They aren't pretty, and nobody wants to drive one, but they'll still stop bullets.. Everybody seems to hate the Plasticville cars: I understand the feeling: Most are early-1950's style, and they have crappy wheels. But they come free with the buildings, and are good, gluable and paintable styrene plastic. Since I wanted the shell sidding on the ground I removed the wheel holders. I first sprayed the car red. It was already red. When it was dry, I masked and sprayed the grille and bumpers. Details were picked out with silver paint. Actually. with a decent paint job, they don't look so bad. The base is cut from Sintra/Cintra. I inserted wires where I wanted the bushes placed. The base was primed, and allowed to dry. I painted the centre area black, and glued the 3 bushes that are inside the car into place. I then affixed the car to the base. I 'distressed' the upper surfaces of the car with gunmetal, silver, rust, and dark brown, and added 'watermarks' where liquid had pooled.

Dust, grit, and sand was then added. There are also bulletholes drilled here and there. The base was painted and sanded, and the outer bushes were glued in place. The bushes are tufts of artificial greenery from Michael's Craft stores. On reflection, I think a burned-out version would be very effective: All soot & smoke swirls So all I can say, is if you don't want your Plasticville cars, send 'em to me. I can find a place for 'em. These cars are free with many Plasticville O Scale model railroad buildings

Having seen the above article, I was inspired to have a go, and to try some new techniques. I chose to make a rather more weathered version, one that had been subjected to many years of weather and neglect. After all, it's an OLD car.

I started with a black basecoat, and picked out details with silver. Then the whole piece was weathered and rusted. (There are the obligatory bullet holes, too.) The base is covered with sand & gravel, and grasses made from unwound cotton string. I think they give more of a wild, windblown look to the piece. It was a fun and satisfying project.