Tom Geiger

Recently I commented on a thread about how the intent of a simple build got complicated, and how we simply cannot help ourselves. Then I was looking for something specific in the album for this truck and remembered my own journey down the slippery slope! So here goes.. People will ask me how I came up with some of my builds. I can say many of them look nothing like my original idea. The more you look at an in progress model, the more crazy ideas pop into your head! Back in 2008 I was organizing my model room and found I had a bunch of the 50 Ford pickup kit. I enjoy this kit and had already finished one, so I grabbed a spare plastic tub and started a parts box specifically if this kit. I dumped about five open kits in here for starters. That gave me the freedom to cut some up! Having a bunch of these allowed me to play and worse come to worse I could toss the results without guilt. I had just successfully sectioned a 34 Ford sedan and got the bug to try it on a pickup. In short order I accomplished the above work. And that’s the part I cut out up front. Here’s how it looked side by side with a stock body. Satisfied that I scratched that itch, I celebrated my success and promptly put it away. I had no plans for a build. Fast forward four years to 2012, I got the bug to build a rat pickup, no doubt some influence from the message boards. I found a bed from an AMT 29 Ford kit and then shortened the chassis accordingly. You can see my yellow and dark red 50 Ford in the background. Again, something I wanted for a simple build. This was a $5 started kit someone started. The chassis was completely built, the interior finished, the body parts painted yellow but missing the body. I knew I couldn’t match the yellow so I went for a two tone. All I needed to do was assemble it! Then it went sideways.. and it wound up being my Jitney bus! Anyway, this was the result. I was happy enough, and the build once again got side lined. I didn’t have a plan on how to section the nose. Then this photo jumped out at me! I didn’t need the front fenders at all. An AHA moment! This truck was for sale and I actually considered buying it! Probably should’ve. With this photo as inspiration, I started carving. I saw the kit head lights were in the right position so I left them attached to the newly sectioned grille. In playing with the hood, I couldn’t get it to sit in place, and it completely hid the engine. I took inspiration from early 50s Dodge pickups that had a center spine and opened sideways on either side. I had hoods to spare so again I went for that experiment. Once I saw this look, I abandoned the plan for opening side panels and went for this unique look, using the hoods center crease as the defining accent. That allowed me full view of the engine and I could permanently glue all this in place. That’s when I noticed the trend of putting 1950s rear fenders on rat rods. Another twist in the build! This was not my first attempt. My first try was 59 Chevy, but I couldn’t narrow the back of it enough. I already had the tail lights touching and the body was into the fenders! I also had a Ranchero parts box and a body I had already hacked the A pillars off for another project. This one worked to my liking. I didn’t use the Ranchero floor in the end, I had a ribbed Evergreen sheet that was easier to work. Funny thing, there were guys who have seen the finished model and thought I used a box from the 1/32 scale Ranchero, but nope, it’s a narrowed and sectioned 1/25 scale one! Then came the roof hack! Someone said the roof looked two tall with the sectioned body set down into the frame rails. So I cut the top off with intent of chopping it. Again I had bodies to spare so I was thinking I’d make up any missing length by using two roofs. Then we got another twist to the plan! I liked the body topless! It made the overall truck look all that much lower. So I went with it! So we went topless! It did take me a few kit cabs to get the interior section to line up with the outside. And now I could detail out the interior vs having it viewed through chopped windows. I went with the custom console from the AMT 57 Ford. If I was doing this project again I’d look at narrowing the back of the cab to be more in line with the Falcon bed. And I’d even go for a lower windshield. All the lowering of the body made typical seats sit way too high. I again parked the project for a few years. In 2019 someone on a board was using the Rat Roaster buckets on a project so I dug out mine.. perfect! That gave me the ambition to finish the project. Once the plan was finalized, it was easy to complete the model. I painted everything and did final assembly. Interior got photo etch seat belts, a VW parking brake and I drilled some cup holders into the console to break up the wide expanse of flat. Clear steering wheel came from an old Riviera kit. It’s interesting how much smaller the rat truck is next to the stock 50 Ford pickup The rat rod was in the same box as the Jitney, and I got inspired to finish that one. Once I finished it, I looked at the rat still in the box and figured I needed to finish that too. So both made their way to my shelf. It was a triumphant moment when I threw out the empty box! The whole purpose of this post is to illustrate how a project develops over time. Folks will ask me how I came up with a specific model, and I just wanted to show that it often doesn’t happen all at once. There are also those stop points where I don’t see the next step or how to overcome a dead end. Over time, my exposure to different builds at shows and on boards will spark ideas or totally change a project. Often long sitting projects get new enthusiasm when someone posts a good idea. I also like to take a lot of photos as I build because I see new possibilities when I see the model in a photo. I like posting these because people will add new ideas that can make the model better. All part of the process! I hope this post will encourage people to start new builds, not knowing where they will end up! Do not fear going down that merry path to over complications, it can become a fun and rewarding adventure!

Very nice! I like that you kept the six. Too many converted to V8! I used to have a 65 Barracuda with a slant six 3 speed. I’d get a lot of odd comments at shows!

Great work as always! I have two of these tucked away, I want to build one so I’m watching your build.

Nice work! One of my favorite kits. I held one in Hobby Lobby on Friday, looking at the Coke accessories. Even with the 40% off I couldn’t pull the trigger since I have so many of this kit’s older releases in my parts box.

and lotsa beer!

I stopped in store in Exton PA on Friday afternoon. 40% off signs on the shelves, but I didn’t see anything I needed.

Very nice! I have a few I need to look at. Yes, that was Lindberg back when they finally found their stride. A shame they didn’t continue.

Agreed. I’ve always told people to go to Walmart or Hallmark and buy their old car calendar.. look at the cars shown.. those are what the general public is familiar with! So that’s pretty much what will sell in quantity.

Yes! Stick around, you’re family here! And there are a kit of guys on the board who haven’t built anything in years!

Back around 1998 I had just got my 65 Barracuda on the road after a long slumber in my garage. I drove to buy beer and when I came out there was a young guy looking it over. We got into a conversation and he enthusiastically shared that he was restoring a 1982 Cavalier. That wasn’t exciting to me, but I said it was cool and encouraged him. I thought of the Cavalier as too new and boring to restore. As I drove home I started to think. When I was 17 I was that kid. I was very excited about my 66 Valiant then, which was only an 11 year old economy car at the time. At least his Cavvie was 17 years old! Times change and life rolls on!

So sorry to hear this! It’s sad. My Ted left this world sitting on my lap. I’ll never forget those moments. I still miss him six years later. We haven’t had the heart to replace him!

Or a convertible! There you can see all that detail

Amen Charlie! I was living in Central NJ in a town with waterfront on the harbor facing Staten Island, we could see the World Trade Center looming over the island from our shore. We could smell the smoke in our neighborhood, as intense as if there was an electrical fire on our block. Being in a NYC bedroom community we know people who died that day, and many close calls. Within the Tristate Scale Model Car Club we had three wives in the buildings, fortunately all escaped. It’s a dark moment in our history and unfortunately the impact has lessened over the years. 19 years later, a good portion of our population is too young to know of it first hand, so it’s like the Civil War to them. I was thinking the other day that no child in our school system was even alive yet on that day!

I like the blue interior. I try not to do black ones since they pretty much disappear inside a model car

We have candy!

Neat!

Like perfect zombies ?‍♀️

By any chance do you sleep on that hand? I ask because that’s what happens to me. I’m right handed and sleep on my left side facing right. My left hand winds up under my pillow or head and I wake up with the pain you describe.

Thanks guys! Based on your advice I just ordered the Mini Plus, the cheaper of the two units without the light. I wasn’t really sure of the box design on the better Super Mini, see it below with the open sides.. I could see myself spraying out the side of it. This is the cheaper Mini Plus, I like it has sides and I can reuse the two lights I have on my current home made unit for the $117 price difference.

Oh man, those Ponchos! When I was in high school the tiny little Pontiac dealership owner was a member of the church adjacent to my school. He provided all the vehicles.. the big Bonnies the nuns drove and the Lemans used by us for drivers ed. The cars changed annually so he probably leased them to the parish for free.

Because they’re dead ?

I just was looking through my albums for a specific photo for another thread and started to look at this one. So I thought I’d post it. I built this one many years ago. A fellow club member found a bunch of these as bag kits on the shelf at his local Michael’s for a few bucks apiece so he bought them all. No doubt leftovers from a store Make It Take It sponsored by Revell. He just handed them out at our meeting and we agreed to a build off. I thought I’d go with a retro theme. Let’s make it look like it was built back in the day. I went with a 1971 Chevy color.. a Duplicolor spray can from my father’s garage that somehow still worked. Going with the theme I added a lot of chrome. Originally I thought of chrome bumpers but there was no way to do that without ruining the car’s lines. Stock kit interior with chrome! And add some T Tops! Chrome door handles and mirrors too. I left the kit tires and wheels. And a bit of chrome to the rear treatment too. It was a quicky build but came out well without getting too tacky. I hope you like it!

Wow! Superb! I love watching a model come together and seeing the results! It May very well be the prettiest in your collection, but isn’t that the goal? Every model is just practice for the next one! So you achieved the goal of raising your game with each car! Build on!

I remember a similar story from the 1950s. Grand prize was a huge above ground pool with raised decking all around it. Won by? A kid in an NYC high rise building. Maybe same kid who won the pony! In 1968 I lived in Jersey City NJ for a year. At our school we had a candy bar fu d raiser with a bunch of great prizes. Us kids worked super hard to win.. every day until dark door to door. Even went to the bus stops during rush hour to pester commuters. Who won? A kid whose family owned the deli.. he did nothing but put the boxes of candy on the counter and customers bought them. He won the Rupp mini bike! And he had nowhere to ride it. The family lived in an apartment over the store and there he was every day riding that mini bike in a circle, around and round the building!

I don’t think I have any photos of me using the tape, but this is the first car I did using it, maybe 7 years ago, and it’s still sticking fine. For narrow areas, put the tape on the glass, letting it get over the edge, then trim off the excess. Peel the backing off the second side and press into place. The tape is clear so it pretty much disappears under glass. I usually use it in a hybrid method, I’ll use the tape across the top and bottom of the glass and then use canopy cement on the edges all around. It’s good for holding the glass in place while the glue dries.