Rusty Race Cars ?

Nice Ron, you made the scoop for the Mustang then.

Where did you get a 1/16 Moon tank for the 55 Nomad?

Nice work. I've never tried the brass thing for crumpled panels, but have seen the finished results.

Hi Ron, welcome back, was wondering how you were and even told my other half, now you’ve returned so happy days.

So with the brass you can dent it and then paint it I assume?

I’ve just seen a thread on here of some very realistic rust..
salt and paint and a toothbrush I think

My head still isn’t quite into it - but the brass foil sort of works.
I’ve made a trunk lid, a panel in one door, and the roof - which I should have dented before gluing in, as it’s not perfect fit - and already added filler.
As I say, I’m not thinking straight at the moment.
The ‘55 has only had a blast of red oxide primer, and all the sanding and texturing has yet to come..
...and I have no idea what the fuel tank really is, as it came from my spares box, but seems to fit the part.
Yesterday I attempted to make decals for the cars, and somehow my colour swatch on my computer has disappeared.
After an hour of trying to recover it, without luck, I just gave up. 🥴

Sounds like you may need to recover a bit before you carry on the build.

Put your feet up and do stuff when you’re ready, you’ll end up making more mistakes.

Take it easy Ron boy.

I spent a further fruitless hour trying to sort out my computer so that I could print decals - but several red flag errors are coming up on start up, which I can’t fathom out.
However, it wouldn’t print white anyway, and the green ‘55 really needs lettering in white - so I tested if my signwriting skills were still working by brushing the first coats on by hand. It needs outline and shadow, but then I would need to sand all of it back to give it an aged look.....but, it’s a start, with both sides done.

I’ve got a feeling this is gonna look pretty realistic

Rest up and start again when you can focus better.
By the way, it looks great.

If you follow that those steps Ron it should look proper, like from back in the day.

Excellent looking even now!

The signwriting is done - just have to wait until it’s properly dry, then sand most of it off again !

Not quite so involved than the last race car which I lettered up.

[quote="Ron234"]The signwriting is done - just have to wait until it’s properly dry, then sand most of it off again !

The black outline has made a huge difference, looks so much better and this blue one, I thought it was a model until I saw the extension cable on the floor

Sorry Ash, just showing off again......yes, seems like a lifetime ago when I used to do big stuff.
I’ve painted a lot of race cars in my time, and that Topolino was the last one I did and featured on the cover of Custom Car magazine in July 2016, and was voted best appearing car at the Nostalgia Drags that year. It’s all paint, apart from the gold leaf - no vinyl stickers.

You're seriously going to have to tell us who you really are Ron.

I know you're not Terry Ross, but you're as talented as he is, you know him so spill the beans. Were you on the staff of Street Machine or Custom Car back in the early 80's?

Keep sharing Ron,
As Shay says.. that’s pure talent
It’s nice to see this kinda stuff..

Thanks.
For your info :
In 1977 I designed and painted the controversial promotion vehicle for the new Ford Fiesta for Custom Car/Ford, and got to know George Hinton who was the Editor at that time, which led to to me submitting numerous contributions through show reviews and such. I did a few articles in Street Machine and Hot Car too. I painted and lettered several ‘Super Gas’ race cars in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, which found themselves in the mags, but it was always done as a sideline to my sign business of commercial vehicle signwriting. I admit I wrote articles under different names, but it wasn’t Terry Ross - even now, my Facebook name is a nom-de-plume !

I knew it.

I have loads of those old mags.

Keep going Ron, you don't see that kind of talent anymore.

Any chance of some tutorials before the art is lost cos nobody passes it on anymore due to lack of interest with the younger audience?

I'm sure it would be a pain in the you know what with pics etc, but we can find ways around that.

Mmmmm.....how can I compress 50 years of artistic experience into a couple of tutorials ?
I think everybody has their own particular talent Shay, and I’m often in awe at some people’s work. I never thought I was special, and at the time I could see others around me that were far better at it than me - I just did it to pay the mortgage the easiest way I could.
Much of the art of signwriting was lost with computer cut vinyl, when all you needed was the intelligence of a gibbon to do the job - sadly, I had to turn to the same method in order to compete and continue making a living. Such is life.

OK, then just the Mopar Hunter signwriting as a tute then?

Chap across the road used do it back in the day before the stickey on stuff, works of art really even if was a fleet of vans.

Used to always sign them too.

I was in demand a lot to paint vans and trucks back in my day, because other signwriters hated having to do a sign job several times over - as in both sides, rear doors, front panel, etc. Most were painter and decorators with the ability, but not the stamina. I even got my class2 HGV licence so that I could pick up and deliver trucks.

Anyway.....
A tutorial on painting the lettering on the ‘55 may come out as me sounding cocky again, but it’s only because I have years of experience,
but here goes :
First, I can see my plan in my mind’s eye, so I don’t draw it out.
I pick a good brush that has long bristles with a squared off chisel end.
The stroke of the brush will give the lettering’s width, ideal for typefaces with a block serif - and the casual ‘Mopar’ style.
‘Hunter’ I approached first, with each letter at slightly different angles. A guide for the final length is that each letter is approx the same width.
Fortunately in this case, both the vertical and horizontal strokes are almost the same, except for the centre bar of the H, E and R, which are done with the side of the brush.
Mixing the paint to the correct consistency is important, too thin and the stroke becomes too wide - too thick and the brush won’t give an even width. The ‘thickness’ of paint always determines how small that you can go with lettering too. Like real signwriting I use enamels, because I don’t get the flow with acrylics. At this size, there are always rogue bristles to spoil good work, but knowing that an outline or shadow is to be added, it’s not always important to get it perfect.
Take your time, concentrate, and have confidence. Easy to say, but it took me years to achieve it.
The ‘Mopar’ casual lettering was painted from the foot of the letter, upwards, underhand if you will. With it having a slight italic, it works.
Once dry, the outline and shadow can be added - again with care and concentration. I used a brush for the larger ‘Hunter’ text, but the ,‘Mopar’ was outlined with a Sharpie permanent felt pen - actually, not as easy as it seems, even for me.
Shading and coloured highlights were then added.
Finally as it is today, a smear of weathering and dry brushing applied.
However this is not the end - there is more to come, as I intend to sand and polish off most of what I have just done. I can see it in my mind’s eye - but you can bet it’ll never turn out exactly as it is imagined, not every time.
I know it’s not something most people would tackle, but it’s not impossible - and when I look at it in close up, it’s not that good - but it was the only option for me - so I went for it !

Brilliant and thanks Ron, looks very 60's.

You're going to sand it back very carefully so the signwrighting looks as old as the car and is very faded I assume? Nice work on the rust too mate.

Won't ask about that or the broken window either.....

Cool stuff! I luv dioramas, but they're a challenge in themselves. The "war" modelers have decades of experience, but for me there's much good to having a good setting for any vehicle. Thanx!

After 10 minutes with polishing compound and all that work has gone to dust ......but almost what I was aiming for.
I need to work on the detail of rust and wear and tear, and the flora and fauna are just for show, for now - I really want to reproduce a small tree and bush.
I enjoy a challenge.

Here’s a question for you all :
How do you make a convincing flat tyre.
This diorama calls for at least four, and any suggestions would be very welcome.