Taco Bell Build

[Christian]

Chapter 33 – The Worst of Times – The Best of Times
After posting yesterday’s chapter I had a good look and didn’t like what I was seeing. I was pretty sure that today I would have to pull up the EVA parking areas. Since it was likely to be trashed anyway I mixed up some asphalt and experimented on the drive through lane. It was messy and wasn't doing what I wanted it to do. I stopped and went to bed.

This morning it didn’t look half bad. So I did some more work with the lot knowing that I could always rip it out and redo. A before picture is missing – I was still planning to rip it out.

I used spackling paste to smooth the transitions from the clay to the EVA base. Also I used the paste to bring the entrance and exit lanes up to the Walthers sidewalk aprons. Additionally, I built up the edges where the paving meets the end of the world. Photograph one shows things at this point.

Photo two is a close up of a test of parking lines. One solid, one weathered and one mostly erased. What I was testing will work and there will be much more later on.

Photograph three. After giving the spackling paste several hours to harden I went over everything with a 240 grit sanding sponge. I used the knife edge bastard-rasp and the riffler to trim along the curbs. The makeup brush was to take away the sanding dust. But that wasn’t a good idea. Wheeze, gasp, sneeze.

Photo four. I took the whole thing out back and blasted off the dust. I brought it back in to the bench and went over it with a damp sponge. At this point it is ready for asphalt which will be the next chapter.

[sd40dash2]

I thought the parking spot work in 1st photo from update 33 looked really good.

I've had success using fine grey ballast as the road base. Once dry you can then paint the cracks with black paint and the yellow lines masked with scotch tape.

[Christian]

Apr 13, 2021 11:29:54 GMT -8 edgecrusher said:

Hmm... I don't seem to recall Taco Bell having haggis on the menu. Must be a regional thing. And well done with the various pavements, that's not easy to pull off.

You win!    I've posted various pictures from that model many times over the years. No one else caught that menu item.

[Christian]

Chapter 34 – Laying Asphalt
Today we will apply a coat of black paint. Sounds simple? Not so quick. We are going to use AK Interactive Terrains Asphalt. Like the concrete of a few chapters back this is a material intended for folks modeling in larger scales than most rail hobbyists. It doesn't really scale down so well, but looks better than any other asphalt that I’ve used. I’m willing to put of with a coarseness of texture. To the eye it’s fine. To extreme digital closeups it’s crude in HO scale.

Photograph one. Here’s what I started with for laying the asphalt. Left to right. I used a 3” tape knife as a painting edge against the curbs. It sorta worked. The orange brush is very soft. The next brush right is fairly course. Two scraps of EVA were coated to be used as practice for the striping. At the right, the glop.

Photo two is what collects on a stir stick. This is a thick acrylic paint with grit and something reflective in the mix. I have used this a couple times already. I thin it slightly less than half with water. If I was to display my 1:35 howitzer I would apply it full strength with a trowel and then surface it with a float. Plenty of YouTube videos of this. But it doesn't brush out well enough full strength for HO scale.

Photograph three is a closeup after spreading it with the course brush. I stroke in the direction of traffic. Photo four. While it is wet I drag a soft brush in the traffic direction to smooth out the strokes. This brush is squeezed clean of rinse water before working each section of the paving.

Photograph five is the “oops” from the previous photo after removing the masking. You could just leave it as a Bob Ross “Happy little surprise!” I scrubbed it with a very soft brush dipped into Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner. Then blotted with a paper towel. Because the cleaner will lift the concrete if you are too vigorous, I stopped short of totally removing the stain. Photo six. It’s now just a sidewalk stain.

Photograph seven is the entire thing after touching up the curbs and catching holidays in the black. Because the asphalt paint is fragile until it has had some curing time this is as far as I went today.

Photo eight is the same area seen in photographs three and four. Now it’s dry and to my naked eye looks like freshly topped asphalt with a lot of frost heave. In other words, what I had hoped to see.

To finish this off I will stripe, age with dry pigments, and weather the traffic areas with dilute paint and an airbrush.

[lvrr325]

I agree with your own comments, it looks fairly coarse for HO.

asphalt is tough to model and make look right, you almost need a paint with a texture to it to get it to look good.

[Christian]

Apr 15, 2021 20:51:14 GMT -8 lvrr325 said:

I agree with your own comments, it looks fairly coarse for HO.

asphalt is tough to model and make look right, you almost need a paint with a texture to it to get it to look good.

This is a case of modeling for the eye or modeling for the camera. The Heki material in the photograph at the top of chapter 33 works ok for the camera, but looks flat to the eye. This AK Interactive stuff doesn't work for the camera, but works well for the eye. If my further coloring comes together I'm thinking it will be an acceptable compromise. 

[Christian]

Chapter 35 – Going, Going, Done
Photographs one, two and three.

      Here’s a Fine How-De-Do

      –Sir John Gilbert

The day started off so well. Photo four. I set up my scene with some cars. I saw a glimpse into the near future. The day would have been spent striping. I wanted the stripes down before I did the pigment work because the stripes couldn’t be painted over loose pigment. The stripes are important to me and this photo brought that home because It just didn’t look right to have parked vehicles on the honor system.

Photograph five. I cut a scale 7.5’ X 16’ template. The width is pushing it and the length is the minimum I’ve found in the various sites on lining parking lots. I used it to mark out three spaces leaving a bit of space between for the width of the lines. I parked three different size vehicles in the spaces. Tight, but I’ve been in that sort of tight space.

Photo six. I was going to use paint markers for the lines. Woodland Scenics offers highway stripe markers in white and yellow along with a removal marker. Several YouTube videos about these. I feel that the lines are too narrow visually. Although probably correct for highway stripes. This chalk marker that I used is 1mm and has acrylic fluid. Photograph seven. It can be removed by blotting with airbrush cleaner.

Photo eight. I marked out lines on my test using an inking ruler. A steel edge with a thin cork back so that ink or paint won’t creep under the ruler.

Photograph nine. I tested out the lined spaces with cars and figures. Looks good to me. I needed to practice the offset of the ruler from the pencil guides.

Photo ten. I turned to my test pieces of EVA with AKI asphalt. It all fell apart here. The first line was good with one pass. The second line took two passes and the third took five passes. The acrylic fluid dissolved the asphalt and clogged the pen. Nothing I tried unclogged the pen.

Photograph eleven. I punted. I tried several ways of marking the lines. The best results were with artist’s pastel pencils. But, photo twelve, later pigment work spread and covered the lines. Nope.

I slept on it, fitfully. This morning I decided to rip out what I’d done and to put in new EVA. My intention is to mark the stripes on the EVA and proceed with weathering without the texture of the AKI asphalt coating.

Next time we’ll see if that works!

[Christian]

Apr 17, 2021 15:01:09 GMT -8 riogrande said:

The only comment I have about the asphalt parking lot is they usually look a considerably lighter shade of gray for weathering and age.

Patience grasshopper. They start glossy inky black. Just I was starting and have started again today.

[lvrr325]

FWIW, patience is right. The McDonalds I mentioned? I bought one Saturday, built up and dirty but all the important stuff was there. $15. My hand would have caught fire had I whipped the money out any faster.  Have been watching shows for a bargain on one of these for probably 15 years plus. 

Now I have to decide if I want it on my layout or to do a module of some sort. It can't sit on top of my 2-stall enginehouse forever.

[Christian]

Chapter 36 – Short White Lines
Off camera I did some fixing. I put in new asphalt and curbs. I widened the entry ramp a bit and added wheelchair ramps. I rethought what I wanted it to look like. My new asphalt and line prototype is right outside my front door. Photograph one. The asphalt was laid about four years ago. The lines about nine months. No more frost heaves and raggedy asphalt. I left the drive through lane alone with the heaves and buckles. It will be aged further than the main lot.

Photo two. I pulled out a new paint pen. Shook it for a good minute. Holding vertical, I pushed the point in to release pressure, and then pressed on a scrap to get the paint flowing. I had previously marked the location of the lines using my gauge from the last chapter and a silver pencil to make almost visible marks. I pulled the pen along a steel ruler and, voilà, white lines. A lot of the phototype photos I have show lots marked off with yellow lines.

Photograph three. I continued marking out the lines. Because the EVA foam is, well, foam, the lines sunk into the surface. I found that three passes of the pen worked. I had earlier put in wheel chair ramps. They didn’t look good so I pulled them out. Not before I had painted them yellow. I couldn’t have had a perfect day!

Looking at all sorts of photos I found that the diagonal line angles and placement seemed to be at the whim of the line painter. I used another gauge and marked off the diagonals. Also shown is the silver pencil.

Now for the wheelchair decal. Back in the earlier days of ADA the large wheelchair symbol was painted with a bright blue background. No excuse for not seeing the sign. Since Microscale has the decal I was looking forward to this bit of detail. Having had problems earlier in the build with crumbling Microscale decals I first cut a scrap off the sheet. Yep. Photograph five. Crumbles. I think there is another thread about crumbling decals going more recently that that chapter from this build.

Photo six. I used Microscale Superfilm and a toss-away brush to put a thick coat over the decal. It leveled and all but disappeared. Because the film now is well out onto the backing I trimmed the decal right to the image. It worked out fine.

Photograph seven is the end of today’s work. The yellow bits at the top of the striped areas are remnants of the ramps and will be covered by the new ramps.

All this drama for a few little white lines!

Next up. Making the lot look older. Right now the EVA foam looks just like brand new asphalt. The rollers should be going back and forth and steam rising.

[sd40dash2]

Thanks for the ongoing updates. I love seeing you reason through and research the various aspects including parking. One thing I would caution is the handicapped parking -- this is a more recent thing that wasn't anywhere near as common in the 1980s decade you are modelling. Be careful with that. Just a friendly suggestion. Thanks again for providing us entertainment via this thread.

[Christian]

Apr 18, 2021 8:19:52 GMT -8 sd40dash2 said:

Thanks for the ongoing updates. I love seeing you reason through and research the various aspects including parking. One thing I would caution is the handicapped parking -- this is a more recent thing that wasn't anywhere near as common in the 1980s decade you are modelling. Be careful with that. Just a friendly suggestion. Thanks again for providing us entertainment via this thread.

Below is California, 1981. Every state, county, municipality was a bit different in how they interpreted or ignored the early laws. The national rules came with the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. I didn't copy out the section about wheel stops and signage, but I'll be in compliance when I get to that in a few days.

[sd40dash2]

^ Thanks Chris, very interesting, I am impressed you were ready for my comment with research!

[Christian]

Apr 18, 2021 10:46:13 GMT -8 sd40dash2 said:

^ Thanks Chris, very interesting, I am impressed you were ready for my comment with research!

No set up. I should have posted it earlier. Just didn't get aroundtoit.

[Christian]

Chapter 37 – Wash Behind Your Ears
Today we mess up our newly laid asphalt. Next time we’ll let the landscapers attack. Then the detailers. Then the, oh, wait a minute, after the detailers there is nothing! Yep folks, we are almost done with Taco Bell.

First, another beauty shot. Photograph one. This project is at the point in construction where I set up scenes and feel good about the project, so far.

Lets mess up that lot. Photo two shows the materials that will be sprayed onto the asphalt. Because of the EVA foam base nice blended brush painting won’t work. Rattle cans will get you part way, but I’ll leave the color choices to you. Well, almost. The Krylon Ultra-Flat Camouflage Khaki that I used for primer of the Atomic Cafe will work well for the first paint application which browns up the asphalt. Spray gently.

For the airbrush I made a mix of a big squirt of Mission Models Transparent Dust, an equal amount of Golden Airbrush Medium, a half dozen drops of Mission Models Urethane Mix Additive, and a few drops of Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver. Mission Models is yet another paint maker not known to rail model folks. Primarily a maker of paint for gaming, military and miniatures. Located in the USA, Mission Models actually catalogs a model railroad color: Rail Tie Brown. BB uses Mission Models paint in his current project of modeling his childhood N scale train set. The urethane additive adds resin paint characteristics to regular acrylic paints.

Photograph three. I masked off the concrete and then applied many light strokes of the dust paint. I let my airbrush follow the traffic patterns after an initial coat over all the asphalt. While I had dust and an airbrush I dusted the low sides and ends of the VW 411 that I will use in the scene.

Photograph five. I mixed a batch of Vallejo Panzer Aces Light Rubber and used a tighter airbrush to streak where tires would build up a lighter color on the asphalt. I unmasked the concrete drive through pad for this and the rest of the weathering. I added a squirt of Vallejo Panzer Aces Dark Rubber to the mix and toned down the light rubber. Finally I added some Mission Models Rail Tie Brown to really darken the mix and misted a coat over everything. Photo six. eagle eyes will note the time on the clock in the photographs for this chapter and have a little puzzle.

Photograph seven shows the materials for the next process. All dry, pure pigments. No step by step for this because I had all five bottles open and worked back and forth very lightly with the two brushes in the photo until I liked my Taco Bell parking lot. Photo eight.

Photograph nine is another beauty shot at the end of the parking lot coloring.

Next we will do something green!

[valenciajim]

Can't wait to see the completed project installed on your layout. Thank you for providing an excellent discussion on how you built this model!

[sd40dash2]

That looks amazing -- the oil/exhaust stains are very well done!

[Christian]

Chapter 38 – Genesis 1:9-13
Yesterday we finished the firmament. Has anyone since the time of King James Sixth & First used “firmament” in a sentence? Well, now that we have our dry land we need to put in some green stuff.

In my collection of Taco Bell photographs I have found very few that have nice landscaping. Most are shaggy and weed infested.

This chapter is photo intensive because I don’t recall any of the products I’m using having been mentioned on either Atlas forum. For that matter, has anyone spent time on detailed scenery on Atlas?

This is part one because I need to let the glue dry. Scenery is built in layers and needs drying time between layers. The first bit I’ll show I did as one fell swoop, but shouldn’t have done so.

Photograph one shows the materials I think I’ll use for the scenery on this model. All the materials I use come from Scenic Express. You need to know that company because the amount of scenery materials that Scenic Express sells is exhaustive. Their own branded products are excellent. And they carry European lines that are handled by no one else. As well as products from kitchen table factories in USA. They also carry the “big” brands that are well known.

Photo two. Lets start by raising up the level of the open areas on the model. I used 1mm and 2mm black EVA cut to fit – roughly. I used Scenic Express Täk-E-Glue. Aleene’s Tacky Glue would have worked just as well and is easier to spell.

Photographs three through ten are all of the little patch behind the drive through window. It shows the whole process. As I mentioned above, I should have broken this down and allowed for glue to dry. This area on most fast food restaurants is pretty ugly. Ugly is good.

Photograph three. I cut a piece of brownish material from the Silflor Summer Tone Grass Assortment Sampler Pack. (Say that three times, quickly.) (that, that, that) This is a mat of brown threads with static fibers attached. I glued it to the EVA with Woodland Scenics Tuft-Tac. This is a very thick white glue that I used for most of the scenery work on this project. Photo four.

Photograph five. I cemented in some bits of Scenic Express Super Turf. This stuff is had to describe. If a ninja had to convert his throwing star into a scenery material, this would be it. It makes for nice pointy weeds.

Everyone, his brother, and his first cousin twice removed makes weed clumps. Photo six are the clumps made by GamersGrass. Photograph seven are clumps made by Silflor.

Photos eight and nine. I dribbled scenic cement over the weed patch. Photo ten. I plopped the Taco Bell into place, took a photo and removed it before it became prematurely cemented in place.

Martin Welberg Studios of the Netherlands makes the very best scenery materials. You pay for that. I use them sparingly and am quite satisfied of the bang for the buck. Photograph eleven is a sheet of Light Green Bushes. They resemble forsythia bushes after blooming season. A common view block in lots of parts of the USA. The bushes are made on a sheet of thin brown paper which is in turn lightly secured to a black backing.

You use them by first cutting the roughly out of the sheet. Photo twelve. They you can trim the brown paper so that it disappears, mostly, under the bush. Photograph thirteen. Photo fourteen shows them in place waiting for the glue to dry before adding blending materials tomorrow.

Photograph fifteen shows another Welberg product Spring Green Bushes, High. This is a sheet similar to the Silflor in that you peel away the backing in then rip out pieces with tweezers or fingers. I used pieces to fill the little notch at the entry ramp. I will use lots of little pieces to blend in the forsythia after the cement has set.

Finally the grass across the front. I’m not sure if this is going to work. But, like all things, it can be ripped out and replaced. Photo sixteen. I used Noch Prairie Grass, Light Green. This material is a sheet which is backed with a thick layer of fluffy white polyester. This backing has to be peeled away. Photograph seventeen shows the Noch grass cemented in place with some tufts of Welberg bushes. The Noch fibers are really too long and I have to ponder that over night.

Until next time,

[el3672]

Awesome Chris!! I especially like how you weathered the asphalt parking area.
The drainage pitch weathering at the end of the parking stalls down toward to street
adds so much to the real thing. Landscapers attack? Haha, I'm a Landscape Architect in
Florida, so if you ever need any pointer's (SoCal & So Flo)are similar let me know.
Looks like you nailed it on the shaggy!
....

[Christian]

Apr 20, 2021 17:23:22 GMT -8 el3672 said:

adds so much to the real thing. Landscapers attack? Haha, I'm a Landscape Architect
....

My Worst Nightmare
A ventilation engineer, a paving contractor, and a landscape architect walk into a Taco Bell and ask; "Who built this place anyway!"

[Christian]

Chapter 39 – More Weeds
Today the clumps of green got more weeds to blend a bit and to hide anything that didn’t need to be seen.

First: The most important tool for scenery building. Photograph one. The Dustbuster®. The electrostatic rayon fibers that are part and parcel of modern scenery materials get everywhere. Have a look at the last photo in the preceding chapter. A brush and a Dustbuster® are in constant use from here on out cleaning up those little fibers.

First some trimming. Photo two. I used scissors and tweezers to shape up the clumps I had planted yesterday. Photograph three.

I then put bits of foliage, ninja turf and bush clumps into the plantings where the base was showing. Photo four. A bit more trimming and we have forsythia with some ground cover. Photograph five.

Photos six and seven. I used some Scenic Express Blended Texture to fill in the entry patch of weeds. This consists of rayon fibers, ground foam, and litter, mixed. Lots of shades. I chose this shade because the bushes were kinda dark.

Now the front. First I went at this with scissors and tweezers. I scissored the height in patches and generally made the strip less even. There was still a lot of the polyester backing visible. I dumped dark green ground foam on the strip and ground it in with a finger. Photos eight and nine. The bushes in the back ground were planted in blobs of Tuft-Tac and pressed firmly.

This strip begs for a lawn service to be at work fixing it up. Busch makes weed whacker and leaf blower figures. Unfortunately they are parts of separate Busch Action Scenes which makes them a bit pricey for a little bit of detail. It is really easy to dream, plan, pay for great details and find that you’ve tripled the cost of the project.

Finally I soaked everything in scenic cement and retired to the other room to write this chapter.

Next up – cementing the Taco Bell to the parking lot. Yep, getting close to the end. Make sure you close any betting pools that are still running.

[slowfreight]

Apr 21, 2021 11:16:43 GMT -8 riogrande said:

I saw a comment on the Chris Brimley video about how he used, was it, Anchor Cement for roadways and parking lots. I haven't heard of that.

It's a straight portland cement product, no sand or aggregate...Have a bucket somewhere in the basement and I want to say it's a Type III rapid set cement.

[sd40dash2]

Man is this ever looking good. Makes me want to jump in the car for a trip through the Drive-Thru to order a box of 10 soft tacos and hot sauce packets.

[Christian]

Chapter 40 – Details, Super Details, Stupid Details
Now we begin to add the stuff that brings a scene alive. Figures, details, and automobiles have gotten really expensive. I have a stash, thank goodness. I’m not going into a lot of construction detail in these final chapters. It is either self evident or has to be adjusted for each builder’s stash.

Photograph one. Remember that the back on my model won’t be seen. Nevertheless, guilt got me and I did utility entrances. I used Walthers parts.

Now for the front where all the interest is. PepsiCo era stucco Taco Bells were built with concrete patio furniture. If they had a patio – not universal. Other era Taco Bells have an assortment of furniture. The PepsiCo concrete furniture all looks the same. It is in lots of the photos I have posted for those of you who are going to scratch build it. It should be simple. I should have done it. Instead I used a Busch scene which had concrete pedestals under the benches and tables. The scene also had a couple trash containers that are really common. Build of recycled plastic “lumber.” Photo two.

Getting the d****d thing out of the package was not easy for me. Photograph three shows the tools I used to get two tables, four benches and two trashcans out of the bubble and off the warped bases. The NEBO flashlight was essential for finding the parts that flew to the floor. Some more than once. I glued the pedestals to the planks many times, but finally got my patio furniture.

Photo four shows the pieces in place along with some Busch terracotta urns. A bit small, but I used what I had.

Photographs five, six and seven. Now for some stupid detail. Taco Bell bags, drink caddies and drinks. The bags are included on the revised sign sheet which I posted early in the build. I will post it again with the next or one after chapter. FAR easier and much less stressful to make than getting those Busch tables out of the package.

Photos eight, nine, and ten are the finished scene on the patio. The figures are all Preiser, I think. Some out of the box, some painted. The Riggs family all had their hair painted for a family look. Well, except for Duane who lost a bet over softball. Charley's van isn’t finished yet so he is just coming out of nowhere. And the foliage in the urns will likely be different the next time you see photographs of the front.

[sd40dash2]

This looks really good!

Suggestion: Can you set something up at the back door? This is typically where employees smoke and possibly sit down on their break. Perhaps add a smoking station, garbage can and/or folding chair? Plus some litter or drink spill marks on the ground.

[fr8kar]

Apr 23, 2021 13:02:09 GMT -8 Christian said:

The Riggs family all had their hair painted for a family look.

Where's the Murtaugh family, or is Roger getting too old for this?

[Christian]

Apr 23, 2021 13:27:19 GMT -8 fr8kar said:

Where's the Murtaugh family, or is Roger getting too old for this?

[Christian]

Apr 23, 2021 13:06:36 GMT -8 sd40dash2 said:

Suggestion: Can you set something up at the back door? This is typically where employees smoke and possibly sit down on their break. Perhaps add a smoking station, garbage can and/or folding chair? Plus some litter or drink spill marks on the ground.

The photograph above is the last anyone will see of the back. If I were to place it on College St it would take a dental mirror to see the back. Nope. You won on the back of the Atomic Cafe. Not on this one!

[Christian]

Chapter 40 – Signs and Stuff
A few more details in a very short posting. No stupid details today! Just a bit of stupid modeling, perhaps. I scissored the entrance and exit signs out of the glossy photo paper sheet. Remember, knives chip. I stuck them to some of my 2mm black EVA because it is a lot easier to cut than 0.060” styrene. Photograph one. The result isn’t what I had hoped for. Maybe these signs will stay. Maybe they won’t.

Bollards are seen in photo two. These are bulky, but I’ve seen them in photos. A simple 4” ID iron pipe filled with concrete is more common and easy to model. These bollards are out of a Walthers package painted with Mission Models Hiway Yellow 1930/1990 Heavy Equipment. That tongue twister paint name is because a little business doesn’t want to label anything “Caterpillar Yellow.”

Photograph three shows the exit sign as well as the new plantings. These will stay. The plantings yesterday were drab.

Photo four. Fuzzy view of entry sign, wheel stops, disabled parking sign, and the big street sign.

Photograph five is the revised sheet of signs and other printed stuff. I have also revised the URL in the early posting to point to this new sheet.

Little more to do. Cars tomorrow. I’m not a car modeler so the car work will be just spotting features and some weathering.

[Christian]

Chapter 41 – Remember Radio Aerials?
These are not rivet counted vehicles. Photographs one, two, and three. Herpa and the other European model car makers have a tendency to mold the color into the parts. To me it looks plastic so the first thing I do is paint. Well, three out of the four.

Clare Howard’s Volkswagen 411 is a Herpa model and has detail painting that I could never do. So I sprayed dust on the rockers and added some mud splats. Overall the car got a flat finish which I blotted with a paper towel. Radio aerial from 0.004” wire. It’s there, but you cant see it! Illinois plates from 1985. Yep, no mirrors. I couldn’t find any suitable in my stash so we’ll hope that Clare has an in with the motor vehicle inspector!

The Riggs family Taurus has been covered. It is actually two months into the future, but Duane has connections.

Pete Wagner’s Blazer is Trident and I should have masked and painted without disassembling. Easy to take apart. Devil to get back together. Paint, rust, plates, radio aerial, CB whip. I also replaced the grill with one of the van grills to get the round sealed beams. Pete’s the County Agent and says he’s going to drive that Blazer until he can see through the floor boards.

Charley Alford’s van is also Trident. This one went back together just fine. I did some grill swapping with the Blazer and interior swapping with a windowless van. Most of the photos I found of Chevy wheel chair lift vans were conversion vans with a raised roof and fancy paint. But, I did find some plain vans. Charley says that showboats belong in the river. New paint, swapped in grill with four rectangular headlights, radio aerial, non-commercial light truck plates.

Here they are parked at Taco Bell. Photo four is taken from the water tower. Photograph five is a beauty shot from the “best” angle.

Guess what folks?

It’s done!