Revenge of the Haunted House

Here's another update on the haunted house.
Last ime, I started the side panels by taping cracks in the ground. This week, I continued by putting in some detail with a custom-made template (piece of cardboard I cut with scissors).

I then used white and pearl white to make it look like there is a glowing light coming from inside the cracks. I'll have to go over that with yellow, orange and red kandies to make it look like lava. My apprentice Martijn finished the night sky and added a glow over the mountains.

I forgot to bring all my Kandy kolors so the lava will have to be finished next week.
I then turned my attention to the center section, designing an impossible staircase, like the one MC Escher drew.

Here's my version (or the rough outlines, anyway).

We also mounted one of the top panels, to see if the eye was lining up with the piramid. It was, and I finished the cloud around the eye. Next week, I'll paint lightning, coming out of the cloud and do outlines and sahding on the stairs, dooropenings, windows, etc.

Say Cheese!

It's great to see your van appear on the web!
Here's a few I collected last year:

 Pic by El Cheapo at the Motorama show, last november.

Unknown photographer (or I forgot) also at the Motorama show. Let me know if this is your pic!

Pic by VonGerman (Custompixel) at the Bottrop Kustom Kulture show, june 2010.

Picture from Vans & Trucks magazine, 1984. That's how it looked 26 years ago!

And here's how it looks today, pic by Floris Velthuis.

Also, check the pic of the Green Machine on the left of this page. It leads to all posts about the Green Machine on this blog sofar!

Arty Farty

In the dark building where my workshop is located, my van was fotographed using a long shuttertime and someone dancing around the van with a light in his hand. It resulted in this cool effect.

Photographer unknown, pics sent by Zino.

An eye for an eye.

Some more airbrushing today.

I started by taping off an area in the night sky. It will become the centre of the design, right above the piramid. I will paint an eye, right in the iris is a hole, behind that is a smoke machine, special effects!

Drew an outline on the tape and cut that part out, then started with light green.

I used dark green to create some shadows.

Then I taped that shut and opened up the eyeball, to paint that with pearl white, followed by kandy yellow and some transparant black, for shading. Next I'll use inca gold kandy for the middle.

Using transparant black I sprayed some lines.

pulling the tape and adding some more black.

Using a fine brush, I painted the teeth...

Then I shade them with black, taped off the entire eye and with a light grey, added some shine.

The eye is the centre of a thunder cloud, but I can only finish that when the top part is mounted again.

It will appear right above the piramid in the centre.

Next job is to finish the side panels, which feature a desert with cracks in the earth, showing lava glowing underneath. I finished taping one side, next time I'll tape up the other side and start painting again.

Trouble is, I've got other work to do, as well. So I won't be able to continue for 1,5 weeks.

Until then, See ya.

Return of the Haunted House

Hi kids! Good to see you tuned in for another episode of: Mural Magic!

Since last episode, a lot has been done. Airbrushing the night sky:

Doing some measuring and perspective checking in tape before laying it down in paint:

Lots of work but I'll soldier on...
Had some help today from Martijn, who wants to be my apprentice. He did good today
and I think I can use him for a couple of weeks. Till next time, Cheerio!

Sketching...

for the haunted house design.

The Mother of all Murals.

I've been doing murals now and again for some years but this one takes the cake for sheer size. It's a new assignment: painting a haunted house fairground attraction.
This is how it has looked since it was built in 1973:

It's not REALLY scary, more like Disney-scary. It was built by some guy on a truck-trailer, using a steel frame with aluminium panels pop-riveted to it. Over the years, the paint has faded and cracked and some pieces of the frame have rusted away. So when current owner Reymond of Circus Remundo bought it, it was time for a restauration.

I got carte blanche on the design (whoopee!) and started pouring some of my dark fantasies into sketches. It turned out part Escher, part Dali and part Kustombart. I got the go-ahead and after ordering massive amounts of primer, filler, basecoat and clear, I started today by spraying primer on some of the pieces. I tinted the primer so it will act as a base-kolor onto which I can spray details.

That's me, spraying primer on a scary, twisted ladder. You can get an idea of the humungosity of the thing. The picture was taken by Reymond, standing halfway along the length of the thing and right now the top part is removed so it fits into the hangar!

Tomorrow I'll continue with the primers, hopefully laying down all of the base kolors, after that, I'l start on the details. I'll keep yous-all posted.

Goodies!

Santa has come early this year and I've been a good boy. No really!
Check this out: some vinyl murals to sticl on the side of your van, for instantcoolness, two license frames, wire wheel style, (check out the little spinners, as well!) and a scroll striping decal set.

And then, my precious! These will go onto the Green Machine, baby!

Here's one I prepared earlier

Here's a Bike I painted in the spring. Never got to see the bike completely built up. Luckily there's always folks like Onno Wieringa of Madness Photograpy who took some snaps of it when it was entered for the Bigtwin Bikeshow, a few weeks ago.

Here's the finished frame and tank in silver flakes with blue kandy and pearl white outlines just before I delivered it to the customer.

And here it is at the show:

This pic below is not by Onno but you get a better view from the top.

Hopefully, there will be more 70s choppers to paint in 2011!

Pondering Flares

The fender flares and front spoiler on the Green Machine are cracked in several places and the paint's chipped and scratched too. Luckily they are only bolted on so I think I'll take em off this winter to repair the 'glass. Matching the original green kolor is proving to be a hassle. It's a kustom-mixed base kolor topped by clear with silver & gold flakes mixed in, faded by 25 years of So-Cal sunshine. Try to match that!

I ran into this problem when I wanted to respray the faded roof. I just mixed a new shade of dark pearl green for that and I'm thinking of using that for the flares as well. I'll probably also switch the amber lights for clear ones.
Here's how it looks now:

 And here's a photochop of the new kolor on the flares.

Tell me what you think, I'm open for suggestions!

Also, I'm still looking for replacement clear sidemarker lights! Anyone know of some that fit?

I need it!

Chrome taillight bezels for 1971-1977 Dodge Tradesman or portsman. Let me know if you got some or know of some.

Make that ass look even better!

Oh yeah, and clear lenses for the side-marker lights.

That's why I don't drive my van during the winter.

You can almost hear the rust eating away at the sheet metal.

Hit the deck!

Here's some skateboard decks designed by Jason Cruz, featuring his own van, the Dice van and the Green Machine. Yowza!

It's the Wheel Deal!

I was at the Rockin Jalopy's Motorama show the other weekend and my neighbour was the ever friendly Jack Hammer, who sells all kinds of bolt-on goodies.

He had some bitchen' Grant Metalflake steering wheels. I had my eye on a green one and the kolor seemed to magically match the green flaked panels on my van. I scooped it up and took it home. I already had a wood Grant wheel so mounting the new one was easy-peasy.

It looks great! Can't wait to drive it!

Unfortunately, winter has landed in the Low Countries. That means salt on the roads and all kinds of wetness and grime. That does not go well with the pristine So-Cal untreated floors, sills and chassis of the Green Machine. So it will stay indoors until all the snow and salt have disappeared. Bummer.

Because two steering wheels is a bit over the top, even for a show van, my vintage Grant wooden steering wheel is for sale:

It's in excellent condition. Chrome is good, wood is not cracked or dried out. The wood could do with a good cleaning and some oil. Will make a great addition to any Custom Van.
Mail me for pricing.