When I was a kid in the 1940’s, my dad worked for
Studebaker in South Bend, Indiana. The company, historically a manufacturer of
cars and trucks, converted to war production with the US6 2
T 6X6 truck. Studebaker and its
subcontractor, Reo, made over 200,000 of the trucks between 1941 and 1945.
These trucks were designed for rough terrain and were used in Asia by the
American and British armies, but most were provided to the Soviet Union under
the American Lend-Lease program.
A few weeks ago, I stumbled on a photo of the dilapidated, run-down San Juan Capistrano Spanish mission near San Diego, California taken in 1899. It had, of course, been shot on black-and-white film and subsequently colorized by hand. The first model is based on that photo. Then it occurred to me to see what the mission looks like now. After looking through some contemporary photos, I found one with a similar view of the mission cleaned and restored that provide the reference for the second model.
Years before I had visited Belgium, I saw a magazine photo of some houses on a canal in Bruges. I liked the picture so much that I made a pen-and-ink drawing of the scene. Now, decades later and several visits to Bruges, I was remembering that drawing and decided to make a 3D model of the view to the south from the Boniface bridge behind the Our Lady church in the center of the city. The bridge is a fifteen-minute walk from the Bruges train station.
I’ve been thinking about doing this model for a long time. Susan gave me this chair for my new home office in the early ‘80s. She found it at an antique furniture auction in Warwickshire. Now, I felt that I had the tools and experience to take on the project.
When I was a kid I thought there was something magical about MG cars. I wanted to make a ¼ size replica and install a lawn-mower engine in it so I could drive it around in parking lots. Between 1936 and 1955 Morris/BMC made five models of the T-Type: TA, TB, TC, TD and TF. A few weeks ago, I pulled up at a traffic light next to an immaculate MG TC with the top down that provided the inspiration for this model.
The V-16 Cadillac is best known for its engine, but the car had other innovations as well: synchromesh transmission and optional head lights that turned with the front wheels. The V-16 was sold in various models including two-door coupe or convertible, for-door hard top or convertible, town car and limonene.
