Plotting the Iraqi-Caster

Wow, 26 years. Seems like just yesterday. I'll never forget the first night of the war. I was sitting as an officer member on a stupid court martial board at Nellis AFB, NV cursing my luck for being in the wrong place at the right time. I worked my butt off for 7 years to be the best I could be, get selected for and graduate from the Fighter Weapons Scholl at Nellis as a Distinguished Graduate (in '88), then get brought back a year later as a Tactics Development pilot there. Then Desert storm cooked off. Missed the Big One.

Anyway, back to the story...

 

So with Barncaster's outrageously generous offer of a set of his Firebirds, I have been rethinking this build.
1) That awesome gift opens up the budget so maybe I might go large with this Hipshot 2 /16" spacing tremolo:

It's about a C-Note on eBay but ought to be a fine piece of gear. I could get the same effect with a MIM factory trem but I love the push-in arm as they are so much tighter and smoother playing than the screw-in arms Like the MIM. I can't say enough about those Wilkinsons but they are 2 1/8" and Rob has been pretty adamant about needing the 2 1/16" for the Firebirds.
Why the trem at all? Well, the first demo I heard of Rob's Firebirds was a guy playing SRV's "Lenny" in middle position, which uses a fair bit of trem, both for tremolo and some slight dips in pitch on some of the chords, and that really put the hooks in me.
2) Now for color - I had the all-black look in mind for that three pickup Nashville arrangement but got to thinking today about another option that would link back to this job in Iraq.
This is the standard vehicle our PSDs (Personal Security Detail) use to drive us around here. Looks like a regular Toyota Land Cruiser at first glance but they are fully armored - plates all around and the glass is all an inch thick and bulletproof. Needless to say the windows don't roll down so they have tricked out extra strong A/C.

They are a pretty nice white pearl finish with some nice sparkles to it in the light. I've long thought about a guitar with this type finish. Here's the color tab off the door jam, 070:

Duplicolor makes it in a rattle can, and I used Duplicolor Toyota Red Pearl on my first build with really nice results with Watco on top.

So what do you think? Pine body, taken super smooth, pearl white with the natural reddish looking neck, no tint, the hipshot trem, and maybe some kind of pickguard linking to here as well? I'm scanning around for something like a small metal or plastic sign in both English and Arabic, or also just a straight black La Cab style pickguard instead.

I'm also hearing there may be some sort of a wood shop on base I can get into to do a little preliminary work on this thing.
Getting stoked.
Rex

 

Oh yeah, just though of this - Tele profile body but Strat belly cut and forearm contour.

 

Looted?

 

The Chow hall or DFAC (Dining Facility) at Balad seats 1200, so I reckon that's pretty big.
The only tools I brought were a Leatherman and a screwdriver with interchangeable bits, and the two allen keys I need to adjust the truss rod and saddles on the Squire Bullet Strat I brought over disassembled in my bag.
I don't plan to try to work the build over here but did just find out there is a wood shop here on base so I will be able to do some of the milling and break the pieces down to take home on R&R in October, and probably get the body and neck started then.

Cheers,
Rex

 

Lots of good news, one piece of bad news.
I did a little more wood liberating this morning before work. The Mother Lode site was abandoned for the Eid Al Adha holiday. The bad news is I was disappointed to see the dozen or so other pieces of the mystery hardwood neck material had been removed and I could not nick another. But the good news was I picked up some more pine, and a really long (10 feet +) piece of another lightweight 4x4 mystery wood that in its current dust caked state looks kind of like poplar. This may become the wood of choice for the Iraqi-Caster body. And for more good news, I found a place with some power tools:
And one very kind PSD located and fetched me a brand new and very sharp hand saw I can use to break down my pieces enough to take them over to the wood shop.

I only got a high speed pass through that carpentry shop area today and I am hoping against hope there is a bandsaw and planer to be found somewhere thereabouts. I have tomorrow off and will be doing some hand sawing at the hootch and visiting at the shop.

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Rex