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Friday, July 01, 2022

A Rush Job - Red Barchetta

Red Barchetta
20mm scale

I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant Red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
Fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar.
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime...


This little vignette is inspired by the epic 1981 Rush song "Red Barchetta" from the album Moving Pictures.  Neil Peart wrote the lyrics based on a science fiction story called "A Nice Morning Drive", about a future where old, "unsafe" cars have been replaced by safe armored behemoths... whose drivers sometimes run old cars off the road for sport.  A man takes his uncle's carefully hidden roadster for a country joyride and has a narrow escape from two "gleaming alloy aircars". 

The car is a Matchbox 1949 Kurtis Sportcar.  The human figure here is actually my very first 3-D printed figure, a model from Thingiverse printed off on my supervisor's Ender 3.  I included a few Rush references in the model just for fun:




5 comments:

  1. Now THAT is how you celebrate Canada Day.

    It's a miniature that's worth a thousand words... so much story-telling, so much suggestion, so much promise. Hats off for both concept and execution. (The haybales are a perfect little detail).

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    1. Thank you! Glad you like. It IS a bit of Canadiana, for sure. Maybe I should do a Tragically Hip song next 🤔😄

      (The hay bales are shredded twine, glued to bricks of cork, and "tied" up with thread. Model railroader trick from YouTube.)

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    2. You are wise to learn the tricks of the model railroaders. They have ancient knowledge.

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  2. So lovely. The hay everywhere, the tiny details here and there... everything looks so natural! Did you repaint the car itself or is it its original colour? I love how it all looks!

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    1. Ha, no. The car is not repainted. I knew I could not remotely match the original Matchbox candy coat. I did matte varnish and shade the interior, but then it ended up completely covered by the tarp 🤷

      I'm glad you think it looks natural. I always struggle with that when I'm doing scenes or dioramas. Thanks!

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Thanks for commenting!