a diecast that is a humpback and is the same scale and looks like it will drop right onto the plastic kit, which is awesome because the kit has a lot more detail. I probably won't get to it until the end of 2011. He was definitely very surprised how much it resembled his car, especially the wheels. I was also quite surprised I was able to find them at all. I thought I was going to have to scratch something, and it just wouldn't have turned out the same. Thanks again for the comments guys! -Art

Thanks, guys. Niko, I'm not sure exactly what looks off to you specifically, but the die cast certainly has a lot of inaccuracies for sure. If I had the time, I could have spent a long time fixing things, especially in the engine compartment! -Art

Just a few more... Real: Model: Real: Model: Real: Model:

This posting is of a replica of my father-in-law's El Camino. He gave me an old diecast of a '70 El Camino and some of the actual paint used on his own car and asked me to paint the model. I took it a little bit further! Some of the things I did to it were strip everything and repaint all of it (only the body was painted on the DC), turned the big block into a small block by siamesing the inner exhaust runners on the manifolds, added a breather line, textured and painted the bed, scratch-built rear shocks, scratch built the steering wheel spokes and added wood gain to the rim (thanks to John Teresi's tip!), added decals and plates etc., and picked up some GMP Weld Wheels (They were out of production and expensive, but they make the truck). Here's a pic of a die cast similar to what I started with. This one is a lot cleaner than what I started with. Here's the real truck: Model: Real Interior: Model: Real Engine: Model: Thanks for looking! -Art

Man, that thing is VERY cool! -Art

John, my friend, another killer build! -Art

If you've never used an airbrush, do yourself a favor and get Donn Yost's DVD at www.oldmansmodels.com. I have no affiliation with him, except that I had no experience either a couple of years ago and bought the DVD and actually won some local contests using his approach. As you get better and more adventurous, you may end up trying other things, but this will definitely start you off fast to getting good results. I also found it to be a benefit to actually SEE him paint, rather than just reading about it. Donn also recommends the Paasche H. I don't have one, but will soon...

Very nice, John! Love the paint job. I can hear it rumbling... -Art

Gary, I love it! I built one a little over a year ago and built it box stock as a tribute to the model itself, but I have another in the stash in hopes of someday doing something like you did. Thanks for the inspiration! There are a lot of nice details in there. -Art

I like it a lot! I built a bunch of those as a kid and have some queued up now that I know what I'm doing a little better. I really like the offy and the cageless adaptation. -Art

Very cool build!

Holy Moly, look at the size of the model in the background!!

John took the words out of my mouth... Great Replica!

Fun subject- nice job! What's the source model? -Art

Dwayne, Thanks for sharing your pics. It was a fun event. -Art

The line is yours to draw, but Gregg's advice is sage.

Very nice work! -Art

Nice touch with the brush, Mark! I'm not surprised, though, given what I have seen before. Thanks for sharing. -Art

Those are some great looking models of some no longer-great-looking vehicles. Great job!

Very cool model! -Art

Thanks, Curt! I'm a long time admirer of the open wheel builds you've posted. -Art