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the lyrics based on a science fiction story called "A Nice Morning Drive", about a future where old, "unsafe" cars have been replaced by safe armored behemoths...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:

The Dodge Dart of Cthulhu

The Dukes of Al-Hazred
15mm scale

Yig Snake Daddy we come lookin' for you
We got a bored-out Chevy and a twelve pack of brew
Well we're a right-miffed party and it's easy to see
We've got a one-way ticket to the pit of insanity...

With a roar of supercharged pistons and a hazy contrail of eldritch energy, this rune-covered hot rod peels down the strip, its unspeakable riders cruising for... what exactly?  Well, it's probably better to just stay well out of their way.

Vanity plates, $300 well spent!

This is a Hot Wheels '68 Dodge Dart (I couldn't find a Dodge Charger) with an engine lifted from another car.  The riders are Khurasan cultist heads with fairly crudely sculpted bodies by me.  Worked surprisingly well...

I wish I could take credit for the titular pun on this one, but this car was squarely inspired by the album cover of "The Dukes of Alhazred", from the amazing Lovecraftian band The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets.  Ever wanted a song about shoggoths, Erich Zann, or the Dunwich Horror?  The Boston Molasses flood?  Coelocanths?  They gotchu, fam.

"Get in loser, we're wgah'nagl fhtagn!"

In the Barbie World

Barbie's Dream Post-Apocalyptic Gun Truck
15mm scale

The Dream House... Barbie's eyes grew distant as she re-counted their remaining bullets. It felt like a thousand years ago. So many windows, they couldn't hold it... and then Skipper, oh god! The flames as they ran... She slammed the crate shut. "Move it, Ken! Get that gear on board. We can't stay here, it'll be dark in twenty minutes!"

The Hot Wheels Barbie Dream Camper was an obvious choice for a post-apocalyptic Gaslands-style conversion job!  Because of HW's variable sizing, the end result is actually very close to 15mm scale, so it makes the perfect ride for those post-apocalyptic survivors hunting zombies/fascists/mutants in the grim future.

Total working time was about an hour, and I didn't even repaint the main body.  It's just coated with matte varnish and then dirtied up with Agrax Earthshade and a bit of brown paint.  Gotta keep that candy pink and Barbie branding!

Cowabunga Cruiser

Turtle Party Wagon
15mm scale

YO! It's the green machine
Gonna rock the town without being seen
Have you ever seen a turtle get down?
Slammin and jammin to the new swing sound
Yeah, everybody let's move
Vanilla is here with the New Jack Groove
Gonna rock, And roll this place
With the power of the ninja turtle bass

Gotta have some cool wheels while you're cruising NYC to take down Shredder and The Foot!

This (pizza) slice of the late 80's was a random Hot Wheels find at the dollar store before Christmas.  It's a very faithful design, AND pretty much perfectly 15mm scale!  All it needed was a paint job.

Of course I had to add some Big Apple civic pride along with the other graffiti:

And now for the kicker... A while ago, as part of a swap, @winnipegmichael on Instagram sent me these incredibly obscure TMNT figures he'd painted.  They're big-15mm scale, and this van suits them absolutely!

Gaslands Power Trip

Gaslands electrical van
approx. 20mm scale

Danger, danger
High voltage
When we touch, when we kiss
Danger, danger
High voltage
When we touch, when we kiss, when we touch

All sorts of vehicles end up on the dangerous roads of Gaslands... this one seems to be a common utility van that's been armed with a potent but experimental Arc Lighting Projector! Stranger things have happened...

(Yes, it's absolutely based on the government van that Eleven flips over in "Stranger Things" S1).  Stuff I like about this project: its weapon is a Zoids part that has literally sat in my bitz box for 30 years :) Stuff I don't like so much: my terrible freehand lettering skills are on full display... :(

I also dug into my stash of printed materials and whipped up a basic gasoline storage tank terrain piece or objective marker (I actually have no idea if Gaslands uses these).

Gaslands Jet Set

Gaslands cars
approx. 20mm scale

Raise the sights, the city lights are calling
We're hot tonight, the time is right, there's nitro in the air
In the street is where we'll meet, we're warning
On the beat, we won't retreat, beware

Thousands of cars and a million guitars
Screaming with power in the air
We've found the place where the decibels race
This army of rock will be there

"Go Fasta"

"Hornet":

I don't play Gaslands, but a few things came together and prompted me to have a go at this thrifty flavour of post-apocalyptic modeling.  Over at Sho3box, he's been Gasland-ing the entire Hot Wheels holiday calendar one day at a time... couple that with me being out toy shopping for Christmas, and it was pretty much inevitable.

To try and have a bit of a theme, I picked up two cars with a little... extra in the propulsion department: the "Custom El Camino" and the "2 Jet Z". Sho3box's quick and surprisingly effective conversion protocol leaves the original paintjob intact and adds weathering, but since both these cars lacked colour, I primed and totally repainted them.  Weapons and other additions are from my bitz box (though conversion sprues are available). Results: very satisfactory.  Ready to go hunting in the wastelands!

We have the apocalypse in Ontario, too ;D

(The road signs are from the Ontario government Driver's Handbook website, printed to suitable size. So easy!)