O Scale Motor Chronicle Vol. XX June 28

Nice job guys.

I have only repainted one so far and I know to do it right, takes time and a lot of work.

Lee
The Cunningham’s were made here in Rochester NY. Most of their buildings are still standing and are being converted to loft apartments. After they stopped building cars in the mid 1930s they continued for awhile making custom bodies for other makes.  They are still in business as a small electronics company in the suburbs.

1922 Cunningham.

When I was in high school I had an English teacher that was a descendent of the Cunningham Family and a math teacher that was a descendent of George Selden.

For those of you that forgot history, George Selden held the patent to the automobile and collected royalties from all the other auto manufactures. Henry Ford refused to pay, and successfu6lyl challenged Selden in court.

Selden produced Automobiles from 1909 to 1912. and trucks for a while after that.

Back to the modified and repainted vehicles, Diecast Direct offered a 1950 Chevy wrecker at a very reasonable price some years ago.  I can't remember who made it; there's just sort of a stylized "h" as identification underneath. It was nicely equipped, but the best part for me was 7 lovely wide white tires and generic baby Moon type hubcaps.  These could be used on a variety of 1940s-early 50s vehicles.  I bought several of the trucks just for that.  In the photo the red and silver truck is as delivered.  The adjacent example had its wheels used on another vehicle, and two tone blue Humbrol enamel brushed on.  The gray primer one is someone's half-finished rod.  It has dual exhausts installed.  The last one is a custom with lilac paint and white tonneau cover. 

Nice trucks.  Love the lavender with white cover and those wheels!

Since the name Cunningham was mentioned, here's one I've had since I was about ten years old.

I remember building a couple simple-to-assemble Aurora 1/32 scale Cunninghams in the late fifties.  They also made the Jag XK120 and MG-TD, as I recall.

Below is a Solido 1940 Dodge that came in a garish bright yellow and blue.  I brushed Humbrol gray enamel on the body and flat brown on the wood parts.  As I thought the wheels and hubcaps would look better on an Ertl 1949 Ford, they were swapped.  That's a Chevy inline 6 as a load.  I don't remember where that came from. 

Very good finished for brushed paint.  I like the load a lot.  Looks good.  I love the tiny irony of a Dodge carrying a Chevy engine as a load.

Rich.Id this baby!(not o scale but 1/25(    

Those trucks are from Cararama

That is a 1949 or 50 Chevrolet Fleetline DeLuxe. I do not know the manufacture.

Looking from the front, it looks like a late 40's- early 50's Olds. Early 50's Old are one of my favorite.

Bill

Yep!I took an AMT '51 Chevy fastback and grafted on the front clip from a Revell '50 Olds.I am currently reversing the process on another project.Custom color.    

I take that back, Its not a Chevy, Its an Oldsmobile.

Ha!Ha!Fooled you!

That Olds Looks like a 49 Olds with Torpedo Back.

I thought that looked a lot like an Olds grill and hood ornament.  I don't recall well enough to tell if it's a '49 or '50.  Definitely after '48 and before '52 though, I think.

Richard, thanks for IDing my Cararamas.  Lee, I appreciate your kind comments on my projects.

Back to 1/43 scale:  Here are an AMT 1946-48 Ford coupe which came to me with a bad paint job and only some of its wheels.  The green paint is Dupli-Color auto lacquer and the wheels are from, yep, Cararama trucks.  The black sedan is a heavily modified Dimestore Dreams.  I have tried to make it look as much like a 1942 Chevy as I could by building up the hood with Testor's putty, creating new front end chrome out of bits and pieces, adding Cararama wheels, and opening up the windshield and rear wheel wells.  The side windows are old photo film.  The Testor's spray paint didn't come out as well as I'd like. (It's a two-footer, Lee).

Wow!that '48 Chevy on the right sure looks swoopy.Galaxie makes a 1/25th version that just may be my next project...

I picked up a blue pick-up truck with Air Force Security Police decals on Ebay, added a driver in a blue suit/uniform and a watchdog to the bed of the truck.  They now on duty at Liberty Air Force Base in Lighthouse Point.

And for all the nickpickers of the world, the dog's spots are prototypically proportional.   I checked the "real life" prototype myself while he was guarding the layout.

Two more.  The VW 1303 is stamped Mattel, Mebetoys, and Made in Italy, Scala 1/43.  The only mod done to it was replacing the original "mag" style wheels (!) with more Cararama ones..  The Ertl 1932 Ford panel delivery started life in a Coca Cola motif like Lee's Chrysler.  A coin slot in the roof was filled with Testor's putty. The maroon color is auto touchup paint and the black fenders are Testor's bottle paint.  I don't want to tell you how much time and patience it took under a scope to paint those wire wheels!

Nice work guys on the custom jobs.

For those that want to change out wheels Diecast Direct has American Heritage wheels in 1:43. AHM 43-802 whitewall tires with hubcaps...AHM 43-803 whitewalls with Ford logo on cap. $5.95 for a set of 8.