Anthony Arebalo of Baldwin Park, California, usually spends his time laying ink or piercing people at The Tattoo Shop in the nearby city of La Puente, but Tony also loves to lay into the little plastic rides. One of Tony's favorites is this '49 Mercury with a trailer and a cool roadster that gets hauled around in the rear. The resin kit was manufactured by Jimmy Flintstone, although it has now been discontinued. When Tony saw the kit, he knew that he had to have it, and quickly picked it up at a cost that can't be revealed.
The first body modification that Tony had to do was remove the top of the "lead sled" to give it a more streamlined look. Tony skillfully added real wood in the rear, kind of making it look like a Chevy El Camino. Tony took his time prepping and painting his models, knowing that resin will do some weird things when paint is applied to it, like "fisheyes," "webs" and other nutty things. Using all urethane paints from House of Kolor, Tony laid tangelo pearl on all three vehicles (Merc, trailer and roadster). Tony then went ahead and added some white pearl flames, giving the three a unique "hot rod" look that he was looking for.
As the paint cured, Tony had to do something about the interior, but what would complement the paint scheme? Using light brown, Tony went in and detailed the inside of both cabs, making them look like genuine leather. All Tony had to do now was slap the two kits together, but not before he equipped the roadster with a set of five-spoke wheels. These two models aren't true lowriders, but they sure are two clean rides.
Tony is very proud of other rides that he has built, like this '41 Chevy pickup. Tony took his time on this work of art and went all-out doing it up! Tony worked on the major body modifications like the chopped top, tilt front end with a split hood, custom suicide doors, split tailgate and a Plexiglas bed bottom and tailgate. The list goes on and on. Tony left no stone unturned when it came down to his craftsmanship, even hooking up a right-hand-drive system. Tony's next move was to lay out a smooth colbalt blue paint job and letting it cure for the day.
Tony went ahead and started to assemble the ride using nothing but caution. Tony busted out his handy tweezers and glue, and placed everything in its proper place, detailing it to its maximum potential. Tony's next step was to work on the custom interior, and he used blue and gray fuzzy fur and some reflective material that looks like Plexiglas mirrors. And so another great work of art was completed by Tony.
Tony had two more models that he wanted to build, one being a '50 Chevy pickup and the other a '65 Chevy Impala. The Impala would be Tony's greatest accomplishment, since he decided to fully detail the ride to the max. Tony's first step was to open up the doors and trunk, and then lay out a straight black candy paint scheme. Black is one of the hardest colors to lay out since the body has to be straighter than an arrow. As soon as the paint had cured, Tony jumped on the detailing end, buying plenty of photo-etched parts like CDs, seatbelts, engine parts, keys and Daytons to decorate the "five." When it was complete, the '65 was so detailed you would think that it could run. The '50 pickup was done up with opening doors and brandywine paint laid out by the master tattooist.
Tony's works of art aren't just on skin, but also on a little plastic cars that get his full attention. Tony's rides are detailed and well worth the time to check out, so when you get the chance, stop and check out his rides at local shows, or go into OG Hobbies in La Puente where he should have some of his models on display for all to see.