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MinerFortyNiner
Fireman
USA
1994 Posts |
 Posted - 01/22/2012 : 3:05:27 PM
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My challenge project to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Railroad LIne Forum will also commemorate the 100th anniversary of statehood for my home state of Arizona. Recently, my wife received our copy of the Centennial issue of Arizona Highways magazine. My jaw dropped when I saw the cover photo...and realized I had to model Chuckawalla Slim's unique conveyance!
This modified Ford Model T truck is so improbable, I wouldn't believe it really existed unless I saw this photo, it is so 'over the top'. There are animal pelts, snake skins, other critter artifacts including what looks like a turtle shell, and other things I can't identify...all riding behind an impressive set of steer horns on the radiator. Who wouldn't want to buy 'indian bead work, petrified apples or rugs' (or is it 'bugs'?) from this guy? Cool!
Re-creating this truck in miniature will present a few challenges. The neatly hand-painted canvas cover will require some careful work to duplicate, as will the pelts, snakeskin and other critters that are displayed all over the vehicle. Fun! Note the symbol between the words 'Chuckawalla' and 'Slim' - it is a reverse swastika, Don't worry, Slim wasn't showing allegiance to the Nazis...this symbol was used by local Navajo and Hopi tribes with their own unique meanings. In that context, it belongs perfectly with the other Southwestern symbols and artifacts.
This is going to be a fun project!  |
Edited by - MinerFortyNiner on 04/19/2012 11:05:41 PM
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MinerFortyNiner
Fireman
USA
1994 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2012 : 3:15:01 PM
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I researched a bit more on this rockologist known as Chuckawalla Slim, and he has an interesting story. His name was Edwin Vose of Boston, and he was a well-known minerologist from the mid 1920s until his death in 1975. He roamed all over Arizona and California collecting, mining and selling mineral specimens. He started out with this modest rig, but in his later years he used a classy custom trailer to display his wares. One interesting story he told is shared below:
I was doing a little mining at the time, said Chuckawalla, and had a tin can dump not far from my tent. The tin cans attracted a lot of flies and the flies in turn brought all the lizards out of the surrounding hills. Pretty soon a roadrunner came along, sized up the situation, and decided he'd hit a bonanza. He took up a claim and started swallowing lizards. Pretty soon he was a very fat bird, but the supply of lizards was almost used up. Then one day the roadrunner made a stab at a lizard and only got the tail. That came off and the rest of the lizard escaped into a hole. The roadrunner stood there a minute staring at the wriggling tail and then at the hole. Pretty soon he swallowed the tail. The next lizard he saw, he deliberately made a grab at the tail. It came off, and he gulped it down and made no attempt to catch the lizard. He caught on fast, that bird. He never swallowed another lizard whole; just took their tails and waited for them to grow another crop. He was doing fine when I moved on, and I'll bet he's there yet, living off the produce of his lizard farm.
Reads like one of those stories out of Ripley;'s 'Believe it or Not'! According to press accounts, Edwin was anything but 'Slim' in his later years, but claimed he was still skinnier than most of the folks from where he grew up. Ironically, a chuckawalla is a kind of lizard known for its ability to puff itself up and appear larger when threatened.
Now, on to the model... |
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Tommatthews
Fireman
7280 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2012 : 3:15:50 PM
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Verne,
This will be an interesting project ... snake skin and all. |
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milocomarty
Fireman
Netherlands
4927 Posts |
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George D
Moderator
USA
9916 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2012 : 4:44:54 PM
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That's a great project selection you've made Verne. Many years ago, when my grandparents were living in Arizona they used to send us copies of Arizona Highways. I loved their pictures.
George |
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Dutchman
Administrator
USA
23234 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2012 : 5:00:28 PM
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| Now that is beyond cool, Verne. |
Bruce
Modeling the railroads of the Jersey Highlands in HO and the logging railroads of Pennsylvania in HOn3 |
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CieloVistaRy
Fireman
USA
4447 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2012 : 5:04:17 PM
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| Rooting for you Verne. This is going to be an interesting challenge! |
Arthur
Cielo Vista Railway (on30) |
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Frederic Testard
Engineer
France
16456 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2012 : 6:15:40 PM
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This is a great, and challenging project, Verne (especially the number of builds you'll have to do in two months and a half-dozen scales...  )
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Frederic Testard |
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danpickard
Fireman
Australia
1103 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2012 : 7:16:14 PM
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Hi Verne,
Thats a pretty cool little prototype to work from. Love the signage...very On30 (sounds like a made up comical job!) I look forward to seeing how it turns out. Should make for a neat little mini scene in you desert.
Cheers,
Dan Pickard |
http://danpickard.blogspot.com/
http://www.lauriegreensweb.com/ |
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Ray Dunakin
Crew Chief
USA
827 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2012 : 8:16:37 PM
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Too cool! That vehicle definitely cries out to be modeled! Would be especially cool if you could model Slim along with it.
I wonder what "petrified apples" are??
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Visit www.raydunakin.com to see pics of the rugged and rocky In-ko-pah Railroad! |
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Schoolmaster
Fireman
USA
1581 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2012 : 8:20:32 PM
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| Unlikely to be an apple, but more likely to be an oolith (calcareous blob) or even a coprolite (fossil poop, a different sort of apple). |
Edited by - Schoolmaster on 01/22/2012 8:27:07 PM |
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BBLmber
Fireman
USA
4234 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2012 : 8:21:37 PM
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Verne , I'll be watching this one as I like unusual trucks.
Mark |
W,L,&E |
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Randy May
Crew Chief
621 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2012 : 8:30:02 PM
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Hey Verne,
do you have a diecast or model to start with?
I love these 20's & 30's trucks,
it will be fun to see what you come up with.
Randy |
Are we having fun yet? |
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Randy May
Crew Chief
621 Posts |
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Geezer
Fireman
USA
8191 Posts |
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MinerFortyNiner
Fireman
USA
1994 Posts |
Posted - 01/23/2012 : 12:17:43 AM
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Thanks guys...this will be different from anything I have modeled before!
George, I agree, Arizona Highways is a great magazine.
Frederic, any luck with that 'select-a-scale' machine you mentioned? A cloning feature would save me a lot of time!
Dan, I wouldn't have believed it either unless I saw the photo...and this guy checks out as a honest-to-goodness 'rockologist'.
Ray, I wondered the same thing...what is a petrified apple? Schoolmaster, good hunches, a Google search revealed they are fossils of apple coral.
Randy, here's what I had in mind as the base for the model:
This 1/48 Model T ambulance kit will be the base for Slim's truck. I plan to use the chassis, running boards and fenders, front grille and engine, firewall/dashboard, and seat. The windshield, roof, rear box, rear fenders and canvas covers will be scratchbuilt. Of course, all of the items displayed on the truck will also have to be made, with the possible exception of pots, canteen and water bag.
I have the gold miner figures, and used the one with a shovel for my coke plant. I had these guys in mind:
Job applicants to represent Chuckawalla Slim are awaiting interviews...top candidate so far is McKenzie Iron & Steel's 'Brakie' figure, whose feet are in a similar position to Slim's in the photo. He would be sitting instead of standing on his right leg, but his left leg would be in the same position and his right leg could dangle down naturally. His arms are positionable, so I can put his right arm on his hip just like the photo. The other two guys, from Buffalo Landing, are on the B-team for now. Perhaps they will be used as 'stunt doubles' for a future photo shoot, where I need Slim sitting down.
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Edited by - MinerFortyNiner on 01/28/2012 01:03:31 AM |
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Chuckawalla Slim's Truck - Challenge Project
