espo

I followed your build on this Van and it turned out great. The fender flairs look perfect. The paint color and finish really looks smooth and shinny.

Beautifully done as always. I always thought this style of paint work on a 1:1 car looked good.

Again, amazing art work on the body.

Amazing paint work. You have got to be doing this for a living.

I remember when you were working on the '51 Chevy with the camper, always wondered what happened to it.

Beautiful looking TA. Besides the paint finish I like the texture of the fabric looking seats and the somewhat glossier dash panel. All the different shades of color on the engine look right.

The Moderators are going to rain on you guys. Suggest using the Want section on the forum. I've seen it happen before.

While there are many, what are called "Maintenance Provided" housing. This would normally provide all front yard mowing, snow removal, garbage, and all common ground landscaping., The Home Owners Associations are part of buying a home in the developments that require them and you agree to abide by the rules when you purchase your home. The HOA will provide for the maintenance of common areas, Most are like ours that include some roadway islands as well as the lake chemical treatments, and the Shelter House. We have one unusual item on the forth of July. The HOA has hired a licensed pyrotechnic expert who puts on the fireworks display every year. This person also does many of the cities in our area and has a very impressive setup. The cannons are all mounted on a flat bed trailer and he has them wired to a master control panel. He can program the sequence of their launch and how long between launches. Each home owner pays a fixed annual dues and the HOA pays the expenses out of the dues collected. Ours is very low, only $400 per year and can't be increased without a two thirds majority vote. This is much less than most other HOAs in the area.

Great looking pair of Dodges.

I built one a few years ago to represent a friends High School ride. I think it looks fine. Not because I built it but because if you're not focusing on the known body issues and just look at how you put it together you'll like it just fine.

Old Deed restrictions seem odd and funny today but they had their reasons. My Grandparents had a home in a suburb north of Chicago that was built in the late 1800's. Some of the restrictions included that if you had a buggy and later a motor car parked in the street in front of your home you must contact the city PD Department to get their permission and have the "parking lights on all night". .

Good to see your back at the bench again.

I have been watching your posts on your bridge project and have admired how it looked. I was going to suggest a Trex type product for the decking part for longevity and resistance to rot. You're well past doing that at this time. The creek and bridge setting looks great.

We moved to Kansas in the summer of '96 and found many differences in they way that different aspects of life were done compared to California. Ya I know , "The Land of Fruits and Nuts" aside. There seems to be much more structure in many ways not to mention the Home Owner's thing. We live in an area that would have been considered very rural at the time and a lot of working farms still were predominate then. What I have seen when left to their own devices is a lot of people that would leave a partially disassembled automobile or most likely a truck in the driveway and or front yard. Grass was optional and only cut when the vehicles became hard to find. Gardens and yard plantings are just now becoming in vogue it seems. A large tree with some wind damaged limbs hanging or on the ground was not uncommon. Developers of housing additions sensed that some controls were needed to enhance the sale of both new houses and keeping them nice going forward. We were accustomed to people doing most of these things on their own. Cities would have some general rules to go by on appearances and upkeep of properties, but in the rural county areas that were being developed at the time there was very little if any controls. There is a GEICO Insurance ad on TV right now that mentions much of what Ace mentions, and that is what ours was becoming until cooler heads prevailed.

Great paint work and I like how you added a little caricature to the undercarriage. We have a lady who lives near use that drives the 1:1 version of your build.

Beautifully detailed thru out. I like the style of your build, more like what would be a daily driver and a weekend off-roader.

Another beautiful looking build. Like Phidaupho mentioned, this looks as if it could be based on the Big Duece kit.

I'm glad you pointed out this was a '58 Chevy because other than the headlights it's hard to tell. I like the lower profile of the bubble top. The paint finish is very interesting. The colors all work well together, but the finish has a different appearance to it. The finish isn't the syrup clear that seems to be the norm, this is softer for lack of a better term but I like this way with what all else you have done. Killer looking wheels.

Great looking rebuild. Good color choices and the interior looks very nice. I like the style of wheel you chose.

I have been enjoying your paint work lately. This is another fine example of how much this enhances the appearance of this Firebird.

Beautiful looking finish and this looks great as a Hardtop. The engine and chassis is very clean looking as well.

We have had some ups and downs with the Home Owner's Board in the 20 years we have lived here. We have been lucky in that overall it has been a positive experience. A few years ago we were getting ready to repaint the house and we wanted to do something other than the different shades of beige that seems to be the dominate color scheme. The Board came out with a new directive that any paint color had to have their prier approval and we were to use only "Earth Tones". This was at a time when all the Home & Garden magazines and TV were saying light greens were the new beige. I put up a few test sections on the back of the house to see what we wanted and then had the Comity come by to give their approval. Seems the head of the Comity didn't like any of the colors we picked. Did I mention that his house was about ten years past needing a repaint. The other two people thought the very light green body color with the white trim looked good. The head of the Comity said it didn't look like an Earth Tone too him. I never contacted them again and had the painter redo our home in the lt. green shade and white trim. We have received many compliments on the appearance and we never heard again from the head of the Comity, who still needs to paint his house. We are completing the remodel of the Home Owner's "Shelter House". The original developer for the area had built a structure for the residents to use for gatherings and picnic type activities. There is also a paved boat launch ramp for residents who didn't live on the lake to launch their boats. No gas powered boats are allowed, only oar, wind, or electric trolling motors allowed. We have a lot of the side by side paddle boats present also. One group of home owners wanted to close it in and add air conditioning, a larger children's play area as well as a swimming pool. They presented their proposal with little more than a napkin sketch and an open ended budget with no real idea of how it would be paid for. This was flat voted down with a lot of hurt feelings and many stopped attending the meetings and said everything was controlled by us "Old Farts" that lived on the lakes edge. I didn't agree with them, on the control part anyway. The new comity went to an Architect and a couple of local Builders. Three bids by licensed Contractors later we are getting a beautifully remodeled enclosed building with restrooms, large kitchen and food prep area that is heated and air conditioned. A large outside patio, built in Bar-B-Q area, increased paved parking with Handicap parking as well as stairs and paved ramps. All for far less than the others had proposed plus we got a local Bank to finance most of it. So like I sadi there is good and bad with a Home Owner's Association, but if you have one stay involved with what is going on and don't let the "Crazies" take over what you can and can't do with your house and the neighborhood.

I don't like being told what I can and can't do with my yard or house color. That said this is when a Home Owners Association can be a good thing.

Great looking color combination and the finish is perfect. The White Walls make it look like a companies show piece.

Tis is a great looking build. I like the stock appearance. You know, you're rubbing salt in the wound of those that haven't been able to find one yet. I really like the Red color.