Vacation Woody

[Bill Gill]

Ideas for my models come from all over the place. This one started as a cartoon I drew for a library's children's summer reading program about family vacation travels. This is my first posting on a forum. My photos are close to the 128kB limit, so I will post them one or two at a time and hope that it works. From cartoon to HO scale model, more posts and information will follow.

[Bill Gill]

Here is the model inspired by the cartoon. It is an HO scale Classic Metal Works Mini Metals 1948 Ford Woody.

[Bill Gill]

When I first got the Woody it appeared very well done compared to some other HO vehicles, but after comparison to prototype photos online a number of details seemed slightly off or missing. Here is a comparison of the model right out of the box - on the right - and after detailing - on the left.

[Bill Gill]

Many of the "details" that improved the appearance of the basic model were done with paint. They included changing the roof line, adding thin washes to the paneling and trim to look more like wood, coloring the wheels brown, painting the black panel on the front of the rear fender, and adding a bit of chrome trim here and there, including a dot of paint for the lock for the gas cap, and the edge of the triangle vet windows.

Depression era dust bowl cars crammed with everything a family could take gave me the idea of stuffing this wagon with things to create an interesting story if the viewer looked closely. A photo of a contemporary family on vacation seemed ironic while confirming the tradition of cramming it all in continues.

[Bill Gill]

Around the same time this model began to take shape, Anders Malmberg was posting photos of his magnificent HO Krakow's Auto Co. on this forum. That inspired the idea of depicting a family off on a summer adventure without a clue about what they were doing. My tiny home layout is someplace in Vermont in the early 1950s. The Woody's NY license plates show the occupants are not from around there and their car, though several years old, is immaculate, so it doesn't get out much. The Woody serves as an attention getter. It can appear almost anyplace on the layout as the family wends its way around the wilds of Vermont, most of the time hopelessly lost as this photo (which appeared in the Oct 2011 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman) clearly shows! A little GIMP work set the Woody into one of Anders' photos.

[Bill Gill]

Some of you have seen the previous photo. Here are some other views.

[Bill Gill]

The bicycle on the back may have been a Preiser model. Threads from a metallic ribbon were used for the spokes. They are way over sized, but look better than spokeless wheels.

[Bill Gill]

Bungie cords secure the boat to the roof rack. A little research confirmed they existed then, at least as parts of the suspension system for light aircraft landing gear. So the family strives to have the latest technology to better survive their backwoods expedition.

[Bill Gill]

Here are a few views not included in the RMC article. This first shows the All American family circa 1950. Notice Mom's hairdo and pearls, the youngest standing on the front seat, no seatbelt. Dad's left arm is sunburned from all the driving. Brother and sister and Spot wrestle over space in the back seat. Some of the 'necessary' camping gear in the wayback include matching luggage and an inflated beach ball which takes up a lot of room. The beach ball is a plastic BB that was lightly scribed to mark the segments. That helped keep the paint in place. The finished ball was given several coats of gloss acrylic varnish. Oh, the colors match those of 1950 vinyl beach balls.

[Bill Gill]

Another inside look.

[Bill Gill]

One more peek inside, this time the other side.

[Design-HSB]

Hi Bill,

Great and it is always amazing how much life so give a few drops of paint and some accessories a model.

[Bill Gill]

After the article appeared, a member of the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society (The New England Berkshire & Western RR) suggested that the club layout needed its own Woody.

My own layout is tiny, the NEB&W is huge and affords many opportunities for experimenting with subjects and techniques I otherwise would never attempt. I am a non student member of the club and a number of the things I might post on this forum could be projects done for the club. Here is the Woody for the club. This photo was taken by my son Will, also a member. Some of you might enjoy seeing his prototype RR photos here: https://www.facebook.com/TrainsAtNight

[Bill Gill]

Thanks Helmut!

[lab-dad]

That first picture made me look twice!
Very impressive model, especially HO!
You should try 1/16th! LOL.
Good to see you posting here.
-Marty