The Red Special is the electric guitar designed and built by Queen's guitarist Brian May and his father, Harold, when Brian was a teenager in the early 1960s. The Red Special is sometimes referred to as the Fireplace or the Old Lady by May and by others. The name "Red Special" came from the reddish-brown colour the guitar attained after being stained and painted with numerous layers of "Rustins Plastic Coating". The name "Fireplace" is a reference to the fact that the wood used to make the neck came from a fireplace mantel.