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Ever been criticized for seeing possibilities in something others can't see?


hddennis

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47167864_100_5511(2).JPG.c1924908a74cb40ac82d032ab1462a3a.JPG1161241522_182211984_10220305870659113_2803669032806824404_n-Copy.jpg.08cda2cfc2b9954f690b4a0bd92bd4b1.jpgJust acquired this flying lady online. Had I not seen something in the original pictures most others wouldn't have seen I might have passed on it as too far gone. Further emails convinced me to take a chance. Imagine my surprise to find it was new old stock! I believe it must have been in dealership fire as it was covered in a very dark film, hard to remove and someone had then sprayed it with aluminum spray paint!  It took me hours but I think it turned out pretty darn nice.100_5526.JPG.15ac171e00d11cc46a94aaa67b812f77.JPG

 

Howard Dennis1161241522_182211984_10220305870659113_2803669032806824404_n-Copy.jpg.08cda2cfc2b9954f690b4a0bd92bd4b1.jpg182291632_10220305868419057_6430498951845393133_n.jpg.3593c0fe739f1e57be80540d896ff6b9.jpg100_5519.JPG.f259befdbc16e86ef6da2a8487819232.JPG100_5521.JPG.879d69efad141a45a28a4d8cf481339a.JPG   

Edited by hddennis (see edit history)
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That is a great find. I had a similar experience although there was no criticism involved. In my early days of collecting radiator emblems I was with my wife at a large antique show in Dallas. In one space, kind of hidden in the back was a box full of enamel emblems, some fairly rare, but they were all dark brown and looked terrible

. I made a low offer for the entire box and carried it home then dipped the emblems in paint remover. Turns out someone long ago had coated them with shellac which had turned brown. They all cleaned up great and were in great shape with many actually new old stock!

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Then there was the time at Iola where I was digging through a $2.00 box and   found a turn signal bezel that would fit my 52 Plymouth. Nice and shiny.  I kept it for a couple of years and deciding I most likely never need it had my wife put it on Flea-Bay(before it got crappy). Sold it for $78.00

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Wonderful, thanks for sharing this with all of us.  With the lack of cars events, flea markets etc in the past year + it is a great boost to ones spirit to see and read about this.

Walt

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28 minutes ago, keiser31 said:

Oh....to answer your original question.... yes, I am usually criticized for seeing possibilities that others cannot see.

Does that mean we have foresight or are we just optimists?

 

Howard Dennis

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 yes, I am usually criticized for seeing possibilities that others cannot see. it happens when I buy or am given a "new" car.

 

 The most used comment is " What in the hell are you going to do with that!"

 

 

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My best criticized find was at a Hershey dealer specializing in flathead Ford parts in the 80's  He had a GM box with two water pumps still wrapped in their original packing paper.  When I asked him what they  were for he replied that he didn't have the slightest idea and was tired of carrying them around.  They looked interesting to me and I purchased them for $10.  My friends comment was "you just purchased a couple of boat anchor's"  They were NOS 38-40 V16 Cadillac Rt and Left water pumps.

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  When walking thru a swap meet I may show great interest in a car (or truck) body that is super solid and rust free other than maybe surface rust and my wife will say "why are you interested in that piece of junk?". On down the row we'll see a similar model with shiny paint that upon closer inspection was sprayed over poorly done body work and filler and she'll say "why don't you buy something nice like that?". 🙄 

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In some of the antique shops I visit I look for the opportunity to find something obscure or needing love and taking it home for a little (or a lot) of cleanup and /or repair. In most cases I’m pleased with the outcome.  I used to get the “look” from my other half but now she knows better!

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Great find! But to answer your original question, YES, all of the time. I see beauty in a blade of grass. But more so in car related stuff. My latest acquisition is a good example. Rusted out relic of a car but to me I see the restored version with me driving it down the road hair blowing in the wind. May take a few years to get there but at least in my mind it will happen.

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46 minutes ago, TAKerry said:

Great find! But to answer your original question, YES, all of the time. I see beauty in a blade of grass. But more so in car related stuff. My latest acquisition is a good example. Rusted out relic of a car but to me I see the restored version with me driving it down the road hair blowing in the wind. May take a few years to get there but at least in my mind it will happen.

Hopefully it will be up and running while you still have hair to blow in the wind😀. Remember, hair today, gone tomorrow!

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When I saw a rolled up Pegasus sign in an orchard, I got excited and imagined it flat. My buddy, Tom and I were searching out MoPar muscle cars one day and I came across the sign. It was lying next to a Dodge Dart and the rancher told me if I wanted the sign, I could take it with me. He said he rolled it up with a bulldozer. Tom asked me what the heck I was going to do with THAT? He was certain I was crazy to want it. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do with it. I came home and donned two pairs of safety goggles and some gloves and un-bent the sign the very best I could. There was porcelain flying everywhere! I looked around to see where I could mount it and there it was....the absolute PERFECT spot! I love it. Now everyone who sees it....including my buddy Tom, asks to buy it. My regret is that I never took a photo of it in the rolled up position.

IMG_1755.JPG

Edited by keiser31 (see edit history)
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     I plead guilty of the lure of junk art too.   Found thses fenders ans splash apron and later the implement wheels

     before finding a bullit riddledd piece of a tin roof.   Perfect for a partial wall on my lean to.IMG_0777.JPG.3a6a0d0d2e9fd82d2efb8e081f42107c.JPG

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I have been criticized many times for buying auto-related "junk" my whole life by people who know nothing about autos. We have not gone for many years but there is a massive permanent monthly flea market in Canton, TX called "First Monday Trade Days" and my wife and I would go about twice a year. She would shop for antiques in the large indoor buildings and fancy semi-permanent dealer spaces while I would go to the outer edges where the non-registered sellers would be, usually just boxes and piles of junk on the ground. I always came away with my backpack full of cheap automobilia and parts that were very marketable after some cleaning and polishing. Better than an auto swap meet because the sellers usually had no idea what they had.

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When there was still a blue flea market field at Hershey before the roller coasters and gas station moved in. Jim Cox and his wife Bev Kimes had a space there and parked their motor home on it. I bought a derelict large pressed steel toy Turner Lincoln sedan which by the time I got to their spot was getting pretty heavy to carry. I asked Jim if I could leave it with him and pick it up later, he said yes. I knew he thought I was nuts when he looked at it and said "how much did you pay for that"?  He put it under their table that they had out with stuff on it for sale. Several hours later I returned. the toy wasn't there.

Jim said - I had to move that  thing 4 times, last time it went under the motor home and still someone spotted it and walked over to look at it and asked if it was for sale so I had to put it inside the motor home. I just chuckled and smiled and picked it up and went back to my car to drop it off as it was the end of the day..

Years later both Jim and Bev both collected toys with much enthusiasm,( I was a bad bad influence)  and when we attended a toy show at a hotel near Newark airport after walking around some Jim came up to me and sheepishly looked at me and said " how much extra $ do you have and can let me borrow". He had found more things then he had the $ to pay for and needed a loan. I just laughed and he said " I know you are thinking about Hershey a few years back " I told him this was a milestone moment for both of us! Yes, I did lend him the $ and for the rest of their lives together we attended toy shows all over.

 

In the photo the blue sedan at the back is the toy Lincoln sedan by Turner Toys that I restored and is mentioned above. the other toy Lincoln is similar and was one a friend found for me in Ct. and had been used as target practice with a BB gun. Huge toys - about 30 inches long by 8 inches high and 7 inches wide.  Most found now have bent axles as kids would sit on them and try and push along to ride them , cost $5.00 each when new in 1927 , that was a weeks wage at that time. One of the most realistic looking pressed steel toys ever made in the USA.

TurnerLINCOLNS.jpg

Edited by Walt G
aded text and a photo for illustrative purposes (see edit history)
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Walt G.

I think you meen to say,$ 5.00 was an average DAYS pay in 1927..Not a weeks pay.

Even Henry Ford started the $5.00 a day wage in 1914.

An average job like Bank tellers were pulling $25 to $30 bucks a week in 1927.

..

Those are some very nice scale toy sedans .

The restoration and finishes are beautifully done.

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Thanks yes, meant to type days pay! 

Also thanks for the comment on the restoration - all done in lacquer, as that is what I know how to paint with and am comfortable using.  Just takes lots of time and patience..

 

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On 7/21/2021 at 1:06 PM, Walt G said:

When there was still a blue flea market field at Hershey before the roller coasters and gas station moved in. Jim Cox and his wife Bev Kimes had a space there and parked their motor home on it. I bought a derelict large pressed steel toy Turner Lincoln sedan which by the time I got to their spot was getting pretty heavy to carry. I asked Jim if I could leave it with him and pick it up later, he said yes. I knew he thought I was nuts when he looked at it and said "how much did you pay for that"?  He put it under their table that they had out with stuff on it for sale. Several hours later I returned. the toy wasn't there.

Jim said - I had to move that  thing 4 times, last time it went under the motor home and still someone spotted it and walked over to look at it and asked if it was for sale so I had to put it inside the motor home. I just chuckled and smiled and picked it up and went back to my car to drop it off as it was the end of the day..

Years later both Jim and Bev both collected toys with much enthusiasm,( I was a bad bad influence)  and when we attended a toy show at a hotel near Newark airport after walking around some Jim came up to me and sheepishly looked at me and said " how much extra $ do you have and can let me borrow". He had found more things then he had the $ to pay for and needed a loan. I just laughed and he said " I know you are thinking about Hershey a few years back " I told him this was a milestone moment for both of us! Yes, I did lend him the $ and for the rest of their lives together we attended toy shows all over.

 

In the photo the blue sedan at the back is the toy Lincoln sedan by Turner Toys that I restored and is mentioned above. the other toy Lincoln is similar and was one a friend found for me in Ct. and had been used as target practice with a BB gun. Huge toys - about 30 inches long by 8 inches high and 7 inches wide.  Most found now have bent axles as kids would sit on them and try and push along to ride them , cost $5.00 each when new in 1927 , that was a weeks wage at that time. One of the most realistic looking pressed steel toys ever made in the USA.

TurnerLINCOLNS.jpg

How does Turner compare to the Hubley cast metal scale models from the era for detail? 

 

Craig 

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Craig,

Very difficult to make the judgement since one was cast in a mold that could have fine detail ( as fine as cast iron can get if we are comparing from the same years - Hubley were iron toys before they went to die cast zinc) It is why for very fine detail the European toys used tin - thinner material easier to form tight bends, sharp edge lines. Pressed steel would give a great representation of what a car looked like but not every detail would be able to be clearly and finely presented.

The best ( IMHO) pressed steel toys that were made in the USA that you could instantly recognize what they were so far as a make of car were the Turner Lincoln sedan and Packards ( roadster and roadster pickup body styles offered)  - (both huge scale) and the Corcoran ( aka as Cor Cor) toys- made in Washington , Indiana , they made the 1932-33 Graham sedans and the Chrysler and DeSoto Airflows. These are heavy pressed steel . There were lighter weight pressed steel that were a bit smaller in size but not by much in the 1939 era made of DeSoto sedans. Still substantial but much lighter gauge material.

Buddy L made magnificent pressed steel toys pre war especially in the 1920s - until the early 1930s , but focused on toy trucks. Buddy L's detailed masterpiece was their "outdoor railroad" set ( cars and track) modeled after the Baldwin Locomotives, they were incredibly detailed. Huge and heavy as well. Artist Peter Helck had  a Buddy L locomotive set on a shelf in his art studio that he used to look at when he sketched his artwork and used as a reference for proportion and detail.  Peter smiled when I visited him the first time and noted that , as I have one as well which I bought  from my mentor Austin Clark who got it new as a present for his birthday or for Christmas when a young lad.

Another run on , overly long answer ..............sorry!

Walt

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