We all seem to do it... lay a tyre against a chassis rail, stick some old junk cowl and bits... And stand back to admire what we want to build! I felt kinda silly doing it until reading thru builds etc and seeing the same process being done all the time. I must say, doing mock ups along the way sure helps fire both enthusiasm and progress does it not?! love it oz
The only way I can say I've "owned" a couple of cars is due to the dear old mock up. "yep, that's my '30 A coupe... What you say? Looks like a laundry basket holding up the tire and a 2x4 propping up the grille? No, it's all there I almost had it finished man..." Sent from my POS phone.
Its a huge part of building anything. I do it with my scale building, and i have a chair set up in my shed for looking at my 1.1s. Maybe its just a guy thing? Maybe its an excuse to sit back in peace and quite and relax? Or maybe its a way to stimulate the creative process?
Mostly, it seems to help you figure out how to fit that pile of parts together, without it looking like an 8 year old did it. Kinda like a jig-saw puzzle for big kids!
To get things in perspective, there is no better way and it helps spot problem before you get to them
I love the mock up. Its usually the first thing i do to a car and it always seems to happen right after it comes off the trailer, its a big kick in the pants to get started or to give you a second wind on a project.
I call it a mockup but I think some call it the actual building process. I completely put the car together, less internals for the engine and electrical, up to carbs and linkages, lights, brake and fuel lines. That way everything that needs welded or fabbed is done. Then it's taken apart and the real build begins with paint and final body finishing. But I do the temp mockups all along the way on the car and make measurements and changes to what doesn't look right. But that initial mock up is definately the most exciting. Must be how an artists feels with a blank canvas.
Why do we mock up? Because we're spatial, thats why!........or was that special? Maybe that's what they are saying about me...............
It sure is exciting. i reckon i have mocked up pulled apart a dozen times so far...and it is still all tackwelds, screws and milk crates! And who hasn't sat in it holding an imaginary steering wheel for a photo? Yep, this is me cruisin'... took one meself yesterday! absolutly true about it being so important! One ''small'' change can change direction of the build. oz
Then comes the point in the process where you sit in whatever you've got that resembles a seat, grab the wheel and make Vroom Vroom noises. And if you've got a girlie voice inside you might even be able to make tire burning sounds while rowing the toilet plunger handle........ Thinking about BillyM's post.................would teaching someone to do effective mock ups be called "Spatial Ed"?
It's great for motivation, but you might be a little crazy if you pretend to sit in it and make vroom vroom noises
I am in the construction biz,and I was contracted to work on a very high end home. The home and library was a total of 20,000 square feet. The library stands three stories high. I thought hot rod mock ups were cool. Imagine the warehouse it took to build this place out of 1x's and cardboard!!! Imagine how pissed the fire department was when they found out there was no permit to build ths mock up!!!
If I didnt mock up (put the fenders on and weight the frame down) my 35 Pickup after tacking in the front suspension, the wheels wouldve never physically turned with the fenders on the truck. Mock-up is good, M'Kay (use you Mr. Mackey voice from Southpark).
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