Though I had a dollhouse in childhood, my main interest for as long as I can remember has been cars. I wanted an all-terrain vehicle for my second birthday, and grandpa bought it for me. I am not sure exactly when I got into building model cars, but I still have three completed 1:25 scale models – one showroom quality and the other two junkers. These were made sometime in the late 80’s – early 90’s.
The first is a Jaguar XKE. It’s the most polished of the three. It has a gold metallic undercoat covered by sheer deep green. I used an airbrush on all the models. Other than on the wheels where I was able to use a small brush, the chrome details were painted gold using the tip of a sewing pin. That same method was used to paint the dashboard details.
The second is a Volkswagen Beetle in a lovely shade of oxidized army green. Of course, the kit body was originally pink. Ech!
I cut mini vinyl floor mats to cover the holes in the floorboards. It has broken windows, dents, rust, a missing rear view mirror, multiple city stickers and a now-missing CB antenna mounted on the back. That’s railroad paint called dirt as accent.
The third, and my personal favorite, is the Datsun 240Z. It has a cockeyed suspension, which – if you have ever seen one of these on the road – should seem familiar to you.
Occasionally, I will see one that is showroom new and I just have to smile. This model has the same issues as the Beetle – the dents, rust etc., but I did a few extra things here.
The spider web crack in the front windshield is done by poking a heated straight pin through the plastic then using a hobby knife to etch the pattern.
I upholstered the hatchback just to put a greasy tire mark there.
There are cigarette burns in the seats, a missing headlight and only part of the nameplate remains on the back. I painted most of the car in a mix of gloss and flat black, but the hood and rear piece have a bit more gloss to represent replacement parts. It, too, got a splash of dirt to finish it off. Interestingly enough, the dustier these models get over time the more realistic they look.
