The first is the Dragomir Manor house. Book does not say how old it is, or who built it, but I can tell you it goes back to the late 1890’s, and was home to a young doctor in the mid-1930’s. It’s built on a huge spit of land (I’d guess at least 90 acres) most of it an over grown apple orchard and old forest. The book claims it has at least two barns around it, though one is not explored in the first book. I built it using Google Sketch-up, and it is made entirely from scratch twice. That is not a typo. I got it about 20% done once and started over (it looked too much like a church) and decided to do some googling to make it right. All of this was done to make the book make sense. After extensive study of Victorian-era architecture and a few trips to Saint Joe, Missouri, I had enough photos and knowledge to start again. I have to credit my wife for the patterned shingles, as she made them. At one point I had it fully furnished, but since the computer hates me, it ate half the model and I’ve never managed to convince myself to try it again. This is only place holder mock-up made for the purpose of reference material as I was writing. The walls are only one ply thick, making it a real cheap trick. If I ever get over my annoyance with the program, I’ll start over. In other news, my dearest wifey-poo has said she’ll make a copy of it…for the Sims 3. (Said the twenty-something author, lazily waving the world smallest pennant)
We’ve all seen a ’55 Chevy digger before. The car is built just like it would have been in the mid-60’s. I made a bunch of parts for it, and somehow managed to fit the top to the car (it wasn’t meant to be in good shape) and put the first hard-top 55 Chevy onto Google. I made the front axle and suspension, using springs from a street chassis I got off of 3dwarehouse. The back axel is straight off of ZXT’s Buick skylark. The motor came from a model made by Panzerlite (a fantastic modeler, I must say) initially. In the end I felt like a cheater using some one else’s engine, so I modified the valve covers, blower and other parts to use on a more realistic engine. The other engine (I don’t know who made it originally, but the one I got had been hacked together with some pretty slip-shod modeling. It was almost like I’d made parts of it!) donated the pan, headers, pulleys, alternator and belts. I was trying to approximate a Cadillac 390 but it looks more like a 472/500. Oh well; at least it‘s the right manufacturer. I had to ghetto rig a pulley for the blower, so that odd looking device is all mine. I don’t think it would be all that reliable on a real car.
The fuel injectors are from a model called “Caterham 7 Exhaust and Throttle Bodies” by a guy named “terradog.” The wheels are hot rod steelies made by a guy that answers to “Zombie 1974” on the same site. The side pipes are off an A/C Shelby Cobra posted by ZXT. The roll bar is by “Ghostsniper” as is the front bumper. The driver is the infamous and awesome Chuck Yeager made by Max Grueter. The dice are from Toymaker. Last but certainly not least, the body and top both came from LandMHobbies. Thanks a fat lot for making it easy to fit them together, guys.
In addition to the aforementioned front axel, I fitted the top from another model. It was the first attempt at automotive surgery and came out very crude, but I’m happy with it. The only other major surgery I did was knocking the hole in the hood, making the new grill, and radiusing the rear fenders. I would love to see the model introduced into Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. I mod the crap out of that game, but sadly lack the skill and time to make such a complicated mod. Email me if you are interested in modding a game to tell part of the story. I would love to see it done.
I never seem to spell Frankenstein right the first time. Any way, this model is actually a much earlier body style than the one in the book. I made the front bumper, slapped on someone else’s flatbed, yet someone else’s rust textures, and a picture of a fish on the back window. Axels are directly ported from the Hellstreet Special, and the tires are off a Ford Ranger truck made by Hg21, and damned fine if I can say it for him. I have alas forgotten where I got the great little lights from. If you know or have a clue, let me in on the secret. I made the CB whips. Another model I wish I could put into a video game and drive around…
Sam is described as owning a Toyota pick-up. Here it is. I literally copy and pasted Frankies running gear onto someone else’s Toyota Tacoma, and made a pair of mudflaps. The wheel centers are off a ford Ranger.
I did this one to show that I made the suspension easy to manipulate. The ground is all my work, as is the positioning of the leaves. The leaves them selves were made by someone, but I haven’t the foggiest who. At any rate, I’m proud of the dust and the way the CB whips are all swayed out like they are. It was just a fun model I did.
