1/25 lil' Stogie 

Gallery Article by Mark Andrews on Jan 7 2010

Silly Week 2010

 

Bo Shamous rides out of the heat and dust of the Arizona desert in search of his lost stash. His trusty shotgun by his side in case of ruslers. His iron wagon kicking up clouds of dust every mile he rides. Only if he could remember through the clouds of moonshine induced fog in his head, just where he buried his last remaining barrels of the illegal brew. Bo's hands are calloused and blistered from digging holes all over the Arizona desert. His skin is deeply tanned from the punishing desert sun. He will not quit until he has the barrels of moonshine in the back of his Calastoga, or what he calls his lil' Stogie.

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Tom Daniels was known for his wild and outrageous custom car designs. Lil' Stogie is based on a covered wagon with the addition of a Ford engine and several wild west additions. The kit was re-released by Monogram along with a several of his other designs. The frame is one piece with all chrome suspension parts. Unfortunately the all chrome assemblies are hard to manage while the glue dries. Don't forget to scrape all plating from the gluing surfaces. The steering rods from the body are very fragile and easily bent and broken. The interior went together fairly well. The barrels for fuel tanks are a great look to the vehicle. The bed has a barrel, pioneer tools and I put the arrows in there as well for 'souvenirs'. Not sure why they plated the arrows. The biggest challenge to this kit was the 'fabric' cover for the bed. It was in two halves split down the top center. The parts have a nice 'canvas' look and feel to them. But the halves don't go together very well so some filling with gap filling super glue is in order to preserve the texture. I painted the canvas dark brown with a touch of black. The nail heads were picked out with brass paint with a sharpened toothpick. Then weathered with Doc Brown's Weathering Powders. I didn't use any of the included 'patch' decals or other graphics.

As the sun slowly sets on the dusty horizon, Bo steers his wagon back to his shack on the edge of Monument Valley. Another day gone and still no moonshine barrels. Tomorrow he will try again, maybe he will find them, maybe he never will. But he will always be a part of the desert. Ride, Bo Shamous, ride!

Mark Andrews

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Photos and text © by Mark Andrews