Christmas Pinup of the Month – Heidi Van Horne

It’s a rare treat to find a gorgeous pinup model like Heidi Van Horne who’s also a great story about why, “My Ride is Me”.  That’s why Heidi’s a holiday gift for you from MyRideisMe.com and our Christmas Season “Pinup of the Month”.

One thing you’ll notice in quite a few pictures in Heidi’s Pinup Picture Gallery is the tan colored F100 named “Molly” that Heidi owns, drives and even wrenches on! (click to see each picture full size)

(Photos by Dale Rio)

So of course, I had to ask, Why Molly? Heidi said, “I don’t know.  I don’t ever know why a car or truck’s name is what it is.  It just tells me one day.  No clue!”

Like most of us, Heidi got into cars from family: “I grew up working on cars to keep ‘em running, with my dad and brother.  I had to work on them to get to work and school, no glory in it, just a matter of life!  ;) But it gave me an appreciation for the mechanics of it all and wishing for one like my dad talked about having when he was a kid.”  She continued, “I love vintage trucks, so when this one just came along, I felt it was meant to be mine.”

“Molly’s My Ride is Me because… She’s tough, sweet, sturdy and time-tested, but cute and fun.  I love Molly!”

(left: With Heidi Minx (www.builtonrespect.com) and pic by Ama Lea, hair and makeup by Red Dodge; right: Photo by Shannon Brooke, make up by Jennifer Corona)

You’ll notice by scanning the web for Heidi Van Horne, she’s got range! Her looks range from friendly, approachable, girl next store sweetheart:

(Photo by Danielle Bedics showing Heidi’s Hell’s Belles Car Club attire)

Then Heidi changes things up some for a seriously hot shoot for YRB Magazine:

(Hair by Monique Wentworth/Makeup by Jennifer Corona)

So it’s no surprise that Heidi’s done some acting and is also a writer. She’s got a regular column with the Houston Chronicle online here www.chron.com (to find her, search “Heidi Van Horne” on the main page). If you’re in Houston, catch her working the Houston Auto Show January 30-31 for the Houston Chronicle.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these pictures and become a fan of Heidi Van Horne the way I have. She’s got it all in my humble opinion!  There’s more to see in her MyRideisMe.com Pinup Picture Gallery and you can find her at her Facebook Fan Page or of course at her home page: www.HeidiVanHorne.com

I’ll leave you with this last strikingly beautiful shot of Heidi and her truck Molly by VivaVanStory.

Photos in the pinup gallery by: Shannon Brooke,  Marco Patino, Justice Howard, Octavio Arizala, Danielle Bedics, Ama Lea, Dale Rio, and David Lena. Thanks to these photographers and of course Heidi for sharing them.

Please visit her website and leave a comment so she knows you care!

David Perry’s Pinup Book goes to DVD: Hot Rod Pinups

Written by: Erock805 (Erick’s Garage)

It opens like a shot, not knowing the music, it felt like motor head, loose, violent, and melodic and real…what you see is what you hear…a front engine rail blitzing through the lights. Smoke and raw fuel and flame blasting from the pipes…you can almost feel it in your chest. The track lights lit up the night just like you remember they did. You can almost smell the nitro… Perfect!

At this point, I am not even thinking about the pleasures of the flesh I am about to witness. All I can think about is the first time I heard that sound, felt the thunder and cried in joy as the fumes burned my eyes…

David Perry…creator of Hot Rod Pinups, the DVD, my new hero.

Then came little Ruby Rae, and a song that defined what I was witness to…a real live girl. Ruby quickly reminded me what I was here for. I’m watching a pinup video… a first for me. Sure, I’ve watched a ton of hot rod flicks, and gasser movies, they usually have a couple models, but never a video featuring pinups…
Back to Ruby Rae, once she started working about the shop, I quickly forgot all about the nitro. In fact her opening silhouette was enough to make me wanna propose. I bet that wouldn’t go over to well with the current luckiest girl in the world… Princess. Who am I kidding…no way, I ain’t gotta a chance. Plus I’m not sure any other girl in the world would have the patience to put up with me and my 5 car habit.

Back to the show…Hot Rod Pinups is the Real Deal. Real cars, real life style and real ladies. The ladies are not the waif plastic Paris Hilton ladies so mainstream today. Nope, real live girls that are all hot rod: Beautiful curves, lines and features – Ladies that have style, comfort and strength. A moving experience.

Now I am no rockabilly king, I am a rocker, a metal head yet I enjoy most music and I know what’s good. So believe me when I tell you this soundtrack has something for everyone, its ruff, melodic and surprising. The tunez from Gearhead Records fits the scene on the screen better than most of the Vids I have seen. There are few things worse than watching a good video and not being able to tell one song from the next and for Hot Rod Pinups, each song, while in the same genre, transitions well. The mix breaks up the babe-mania, and adds depth to the experience. It takes you up and down and all around town. I need this sound track for my ride.

Everything about this flick kicks. The Sets are real. The tattoo and auto shops, parties, drags, and Bonneville are suited perfectly for the fair pinup vixens that drive us wild! These are real venues for real girls. This DVD is well put together and everything worked: locations, sets, wardrobe, cinematography and tunez. It all comes together like pb and j. its right so go getchya one!

Gearhead Records is my new brand…well done Mr. Perry I dug it. I wonder if I can continuous loop a DVD?

You can grab the DVD and Hot Rod Pinups I & II all from Amazon.com. The DVD was listed at $18 bucks and the books are both around $23.

Kim Falcon – August Pinup of the Month

Hot Rod Pinup of the Month:

Hot rods and pinups are like peas and carrots, so I’m starting a new feature at MyRideisMe.com called Pinup of the month. I’m lucky to have the lovely Kim Falcon as our first for the month of August.

In Kim’s own words and from her website kimfalcon.com

“I Love music. Pin-up modeling, Photography, ROCK-N-ROLL!! Vegetarian food!!, Driving around town in the 64 Cadillac Hearse listening to the Misfits, My children! Love Rockabilly!!!! Love Tiger Army! Absolutely obsessed with roses!!!! I love to travel the world.”

What she doesn’t say (pure modesty, I guess) is that she’s super cool and all over the place in the world of pinup modeling. She was mentioned as #6 amoung modern pinups by a cool site I just found called Askmen.com. Here’s a link: Top Pinups; that list includes all my favorites like Zoe Scarlett, Heidi Van Horne and Dayna Delux.

Even cooler? She’s also the proud owner of this 1962 Ford Falcon. A Falcon girl too? Damn! Can she get any hotter? I guess I’m warped or, like I said before, have an extra W chromosome (I dig wagons…) Here’s a link to a blog about some Hot Falcons at MyRideisMe.com.

Do about this photo. It was shot for Moon Eyes 2005, their Christmas party (I’m guessing) by pinup photographer Mitzi Valenzuela with MUAH (makeup and hair for those of us who don’t do modelling!) by Angela Warrick.

So please enjoy this picture of Kim with this sit’n low custom. To me, this pic epitomizes pinups. She’s hot, the car is cool and you wonder if you messed with her if she’d drop that cig and kick your ass. Bring her home to mom, maybe not… but for dad, he’s slipping you an extra couple bucks for gas money.

Get more Kim Falcon at Facebook.

Check out all the Pinups here MyRideisMe.com Pinups Models & Hot Rods

Hot Rod Pinups II – Book Preview

2010 Pin-up Girl Wall Calendars

Instead of working on my projects in the garage, MyRideisMe has me spending most of my free time on the web, working, or sometimes just surfing. I caught a (insert nifty surfing metaphor here) wave when I found David Perry’s website, DavidPerryStudio.com. I contact David when I saw this picture:

I recognized the the lovely Heidi Van Horne and I recognized that’s the cover from a book for sale in the MyRideisMe.com Amazon store. The book is: Hot Rod Pinups by, none other than, David Perry. Here’s the description of that book:

For as long as young men have been channeling, chopping, and hopping up rods and customs, women – whether loyal girlfriends or trouble-seeking “bad girls” – have been integral to their scene. In this unique portfolio evoking great 1950s pin-up artists like Vargas and Elvgren, talented photographer David Perry depicts models in and out of cherry-picked rods and customs wearing painstakingly chosen period dress and hairstyles. More than 100 photos present these modern-day pin-ups under three themes: Garage, Cruising, and Race. In addition, essays explore each topic and are also accompanied by pulp novel covers, period mags, and ads that place the photography in a historical context. Captions identify the car owners, photo location, and, where appropriate, interesting car specs and histories. (so there’s more to the book than just his fantastic photos)

David’s originally from Denver, CO, and grew up in So-Cal, but he’s out of Benicia, California now, not far from where I grew up, so I wasn’t surprised when he got back to me and gave me permission to show a SNEAK preview of his new book, Hot Rod Pinups II.

I spent a bunch of time trying to figure out what pics to include in this blog… you know, the ones I liked best, but my favorite was followed closely by my favorit-er and soon my favorit-est. Here’s a bunch of pics, you decide!

One thing’s for sure, David’s got a winner here. Several of my favorite shots are taken directly into the sun. How’s he do that?

<— Click on any of these images to see them full size —>

Buy the Book: Hot Rod Pin-Ups II: Gearhead Girls and Dragstrip Dolls

Pick 2 as your favorites, I dare you!

Stroll around DavidPerryStudio.com and you’ll see that he’s done a few books, has prints available of most of his pics and you can even send an E-Card including one of his pictures. I’m gonna use that to tell my Mommy what I want for Christmas… but I’m not gonna do that as a Happy Birthday to my ex-wife for her 30th birthday. That’s another story though. Here’s the print I’ll be ordering for my office.

Heck, he even makes music. (Hey Dave, save some creativity for the rest of us, would ya?)

(all pictures used with permission from David Perry)

Please join MyRideisMe.com and get your own Custom Garage Space (that one’s mine!) to put pictures of your car, project or whatever you’re driving!

Buy the Book: Hot Rod Pin-Ups II: Gearhead Girls and Dragstrip Dolls