styromaniac

I actually completed this build awhile back but never got around to posting pics. If you are an aging baby boomer like me you might remember this iconic T Roadster ...it was actually built by New England hot rodder Fred Steele. Record company promotion people were looking for a hot rod to grace the cover of The Ventures new release, and wanted it photographed overlooking the L.A. basin from high up on Mullholland Drive...and California newcomer Fred's ( who had joined the LA Roadsters car club ) ice box white T Bucket was perfect for the night shoot...or so the legend goes. First step in the build was to get the Revell 29 model A frame shortened and narrowed with a 90" wheelbase.

I initially started out trying to hand paint designs in a Yellow Submarine motiff, but just couldn't get the look right. In order to complete the build in time for the IPMS show in Richmond last February I came up with the idea of wallpapering posters. While not true to scale...they do pop out visually. I got a lot of inquiries at the show about how it was achieved...for some reason people just couldn't believe it was simply photo copied paper.

Sorry about the cell phone camera photos...but you get the idea. These were done while completing the build.

This past winter I realized that Woodstock was 50 years ago this summer, so I dragged out a project that I had started years ago ...the Revell release of the curbside Hasegawa (one piece body) 23- window VW van kit. I opened the trunk lids and side doors, primed the body with Krylon Black Chalkboard paint, and proceeded to wallpaper the heck out of it with rock concert posters and hippie art work...accessed from the internet and printed out on a quality photocopier then wallpapered with diluted Elmers glue. I installed the engine and bucket seats from a Revell VW bug, scratchbuilt a reel to reel tape deck wall unit from Evergreen sheet, and included little scale tape reel boxes. While a little over the top and not exactly a scale rendition of what you might've seen heading for Hippie land back in the day...it was fun.

First model I ever entered in a contest was the Monogram Little T...about 55 years ago when it was a new kit. Didnt do too bad, won second place Jr division. Have always liked that kit, the last few years I went on EBay searching for the original issue kit with six carbs and wide white bigs and littles with baby moons ....to revisit those formative modeling years. Mint '64 editions were just about impossible to find so I ended up buying 4 or 5 partially built or completed glue bombs at reasonable prices to cobble together at least one buildable kit. I noticed every one I bought had a front suspension that was a glued up mess, requiring a massive effort at restoration. After many stops and starts I finally completed it yesterday morning to enter it in the N Va IPMS Model Classic that afternoon. The result? Another second place finish...in the "Out of the Box" category. History repeats itself.

"Ford Oval decals on a Cad powered Chevy".....based on the caption in the magazine photo...writers attempt at a joke.

I have copies of those old magazines, and to actually pose the original models next to the covers is a hoot! I especially remember that 57 Chevy wagon...for some reason it resonates...despite the passage of time. Looking at it...I'm ten years old again.

This the One? Nabbed one on Ebay.

I remember him from my magazine reading days...before I had access to the internet. One of a handful of builders who were at the pinnacle of the hobby.

Definitely has that late 50s early 60s show car look...front end is kinda weird but you have to admire the man hours spent getting those curves. Bet all that putty ( plastic wood? ) weighs a ton! Looks like the AMT Buick nailhead .

I'm planning on participating in that NNL Mid Atlantic TROG theme myself ! ( subject matter was in my wheelhouse when I re-entered the model building hobby back in the 90s. ) I like your start here...the cut off point for bodies and chassis for TROG vehicles is 1935. Be advised...after studying TROG rules online and gazing at hundreds of photos of Wildwood NJ and Pismo Beach Cal events....motors and speed equipment are limited to pre-1953. And future TROG entries now have to have roll bars...which purists seem to have an objection to...but safety concerns have caught up to the event.

Sorry Scott....as my eye and hand co ordination begins to deteriorate with age I may have to transition to the few 1/8 and 1/16 scale kits I have put aside. If I should decide to thin my collection I will make note of your interest. P.S. Where are you in Virginia?

I loved the box art of a lot of kits in the 60s.

Truer words have never been spoken Bill. This hobby teaches a person many things....patience being one of them. A measure of imagination and self confidence is also required ( and rewarded ) when one has to deviate from the instruction sheets when a project goes off the rails due to poor fits, bad sequencing, etc. Thankfully in this era of model building in-depth print articles and forums like these exist to help guide us through difficult builds.

Looks like a nice clean build. Never tried Rustoleum paint....on a model kit anyways. How did you find it application wise? Much post spray painting work involved?

Looks pretty nice from where I'm sittin'.

I picked this up for a song awhile back when Piper Hobby in Chantilly closed. I think it might've been the shop owner...Bill Kimbals kit. He was a sports car enthusiast...loved Corvettes . It had a lot of extra stuff in it...aftermarket. Multi piece body looks like a challenge.

I attended the Old Dominion Open model show and contest put on by the local IPMS chapter in Richmond Va last Saturday the 23rd. Despite really rainy weather attendance was good...close to a 1,000 models entered by almost 300 modelers. Last year there were 25 Gundam models...this year 95...close to 4 times as many. It's a growing thing...bringing in younger modelers to an event thst has been predominantly aging baby boomers.