Automovil Moderno (vintage)

[rockpaperscissor]

That sounds like a good idea, Charles. I may have to go that route if putting on the rightside fenders doesn't straighten it out. I was thinking too that a better order of assembly might have been to cut out the body, but leave it flat. Then glue on and form the fenders, and after the fenders are on, form the body.

[Don Boose]

Looks like you're the lead scout on this project, Don. After you have figured it out, I may give this one a try, making use of all that you have learned in the process.

Don

[rockpaperscissor]

Yes Don, I'm definitely on point with this one

I'm happy to report that once all the fenders were on, the twist in the body corrected itself. The first couple of photos are of the completed body. I'll do the small parts (bumpers, hood ornaments, etc) at the end to avoid damaging them. With the hard part done, I thought I'd move onto something really easy, like the wheels.

Boy, was I wrong about this being the easy part. Each wheel is made of three pieces, a sawtooth tread strip, and a pair of discs. I cut out all the discs, and my first tread strip. I made a ring of the tread strip, only to find that it was way, way, way undersized. I bet there was a bunch PO'd Spanish modelers back in 1945 when they got to this step. Luckily for us, we have Photoshop, etc and can easily fix a problem like this. I measured the diameter of the wheel disc, multiplied it by pi (3.14) to get the length of the perimeter, and then measured the kit's tread strip to see what I actually had. Then I divided the required length by what I had, and found that I had to lengthen the kit tread strip by 20%. That's a lot ! I printed out 4 new tread strips, and was back in business. Photo 3 shows the tread ring before and after, and photo 4 shows the completed wheels. I don't know, they look small to me when held in position in the wheelwells. Maybe I'm just used to today's larger tire sizes.

The file now has the correct length tread strips, so anyone building the model from this file should be ok.

[eatcrow2]

Looking great!!! For some reason, it reminds me of the movie "Roger Rabbit"...

[Alcides]

Very good job Don. I'm amazed how well looks what is a very simple kit in the paper.

I don't know if now we can design a kit like that with all the technology for example in Rhino 3D.

[Don Boose]

It certainly looks good after your modifications, Don. Fine work on the wheels. Lots to learn in this thread.

Don

[Art Deco]

Wow, the completed body looks terrific, a very handsome model!

Originally Posted by rockpaperscissor

I don't know, they look small to me when held in position in the wheelwells. Maybe I'm just used to today's larger tire sizes.

If the tread strips were so far off in size, it wouldn't be surprising if the wheel disks were undersized as well. How do the wheels compare in size to photos of similar cars of that era? If they're too far off, maybe you can just scale them up to a better fit?

[rockpaperscissor]

Thank you for the kudos Peter, Alcides, Don and Art D. It does have sort of a cartoony look to it, Peter. Too long for its height and width. I reminds me of the illustrations of the new model year cars for sale in vintage magazines, or even in the sales brochures of the time. The cars in the drawings were always impossibly wide, and long, and low; nothing at all like the actual car. Looking at the photo you've attached Art, the wheels are definitely too small, but in the spirit of vintage building I think I'll leave them as is. I might lower the stance of the car a little though, so that they fill the wheelwells more. That'll definitely disguise the fact that they are undersized. I'm coming into the home stretch on this one. The final installment will include photos of the finished model.

[Art Deco]

Originally Posted by rockpaperscissor

(...) It reminds me of the illustrations of the new model year cars for sale in vintage magazines, or even in the sales brochures of the time. The cars in the drawings were always impossibly wide, and long, and low; nothing at all like the actual car.

This model struck me the same way - with the low roofline and stretched length, it has the exaggerated style of period auto advertising.

That makes this model a good example of one reason why these vintage paper creations are so enjoyable. Most contemporary designers focus on creating accurately-dimensioned scale replicas, but often place much less importance on graphics (frequently just simple line art with solid colors). Conversely, vintage models are typically far simpler in terms of design and dimensional accuracy, but often have more stylized and artistic graphics.

I wonder if the reason for this difference is that vintage models were often designed by commercial artists, while today's models are often designed by people who conceptualize more like engineers? Maybe the tools employed - pen, ink, brush & paints vs CAD software - influence the outcome? Or does the choice of tools simply reflect the different mindsets involved?

Whatever the reason, I often think that these vintage models are reminders that card modeling has such enormous potential in range of modeling styles and subject matter.

Sorry for the meander! Really, I had intended only to post a few examples of those exaggerated auto images from period advertisements.

Can't wait to see this sleek beauty finished!

[Don Boose]

An interesting little photo essay, Art. Wonderful illustrations. Helps to put Don's model into a historical and artistic perspective.

I can imagine a little display with such period advertising copy and illustration as the backdrop to the model.

When I built the Zio Rolls, I had in mind eventually displaying it with a backdrop made from a 1920s Lincoln advertisement water color that had the car posed in front of an opera house. A few pieces of white card to represent the steps.

Your comments and illustration have revived the idea in my mind.

Don