One More '29 Ford?

[Tom Geiger]

Someone had described this kit as a "clear the bench" kit, which led me to think, "Why not?" so I pushed all the stalled projects aside and started working on this puppy...

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I decided to step out of my comfort zone and build something shiny.  I'm also playing with Tamiya paints, since I don't have a lot of experience with them. Third, I did my color separation with Tamiya Tape to see how it would go.  Apparently not as well as my previous work with BMF as a mask.

Building impressions?   The kit is overall beautiful and well tooled. Major parts like the engine assembly, interior sides / body / floor pan all pretty much snap together. Very sure fitting with nice results.  There are a ton of options. I had trouble deciding what to use since there's so much in the box... then it hit me, no worries I'll just build more! 

So I am building a highboy. The photos above show the kit seat in place, but I've also prepared a few other options. I wanted to put a set of tiny buckets in it, but only once I had painted everything so I didn't want to go backwards and make a back panel for the cab. Next one!

Colors... Main body is Tamiya TS-41 Coral Blue  (I'll bet somebody can tell me WHY I used this!) and Tamiya Pure White.  Interior is a Duplicolor light tan.  

So what else did I notice?  The chrome is very well done and it's been mentioned before that they packed it nicely, with a bit of bubble wrap between the sheets in the plastic bag.  The only issues I found was that my full height radiator shell has a tiny dent on the left side.  I opened my second kit and it appears to be a mold issue rather than just a spot on my chrome. The other issue with the chrome was that it wiped off easily with a quick swipe of lacquer thinner.  I had wanted to put the Tamiya blue in between the ribs on the trans pan and other chrome components but upon experimenting with the transmission pan, I found that the quick wipe of thinner to make the chrome ribs stand out took off the chrome!   So I went to my second kit for a clean part.  I experimented a bit with the thinner on chrome sprue, and yes it's quite delicate.

The wheels are nicely done, and at first I was happy to see a valve stem. I always add them to my builds. Turns out I would've been better adding one as it's very small and very difficult to get color onto.  Same with the lug nuts.  I managed to paint them all, but the detail is small enough that some folks wouldn't see it. The kit is also missing a master cylinder and coil, and side mirrors and windshield wipers would be optional but nice. I will add most of this to mine, as many of us will. The tooling was very well thought through to hide things like ejector pin marks in places that won't be seen. The engine and transmission follow that with pans for both engine and trans, and only the fly wheel panel has a seam that needs to be filled. The only thing I don't like is that you are likely to see the tabs from the interior side panels on the bottom edges of the pan, up against the inside of the frame rails.  

I'm leaving out the nicely done fuel tank and battery since you won't see them in this version. No doubt they are there for the future versions of the kit. The Model A has that characteristic fuel filler on the cowl, missing because of the fuel tank relocation, but I'm adding it to mine. 

Overall, I'm having a lot of fun and won't be putting this one down until it's done!

 

Edited September 26, 2015 by Tom Geiger

[bobthehobbyguy]

Nice start. Nice color choices.  Will be following.

[Modlguy]

I agree. Nice color scheme. Looking forward to seeing it in person. Funny, I have not been able to find this kit locally yet.

[cobraman]

I like your color choice. Waiting to see more !!!

[wayne swayze]

ALWAYS welcome more hot rods! I'm enjoying seeing the various modifications and paint schemes on the new release "A" !  I'm looking forward to your build.

[crazyrichard]

digging the two tone !!

[tim boyd]

Tom....I am intrigued with your two-tone layout....almost imparts a "coach built" feel to the car.  And like you, I like the Tamiya Coral Blue....

When I built mine, I painted the bottom of those interior side panel tabs so that they matched the color of the bottom of my floorboard, and so they visually "disappeared" in the final result.  I also like those tabs as they don't leave any room for mistakes in locating the body to the /floorboard during final assembly.  

On my paint detailing of ribbed parts, I simply wiped away the paint from the ribbed parts with a soft cloth or my fingers....I found no need to use lacquer thinner or the like.  My paint was thinned about 50% or so....which probably helped with the final result.  I had no problem with the chrome rubbing off with this approach...

Very much like you, it seems a number of us are having great fun with this kit.  It was certainly a "clear the bench" build for me...in fact it's become more like an obsession, with at least six variations either under construction or under glass.  Can't wait to see how yours finishes up.  Best.... TIM 

[vintagercr]

I'm jealous!  You guys are going nuts building this kit and I haven't seen one yet in the Great White North :(

[Tom Geiger]

 

Very much like you, it seems a number of us are having great fun with this kit.  It was certainly a "clear the bench" build for me...in fact it's become more like an obsession, with at least six variations either under construction or under glass.  Can't wait to see how yours finishes up.  Best.... TIM 

Tim-

This kit just about brings back that child like enthusiasm for building, but with much better results!  I'm using the Tamiya Coral Blue because it's the theme of the Diversified Scalerz show on this coming Saturday. So I do have a hard stop for completion.

I agree that it's good that the parts have a sure fit.  The interior sides perfectly fit the inner sides of the body, and the wheel well area seam we worried about just about disappears. As you said, the floor just snaps into those sides, and then the floor has pegs into the chassis.  Engine has a sure fit on the trans mount. Engine front cover also snaps in place.  Well fitting and fun.  I might give the chrome ribs another try.  I'm doing the first one out of the box with a few added details, mainly to get familiar and for the pure joy of building something this good!  I am also eyeing that spare chassis for a stalled '32 Ford sedan delivery project.  

Glad to see you putting your retirement to good use!  

Tom G

Edited September 28, 2015 by Tom Geiger

[Jantrix]

I decided to step out of my comfort zone and build something shiny.  

 

 

I wouldn't have seen that coming. Looking good Tom. I'm pretty impressed with the kit myself.

[slusher]

Beautiful paint Tom, really nice color choices...

[Mr. Metallic]

I love the two-tone scheme on this. You don't see a lot of that on rods except on the fender-body. It really jumps out at you.

[Tom Kren]

Looks great so far tom and I like the color combo will be watching this one!! BTW This is a fun kit !

[DrKerry]

Likin it!!!!

[TimKustom]

Really love the two tone. I think I will do something like that on the one I'm building.

[Ramfins59]

That's looking good Tom.  I picked up one of these kits but haven't opened it yet as I'm in the middle of my '56 Dodge project.  I have plans for this '29 kit, but, I'll also be stepping out of my comfort zone and not building it shiny...!!!  I've had a drawing from Street Rodder magazine taped to the wall above my workbench for years.  It's a "work-in-progress" Rod with a flathead engine...... "the money is in the engine and the wheels & tires" but the car is driveable......  some rust here and there and bondo patches all over the body...  not really a Rat Rod although it probably could pass for one.  I will get to working on it soon I hope.

[Tom Geiger]

 

And here's where we are at right now.  The car was painted Tamiya TS-41 Coral Blue because that was the theme at the Diversified Scalerz Model Car Meet on Saturday.  I got 80% there, but ran into some issues that kept me from crossing that finish line.  Still, we displayed the car in the category per our original goal.

 

This is a very nice kit and I like a lot of things about it.  Much of it just snaps in place, like once you put the two inner door panel / wheel well parts in place, and key it into the floor pan it pretty much just snaps together. Then the dash board just snaps into the slot. I did use glue but you could almost get away without it.

The rear assembly goes together really well.  I also like the way the wheels are mounted on small metal pins. Very sure fit and straight!  I followed the instructions to put in the engine / trans first  (The trans fits to a pin, I didn't even use glue here),  add in the drive shaft, then mount the rear to it. Again no glue on the drive shaft, it fits into a hole on either end and holds the rear in place.  Next step is to mount the springs onto their respective pins on the rear without glue until you fit it up into the body and attach the springs to the top perch. That pretty much holds the whole rear in place.

I didn't like the provided stock instrument pod, so I filled in the hole and sanded the panel flat.  Then I did my usual wood graining and then added a Detail Master photo etch instrument set.  I added a brass light switch to the left, but I don't think you can see it in this shot.  Also, in these photos if the seat moved around, it's not glued in yet since I want to take it out to do seat belts.

The engine - I used the provided Buick Nailhead and used some Internet provided photos of a 1965 Buick Riviera engine restored and sitting on a skid for my detailing.  I added a dipstick, and the blue wires I had, although sold as engine wire, is a bit large.  I used it anyway since this was a "for fun" build and I had a deadline.  The front engine cover snaps into place as does the top cover.  One thing I'll say is that while things go together easily, the kit has some pretty tight and unforgiving tolerances.  For instance as I put the engine in place, my lower pulley was sticking out a tiny bit, which wouldn't have mattered on another kit. But the tolerance between it and the cross member in front of it were so tight that I had to pull it back out to shave a bit off the back mount. At first I was worried about getting it out, then I remembered that the engine was sitting on snap mounts and not glued, nor was the front cover!  It all came apart quickly for the adjustments.

The area in the firewall where the distributor fits is also very tight. No doubt works dandy if you don't wire the engine, but be careful of your wires or the body won't sit down on the chassis.  With my oversize wires, I had to pull them all forward.  I won't make that mistake on my next one!  The headers are mounted on two small nibs each. Since other parts snapped in place I thought I'd give them a try. Nope!  I just couldn't get them to sit right.  So I retreated to my comfort zone of drilling out those mounts and mounting the headers on lengths of straight pin.  They are press fitted, not glued at all yet if they appear to be sticking out of the mounts in these photos.

A few other tips..  make sure you follow the kit instructions of putting the exhaust onto the floor pan prior to assembling to the chassis, as the pipes sit under the back chassis cross member.  If you don't, it's still easy enough to cut them into two pieces and glue the two ends under that member.. yea, I did that too.  And prior to assembly,  add the chrome exhaust tips to the pipes. It wasn't fun trying to get them to sit right on the finished model.  

I am also not a fan of the front end assembly.  The axle assembly will fit into the chassis slot either way... forward or backwards! I'd want it to be keyed so it only goes on the right way. The assembly instructions weren't all that clear about this either, so I anticipate people making this mistake. The rest of the assembly is all chrome and I found the tiny mount points difficult.  The shock mounts glue to a very small notch on the frame and aren't that sure in their fit. The headlights each mount to the top of one of these, on that little pin you see on the left side (The part isn't yet on the right side) so if you don't have these aligned correctly, your headlights won't be straight.  I've heard of others replacing these parts with ones from '32 Ford kits.  And if you manage to get to the stage of adding the headlights, hold off on putting the lens in place until they are mounted.  The mounts are on an angle, so if you have added the lenses logically... as in straight to the mount on the bottom, they'll be angled.

This kit has the feel of a Revell of Germany kit, with many tiny little parts.  The door handles are wee works of art, probably the best ever done. One tip, just press them into the body and glue from behind before you glue in the interior side panels.  That will keep things perfectly clean. Another microscopic part is the engine breather cap. And if you look at the little stem, it's actually keyed to the hole.

I'm at that point in assembly where you glue on a part, and need to walk away to let it dry before you touch it again.  So I'm taking my time finishing it this week, hopefully finishing it for my club meeting on Saturday.   I just noticed I didn't take any chassis shots, so I'll include those with the next installment.  

Overall, I think this is a landmark kit.  And I'll do a much better job on my next one.  That's the thing with this kit.  Everyone who is doing a build thread mentions their next one. And that's quite a compliment to the kit!

 

[Foxer]

I too like your two-tone paint scheme. But the frame-fender well separation line in your first photos really says a lot about the quality of this kit .. wow!

[frozono]

Love the paint job and combination......awesome.... looks great!!!!!!........

[Tom Geiger]

Thanks guys!  I have all the chassis parts in place now and I was working on adding microscopic photo etched seat belt buckles.  

Did you all notice how many 29 Ford threads there are right now??  Half the board must be building this kit!  

 

[horsepower]

Just a note about two items, love the two tone touch, and the master cylinder isn't missing, its mounted on a bracket under the firewall, true it hard to check and add brake fluid to, but it's not uncommon with hanging pedals, and a desire to keep the firewall uncluttered.

[mike 51]

The front axle is very easy to mount correctly..it's not the same side to side or front to rear.

the steering arm (off the left spindel) is only on one side (driver's), the lower shock mounts (holes) face forward and the radius arms mount to the holes on the back of the axle.

It looks like you're missing the lower shock mounts (at least on the driver's side) they're molded to the bottom of the axle on each side just below the spring perches.

the shock towers/headlight stands would be welded to the frame, not plated.  The front shocks from the 32 kit are far too short to use here unless it was lowered quite a bit.   

hope this helps....

Edited October 7, 2015 by mike 51

[Tom Geiger]

Just a note about two items, love the two tone touch, and the master cylinder isn't missing, its mounted on a bracket under the firewall, true it hard to check and add brake fluid to, but it's not uncommon with hanging pedals, and a desire to keep the firewall uncluttered.

Thanks Del!  I guess it's outta sight on the model.  Which is fine with me, I was thinking of adding one.  Reminds me of a VW based street rod I built years ago.  It didn't place in a contest, and one brazen judge sided up to me and said, "You would've won first in class, but we disqualified you because you forgot to install a battery!"  I just looked at the oaf and replied, "It's a Volkswagen... the battery is under the back seat!"  

[Jeremy Jon]

That's a fantastic "bench clearer" build Tom    Bravo!!

[Tom Geiger]

and a bit further along.  I'd call it done but there's a few little details I still want to iron out...

So here we are, done enough to drive around the block. I have a few dabs of blue paint to add, and of course that little Tamiya can is spraying air, so I'll need to invest in another one.

Side view - I went with the bare wheels because  I didn't want to hide all that nice detail under hub caps! And it's a good theme for my first one! I pretty much left this one stock to see how everything went together, and that was pretty well.  As said earlier, much of it snaps in place and there are a few challenges, hence my first build to find those.  We will do better next time!

Despite everyone's concerns over the rear wheel wells, those go together seamlessly. I merely painted one side of the piece white, masked it and then painted the interior side beige. I am not a fan of the plastic chrome exhaust tips that came with the kit. They have a connection point that shows and the kit directions tell you to put them on once the model is near finished. They don't sit well on the little nib and wanted to sag so I tossed them.  If you are using them, install them onto the exhaust pipe prior to installing the pipe into the chassis.  Much easier!  Instead I have some aluminum exhaust tips from Scale Repros Plus. They aren't glued in place so I can change my mind, especially if a more important project comes along!

Rear view shows those aluminum exhaust tips (getting to like them there!).  I didn't like the kit tail lights (there is a choice of two) so I stole these out of the old Monogram Green Hornet kit, red lens courtesy of  Sharpie.  I liked the Roger Harney tribute so I used it, framed with a Model Car Garage photo etch  plate frame.

The one short coming of this kit is that the slots where the interior sides mate with the floor board show on the finished model. I had painted the floor bottom white to contrast with the chassis in my blue / white theme but it looked a bit unreal to me. I gave it a dusting of brown chalk to show the highlights and give it a slightly used look. One good point on the exhaust is that when adding the front pipe to the header, it mounts nicely into a hole. On the muffler end, there's just a slot and you can adjust that end in and out for fit. I don't even have it glued.  The bottom center of the axle has a fairly significant sprue point, so I sanded the bottom flat and added Alclad.

Interior- I wasn't a fan of the stock instruments included with the kit. I played with the extra dash a bit, but then took the stock panel, and puttied up the center depression to make it flat. The gauges are Detail Master and I did the wood grain with Testors Acrylics, per the woodgraining instructions I have shared on the board.  I left the shifter ball chrome for now.  I believe I've seen street rod shifters that had the boot but were for automatic transmissions.  I may paint the ball white and add a small PRNDL pattern decal to it.  I thought about adding a parking brake, but this was a quick project with a show deadline.

I used the stock seat. I had a another seat painted as well as a pair of tiny buckets that came from an Aurora XKE kit that I've been itching to use. Again, that show deadline loomed so I used the stock seat for simplicity in assembly. Plus it is shaped so nicely. Those are Model Car Garage seat belt buckles. Note that the main buckles have depth here. I've seen many builds where guys just used the photo etch piece and it looks like a wafer! Here I glued the buckles to a thin sheet of Evergreen plastic, leaving the buckle loop hanging over the edge. Once dry, I just cut the other three sides even with the metal, and hit them with a Silver Sharpie. You don't see the sides directly, so that all works fine to give the buckle the proper thickness.   The belt material is 1/16" ribbon, which is the correct size and slides into the loops on the photo etch buckles. You won't find anything smaller than 1/8" in craft stores, but I found it on eBay. A 100 yard (300 feet) roll is around $3.00  so I bought black, brown and gray as well as the white you see here. The white can be colored as needed.  And that is a lifetime supply of scale seat belts for about $15 including postage!

I've enjoyed building this kit very much and have a second one, a lowboy this time, eyeballed out!   

 

Edited October 12, 2015 by Tom Geiger