GrandpaMcGurk

Tom, this unit has me intrigued....if you have a couple I'd be very interested in knowing more and what you think of the results you get.......please and thank you.

Mocking up the coil sprung QC rear....... guess I'll have to make a pan hard bar, spring cups & either split bones or long traction bars. Think I'll go with a couple of scratch built Brooklyn bridges.

I deliberately put a few too many trim bars on the tailgate of the "Nomad" wagon just for chuckles......I wanted to see how many "experts" would catch it. Hundreds of people go through the shop and so far...no one has caught it.

That's all for now, since these pics were taken I've added the speaker posts and more detail on the cars. Jim took a bunch of pictures while he was at the shop...perhaps he'll post a few of the mural in it's current state...if not, I'll take some more pics the next time I go in. The mural may expand to cover a couple more adjacent walls adding a ticket booth and concession stand...we'll see.

Airbrush over-painting and started adding detailing to the cars.......

More under-painting and blocking in the large areas.... I used an old piece of sea sponge and several colors to stipple in the parking area & shadows under the cars....

I started by penciling in the layout on the wall and then began my under-painting using acrylics, latex, brushes and rollers. Here the movie screen and twilight sky are laid out in paint.

Don't feel bad Brian with the economy the way it is......I'm finding lint rather than coins in my pockets as well. I just hooked up with Crazy Jim at the shop, gave him the tour and I think I saw a sparkle in his eye as we parted.....great guy. It's always a pleasure to meet MCM members and put a face with the posts. BTW Jim....I'll keep you posted as to the status of the future " on-site model car show".....you may want to get involved in it, pay sucks but someone has to do it. I just think it would be great to have a model car gig right in the showroom with the full size stuff on display as well.

Jim, yes it's in Ocala, not far from Silver Springs. If you want to go stumble around the showroom one day, hook up with me via email and I'll meet you there. I'll give you the nickle tour, I have keys to the place......but be warned, leave your check book at home. We also do occasional Rod shows etc. So when the urge strikes give me a yell. I've been toying with the idea of having a full size car show and including a model car contest.....not sure yet, this area could sure use it, we'll see. American Classic Motor Cars 1 Aspen Rd. Ocala, Fl 34480 352 307-1968

A few more.....now this is what I call a great working environment, beats flippin' burgers for sure. Many more cars but I'll stop with the eye candy for now a get back to the mural.

These are shots of some of the cars being moved into the showroom, many more to come...yeah these guys have really deep pockets. No it's not a museum...these cars are all for sale.

You're not thick, more like I didn't explain very well. The mural is just about done now....just some fussy work left to do, but I'll post some of the in progress shots and the cool cars that lead up to where it's at. Most of my large renderings have been automotive, no surprise there. Here's one I did 'bout 10 years ago for a local oil change joint.

Rick, that seat shell is the back half of a bucket seat from a Big T kit.......should make a cool pro street seat with a little tinkering. Lookin' good.

'Bout a year or so ago I retired, kinda. Did the fishing, traveling and all that. Cabin fever was setting in when a got a call from a bud. He said come work me......I replied, nah, don't want to go back to the grind. Anyway an arrangement was struck, I go in when at my own chosen speed (SLOW) and can tinker with cars, drive 'em to shows and all that good stuff. Dream job right......so where's the art? They wanted a huge mural on the wall that separates the 17,000 sq. ft. showroom from the detail and work shop areas with no idea of what they wanted. The guys that deep pocket this gig are my age and hard core Rock' & Roll, rod, classic & muscle car types so I proposed a '60's era drive-in theater in a perspective that would flow from the 1:1 showroom floor up onto to the wall mural. I'll start by posting some older pics first and there will be a lot of pics of the cars in the show room mixed in that you may want to save for build reference....heck it's all art to me, love those old rides! Here's the wall under construction.... More pics soon...

I rarely buy small kits these days......but I will buy these! Chances are I'll eye ball 'em and never build them, but I'm really fond of the old roundy rounds. If I live long enough I'd like to build one in 1/8th, Hmmmmmmmmm......a TDR Offy and I think the Madd Fabricator has a mold for a body stashed away somewhere.

Thought about bending up some bomber seats out of thin aluminum for this shade tree hot rod....nah! Decided on on some Hi-tech racing seats instead.

Yeah Harry, the cool factor is there for sure........not quite a "Super Bird" but hey....there's always tomorrow, right? Mike...I can't put a price on the Cuda just yet, if I were to figure in out of pocket cost for our hands on time at prevailing rates, factor in materials etc......you guessed it...way too expensive for most of us hobby budget guys. That's not the case...TDR figures in material costs, any outside labor and a small mark-up to put back into new product development & advertising. We are not in biz to get rich quick.....we are modelers just like you. The price will be as low as possible and not based solely on $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ profit. I know it sounds a bit sappy but we are here for you modelers and the promotion large scale in general. I'll post an "estimated" cost as the dust settles. What we are looking at is offering the body only at "X" dollars and a couple of bundled starter kits including the glass body, engine, trans, etc. These bundled kits will more than likely be "multi-media" kits...glass body, resin parts, RP parts and perhaps even some metal parts...we'll see.

Al, your model is superb. It just plain "looks" right.

Yeah, buddy..........just thinking down the road a bit, 1/8th scale is a blast to build but despite all our begging and pleading over the years to the big model car companies for something really new & affordable, it doesn't seem to be in the cards. I received a couple of private "Es" asking why TDR & the Madd Fabricator have been relatively quite lately....well, fellow modelers, the answer to that is simple. We've been devoting a tremendous of time to developing new masters for bodies and more parts, I'm not going to let the cat out of the bag yet but I will say.......put a seat belt on your modeling stool and grab a drool towel. If biggies are your your "thing" you're going to have lot's of goodies to choose from.

Steve....when the mold is complete I'll post a few pics of it just for giggles, you're right, the mold is a project in it's own right.

Romell, be warned, 1/8th scale is very addictive. I'm finally done fussing with the master for the body and starting on the mold, unlike resin casting the mold will be laid up by hand in fiberglass. It will be a 5 piece bolt together affair to ease removal of the body from the mold. The body has lots of compound curves and undercut areas.....rather than fudge or alter these areas with a "close enough" approach, I'm putting extra time into the multi piece mold. By the way,I got your email and will drop you a line later today. The first run of bodies will go to the original investors, at that point I'll cast some for the members of the forum before they go in the catalog or on ebay........in other words, you forum guys will get a "go to the head of the line" pass. I'll talk with the guys at TDR and see if we can come up with a "special" price for members only.

Here's what I'm using to do the front spoke wheels. I save old presription bottles etc. as I've found that they fit in R/M tires and save me from chasing around trying to find tubing to fit. I'll cut a section from it to do that part of the rim & use hobby shop tubing for the spokes.

Time for a quick mock-up to eyeball calibrate the ride height, wheel base and all that...most of all to get the nose down attitude I'm looking for. Making paper patterns for the floor boards, cross members etc, at the same time. I had intended to use a steel rim in the the rear and the 5 spoke (gray centers) on the front but after squinting at it for a while I think I'll make a 10 or 12 spoke for the front. The 5 spoke looks a bit "heavy" on the front and I want to show off a little more of the drilled disc brake rotors.

Shazaam Rick, That "11 rear is a monster, combined with the length of the Lenco and the elephant heater makes for a pretty cozy interior, huh? Got room for a Tach & fire extinguisher? Great looking car buddy!