Model

[Scooter3]

So while Ive been saving money for my project and winter hasn't all the way cleared out I decided to build a 1/24 scale model of the idea I have in my head for what I want my truck to look like. I got the model off Ebay and its a 2 in 1 deal. You can build it stock or what the model people consider custom. So here it is and if anyone else has any models or what not they might like to show off. Post them here as well.

[markeb01]

I’ve done the same thing and created models of different versions of my real truck.



The shiny black 1960 on the far right was the first. It was a difficult build using Modelhaus resin replica parts of an original 1960 promo model. About the time I was building this model, Revell released the 64/65 fleetside kit so I used the back of the cab, top of the roof, and chassis from the Revell kit. Most of the rest is resin. I originally planned to use the bed from the AMT 55 Chevy stepside kit, but in the year it took to finish the build, Revell released the stepside/boat kit so I used that instead, and then painted it with acrylic enamel car paint.



The one on the far left is what my truck “was” going to look like – chrome front end with the later hood. Subsequently I was forced into early retirement, so the hobby budget rocketed to near zero, and the chrome and shiny paint concept was abandoned.



The center model is how my truck currently looks. With limited funds for an expensive paint job, last year I reshot it in John Deere Blitz Black, and built the model ahead of time to check the concept. The model is painted with the actual paint used on the real truck, so the colors are an exact match.



This is what it’s going to look like if I can ever find a cherry 1960 Chevy hood, which I would prefer over the never 62-66 style. The spokes on the mag wheels are currently painted cast iron gray, and are scheduled to be painted shiny black this summer.



The last model was something my son threw together just for fun. He added just about every tacky doodad in the junk box just to do something goofy.

[60apache575]

Scooter3, Markeb01 I guess I am not the only 60s truck lover that collects model toys and hotwheels out there. I collect 1/18 diecast cars, trucks, vintage fuel pumps, 1/64 hotwheels too. Give me some time and I will post a pic of my die cast cars in a big display case I have.

[markeb01]

Love to see them. Most of my 75+ car collection is 1/25 scale early kits dating back to the 1960 AMT Trophy Series kits, a few of which are trucks. Most are housed in one of two dioramas, a Giant Gila Monster setting, and the early Universal Studios Courthouse Square set.





I also have about 75 - 1/64 cars, again a few of which are trucks:

[Scooter3]

Awesome stuff mark...where can a guy get a hold of deal like that garage or gas station like the one you have?

[markeb01]

If you’re interested in a service station that’s already built, there was a Buddy L 1/25 scale tin Texaco station released in 1960, but they are extremely rare now and very expensive. It’s the only one I know of that is the correct scale.




They come up on eBay every now and then. A variety of other tin or plastic “playsets” were available, but most were smaller, closer to 1/32 scale. There are also some 1/24 scale gas stations available in “G scale, for model railroad dioramas which might work well. A Google search will show many to pick from. Here’s a link to one on eBay at the moment:

cgi.ebay.com/Gas-Station-G-Scale-Scenery-1-24_W0QQitemZ400107169134QQcmdZViewItemQQptZModel_RR_Trains?hash=item5d283ee56e

For anything else you’ll need to build it yourself. I wanted replicas from scenes specific to movie sets, so the buildings in my dioramas are all built from scratch using strip and sheet plastic. Plastruct and Evergreen produce an assortment of shapes and patterned sheets. If you have moderate modeling skills it’s very easy to work with, it just takes a bit of engineering as if putting together a smaller version of the real thing. For windows there are again many G scale and doll house suppliers, or CD jewel cases are cheap and make good “glass”.

Here are a few more shots of the Giant Gila Monster diorama. It was originally twice as large with the building in the center. When it came time to build the cabinet, I didn’t think the left side was interesting enough to be worth having a cabinet twice as big, so it was deleted.



The gas pumps are identical to the ones in the movie, and I learned later they were Martin & Schwartz model 80’s. The replicas started out life as salt and pepper shakers. They’re almost exactly 1/25 scale, but the detailing was nothing more than a paper sticker on each side. Here are a couple of pics of how they look as a salt shaker set. I wanted the Mobilgas set, but they were too expensive, so I bought the Conoco pair instead:




It turns out restoring the real pumps are very popular, so the faces and signage are available as new reproductions. I cut out the face panels and inserted photo reductions of real pump faces. The louvers came from an early AMT kit, and reset cranks came from a Revell 32 Ford kit, hoses and nozzles from die cast pumps, and the warning signs are all photo reductions of the real thing. Here’s how they look after being modified. The first photo is a shot of the diorama, with a background photo I took of the forest in our front yard. Without close scrutiny, many people have been fooled into thinking its real.






So it comes down to money versus enthusiasm. As with my real cars, I’ve always wanted more than I could afford, so I just learned to build everything myself.