foghorn62

Here is my contribution to the Tim Boyd tribute 29 Model A closed cab pickup. I’ll be honest, when I first got involved with this thread, I missed the “80” part, and just went about building my version of a contemporary/traditional hot rod, hence the barn wood bed, wire wheels, and lack of billet. By the time I realized my error, I was nearly finished with the build, so I decided to go ahead and include it here still as a tribute to Tim Boyd, the best hot rod modeler that I have ever met, one who has taught me a great deal about the hobby of building model hot rods, and whom I have known and considered a friend for nearly fifty years. Cheers Tim! Tim Slesak

Thanks for your response Tim. I wasn’t aware that Mr Hobby had their clear available in rattle cans. I probably won’t run out to get it though since I have become quite used to using my airbrushes. You always were partial to those rattle cans from what I remember. I’m not sure I could get a decent paint job out of a rattle can anymore no matter how hard I tried. I’m really loving the results I have been able to get using the Mr. Color ts100 Super Clear, over Createx Colors water base acrylics. I’ve had good success wet sanding the Mr Color clear, and polishing it out with a polishing pad on my Dremel using Meguiar’s PlastX polish. I have tried the Createx High Gloss water base clear, but so far not had great success with that. BTW, I have been able to track down Dave Barry. Like many of us, he has been away from our hobby for many years, but has recently retired and is getting back into it. He was out at GSL last May, but didn’t realize you were there. I had to chuckle. You guys were probably standing next to each other and didn’t know it. He asked about you the other day. I gave him some contact info that I have for you. I hope you don’t mind. You may hear from him soon. I think he lives fairly near you. All good up here in the great north woods. We are still waiting for Winter to set in this year. It has been very mild. I hope all is well at your place. TS

I just received news that Jim Keeler suffered a stroke today and is currently in the hospital. I have no additional information about his condition at this time. Jim posted a couple of days ago that he had suffered a nasty fall and banged himself up pretty bad. While recovering from that accident, he suffered this stroke. Please keep this long time pillar of our hobby in your thoughts and prayers. If I gat any further info, I will post it here. TS

Thank you very much for stopping by, and your gracious comments David. Your words are very encouraging. I hope you were able to find the finished pics in the Under Glass section. The forum doesn’t have a general category that includes boats, so I posted it in the “Everything Else” area, where it gets mixed in with military models. Thanks again for your interest. TS

I seriously doubt that there are very many people who have been involved with our hobby over the last 50+ years that don’t recognize the name and accomplishments of Mr.NNL himself, Tom Woodruff. I am s little surprised however that you didn’t mention just how significant a role Tom played in the birth of the NNL movement. Were it not for the fact that the first meeting was in held in Tom’s garage, a meeting where the cornerstones of the series were formed, and named, the entire series may never have happened. The stories have of course been well documented, in writing, as well as video. I have not seen the builds featured in this segment up close, but the level of cool comes as no surprise. I love the bike, and the vans! I have held many of Tom’s builds in my own two hands, and examined their detail and workmanship under flashlight and magnifier. I have been a fan of Tom’s work since the early 1970s, and continue so to this day. Thank you for sharing your visit with us Tim. Tom’s legend is one that should be documented whenever possible. TS

Thank you very much for your kind words and encouragement throughout this project Tim. It was you in the beginning that gave me the nudge to buddy up with Paul and wade into this project to begin with, and your interest and comments along the way that gave me the drive to bring it home. When it came time to post the finished project under glass, I was a little confused as to where it should go, since none of the headings included boats, and in all honesty the boat was intended to be the centerpiece of the combo. I ultimately chose to put it in the “everything else” area because it seemed the most appropriate. Now that it’s done, I have to say that I am as pleased with the way the Chevy came out as any other part of the build. The Galaxie kit went together beautifully, combined with the excellent Jimmy Flintstone casting of the convertible body, I was very happy with what I had to work with there. The wood panels also came out better than I had feared in my mind, and although I was afraid the colors were going to be too busy, I like them now. My intention with the gold hood was to highlight the shape of the hood and compliment the same shape and color of the turtle deck on the boat, and that seemed to work out ok. You know we always feel like there are aspects of any build that we could have done better, and this one is no exception to that, but I’m not in a position to build for display or competition, and knowing that it’s not going any further than a prominent position in my display case, it is what it is. TS

Wow, thank you very much Trevor! Your comments are most appreciated. This was a long project for me, and comments like yours are very gratifying. TS

Thank you very much Larry! TS

Thanks Paul, it was quite a journey as we both worked on our parallel builds. Along the way, I learned a few things, and picked up several ideas from you. I had never heard of using cigar wrap before, and I have to say that I am pleased with how it turned out. Thank you for your inspiration and encouragement along the way. As for a race…Seriously?😏 TS

Thanks for coming along David. I’m glad you enjoyed the build, and the finished product. TS

Thank you very much Jeremy! TS Thank you JC! TS Thank you Lucius! TS Thank you Bob! TS Thank you very much Bill! TS

Thank you Jim! TS Thank you Peter! TS

Thank you very much Keith!

Hi Claude, it’s always a pleasure hearing from you! As for the fresh air, it’s been better. Seems someone to our north is having a bond fire, and the smoke keeps coming our way. Seems to be getting better though. Thank you so much for your kind words about my build. It was a true labor of love. I’m sure that anyone that could afford a Riva Lamborghini, would have no problem writing a check for one of these. Besides, this is modeling. We’re allowed to pursue our fantasies with no fear of budget overruns. We really have the best situation. As I already said, it’s really great to hear from you Claude. You always have kind words of encouragement. Those words are much appreciated my friend. TCOTT TS

Thanks Chris! TS Thank you Carl! TS

Thank you very much for your kind words! Unfortunately, the engine does not photograph well with the hood on, but here are a couple of pics taken as I was building it. TS

This build is now complete. See wrap up pics in the “Under Glass” section, at this link. Thank you Paul Payne for starting this thread, and setting a high bar with your awesome build. It’s been fun. To everyone who followed along, or just stopped by to see what we were up to, I’d like to thank all of you for stopping by. I really hope you like what you saw. TS

Well, this fifteen month project is finally complete. This build was originally inspired by a boat by the Italian boat builder Riva, using two Lamborghini V12 engines as power. I asked myself, “what if a U.S. car maker made V12 engines, and a premier U.S. builder of fine wooden boats happened to get hold of a couple?” Tow car is a 47 Chevy Fleetmaster Convertible built as a Sportsman style Woodie. The convertible body is from Jimmy Flintstone, the engine is a 3D printed LS3 V12 from Ron Olsen through Shapeways. All the rest is from the Galaxie 47 Chevy Fleetmaster kit. The boat is a 55 Chris Craft Cobra, from a Dumas kit, modified with two LS3 V12s like the one in the car. The interior is scratch built using craft foam for the tuck and role seat. The turtle shell rear deck is also scratch built with vacu formed styrene over a balsa buck. The trailer is scratch built out of brass. This was a challenging build for me having never built a wooden boat kit before, and also gave me several opportunities to work with unfamiliar materials such as the cedar cigar wrap that I used on the car body, and steam bent bass wood. There are quite a few in progress pics posted under the truck, boat, and trailer thread started by Paul Payne. I hope you enjoy this build! Thanks, TS

Trailer hitch is in. Fifteen month project winding down. Just a few more details to tidy up.

Still piddling away at it. Got the engine mounted in the frame, with headers and side outlet exhaust. Installed stainless steel tie rods and made the front wheels posable. Been playing with nickel plating at home and experimented on the scratch built mufflers and driveshaft. Made a hitch reciver, and turned a hitch ball. I’ll nickel plate those too, just because I can. Installed some magnets in the uptop and convertible boot, so that they can be easily interchanged. Just a few more details to finish, and this one will be done.

Details details details…. My least favorite part of any build is final assembly. That’s the time when I have the greatest chance to mess up all of the work I have done. It’s also when I realize that I have forgotten to do something, or some minor but important detail that I should have done before this point still needs to be done. Here we are. These pics show everything in mock up ready for final glue. I’m making a punch list of what still needs to be done, so I don’t miss something. Wish me luck!

You are sure welcome anytime if you manage to convince her. Vermont is a beautiful place to visit, even outside of my basement. I do remember that road trip in my Cutlass. As I recall, Chuck was with us, and we went down to visit Tom Woodruff. That was in about 1976-7. Who’da thunk that trip may have been precursor to NNL#1 a couple of years later? TS

Nice Tim! Are you going to go and watch it come down the line? TS

These are great Pete! I really love the RPU! I’m a big fan of RPUs, and yours looks just right. The stance, the slicks, old school wires, rag top, dull blue paint, all come together beautifully! TS

Thank you Steve! Yes, that is definitely the look I was going for. It’s actually based on a show car from about twenty years ago by Pinkee’s Hot Rods in Windsor, CO called “Loaded”. Instead of a show car though, I wanted it to look more like something that the owner might have built in his own garage, and drives. I purposely didn’t polish the brass components so they would tarnish and deepen in color naturally. The interior is made from craft foam that I rubbed with boiled linseed oil so it would look like worn suede. I’m very happy that you noticed the steampunk vibe! Thank you for your comment and question. TS