Route 66 News

Willem Bor creates new Route 66 miniatures

Ron Warnick October 13, 2016 Art, Fashion 1 Comment
 

Longtime readers probably know of Willem Bor of the Netherlands, who in the last few years has created miniatures of well-known Route 66 landmarks for museums or private individuals.
The bad news is Bor contracted cancer and had to cancel one of his upcoming trips on Route 66. The good news is because he’s got a lot of time on his hands while undergoing treatment, he’s created more Route 66 miniatures.
Here are photos he sent of his latest creations. I’ve linked to photographs of the real thing for comparison’s sake.


Truck and Ranch House Cafe sign in Tucumcari, New Mexico. (Real photo is here.)



Owl Courts Motel in Oklahoma City. (Real photo is here.)



Magnolia service station in Texola, Oklahoma. (Real photo is here.)



Building and car at the Hackberry General Store in Hackberry, Arizona. (Real photo is here.)



John’s Modern Cabins, circa 1994, near Newberg, Missouri. (Real photo is here.)



Hackberry General Store in Hackberry, Arizona. (Real photo is here.)



Old Texaco gas station in Glenrio, Texas. (Real photo is here.)



Top Hat Dairy Bar in Foyil, Oklahoma. (Real photo is here.)



Water Hole No. 2 in Texola, Oklahoma. (Real photo is here.)



One of the Cadillacs at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. (Real photo is here.)

Speaking of Cadillac Ranch, Bor’s wife, Monique, is making jewelry from the flaking-off paint of those cars. Bor writes:

The jewelry is different from that of Bob Lile. She likes to show all the layers of paint and that is what a lot of people like. Fortunately, we have a lot of friends who pick up pieces of the ground for us since we are not able to collect it ourselves.

Here an example of the jewelry:

More about the Cadillac Ranch jewelry may be found here.

(Images courtesy of Willem Bor)

More Route 66 miniatures from Willem Bor (Route 66 News)

More Route 66 miniatures from Willem Bor

Ron Warnick November 6, 2015 Art, Businesses, Gas stations, Museums, Restaurants No Comments

Willem Bor of the Netherlands, who has gained renown for his exacting miniatures of Route 66 landmarks, recently has completed or is about to finish three more small-scale sites on the Mother Road.
Bor recently finished another Route 66 trip, which you can read here.
I have to admit, the reproductions are so good, I barely could tell Bor’s re-creations from the real thing.
One is of Mr. D’z restaurant in Kingman, Arizona:



Another is the long-closed Texaco station in Glenrio, Texas:



Finally, here’s Tee Pee Curios in Tucumcari, New Mexico:



Bor also hopes a few museums along Route 66 can take a few of his miniatures off his hands. He explained in an email:

We live is an apartment that is not so big so we need to get rid of a few models because we really have a lack of space! I can’t make any more models and I like to!!
[…] I like to donate them to Route 66 Museums (not to companies or individuals). The museums only have to pay for used materials and shipping costs.

If you’re the curator of a Route 66 museum, email Willem at bordesign(at)planet(dot)nl to make arrangements. Many of his models also may be seen here.
Here are the models available. You can email Willem for photos if you want a closer look:

• Lucille’s Service Station, Hydro, Oklahoma (scale 1:25)
• Rich & Creamy, Joliet, Illinois (scale 1:25)
• The Mill, Lincoln, Illinois (scale 1:25)
• Mr. D’z, Kingman, Arizona (scale 1:40)
• Cool Springs Camp, Oatman, Arizona (scale 1:25)
• Dairy King, Commerce, Oklahoma (scale 1:25)
• Super Service Station, Alanreed, Texas (scale 1:25)
• Diner at Twin Arrows, near Winona, Arizona (scale 1:25)
• Tee Pee Curios, Tucumcari, New Mexico (scale 1:40)
• Snow Cap Drive-In, Seligman, Arizona (scale 1:25)

(Images courtesy of Willem Bor)

Willem Bor builds more Route 66 miniatures

Route 66 News 

 

December 1, 2014

Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, People, Restaurants, Route 66 Associations.Tags: 66 Diner, Albuquerque, Dries Bessels, Dutch Route 66 Association, Jeroen Boersma, Painted Desert Trading Post, Willem Bor trackback

Willem Bor, a roadie from the Netherlands who’s been building detailed scale models of Route 66 landmarks, has made a few more in recent months as gifts to fellow Mother Road fans.

The first is a miniature of the ruins of the Painted Desert Trading Post in eastern Arizona. He gave the model to Route 66 tour guide Dries Bessels, who loves the site so much he even has a tattoo of it on his forearm.

  And here’s the real McCoy (image by Steve via Flickr).

The Painted Desert Trading Post, which has been closed for decades, is on private property near the Petrified Forest National Park and difficult to access without a four-wheel drive vehicle. It’s for these reasons — and others — that Route 66 News doesn’t list it on the Attractions page.

The second miniature is of the 66 Diner in Albuquerque. Receiving the model is Jeroen Boersma, who explores a lot of obscure alignments of Route 66.

 

 And here’s the real 66 Diner (image by Larry Myhre via Flickr):

 

Bessels and Boersman also are co-founders of the Dutch Route 66 Association.
You can see many of Bor’s Route 66 scale models here.
Bor also said in an email he’s working on models of Cool Springs Camp near Kingman, Arizona, and the Rich & Creamy ice cream stand in Joliet, Illinois.

(Images courtesy of Willem Bor unless otherwise noted)

New miniature of the Bagdad Cafe

Route 66 News

July 29, 2013

New miniature of the Bagdad Cafe
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Museums, Restaurants.

Take a close look at the above photos. Can you tell the real Bagdad Cafe near Newberry Springs, Calif., and the miniature replica?

The second photo is the real McCoy.


Willem Bor of the Netherlands has made amazingly detailed miniatures of Route 66 landmarks. The latest was the Bagdad Cafe, made famous by the European film of the same name.

Bor wrote in an email:

My wife Monique and I delivered it (after some communication problems) in person on the 4 of July to Sharon Foster of the Route 66 Museum (in Victorville). There were some problems with the delivery but with the help of some friends it all turns out well. Special thanks to Dries Bessels, Jim Hinckly, Ian Arthur Charles Bowen and Dan Rice.

We first made a picture in the Mojave Desert, and then driven to the Bagdad Cafe.

We show the model to the staff of the Bagdad Cafe, they were very surprised and liked all the details I made! They even want to buy the model, but we don’t sell, only donate. And of course it was promised to the Museum in Victorville.

You can see the stir and curiosity with the miniature from the restaurant’s staff!

(Photos courtesy of Willem Bor and StuRap, via Flickr)

Willem Bor’s latest Route 66 miniatures

Route 66 News

February 27, 2013

Willem Bor’s latest Route 66 miniatures
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Gas stations, Museums, Restaurants.


Netherlands resident Willem Bor, who’s built detailed replicas of Route 66 landmarks in miniature, delivered four more models in recent months.

The miniatures were:

The now-closed Diamonds Restaurant in Villa Ridge, Mo.

Riviera Roadhouse in Gardner, Ill., which was destroyed by a fire in 2010.

Gay Parita station in Paris Springs, Mo.

Bor and his wife managed to personally deliver the models from Europe to America in one piece, thanks to a lot of bubble wrap. Those three models are in the Route 66 Museum in Lebanon, Mo.

Just recently, Bor also mailed by UPS a model of the Odell Station in Odell, Ill., to the Pontiac Oakland Automobile Museum in Pontiac, Ill. The model isn’t on display yet in the museum, but should be by April.

(Photos courtesy Willem Bor)

Odell Station in miniature

Route 66 News

     
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Gas stations. 

Willem Bor, a resident of the Netherlands who has created miniature versions of Route 66 landmarks, has finished a new one — the historic Odell Station in Odell, Ill., in 1/25th scale. Bor even made a miniature of the travel trailer that sits next to it.
  

 

 

More of Bor’s work can be seen here, here, and here.
Also, Bor’s Route 66 Art blog shows more of his work.

(Photos courtesy of Willem Bor)

Source: Route 66 News

Show me Route 66

Volume 20, number 2, 2010

Show Me Route 66

Volume 16, number 4, 2010

Click on the picture to enlarge...

Route 66 weer compleet

Streekblad 

Route 66 weer compleet: Zoetermeerder maakt schaalmodel voor Amerikaans Museum

Door: Nelly Luitwieler

Willem Bor bekijkt trots zijn zelfvervaardigde schaalmodel. 

Foto: Nelly Luitwieler

 

 

ZOETERMEER - Route 66. Door velen bezongen en beschreven. Het is de eerste echte wegverbinding van het oosten naar het westen in de Verenigde Staten. Route 66 kreeg zijn naam op 11 november 1926. In 1938 is de totale route geasfalteerd en verschillende keren aangepast. Sinds 1985 is de route opgeheven nadat er een aantal vervangende snelwegen waren aangelegd. Nog steeds spreekt de oude “Mother Road” enorm tot de verbeelding. Mensen bezoeken hem per auto, motor of camper. Zo ook Willem en Monique Bor uit Zoetermeer. “Wij hebben hem nooit helemaal gereden, hij is 3940 km lang en loopt van Chicago naar Los Angelos. We proberen ieder jaar een paar staten te doen. Altijd van oost naar west,” vertelt Willem. Juni van dit jaar is het echtpaar te gast in het museum van Lebanon (Missouri), waar zij een door Willem gemaakt schaalmodel van de Nelson Tavern zullen brengen. “Mijn hobby is het gevolg van de recessie.

Lees meer: Streekblad

More Route 66 in miniature

Route 66 News


Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Restaurants.
trackback
 
Here is Willem Bor’s latest Route 66 miniature creation — the Little Juarez diner in the ghost town of Glenrio, Texas. It is in 1/25 scale.



You can read more about Bor’s creations here.

Source: Route 66 News

Route 66 in miniature

Route 66 News

Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Businesses, Gas stations.
trackback
 
Willem Bor of the Netherlands is a big Route 66 fan, and has decided to make models of landmarks along the Mother Road. The models are in 1/25 scale.
Here’s one of Lucille’s near Hydro, Okla.:

Here’s one of the 66 Super Service Station near Alanreed, Texas:

These amazingly intricate and accurate models are not for sale. Bor says he’s doing them for his own amusement.
Bor is finishing a model of the Little Juarez diner in the ghost town of Glenrio, Texas. If you know any history about that diner, please explain in the comments portion of this post.
Each model, he said, is made of painted balsa wood and cardboard.
Possible future projects include the Blue Swallow Motel of Tucumcari, N.M.; the 66 Diner in Albuquerque; the Nelson Tavern and old water tower Nelson Dream Village water fountain in Lebanon, Mo.

Source: Route 66 News