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teejay
Fireman
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 Posted - 08/18/2005 : 9:36:02 PM
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Of all the interesting areas of modelling in this great hobby , nothing gets me more excited than looking at the work of scratchbuilders ...particularly those who seemingly model 'something from nothing '. Our very own Drew Allison ( aka Drew ) comes to mind . Drew seems to have the knack of taking bits and pieces of scrap and coming up with a fine model .
One of my early heroes was the late Jack Work .Here in this 1965 article in Febuary MR , Jack takes a piece of wire , bends it various ways , adds Durhams Water Putty , and creates a plausible l.p.
Talk about low-buck lp's that are passable as backgroung pieces , these take the cake . Jack was trying to improve on a John Allen technique whereby the 'Great Pooh-Bah' would take wire , coat it with candle wax and form a shape with his fingers . Jack had trouble with the wax cracking and so went on to try other materials , settling on Durhams Water Putty ....40 years ago ! The pictured lp's are O scale , about 5 1/2 feet high .
Terry
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Country: Canada
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MP Rich
Fireman
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Posted - 08/18/2005 : 9:55:53 PM
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That article is one that got my attention also. I kept it on the desk for a long time and finally decided to get with and try it or forget it. I wanted a whole herd of cattle. I started with my best effort at building a cow, decided it must have been an elephant after a horrible accident and finally decided it was just trash. There was far more to sizing and shaping than I could manage. Good ideas are hard for me to follow when it comes to art.
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MP Rich
Fireman
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Posted - 08/18/2005 : 9:55:53 PM
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That article is one that got my attention also. I kept it on the desk for a long time and finally decided to get with and try it or forget it. I wanted a whole herd of cattle. I started with my best effort at building a cow, decided it must have been an elephant after a horrible accident and finally decided it was just trash. There was far more to sizing and shaping than I could manage. Good ideas are hard for me to follow when it comes to art.
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teejay
Fireman
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Posted - 08/18/2005 : 9:59:54 PM
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Well atleast you made a ' horrible elephant ' , Richard . I never even got that far . 
T
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teejay
Fireman
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Posted - 08/18/2005 : 9:59:54 PM
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Well atleast you made a ' horrible elephant ' , Richard . I never even got that far .
T
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Country: Canada
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hminky
Crew Chief
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Posted - 08/18/2005 : 10:11:16 PM
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I was modeling S scale in the early 1980's and I tried Jack's technique. It was the only way to have reasonable S scale figures.
These were my first two the first is on the right, I got better and gave the good one's away when I left S scale. I wish I had pictures of the good ones.
Just a thought
Harold
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Edited by - hminky on 08/18/2005 10:13:08 PM |
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hminky
Crew Chief
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Posted - 08/18/2005 : 10:11:16 PM
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I was modeling S scale in the early 1980's and I tried Jack's technique. It was the only way to have reasonable S scale figures.
These were my first two the first is on the right, I got better and gave the good one's away when I left S scale. I wish I had pictures of the good ones.
Just a thought
Harold
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Edited by - hminky on 08/18/2005 10:13:08 PM |
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Tyson Rayles
Moderator
Premium Member
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Posted - 08/18/2005 : 11:01:05 PM
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While both Jack's and Harold's are great, for me the time spent versus the money saved isn't worth it. But then that's just me and I probably feel that way because I doubt I could do as good a job so therefore why spend my time.   On the other hand if that's the only way (most likey Harold's case with S scale) to get em' or get any variety in em' then you gotta go that route.
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| Mike |
Edited by - Tyson Rayles on 08/18/2005 11:07:32 PM |
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Tyson Rayles
Moderator
Premium Member
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Posted - 08/18/2005 : 11:01:05 PM
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While both Jack's and Harold's are great, for me the time spent versus the money saved isn't worth it. But then that's just me and I probably feel that way because I doubt I could do as good a job so therefore why spend my time. On the other hand if that's the only way (most likey Harold's case with S scale) to get em' or get any variety in em' then you gotta go that route.
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Edited by - Tyson Rayles on 08/18/2005 11:07:32 PM |
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Thorn Creek and Western
Fireman
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Posted - 08/19/2005 : 02:23:32 AM
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Jack was one of my early heroes too. Besides those rather silly LP's he did a great many terrific, inventive projects in what now seems to be a way too short period of time.
Here's a cherished picture of Jack at his workbench:
-Dave
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Thorn Creek and Western
Fireman
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Posted - 08/19/2005 : 02:23:32 AM
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Jack was one of my early heroes too. Besides those rather silly LP's he did a great many terrific, inventive projects in what now seems to be a way too short period of time.
Here's a cherished picture of Jack at his workbench:
-Dave
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teejay
Fireman
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Posted - 08/19/2005 : 05:36:09 AM
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Dave , thanks for that picture .....I had never seen the man before ( or maybe I've just forgotten ).
Harold , crude yes , but better than I can do .
Tyson , I'm with you . I'd be wasting my time , but with the price of lp's these days , there may come a day ........
Too bad there isn't a book on Jack Work and his great modelling . There are some pics in an old Bill MacClanahan book I have from the 60's , and it is where and when I first heard of this legend .
Terry
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Edited by - teejay on 08/19/2005 05:37:24 AM |
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Country: Canada
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teejay
Fireman
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Posted - 08/19/2005 : 05:36:09 AM
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Dave , thanks for that picture .....I had never seen the man before ( or maybe I've just forgotten ).
Harold , crude yes , but better than I can do .
Tyson , I'm with you . I'd be wasting my time , but with the price of lp's these days , there may come a day ........
Too bad there isn't a book on Jack Work and his great modelling . There are some pics in an old Bill MacClanahan book I have from the 60's , and it is where and when I first heard of this legend .
Terry
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Edited by - teejay on 08/19/2005 05:37:24 AM |
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hminky
Crew Chief
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Posted - 08/19/2005 : 07:51:17 AM
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quote:
Besides those rather silly LP's
Back in '65 all LP's were horrid. State of the art were Weston in HO. Jack was doing 1/4 scale at the time and there were no O scale LP's. That is also why I did my S scale ones.
quote:
Harold , crude yes , but better than I can do
The faces and heads was what I was trying to develop, if you will look at most bad LP's they suffer from "big head". The bodies were easy. The shoveling figure had a bad armature and developed rubber arms. Part of the learning process.
Just a thought
Harold
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hminky
Crew Chief
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Posted - 08/19/2005 : 07:51:17 AM
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quote:
Besides those rather silly LP's
Back in '65 all LP's were horrid. State of the art were Weston in HO. Jack was doing 1/4 scale at the time and there were no O scale LP's. That is also why I did my S scale ones.
quote:
Harold , crude yes , but better than I can do
The faces and heads was what I was trying to develop, if you will look at most bad LP's they suffer from "big head". The bodies were easy. The shoveling figure had a bad armature and developed rubber arms. Part of the learning process.
Just a thought
Harold
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Chuck Doan
Fireman
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Posted - 08/19/2005 : 10:36:31 AM
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I still have several Jack Work articles from the sixties, early seventies archived: Sawmill and a couple of bridges come to mind. Still top quality work! Definetly one of the best!
Chuck D.
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