I have created what I perceive as ‘The Ultimate Hotrod’.
I constructed a replica model of a traditional old “Hot Rod” in the form of a 30’s Ford. This model can be utilized as a decoration or a tabletop item, with the goal of it bridging the gap between a “realistic” Hot Rod and an exaggerated “Cartoon” Hot Rod. By doing so, I was able to have creative freedom on which elements I hyperbolize in terms of size, shape, or color with the intention of building the “Ultimate” Hot Rod.
I am satisfied with how the final product came out, but there are certainly some improvements I would make if I were to continue this project such as adding more realistic tires and tread, implementing more interior elements, and working on creating a backdrop scene for this vehicle so that it appears in its ‘hot rod’ habitat which I envision to be warm, sunny days in parking lots along a coastline with palm trees blowing overhead and music playing throughout.
I feel like I achieved my aesthetic fairly well, where a classic car enthusiast would be able to decipher this as being a ‘hot rod’ opposed to a ‘muscle car’ or ‘JDM’ vehicle which were some of the other aesthetics I originally looked into. The main giveaways are the model of vehicle I chose (a 1930’s Roadster), the vibrant and warm colors and flames, the very large rear wheels/tires, the aggressive rake (slant) to the vehicles ride-height, and the headers coming straight from the engine.
This was my first time playing with cardboard which proved to be rather challenging and time consuming. I had many hours in this, even though it may seem like a simple product. There were times I had to redo elements of the car to get it right. Specifically, getting the body shape and size right took a few tries, gluing the ‘color’ onto the vehicle often resulted in the discoloring of the wrapping paper due to the glue seeping through and being absorbed (hence taking numerous attempts to get right), etc.
For more information and details regarding this project, please visit the following page: ‘The Ultimate Hotrod’
