Need help finding photos of old moving truck or van

[DaKra]

Has anyone got any photos of a 1929 Ford Model A moving van?   Or recommendations what websites or forums to go looking for this sort of thing.   I'm converting a Jordan RR Express truck to a small moving van for a diorama.

Thanks
Dave

[james_coldicott]

Hi Dave,

not exactly what you are looking for and pretty poor shots but took pics of this moving truck undergoing restoration at Old Rhinebeck Airfield a couple of weeks ago. May be of some use to you

Regards

James

[james_coldicott]

last one...

James

[Malachi Constant]

Dave --

If you have the patience, try some more generic searches like "1929 Ford truck" and "Ford moving van", etc ... the latter produced this page:

http://www.fordstorage.com/ford/history.php

Not quite the same body, but interesting perhaps ... enlargements here:
http://www.fordstorage.com/ford/images/oldtimer1.jpg
http://www.fordstorage.com/ford/images/oldtimer2.jpg

Also, this page contains the same photo you posted ... I looked briefly to see if I could find clues to take it elsewhere ... you might want to see if there's any other hints you could follow:
http://spoonercentral.com/klhspottoo/George.html

And, again, if you have the patience, more generic image searches:  "antique moving truck (or van)" ... "vintage moving truck (or van)" ... "early moving truck" ... "old moving truck" ... etc.  try each with truck or van ...

Quick attempt at some of those ... "old moving van" produced the most likely leads ... including this:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/d34M3RnW2Zoge6U3yVIzvw

Also might want to try searching Flickr, PhotoBucket, Picasa, etc


Good luck!
Dallas

[RoughboyModelworks]

Dave:

Here are a few samples from Shorpy. Probably not exactly what you're looking for but may give you some ideas. Could be well worth running a truck search at Shorpy as well.









Judging by the scratches on the side of the Guaranty Storage Truck, I'd say it was driven by some latter-day U-haul drivers...

Paul

[chester]

Here's a source for quite a few old moving trucks

http://www.sessions-station.com/Old%20Trucks/index.html


Here's personal favorite

[DaKra]

Thanks everyone for the leads so far.  You gotta love the old sign painter's art, those old trucking company signs had personality and warmth.       

I cobbled together a drawing.  I used a couple of fonts from Dafont.com, but had to modify them a little.  Paul if you have a font for these typical hand painted 1930s-50s truck letters,  I could sure use it.   

Just need to figure out how the back doors should look and I'll start cutting the parts out for the modification to the Jordan truck. 

The logo in the initial photo works really well for me, since the company location fits the diorama location perfectly.    And I know better than to try to make up a sign out of thin air!   

[BKLN]

Nice, Dave!
I would use paper prints for the model rather than decals, since you are dealing with simple shapes.

And check the "O" on "Moving". Yours is too perfect, the original sign painter's is a little odd. He was most likely thinking of donuts when he painted his "O", but that is the true charm of old sign painting. Otherwise pretty good.

[DaKra]

Thanks, I enjoy a good nitpick when its an easy fix!        You're right, using fonts "out of the box" can end up looking too perfect.   

I fudged the back using elements from the front.

[lab-dad]

Are you planning on printing out and using the artwork as the sides of the truck?
-Marty

[DaKra]

Hey Marty

The artwork is for both the laser parts, and the decal graphics.  I start all my models with a graphic like this, then I just cut and paste what I need from it when I design the individual parts and decals. 

I thought about making the truck body from pre printed paper, the problem for me is making it seamless where the pieces join.  So I'll laser cut the body, and apply decals.

Here's a test shot of the body parts.   Needs a little tweaking here and there, but everything fits.   

Dave

[marc_reusser]

The body shape looks perfect. I think decals would be the best solution for the type....you could cut the clear film to fit perfectly inside each panel section, that way you would not have to worry as much about the decal edges.  If this were 1/32-32 you could laser cut the type out of a thin masking film...like the Eduard insignia & letter masks, and the airbrush the color/letters.

Marc

[Malachi Constant]

Dave --

That looks great!  I kinda hope you're not planning to use primary yellow and red on the actual model though ... seems a bit too intense.  Suggest you shift the yellow toward a tan-ish or creamy yellow and the red toward a brownish or oxide red.  Even if the real thing was painted in brilliant colors, using them on a model tends to create a toy-like appearance ... but disregard at will ... you've obviously got things going in a good direction.

Short version:  add a touch of an earth color (along the lines of Vallejo "Dirt") to each of the colors and it'll look better ... doesn't have to be a major shift, just not pure primary colors.

Cheers,
Dallas

[DaKra]

Right on the colors.   As a military modeler who strayed into civilian models, my palette is made up of Tamiya Luftwaffe and Panzer colors.    So the body will be a shade of RAL 8020 Sand.   But I may cheer it up slightly with some signal yellow.   Yes, the red will be darker, calls too much attention to itself as is.   

My concern about the red area is its actually a cloth panel. (I suppose that was so the truck side could be rented out as billboard, by swapping the panels?  Or maybe it was padding for the big flat stuff they secured to the shelves on the sides?)   Shoud I simulate the cloth area, or keep it simple and just pretend its painted on metal?   This truck is just a prop in diorama, so I can justify having an upright piano parked in the street    don't want to get too involved with it.

Dang we're early risers on this forum   

[eTraxx]

<snip>
Dang we're early risers on this forum   

I was awakened by my cat. His dish was empty. I'm also an early morning caffeine addict .. I swear .. 100% Columbian looks and smells like candy