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'29 Ford A-Bucket Rat Rod


Bernard Kron

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Thanks to you all for the incredibly generous comments!

I have to say this project went far, far better than I had expected it to. This is not my comfort zone, or at least it wasn't when I started out... I used some rod-building techniques I had used before and that I was proficient in, so that helped - the chassis is one of those, and the interior another. That helped enormously in getting me "grounded". It also helped to have done the '41 Plymouth Barn Find gasser to learn weathering techniques.  But I still wasn't sure I could come up with a convincing Rat Rod. I know on the Theme Table at the NNL West there will be some spectacular Rat Rod models. This style lends itself to incredibly detailed and elaborate work. Despite the rough finishes it is very technical. I can think of several truly fine modelers who will use this year's Rat Rod theme to strut their stuff! This was in the back of my mind as I attempted this. I just didn't want to create something that didn't look the part. I think that perhaps by sticking to my Hot Rodding roots I just may have pulled it off! It was fun to build that's for sure.

...great proportions, perfect for what it is. :D

Thanx Bill. I was concerned I might not be able to build an "authentic" Rat Rod. As it is it trades on a Hot Rod stance and on proportions I've used before and may not be as exaggerated as some are able to do in this style. Can a Rat Rod be conservative and still be true to the style? I still want to build a proper Ed Iskenderian/Black Widow style lowboy turtle deck T bucket with cycle fenders - in black of course...

Beautiful...:wub:

Lookin' forward to seeing it and yourself on the 12th

C U at breakfast, Curt! Glad you dig it. I think I'm beginning to get the hang of this modeling thing...

... The Rat Rods I tend to like most are those which would also look good shiny and yours certainly fits that category....

Thanx Phil! That's the proportion thing that Bill pointed out. It's my Hot Rod roots kicking in I think.

Edited by Bernard Kron
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I think you did a fantastic job with this, Bernard. The entire car is well proportioned and lays just right. The presentation is very in keeping with the budget rat rod trend as is the SBC thrown in with otherwise mostly antiquey parts. Honestly, as must as this could be a modern throw-together it could just as easily be a back yard relic built in the good old days that was recently scooped up by a young guy off of Craigslist with a cheap small block he stuck in just to make it a runner until he could afford to repair the hopped up flathead that was in it when found    

B)

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Thanx again guys!

..., as much as this could be a modern throw-together it could just as easily be a back yard relic built in the good old days that was recently scooped up ... off of Craigslist with a cheap small block ... stuck in just to make it a runner until he could afford to repair the hopped up flathead that was in it when found    ...

 

Thanks Dennis. Funny you should mention the small block. I actually started two motors for it, the SBC you see and a Flattie as well, but I thought an expensive to build antique flathead was far too "serious" and bucks-up for the "Genuine Stolen Parts" concept. I felt a slightly warmed over small block with the aggressively showy headers but little else was much more to the point. I was quite conscious about finishing the motor in factory GM engine orange with standard valve covers and a single 4 barrel. And wouldn't you know it, when I brush painted it with Testors Acryl the paint went on perfectly. I briefly panicked that I wouldn't be able to get it to look dirty enough!

Edited by Bernard Kron
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... for extra realism next time try to print on decal paper ...

Thanx Richard.

To get white lettering you have 2 choices:

Choice One is to use a decal printing service that can use  printing technology that can print white (and metallic) inks.

Choice Two is to print your own decals on white decal paper. The decal paper which you refer to in your comment is almost certainly clear decal paper. Unfortunately conventional home printers such as inkjet and laser printers "assume" a white background (the paper stock you would normally print on) in order to print white tones. So in this case if I had printed on clear decal paper the logo would have been body colored. This second alternative requires the areas that would normally be body colored to be matched to the paint color. This second method is what I did - so I in fact did print on decal paper, but it was white decal paper The downside of this method is that white decal paper is a great deal thicker than clear and the white edges inevitably show to some degree. (I have tried any number of white decal paper stocks and the problem is universal.) In the ultra-close, high resolution photos I created you can see those edges. That's what you commented on. Fortunately, in scale and viewed normally this flaw is much less apparent.

Incidentally during this past year I tried mightily to find a reliable decal supplier that could print my art from the 600 dpi bitmap images I normally create and provide me with single layer decals with white or metallic areas printed to clear. To date my search has been unsuccessful. I will forgo naming names or detailing my experiences but suffice it to say it involved some pretty well known potential suppliers. Decals are an important element in many of my modeling projects. Apparently, I will need to learn to create vector graphic art to use these services, a skill I do not currently possess. It's either that or bear the additional cost and time to have the artwork redrawn in vector form.

Edited by Bernard Kron
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Thanks everyone for more kind words. The ,Hippy-Eye made it to the NNL in one piece - open wheel cars often haven't in my experience and require a last minute fix-it on Friday evening, but this year everything got through OK. It was good meeting up with you Bradley, and I'm looking forward to seeing your two highly detailed Deuces next year!

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