My starting point, in playworn thrift store condition
My starting point, in playworn thrift store condition
Having already built one accurate scale, showroom/concours condition, highly obscure/specialized COE with the intent of county fair entry next year, I decided that I needed to build a junkyard diorama prop with a COE cab and a 3D print Hodges Hauler bed I had lying around (shortened from an old, marginal quality solid base made for an OG LaTroca Hot Wheels cab)
I ended up putting this all together, and initially decided to go with a custom paint job. But I decided I liked it better as a distressed red & black cab after sanding it, so I touched up the back of the cab, and rusted it with my proprietary mix of dollar store makeup powders, graphite/charcoal dust from art material castoff, and brown, orange & green Newell Painters pens. It reassembled flawlessly (amazing for a spare parts build) and looks great to me.
Keyword: Junkyard Dog