This'll give you something to grin about...

If you drive around Detroit you'll see a wide variety of Chevy billboards that will definitely make your day a whole lot better, not to mention reminding you of the best times this country ever had.

If the print is too small click on them to see a larger version.

Enjoy

Jerry K

Whoops!!!

We forgot to include some corrected and up-dated information in the last post so we edited and re-posted it. Check out the corrected version below for additional details and links to cars and colors discussed in the post.

If you are reading this in an a e-Mail Message, Click Here! if that doesn't work, go to the Realm Home Page and click on the flashing News & Up-Dates link at the top of the page

Sorry about that...

Jerry K

Cars and colors...The '50s

Color always seems to be a hot topic especially when referring to what was available on a specific make/model//year, and contrary to popular opinion, you couldn't have any color you wanted just because you had the money to pay for it. There were of course, some exceptions to that rule and those were;

Special Models... Cars like the 53 Buick Skylark, 53 Olds Fiesta, 56 & 57 Lincoln Continental and the 57 Cadillac Brougham had specific paint and interior choices, but since they were painted on their own special lines, it wasn't all that difficult to order a special color...you just had to pay a hefty premium,

Factory Executive Cars. You had to be pretty high up on the food chain to get one of these cars that were, for the most part, painted in the corporate design shops. Harley Earl took it a step further than most by having special models built for his pleasure,

Fleets, of course, could have any color/combination they wanted if the order was sizable enough.

As for the rest of us...Back in the '50s you and I pretty much took what the manufacturer offered. All the major manufacturers took great pains to choose colors, both interior and exterior, that gave the best viewing impression and offered the greatest curbside appeal, and they made few if any exceptions to the general public depending on the dealer body to handle special requests.

Let's look at the 1953 Ford model line for example, starting with the Victoria 2 door hardtop.  The Vicky was available in a single solid color, Sungate Ivory, and 8 no extra cost two-tone combinations. The scan below is from one of the original factory brochures that attests to these facts.

The 53 Sunliner was chosen to be the Pace car for the Indy 500 in 53 to honor Ford's 50th anniversary. It was painted in 'Pace Car White' which is a very close match to what would become 1956 Mercury Classic White. Ford also made available to dealers a Pace car edition in Sungate Ivory with a special gold and black interior. Dealers could also purchase the Pace car decals for use on convertibles out of their inventory and evidently a few did, so it's kosher to build yours in any available light color (parts of the decal set were in black),  just remember to use stock interior colors for it. By the way, the convertible was the only passenger car available in red.

The sedan delivery could be had in all colors available on station wagons, and Mainline 2 and 4 door sedans plus the business/club coupe had no two-tone options at all even though they had the same chrome belt line strip used on Customline models to separate two colors.

The Pace Car Convertible and the Victoria are available from Lindberg, the sedan Delivery, Country Squire, Customline 2 door sedan and Mainline 4 door sedan are available from STAR Models uncleaned and from the Resin Realm cleaned and ready for primer (the Resin Realm version of the Country Squire and Sedan Delivery include the color of your choice in a one ounce bottle of single stage acrylic enamel). A Ranch Wagon is also available from STAR Models.

Look for more color facts here in the near future. If you're a strictly stock builder you might find them useful. And please remember too, that we have all 1953 Ford paint in stock including Spring Colors for those of you wishing to build a 'Documented' Car.

Thanks for stopping by and happy Modeling

Jerry K

Can a 1/25th scale Revell 29 Model A Pick-Up be worth more than a grand?

Well, this one is...

Yes, that gold look'n stuff is...GOLD. 14K solid gold. As for that shiny silver stuff...ya you guessed it, it's pure silver. Click on the photos to see larger versions.

Everything that worked on the Revell kit works on this metal masterpiece. Doors, tail gate, steering and the 4 piece piano hinged hood.

The top, interior and tires are anodized silver.

This is what happens when an ex jeweler turned modeler with too much time on his hands gets a wild hair. Having left over gold and silver from his business helps a bit too.

Happy modeling

Jerry K

Some specials from Steve at STAR Models

Hi, All...

Steve asked my to list a few specials he's put on sale for this month...

The first is a 1961 Pontiac Tempest Station Wagon $53.00 $45.00

Next is a 1964 Chevy Impala Station Wagon $53.00 $45.00

And a 1965 Plymouth Satellite 2dr Htp $53.00 $45.00

Last is a Full Fendered 1937 Fiat $22.00 $18.00

Go to the Resin Realm and click on the Star Models logo on the left side of the page. Steve's phone number and e-Mail address are right there so you can call or write him for details. If you want to see what these cars look like go to the resin kit menu on Steve's page and go to the R&R page.

Happy modeling...

Jerry K

I was about to make a new post when...

...my loyal companion, Wee Willy decided he wanted some attention. That of course eliminated the posibility of accomplishing any real work today... SO

 Click on the photo for a bigger view.

I bit the bullet and forced myself to do a few laps in Forza 3 on my xBox. All kidding aside, that is one great game and if you're an old coot like me it helps keep you sharp and rebuilds the old reflexes...that's my story anyway, and I'm sticking to it :-)

I'll do a real post later today and if you signed up for eMail updates it will be in your mail box. In the mean time you might want to read about our Resin Realm kits just above this post.

Thanks for stopping by.

Jerry K