Tricked Out Turtle Van

Ok, I confess. Since I have been working on turning the duplex behind my house into a studio and taking woodworking classes, I have been doing much more shopping than working on minis. Anyway, shopping is half the fun of mini-ing...right? As a result, the shopping has paid off. I have this one thing I must show you. Then in other posts I will share the rest, but I think this item deserves a post unto itself.



I took the door off to get better shots of the interior

I got this for $2 at a thrift shop. I almost left it. Whew! It might not be what you think. My daughter and grands say it is actually a rip off of a more popular super hero group's vehicle.




This is the view from the rear window



Can you imagine the secret operations taking place in here?



The seats are the perfect size for 1:12 scale



Maybe it might become a news van!




I plan to removed that huge turtle head. I like the seats on the front. The trash can has a removable top! I still think it belongs to those pizza eating cowabunga dudes.

Click on picture for a larger view

The Front Porch Part III

I know you have been wondering what happened to The Front Porch III. I was trying to hold off until I could get back to Greenville and get a picture of the creator of those wonderful dollhouses and roomboxes.
Well, between my schedule and his we just could not get it together.

So, I am going to tell you a little about the man behind the dream dollhouses and roomboxes. The Front Porch has been in operation for over fifty years. At one time, the owner, Tom Henry had the largest dollhouse business in the South East United States. His work has included miniature duplicates of local mansions. Many years ago, before many of us were even involved with miniatures, Tom was in his local newspaper for his lovely houses.  The "well to do" sought him to make duplicates of their own  homes, orginal dollhouses and supplies or to have their dollhouses repaired. Here are some of his other works of art:

Thank you so much Tom and Karen for indulging me and allowing me to get these great photos.





One of the many houses in Tom's photo album



The Front Porch "a step back in time"

Tom makes the news. Click to see the date in 1977

Click on picture for a larger view