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My twin brother, Larry, just sent me photos of his latest beverage truck project which took about 2 1/2 months to complete...mostly because of an unending number of fabricated wooden drink crates (22 parts, each). The truck is a two ton 1947 Canadian Fargo FL60 (Chrysler, Canada) with an 'era typical' open bottlers body. The cab started as a Danbury Plymouth but required widening of the fenders, spreading, shortening, and lowering the running boards, straightening the rear of the cab, tighter mounting of lower hood side hinges, and fabrication of accessories...mirrors, marker and directional lights, interior Mopar heater, all Fargo nameplates, etc. The chassis, including the steering front beam axle, is all brass other than the scratch styrene 2 speed rear axle and front/rear brake drums. Using many parts bin items, the engine replicates the appropriate flathead 251 cu.in. 6 cylinder coupled to a fabricated 5 speed transmission with attached drive line style safety brake assembly. The bottler's body is all brass with the exception of the opening styrene door panels...lower ones for the brass hand carts, rear doors for marketing graphics (posters, etc.) and much-modified diecast rear fenders. Wheels are reworked Yatming items with Ertl tires and scratch inner rims. Center front hubcaps are lathe turned items to depict unpolished aluminum parts that were production items on front wheels of all larger Canadian Fargo trucks. Vinyl graphics are printed from line art Larry supplied using accumulated reference. Paint is automotive basecoat/clearcoat. The now defunct KIK Cola brand was a unique, award-winning, local, quality cola, marketed mostly in family size bottles for the Montreal area where Larry and I grew up. At age 4, we would sit on our coaster wagons a half block from our home to watch trucks loading up at the actual bottling facility. That nostalgia from over 60 years ago sustained Larry while he mindlessly fabricated basswood beverage crates, with metal corners (from aluminum pop cans), and 1/16 acrylic rods (12 per case) representing the family size bottle necks. He has asked me to simply shoot him, no questions asked, if he ever contemplates another project requiring such tedious repetition.

Hi Niko, Always great to see your models Glad you had a good year. All the best for 2015

May I take this opportunity to wish everyone here a Happy and Healthy 2015, Cliff This year's models in order of completion "55 Olds Full Custom "35 Ford Street Rod '57 Dodge D100 Utiline Pickup '35 Chevy Hot Rod Coupe '58 Chevy Custom pickup

Peter, Those are all gorgeous. Great choices and beautifully finished.

I've just completed this Custom '58 Chevy pickup using a scrapped DM diecast cab and the fleetside box from a $12.95 Motormax as starting material. There are extensive modifications throughout using all sorts of material....styrene, brass, aluminum, tin, plated jewelry wire, felt, a plated cooking rack (dollar store) for the custom grille, bondo, renshape for the rear pan, tape for the louvres, a modified and detailed Revell parts pack Cadillac engine, and custom mixed basecoat/clearcoat for the pearle-orange paint. The model has taken approximately 100 enjoyable hours to complete. The interior is now simulated rolls-n-pleats with felt carpeting, the original dog-leg door hinges have been replaced with handmade tight swing hinges to more accurately mimic the actual full size trucks. The suspension has been lowered (retaining a traditional California rake), the custom exhaust is made from polished aluminum tubing, and the fuel tank is now a polished brass tank located in the modified pickup box. The custom, swing-up tarp and it's mechanism are brake formed aluminum. I consider myself an "Equal Opportunity Modeller" in that I'll use whatever materials that will give me the best results and I m certainly not one to adhere to the 'plastic only' school of modelling. Over the years, I've built most of the available plastic kits many times over and now, I'm really keen on building models of vehicles ignored by the kit manufacturers.

Hi Jurgen, You say it's acceptable......I say it looks absolutely REAL!!!... and the photography is excellent as well. You always do exemplary work.

My brother, Larry built this 1/24 '60s era hauler using a postwar Studebaker 1 1/2 ton chassis/cab to haul my Studebaker C/Gasser.

My brother, Larry and I intend to be there.....barring a snow blizzard. It's a surprisingly large and successful show.

Since nobody 'kits' a '35 chevy coupe and a scrapped stock DM roadster came my way, this was just the kind of project I enjoy...something that I'm unlikely to see another of. The addition of a much modified '34 Ford roof (with added Chevy details) and the front-hinged chevy style doors took lots of time and problem-solving, and the roadster's rumble seat was modified into a front hinged trunk. I decided to keep my rod all Chevy with a detailed '66 396" motor and a late model Hotchkiss style rear axle. The dropped front axle is soldered brass and polished aluminum, and the exhaust is bent from tubing. Paint is basecoat/clearcoat. Materials used include: styrene, aluminum, brass, polycarbonate, plated jewelry wire, vinyl, felt, and diecast. The completed model took approximately a month of fairly steady time.

Harry, All your brass-era models are so 'cool' and this is no exception. I still think it's time you did an article in the magazine showing the whole collection and background.........something delightfully non-mainstream and super-interesting. I'd certainly enjoy seeing them all together in a multi-page feature.

Polycarbonate (assuming the gauge isn't too thick) is relatively easy to cut with good scissors to the rough size you'll need, and then the gentle folds (wrap-arounds) are bent with your fingers and sort of rolled to the correct shape. Usually, the bend has to be overdone because it'll spring back a little. Delightfully, it isn't brittle and it doesn't go white at the bend like cheaper clear plastics do. I bought a small sheet of the stuff from a plastics supplier but I often find it used on product packaging and I save it. The heat formed packaging type often isn't smooth and clear but I have kept some diecut and folded clothing packaging that is really good. The last step is carefully filing or sanding the edges to the exact fit required and then running your fingernails along the edge to remove the fine burr that the filing leaves. I usually run a black marker along the finished edge to keep the edge from looking white. Don't be upset if the first attempts don't fit or line up perfectly...........you can use them as a template for the next try with the modifications factored in. I also sometimes find that the neck area of plastic liquor bottles can supply decent canopies or compound-curved glass. Try it...practice makes perfect!

Since this is a basic truck, a '57 Dodge flathead six-cylinder replaces the V8 Simulated hood hinges fabricated in brass I've added brake-lines, tubing exhaust with handmade exhaust clamps, and stepside running boards.

I've just finished this basic, stock Dodge pickup using a damaged (and really inexpensive toy show purchase) DM Dodge Sweptside pickup cab and an MPC 'Little red Express' pickup box as the starting material. To add some challenge I chose to make a short wheelbase stepside, sidemount spare option, a six cylinder engine, a small rear window, small hubcaps (lathe turned) and improved proportion of the windshield. I also made simulated hood hinges and the basic tail-lights in brass. It uses a basic interior....drivers armrest and sun visor only, as well as the simple basic seat. The new windshield is made from polycarbonate with wire used as the gasket, and the 'Dodge nameplate letters are individually cut from foil pinstriping tape (very tedious). The paint is 'Dodge Red' done in basecoat/clearcoat.

My brother, Larry, and I have a penchant for all sorts of small cars, and one of the cars that we've totally restored is a '49 Crosley wagon, pictured here (evidently the wagons are the most plentiful of the various Crosley models). We've also collected some Braje speed equipment for the Crosley, and ,since most of the Braje equipment is 'bolt-on' stuff, it might be fun to bolt a bunch of the speed equipment on for a while and surprise a few 'Tuner Guyz' at one of their gatherings. Although the Crosley motor is diminutive, it was a fairly advanced, lightweight, over head cam motor that was quite popular in TQ Midget racing as well as in boat racing 'back in the day'. I'd certainly love to find a decent model kit of any stock Crosley. I do have a couple of 1/43 diecast Crosleys....wagon and sedan delivery.

These two pics show the original Napa promo with the '53 grille as well as the incorrect (for the panel version) tailgate rear door.

This '52 International panel truck was extensively (but subtly) modified from a $29 NAPA promo a few years ago. The promo was a '53 version that has a different front end design and it also had a tail-gate instead of the correct vertical rear doors. The modified model was a collaboration between my brother, Larry, and me which included: the complete fabricated grille/hood front (including the trim done in plated brass), The hinged rear doors (done in brass), detailed engine, single seat interior (including heater ducting and inside-mounted spare wheel/tire), tubing exhaust, valve stems on the wheels. etc. Factory reference was used to insure accuracy throughout, and the paint was basecoat/clearcoat. My brother and I always enjoy making models of vehicles that aren't available in kit form, and we also always liked the styling of the '50 -'52 International small trucks with their 'mustache' grille.....so this model was very satisfying to complete. We tend to use whatever materials will give us the desired result.......plastic, metal, resin, whatever.

There have been many 1/24 precision diecast Chinese tractors made in the last few years and this is one of the most recent. These 1/24 truck models, made as promos for the 1/1 manufacturers, are a bargain considering the detail, working parts, and nice finishes and would appeal to most truck aficionados. They're usually made just for the Chinese market, so they're typically only available on Ebay out of China. Prices are all over the board, but with careful shopping, are often in the $100 to $150 range.

These two unusual 1/18 resin models (I've not seen either model replicated in 1/18 before) are made for Model Car World in Germany. There are no opening parts but the proportion and fit/finish exude quality. Model Car World's retail outlet in the US is American Excellence and their price for each of these models (approx.$117) is about half of the typical Ebay price that I've seen, and the US shipping from AE is only $12. The models (German '55 Borgward and Czechoslovakian '69 Tatra) are heavy and well detailed and one of the things about resin models that appeals to me is that they'll never suffer from the dreaded paint rash that often afflicts diecast models over time. I sent off for these two models the moment that I saw them available and photographed them as soon as I received them.

I think this model is outstanding. It's really heavy and, being resin, nothing opens but it does have pose-able steering, and the fit/finish of the entire model is second to none. The 1/1 vehicle that Neo measured no doubt had radial tires (most restorations do these days) because the tread pattern and width is not like an original bias ply tire.... but who cares.., in display position it's unnoticeable. The original car would have sported 'sombrero' hubcaps but, again, many of the current restorations take advantage of the Eldorado wire wheels....and they're really beautifully replicated by Neo. These pics were taken within 15 minutes of getting the model home. The model is fairly expensive since it's made in relatively limited numbers and the best price I could find was from American-Excellence because although their price is similar or less than the offerings from HongKong, etc., the shipping to the US was also less than $12.

your stuff is always clean and well presented......a pleasure to look at.

Wow! You're certainly doing all these old Johan Mopars proud. Beautifully done!!

That's simply gorgeous!!!!! and the foiling is really crisp and clean. Superb!

Jurgen, you always do such a clean and nice job with your models, and this one, although 25 years old, looks like it was just done yesterday. You also do gorgeous photography. I was on a Baltic cruise last spring and one of my favorite tours was the city of Hamburg.....an absolutely beautiful city. I wish I'd known your name then....I'd have really enjoyed getting together with you for a couple of hours.....I'm always impressed with your models. Cheers, Cliff