Ford Escort Mk1

[hirondelle]

There are some outstanding cars on that site.



I want this one, even if only in paper!
I see very few paper model cars compared to military subjects, or am I looking in the wrong places?
I think there should at least be a paper 'Maharajah' Mercedes 540k out there somewhere.

Do we have any car model designers resident on the forum? I need one of each car from the 30's & 40's from that site!!!

[whulsey]

I would love to see more cars. The 2 stumbling blocks I see is first as you get into the late 30's you get some really complex curves and surface modeling. The other that is a big problem even in the plastic world is chrome: bare metal surfaces are hard enough; chrome or nickel plating gets even tougher. Even with that someone designs one I'll be more then happy to give it a shot.

[peter taft]

I did these shots quick - These are a few of the American Car models in my collection, i ran out of time. If i get chance i will post pictures of the real quality models {British motors} The ones here are cheap{ish} models {all metal 1:43 scale} apart from the Pink Cadillac {1:18 scale} the tiny cars are 1:76 scale {or OO scale in Railway terms - at least i think thats the scale for those... MEMORY } They are manufactured by Maestro - Apart for the smallest - they're Masterpieces in miniature. Hope these bring some good memories back to the GOOD days, when cars were cars - not bits of plastic on four wheels Oh how i long for a rear wheel drive.

[hirondelle]

These are some fine cars. I suspect you may have a sizeable collection!!
Thanks for sharing.
You are right about modern design I think. In too many instances I see the design of a 5 year old : wedge, box etc on wheels put into a CAD program, stream-lined & churned out as cheaply as possible. Things like hand finished panels & attention to detail have gone almost entirely. Why make a detailed lamp fixture or picture window when a sticker will do?

I can see that making a paper model car with curves & chrome is a potential nightmare. But I was looking at the GPM Fiat



& thought that design suggests such things would be possible.
Of course shiny metal is a tricky one, & I'm certain the experienced modelers have used paint & foils to try & get a shiny component.
In my minds eye I thought carefully burnishing tin-foil onto a part would give a decent fender, but the details of a radiator grille would be another story.

Worth a try though!

[peter taft]

Originally Posted by hirondelle

These are some fine cars. I suspect you may have a sizeable collection!!
Thanks for sharing.
You are right about modern design I think. In too many instances I see the design of a 5 year old : wedge, box etc on wheels put into a CAD program, stream-lined & churned out as cheaply as possible. Things like hand finished panels & attention to detail have gone almost entirely. Why make a detailed lamp fixture or picture window when a sticker will do?

I can see that making a paper model car with curves & chrome is a potential nightmare. But I was looking at the GPM Fiat



& thought that design suggests such things would be possible.
Of course shiny metal is a tricky one, & I'm certain the experienced modelers have used paint & foils to try & get a shiny component.
In my minds eye I thought carefully burnishing tin-foil onto a part would give a decent fender, but the details of a radiator grille would be another story.

Worth a try though!

Definitely worth a try - Experiment with parts to see what happens, if you scan the parts in to your computer, you can re-print untill you get the desired effect. In reality, i guess the call for car bodies to have a longer life span put paid to steel in almost all designs. stamped out alloy shells made for lighter cars, and less rust. Full chassis replaced by sub-chassis made for easier repair. I guess it's the way to go, especially in this world where keeping costs down and man-hours down is top of the agenda. One thing we lost in all of this, was the SHAPE of the cars - they all look so similar these days it's got boring. I will try and get some shots of some REAL cars with PROPER shapes that stand out in the crowd {from my collection} and will post them here for you if that's ok.

[peter taft]

Hey.... Got back before you did friend ! Just had a quick shoot of a few other cars. Instead of posting what i got done, i made a presentation for you - ENJOY I have more, but no time to get in the loft

Just look at all the gorgeous cars in the Film clip

[hirondelle]

Wow, start the new year as you mean to go on eh?
Thanks for taking the time to line that show up for me - much appreciated.

In watching Mr Moore in his Rover V8 I recalled that the 3.5 liter engine was originally bought from Buick - a design that was redundant from the late 50s' (if memory serves) cannot recall if it was Rover who settled on that specific capacity after tests or whether it was in the original project line-up. But of course Buick like other US makers were moving towards 500 cubic inches.
From personal experience a bigger engine does provide a smoother ride. I had a 72 Coupe deVille once, a V8 472ci - approx 7.7 liters. Huge 2 door which was starting to take on the square look which would take over in the 80s.
(Not actually mine but damn close!) Handled like a bag of jello over 85mph. But smooth power otherwise.

On design changes - as you say there is more anti-corrosion technology employed now, & I know the older shapes do catch & hold water, however that provides no good reason for an absence of style. Make it pretty & rot-proof!


There is however one more question raised by this - just how deeply do you identify with/live out the life of the Man Who Haunted Himself? Is Peter Taft the jekyll/hyde of paper modeling?!?!

[peter taft]

Hey.... I'd love to have her parked outside my property. I think the only real issue with her is the suspension, at higher speeds very bouncy - but at the low end, she'd be a dreamy ride.... ummmm - takes up space and a half for parking and if she was parked in one of our car parks, she'd certainly stick out a bit Your question... Is Peter Taft the jekyll/hyde of paper modeling, well out of all the cars, the P-5 fits with me, one of the BEST cars made - and so that makes me the Calm one of the Movie, although i do like quick cars too, just not as much, i like a smooth ride with all the gadgets in the cab

[murphyaa]

You can't forget all the safety features they're building in now too...crumple zones and airbags and such. I had an '88 T-bird that got backed into...no damage. '91 Mustang with the exact same accident...total write off. '01 Kia Rio...after a few years in the Arizona sun, it started falling apart on it's own.


I dunno if this is true, but a few years ago a friend told me that all the US car companies buy their car body parts (fenders, doors, hoods/bonnets, trunk/boot lids) from the same company, which is why all cars look the same nowadays.

[hirondelle]

Hey Peter, I hear Queen Liz has the Rover as her personal run-about. That was a car with a great interior. British cars used to do luxury & power right. Jaguar, Bentley, Aston etc. Maybe you just need a bigger drive.

I think design largely lost its' way when accountants took over the world.
-We can use thin metal & call it crumple zones for safety.
-We can make everything the same so we can just mass produce with robots for economies of scale. (Lay off those losers beating panels by hand).
-inbuilt obsolescence to force continual upgrades (& a self -destruct initiative when just out of warranty) would be perfect.
etc etc.
& whilst not the only one, murphyaa has clearly been there, right. Don't know about centralized panel production but wouldn't be surprised.

The illusion of safety seems to define a certain type of product & driver - buy a tank & bully your way around - Volvos in the 80s & now SUVs.
There was a story in the 90s about real-world safety in cars. The analysis was done of every make of car including the Volvo - which was sold on the safety reputation. The winner at the time was in reality the Jaguar. Better build & design.

There was a show about manufacturing costs vs retail on cars & whilst I forget the actual figures the difference was huge - like up to 10x in some cases. & that is before we get into the whole spares game.
I just love a range of gadgets that go wrong & need a computer to analyze, compared to a couple of carbs & a good ear. Much safer


That said I do like a few modern cars eg -

tho not in silver.
Fun makeover toy
Always interesting to see how a certain range of colors suit a car shape best. And how 'cheap' cars get cheap colors!

Maybe the guts of my complaint against modern 'style' is the reason why I like paper modeling - no pre-formed mass produced parts to assemble - just the craftsmanship of forming your own components to build something - skill & diligence required!

So anyhoo no sign of a 1/33 scale paper mk1 escort in the world eh?