Ballad of the Steampunk Vespa: Part 2 Painting

Here's another shot of The Steampunk Vespa. It has been decided the P200e's name is Quell. A variety of names were considered... Initially I liked the Steam Pony, or Brazen Filly... Jes made the point that these were not classy enough. Jake Von Slatt recommended Eleanor, and I briefly flirted with idea of airbrushing Katherine Hepburn from the Lion in Winter. Then I realized I was up to eyeballs just getting all the art I'd started, completed. Yesterday Sky was looking at the painted brasswork on the left side cowl, and asked me, "Does it say Quell?"
Sure enough, unintentionally the scrollwork does remarkably resemble an ornately scripted "Quell." Sometimes synchronicity must just be embraced.

Anyway back to the project history...

During the first six months or so I was working nights. Work on the chasis of the scooter had to take place outside, since we have no garage. Above you see the scooter after many bouts of sanding and rust treament, all masked up pretty and ready to be painted.
I did a lot of research on painting prior to this. Unfortunately, a nice professional urethane was going to be impossible. I'd been researching rat-bikes some too. Basically I just decided to do the best I could. I had to get SOMETHING on the scoot to protect it. I also decided against doing body work. None of the dents and scrapes were severe, and they add character to a 27 year old bike with few miles on it.
So it became obvious that I must do a 3/4 ass job on the P. I didn't completely disassemble the bike before painting, I just masked like crazy. I used rattle cans for a most of my painting. I used artist grade airbrush acrylic for the custom painting, which was then covered by copious amounts of clear coat. I only airbrushed pieces that I could work on inside.
Still wavering between steampunk vespa and rat vespa, I laid a couple coats of rust resistant flat black primer. At this point I was thinking doing a kind of steampunk rat Vespa, using the black primer as a stand-in for wrought iron, and possibly painting some brass gears and scrollwork. I got a smorgasboard of various metallic paints, and one really stood out, Rustoleum's Metalic antique brass. It was so gorgeous, it became the base color for the bike.
Rustoleum also had a metalic black that was nice, so it got used for some trim painting.

And that's the scooter with the base painting, without any of the custom paint.

Coming up next: Quell, the Steampunk Vespa including ruminations and recollections from the custom painting process.

Ballad of the Steampunk Vespa: Part 1 The Vespa

That's right folks, the Steampunk Vespa is finished! Above you will no doubt observe that the Dragon is one happy mutant. Some might even say maniacally happy.
I'm really pleased by the paint job, and how all the pieces came together. I think the funkiness of P200e's 80's stylings actually take on a sci-fi 1880's facade quite well. But first how it came to be.
The 1980 Vespa P200e was purchased off ebay from an individual in Colorado. He'd been a member at ebay for several years had good feedback, and wasn't a powerseller. I could tell from his ebay history and feedback that he was the kind of guy who used ebay like the classifieds. He seemed honest, and was the second owner. He'd started fixing it up and was going to have move overseas before he could finish. He said the issue was that the scooter needed some surface rust dealt with, and needed to be painted. It only has 516 miles on it! The first owner laid it down early on, and was too scared to ride it. Seemed like the perfect gamble, I paid $1300 for it. He threw in a new Sito plus exhaust for another $50.
Shipping was a nightmare and it took almost three months for me to recieve the scoot. I think the seller charged me like $450 for air freight, but I think he may have ended up spending more than that for shipping and handling. The scooter had to be crated, and his first two tries were rejected by the frieght company. He was very communicative about the process, and I was understanding about it. I had to rent a U-Haul to go pick it up at SeaTac, and had to con Lukas into driving the U-Haul, since I didn't have my automobile license at this point.
If you're getting the feeling that this project has been an exercise in patience, you'd be correct.

Anyway here are some better shots of the cosmetic challenges I faced:

The rust was particularly bad on the floorboards. It looked like the poor scoot had sat uncovered outside for years.
This is how the glovebox looked. The seller had started on sanding down the rust but hadn't finished... so it was returning.

Treating the rust with a rust convertor. This was cool stuff!
Coming up next: Painting... where I briefly toy with the idea of a rat-bike Vespa.

Geek Boy Meet Geek Girl

This article is filed under humor at its parent site, Wheaton College's section on women in computer science. And it is funny, but to use the cliche, it's funny 'cause it's true. Though she will often deny it, I snagged me a gem of a geek girl. She just happens to be a rare and elusive girl woodworking geek. First one I'd ever seen in the wild.
From the article:

So you realized that you're never going to meet Kim Basinger. Moreover, the pretty thing in your Sociology class or the leggy new secretary in the office has given you the cold shoulder three weeks in a row. You're feeling fairly dejected. You obviously haven't considered dating a geek girl.

Unlike the cute things you've been chasing, geek girls learned long ago that physical attributes aren't as important as the person underneath. On the Internet, they can participate in great, anonymous cybercommunities, they can IRC, they can MUD, they can IM, and they can email; they can interact with people intimately without ever meeting them face to face. They are more attracted to intelligence than testosterone; they don't need football players - in fact, most of them find them to be a turnoff. Most importantly, they like fellow geeks - prefer them, even. With a geek girl, a geek guy has a decided advantage. They understand them; they are understood by them. This could actually work.

...

Once you've got her, the next step is keeping her. To do this, just remember that your geek girl has a few special things about her that distinguish her from other women. All women like gifts, but the geek girl's tastes may be different. The average woman likes flowers, but the geek girl is not average, and may not wish to be bothered with something so transient. A Star Trek mousepad would last much longer. Thinking of getting her a necklace? Why not a new sound card instead? A makeup table would not get much use, but a new computer desk would probably see her more than you do. Use your brain when choosing the gifts; that's what she likes you for, anyway. [footnote]

In closing, remember that a geek girl is a rewarding choice for a happy life. Unencumbered by many of the more ridiculous of society's trappings, she is a comfortable person who uses her brain and who wants to be with someone who does the same. If you qualify, a geek girl may be for you!

Kim Basinger? A little rescuing is fine and chivalric and all, but give me a break!

This article is following the current bias that geeks must be obsessed with computers and Star Trek. (Eh, it's under Women in Computer Science.) The Dragon feels he would be amiss if he did not mention that a geek girl's obsessions may present in a variety of ways. There is for instance the hip librarian. These geek girls are highly literate, and generally possessing of more abstract minds. Their music collections are objects of envy for scope, organization, and prevelance of rare auditory gems. Gift recommendations: A nice edition of anything by Jorge Luis Borges, or of The Master and Margarita, or Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music.

Then there is the unique orchid like beauty of the girl woodworking geek. Extremely appreciative of quality and craftsmanship in a variety of media, warm and down-to-earth, yet also capable of being sophisticated and stoic. Gift ideas are responsibly harvested exotic hardwood lumber, or lumber recycled from abandonded barns. And if you think I'm giving you any more advice on how to steal her, ya gotta another thing coming.

Enertia Electric Motorcycle

The quest for the perfect electric motorcycle continues, and the Enertia is an interesting new contestant. Nice styling, (it's not a scooter, but hey, wachagonnado?) and a fairly resonable price point, as far as these things go. It has a range of 45 miles, a top speed of 50mph, and can be fully recharged in 3 hours. A version with a carbon fiber frame will be available the first quarter of 2008 for about $15k. A standard version (steel chasis? how will this effect weight/range/topspeed?) will be available third quarter of 2008 for about $12k.

The title link will take to the manufacturer's site.
A story from Kneeslider is also out there.

Rebuild America First

Look out Bushie, I think you just might be on the Hag's fightin' side.

"Let's get out of Iraq,
Get back on track,
And let's rebuild America first."

I may just play this song on repeat until Jes threatens to strangle me.Has anyone started a Merle Haggard for President movement? I meant to do some special post for the 4th, but between scooter painting duties, and sheer frustration over the state of the Union, it didn't happen. Luckily, the Okie from Muskogee has managed to capture my feelings for this country quite well.

This song's been out for a couple years now, but not being a consumer of radio or cable tv, I hadn't heard it until now. Thanks to Will Shetterly for the link.

Some perspective...

Whenever life gets you down, and things seem hard or tough, and people are stupid, obnoxious or daft,
And you feel that you've had quite eno-o-o-o-o-ough...



So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth.

thanks to Will Shetterly

News from Genuine Scooter Co.

(note: the title link should only work for July of 2007)

In a recent discussion on Stella Speed (registration required) about the rumoured resurrection of Genuine's Stella, the illustrious PJ Chmiel pointed out the title linked article from Wisconsin's Scene Newspaper. The article, which could ahve been a standard gas-prices-are-high-so-scooters-are-selling-like-condoms-on-prom-night, is actually a nice piece of journalism, scooping the scooter bloggers with some tasty quotes about the future of the Stella:

...Philip McCaleb, founder and president of the Chicago-based Genuine Scooter Co.(www.genuinescooters.com), the company that introduced the manual transmission Stella and automatic transmission Buddy to America.
“Buddy is just so darn accessible to so many people,” he said. “It’s so easy to ride and own. Low maintenance. Incredibly clean environmentally. I think people are finally starting to figure out, they’re not just toys. They’re fun, they’re practical. They can be viewed as near year-round transportation, irrespective of weather. There are hardcore riders in the Midwest who ride them year round.”
McCaleb is no latecomer to the potential of scooters.
“I started with the Stella.” ...
“I kind of found them and said, hey, ... let’s be partners and I’ll figure out a way to get your products into the U.S. and brand them myself and get them approved and up to date for EPA and DOT ... And we did it.”
Stella caught on immediately, despite criticism that it was nothing but a low-cost alternative to industry pioneer Vespa. ...
Unfortunately, a strike and lockout, combined with management and financial issues, at the LML plant in Kanpur, India, shut down production of Stella in 2005, which led Genuine to introduce the Taiwanese-produced Buddy in 2006.
“The Buddy became an instant homerun,” McCaleb said. “It’s much more commercial in its appeal than Stella. I think the branding is spot on. The end user following is just unbelievable. Go to modernbuddy.com. It’s pretty amazing.
“For ’08, I’ve got huge plans for Buddy,” he said. “The branding works so well and it’s got such a mass appeal that we’re going to do a spoof on Benetton, the big international clothing company, United Colors of Benetton. We’re doing Buddytown. It’s going to be the United Colors of Buddytown. We’re going to do an international series of Buddys. It’s going to key with the Series Italia. We’ve got one that’s going to be called the St. Tropez, and the other’s going to be the Barcelona. So we’re working with a lot of imagery of creating products that look like they came from somewhere else, and kind of do it in an androgynous, non-offensive way that appeals to both sexes equally. All of our standard colors, we’re going to scrap them for next year and go super bright – tangerine, mint green, fire engine red and black, that’s it. That’s all the colors I used to use on Stella.”
And as for Stella, LML is back in production.
“Stella’s coming back on Labor Day,” McCaleb said. “I’m going to do a whole different lineup of Stella, starting out with an old Army-green-avocado bike with whitewalls. It’s very much in the mode of the early ’50s Vespa, kind of an old drab green, and it will be called The Revival.”
(There is a long discussion about the gas-crunch surge of scooter sales)

All of which McCaleb sees as payoff for his longtime belief in the viability of scooters in America.
“I don’t think it’s anywhere near where it’s going to be, and it’s been going on long enough now to where it’s not going to be one of those blips that happened in the late ’70s/early ’80s when gas was high and a couple companies decided they were going to pitch scooters here,” he said. “Now the reality is, how do guys in a quality business with a cool product fend off the negative aspects of a Chinese invasion?
“I’ve got three home run hitters in my lineup this year that are all really unique,” he said. “My strategy is that I want three divergent, different styles of bikes and markets that are neither easy to copy and that are original ideas, not following somebody else. In this kind of economy, especially with the Chinese, the thing you have to realize, if you have something good, you’re going to get copied on the product side. But when you focus on the quality and the people side, they’ll never beat you on that.”

So I guess that settles that.