The Swamp Rat
Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 4:40 pm
I have been thinking long and hard for a very long time about Granny... in particular her colour.
We had always planned to paint her and a combination of things has resulted in the following concept.
We had planned to execute this as a skunkworks project but it might not take place immediately and it would break my heart if someone else did it in the meantime so I thought I'd put to out there for comment.
The Drive
Most of you know I have spent years working as a photographer and in the pre-press industry so I am ultra sensitive about colour.
While I love Dove/Gulf blue, it is really susceptible to change with lighting conditions. I have seen many photos where one end of the bus looks bluey green and the other end has a magenta cast. That would send me insane within the week so that was absolutely out as a colour option.
I also have a soft spot for Boronia Brown. Given Lee's awesome creation I decided to keep thinking.
In the end I came to the conclusion my favourite colour was a very warm olive drab and hence the rough mock-up you see above.
Connecting the Dots
In addition to loving the colour I am one of those fortunates who grew up on M*A*S*H. I can handle about three episodes of that every night and never tire of it.
Probably sparked by M*A*S*H; I have always had an interest for all things military. If it were not for the fact I am entirely anti-establishment, I'd possibly had ended up in it.
So, with my favourite colour chosen and my love for military stuff it seemed natural to turn it into a army bus.
The bonus is it also satisfies my requirement to have a rough and ready camper. When we do get to painting it we'll not touch any of the dints... just the rust, and finish in the flattest of flat paint.
Accessories
We'll also be looking out for a vintage GP 16x16 canvas tent to go with it too.
I generally wear green clothes already so some army greens will suit my Einstein complex very well plus be something I can hammer around in and not care.
We'll be adding some red-neck style military tyres too (see below) it as well as some hardware like a pintle style hook, jerry cans etc.
All in all everything seemed to come together perfectly for the whole concept.
Hopefully we can resuscitate our money fairy and get it under way soon.
We had always planned to paint her and a combination of things has resulted in the following concept.
We had planned to execute this as a skunkworks project but it might not take place immediately and it would break my heart if someone else did it in the meantime so I thought I'd put to out there for comment.
The Drive
Most of you know I have spent years working as a photographer and in the pre-press industry so I am ultra sensitive about colour.
While I love Dove/Gulf blue, it is really susceptible to change with lighting conditions. I have seen many photos where one end of the bus looks bluey green and the other end has a magenta cast. That would send me insane within the week so that was absolutely out as a colour option.
I also have a soft spot for Boronia Brown. Given Lee's awesome creation I decided to keep thinking.
In the end I came to the conclusion my favourite colour was a very warm olive drab and hence the rough mock-up you see above.
Connecting the Dots
In addition to loving the colour I am one of those fortunates who grew up on M*A*S*H. I can handle about three episodes of that every night and never tire of it.
Probably sparked by M*A*S*H; I have always had an interest for all things military. If it were not for the fact I am entirely anti-establishment, I'd possibly had ended up in it.
So, with my favourite colour chosen and my love for military stuff it seemed natural to turn it into a army bus.
The bonus is it also satisfies my requirement to have a rough and ready camper. When we do get to painting it we'll not touch any of the dints... just the rust, and finish in the flattest of flat paint.
Accessories
We'll also be looking out for a vintage GP 16x16 canvas tent to go with it too.
I generally wear green clothes already so some army greens will suit my Einstein complex very well plus be something I can hammer around in and not care.
We'll be adding some red-neck style military tyres too (see below) it as well as some hardware like a pintle style hook, jerry cans etc.
All in all everything seemed to come together perfectly for the whole concept.
Hopefully we can resuscitate our money fairy and get it under way soon.
I too grew up with MASH and have been a tragic ever since......... 
