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Friday, January 24. 2020

Yesss...

Despite my preference for cars and trucks, I actually have quite a few Megatron figures in my collection. G1, G2, Beast Wars, Armada, Energon, Masterpiece, Siege...he's been around here in one form or another for years. I've also been making custom Transformers models for a quarter century. But for some reason, the two concepts never crossed paths until right now.

Posted by Bill at 15:19 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Friday, January 10. 2020

Die-Cast Construction...It's a Lost Art

So for 2020, I've decided to (almost) continue my build theme of books et. al. as "Remakes, Reboots, and Adaptations." All of my projects this year will be based around the concept of reimagining ideas in different contexts. Some may be obvious like movies made from books or TV series made from graphic novels, but I'm also thinking about ideas that are still more or less in-continuity but have been rebooted in some massive way that completely changes the look, feel, or idea of the original. Something like when over a decade of established mythos was turned on its head to make Munky not Trukk.

Posted by Bill at 15:09 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Wednesday, January 1. 2020

2019 Year in Review

Posted by Bill at 12:44 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Tuesday, December 31. 2019

Here We Go To Keep the World Happy

Ending 2019 with a biggie, both literally and personally as it comes from a book that I've read more times than I can remember: Fahrenheit 451. That wraps up my year-long tribute to books, comics, and other art, but I have something planned for 2020 that won't stray too far!

Posted by Bill at 20:32 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Saturday, December 21. 2019

For Many, Many Years It's Been...Waiting Here All Along

As of this writing, I have over 350 pop culture-themed model cars on this web site...but until now, not a single one from a "Z" title. No Zombieland? No Zoolander? Well, that's now been fixed with the Subaru 360 Deluxe from Zessyaka!

Posted by Bill at 20:21 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Friday, December 13. 2019

My Car Looks Normal at First Glance...

With just a couple of weeks before the end of the year, I figured I ought to work on some quick-turn projects in the interest of getting as many models finished as possible. So of course I choose one that comes out of the box with working suspension, photoetch details, and a custom candy paint job. Sometimes I doubt my decision-making abilities...

Posted by Bill at 18:18 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Wednesday, December 4. 2019

"Garbage Pail Kids Cards Have All the Marks of a 'Vindictive Act'"

The above quote is taken directly from a May 1986 article exploring the backlash to the then red-hot phenomenon that was the Garbage Pail Kids. I'm not sure whether seeing this same outrage repeat itself every few years better demonstrates how kids are always dumb and rebellious, or how adults are always dumb and panicky. Good times either way.

Posted by Bill at 21:37 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Monday, November 25. 2019

Do Not Knock My Truck or You Can Walk Right Now

When Trail of Lightning was pitched, it was referred to as "an Indigenous Mad Max Fury Road." I didn't really get that, though, as the way the story unfolded seemed more akin to a classic detective novel with a loner hero narrating a tale of unfolding mystery and dangerous situations. It even had the requisite cool "not cool" car (see also: Columbo's Peugeot, Rockford's Esprit, or Spenser's '68 Chevy).

Posted by Bill at 12:47 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Friday, November 15. 2019

WHO ARE YOU?!

So, technically my Mall Monkeys Security Vehicle is too new - the second generation Fortwo wasn't introduced until 2007, but the comic finished its run in 2003. My reasoning is that the mall's higher-ups signed a 10-year deal with Smart back in 1998, and as part of the deal would get a new one any time it was updated. If I ever find a first gen Fortwo, I'll simply expand their fleet (hence the "Car 2" license plate).

Posted by Bill at 20:43 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Wednesday, November 6. 2019

No, He Said It was a Ghost

After the labor-intensive Misery Machine, I was looking to take a break with some relatively simple builds. So of course the first one I choose is technically a curbside but still requires a scratch built twin turbo system and custom body work. Not very smart, but the end result is pretty.

Posted by Bill at 19:39 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Sunday, October 13. 2019

We've Got Some Work To Do Now

At long last, the Misery Machine is complete! Although the project wasn't unusually difficult, it was one of those where it seemed like adding more and more "stuff" to it was way too easy. That, and it was my first attempt to paint a realistic human figure...something that worked out well enough that I think I will be trying it again on future projects.

Posted by Bill at 14:42 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Friday, September 27. 2019

You Were Right, This Place is Fantastic

My original plan was to build the Misfile cars in order of appearance, which worked fine up until James' 3000GT. The only models available in 1/24 were first generation, while his had the later fixed headlights and revised hood and bumpers. It wouldn't be the most intensive project I'd tried, but it was just enough for me to put off the project in favor of others. With Misfile classic wrapping up, I decided it was time to stop procrastinating and get on with at least one of the kits I'd set aside. James' car was still more than I wanted to tackle at the moment, so I simply skipped it and went ahead to Brent's M3.

Posted by Bill at 20:38 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Wednesday, September 11. 2019

A Scene from Trading Places

The World Trade Center as seen in the movie Trading Places

Most of the time, when the World Trade Center was used in movies, it was simply part of the skyline - either incidental to the story taking place in New York City or as an easily identifiable landmark to set the scene. But the "Trade" part of the name was more than just a catchy moniker: 4WTC was home to five commodities exchanges and had one of the largest trading floors in the world.

This became the setting for the final act of Trading Places, where Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy get their revenge on the tycoons who set them up in the beginning of the movie. As they cross the plaza and walk past the Ideogram sculpture, we get this rare street-level view of Tower 2 with its distinct facade and 3WTC visible in the background.
See more scenes ➡

Posted by Bill at 10:16 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Monday, September 2. 2019

When a Zombie Apocalyse Breaks Out on Halloween Night...

An example of the "didn't age brilliantly" I mention in the build of AMT's Ferrari 250 GT SWB, note the "beore" and "after" of the kit's wheel knockoffs:

Wheel detail showing original and modified parts from AMT Ferrari 250 GT SWB


Posted by Bill at 13:15 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Monday, August 19. 2019

All New Illustrated City Slicker Packaging

I briefly worried that this may be cheating a bit. My plan for 2019 is to build models of stuff from books, comics, and other static art pieces, and while box art technically counts as art, it also leaves an almost obscene amount of wiggle room. Like, anything that appears on the box could now be considered fair game.

But then I had two counterpoints: first, a photo of the A-Team van dropped onto a tilted background isn't quite the same thing as a piece commissioned specifically for box art, created by veteran AMT/MPC artist Don Greer (car) and Round 2's Senior Designer James Hood (background, composition). Second, I set the rules for this theme; I get to interpret them however I want. The matter now settled, I went ahead with my plan for the City Slicker '69 Charger.

Posted by Bill at 22:27 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
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