Cadillac Sculptures
made in a variety of exotic African woods

from the Ivory Coast


truel03.jpg (14002 bytes)
Local craftsman at work on 1:8th scale replica
of 1946 Cadillac fastback coupe

 

Philippe Ruel, my friend from France who works in the Ivory Coast for the French Ministry of Education and who has been kind enough to translate some pages of   The (new) Cadillac Database© into French for our Quebec and European users, had these hand-carved Cadillac models made by native artisans in that country.

The completed models were containerized to Paris with the rest of Philippe's personal effects and dispatched from the French capital to their buyers.

Not all Cadillac and LaSalle models could be sculpted. The accent was on sedans and coupes from the late thirties through current models (earlier models were likely to have too many obviously delicate parts).

Check some examples of work completed and in progress, below. For your information, I ordered, in 1:8 scale, a 1936 V16 coupe, 1937 Hartmann V16 roadster (with top up) as well as my own Black Pryncess (1942 Series 75, V8 limousine).

truel01.jpg (29464 bytes)
Completed 1949 Cadillac fastback coupe, still needs its ebony wheels

ruel00.jpg (22069 bytes)
Corvettes, E-Type Jaguars, VW Beetles and others ready for finishing

ruel01.jpg (14913 bytes)
Raw, exotic wood billets awaiting the sculptors chisel

ruel03.jpg (20442 bytes)
Two 1947 Cadillac fastback Sedanettes on order and under construction

ruel04.jpg (17407 bytes)
Front view of the two 1947 Cadillacs

ruel05.jpg (23419 bytes)
Compare the size of the 1:18 scale Anson toy, left, with the 1:8 scale African sculpture, right
A must for the discerning collector's coffee table!

ruel06.jpg (11866 bytes)    truel02.jpg (7563 bytes)
Side-view of 1:8 scale 1947 Cadillac fastback coupe and other forties Cadillacs on order

ruel02.jpg (14657 bytes)
Chrysler 300B coupe in final stages of completion

ruel07.jpg (15733 bytes)
Sleek E-Type Jaguar taking shape

ruel08.jpg (11099 bytes)     ruel09.jpg (11704 bytes)
Early Mustang convertibles and VW Beetles are on order for Europe

 

Special order

v637wlly.JPG (7136 bytes)     v6hrtba3.jpg (9139 bytes)
Currently being sculpted are two 1:8 scale replicas of this unique 1937 Cadillac V-16 roadster by Hartmann, Switzerland
[the actual car currently is featured in the Blackhawk collection, Danville, CA ]

thman00.jpg (16979 bytes)    thman11.jpg (5783 bytes)
Rough-cutting the basic shape

thman01.jpg (38153 bytes)
Sculptures in progress

thman02.jpg (39831 bytes)
Rear view (work has progressed more on upper car)

thman03.jpg (33363 bytes)
Streamlined Cadillac V-16 roadster with fully enclosed fenders, front and rear

thman05.jpg (25167 bytes)     thman06.jpg (23981 bytes)
Two bird's eye views of fully-enclosed front fenders

thman10.jpg (19500 bytes)     thman09.jpg (36060 bytes)
Close-up view of the twin tear-drop headlights and tail lights, before sanding and finishing
[ original Hartmann photos are being used to create the replica, since the surviving car has been considerably modified ]

thman08.jpg (30061 bytes)
Awesome fully-enclosed front fenders

thman04.jpg (46430 bytes)
From left to right (in progress): 1935-37 Cadillac V-16 coupe, 1937 Hartmann V-16 roadster, Porsche

      t42mine.jpg (14308 bytes)
In early stages of completion, the author's
1942 Cadillac Fleetwood "75" limousine

T_wood.jpg (40772 bytes)
Left: 1942 Fleetwood "75"
Center: 1937 V-16 roadster by Hartmann, Switzerland
Right: 1934 Fleetwood V-16 coupe

No more orders are being taken for any Cadillac (or other) wood models.  Mr. Ruel has now returned to France following his long mission to the Ivory Coast. He does not feel that he can entrust local artisans to carve and ship such intricate auto models without his direct, on-the-spot supervision.

Click here for updated pics