I’ve always had a bent for modeling and miniatures, and one day as I was admiring the shape of a classic old Beetle and the idea came to me to capture it in a fridge magnet, so I did.
It’s a diminutive guy, at about 2.5 inches. My favorite feature by far is the tiny little running board that goes between the fenders.
I’ve always liked old trucks, with a particular soft spot for the '49 '50 Ford F1’s, so that was my next model.
After that, lots of cars came rolling off the line…
Volkswagen Type 3’s in different flavors…
'79 Bronco…
It wasn’t long before I was getting requested models, like this '92 Jeep Wagoneer (with walnut paneling):
…and its owner’s other Jeep, a modified '13 4dr Wrangler:
…which led to 2dr models:
…and a lifted '93 Cherokee with roof rack that I added to the fleet primarily because I want one:
The Bowtie brand has been well represented too, as with this '79 Luv made on request:
…which led to a slammed version:
And I’m having fun making grill fridge magnets too.
Like a '72 C10, because I like egg crate grills:
…and the followup, '73 C10 with its really unique character:
One of the high points of my automotive projects was being asked to reproduce the Drag’n Wag’n, a '66 Chevy drag van, by its original builder and owner after he had looked over my work at a show. He wanted variants that captured the fantasy art on both sides of the exterior as well as an open door variant that showed off the center mounted twin turbo Pontiac big block inside.
He was really pleased with the results:
The photo makes it hard to tell, but the engine is made in two layers.
These vans, like the rest, are magnets, and he wound up displaying a couple of them attached to the inside of the real thing at shows, which I took as a high honor.
It’s been challenging but rewarding and fun, working at the micro end of the forge’s abilities, learning and developing techniques to get tiny little details barely wider than a laser beam that I think are important to the character of a piece.
And if you’re interested in owning one, most of these are for sale at my etsy shop, Laser Wheels (laserwheels.etsy.com).