Misha Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 (edited) AMT Deuce Phaeton The AMT Deuce kits from the early sixties still offer the current modeller an interesting alternative in 1/25 Fords from the excellent Revell offerings. In particular the recently reissued Victoria kit and the Phaeton are the only options for these styles in this scale. They offer an interesting challenge for the kit basher and scratch builder. I had recently finished the fenderless Deuce Days Vicky for the gathering of the 1:1 scale rods in Victoria and for the scale contest being held. I also picked up the AMT Phaeton kit from one of the vendors, having had such a great time building the Vicky. Originally AMT released the roadster as the first offering, followed by the Vicky and Phaeton. As such, the roadster had a one piece chassis with the rear drivetrain molded in. For the remaining Deuces this was modified so that the rear axle and suspension were separate. Otherwise the three kits share a lot of the sprues, and by utilizing the more recent Revell kits a very decent rod can be built! For this project I've chosen to construct a fendered Tub with a chopped ragtop with an overall red on red colour scheme. The photos show the added detail to the inside of the ragtop and the modifications made to the body with spacers being added, installing the Revell gas tank, a new front splitter, and removal of cross pieces not required. To provide reliable power under the hood a late model small block Henry will be used from the Revell kit. In addition the front suspension is based on the later kit, with the original wishbone being split and mated to the front axle. Using the original 32 axle, the wishbone was removed and a modern version of split wishbones was constructed, using part of the original ones as corner reinforcements. As this is also a show vehicle it was decided to have the chassis and suspension chromed! All kit chrome was removed to aid construction and then was treated to the Alclad system. A complication arose in attempting to shoehorn the small block Ford and automatic tranny into the chassis. New crosspieces were devised for mounting the assembly, yet the original heavy crosspiece (Henry's secret to keeping the stamped steel chassis in one piece) interfered with the tranny. The solution was to cut a vertical section out of the case at the spot where the interference was. In the photo you can see the rear section of the housing connected to the drive shaft and axle. The other area that has required a lot of attention is the interior, which is very basic in the original kit. A complete rebuild is in progress with new door panels, detailed front seat, and a better fit overall being the goals. That's it for now, thanks for following along!Cheers Misha Edited April 24, 2017 by Misha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doggie427 Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Nice work on the chassis Misha. Looking forward to seeing more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mod3l Lover Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 The chassis work and the top are inspiring!I love it, and am looking forward to more!! David S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Great project Misha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumpyDan Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Looks great, but I need to see more please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted December 20, 2016 Author Share Posted December 20, 2016 Thank you for the positive comments! The Phaeton's interior, like the Vicky, is so basic as to be unusable. The plan is to rebuild it, salvaging the seats and dashboard. Most of the interior tub has been cut away, saving certain pieces as patterns for new door panels. The interior door panels exhibit no detail except for a few scratches here and there. By carefully cutting them away a pattern for the new tuck and roll panels can be made. The only part that was previously painted in this unbuilt kit was the rear seat in what can be best described as hardened black shoe polish. Nonetheless, by sanding and filing it can be made serviceable. To enhance the interior detail centre door posts were created and will painted in the exterior red body colour. Half round strips were added around the rim of the body opening to complete the rolled metal edges to the interior. The dash board was mounted directly under the cowling. The fit between the tub and chassis is actually better with the floor being removed. It also allows the rear passenger foot wells to be seen. In addition to the centre door posts, the front door leading edge post has been added and a new front floor board built. In the photos it is easy to see the added areas in white plastic. The front seats in the Phaeton are a bit of a conundrum, as in the early days of modelling detail could be quite loose. In this case the kit shares the same front bucket seats from the Victoria stable mate. In the actual cars the rear of the front seat appears to be an integral part of the body structure, bracing the centre door posts. As this is a custom hot rod I'm building, I wanted the similar look of the big cushy front seat in a Tub! Modifying the seats to more closely resemble the look was done with sheet and structural plastic. A centre bolster was added to make it more of a bench seat, it was raised up in height, and a plastic sheet was added to the rear to represent the body structure of the original. An assist rope/cord will to added to the back piece. The colours will be a two tone white/red leather made into tucks and rolls. Next step for the interior will be the creation of the door panels with the tuck and roll upholstery. Also looking at adding a fold down luggage rack in the back. Thanks for checking in!Cheers Misha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Looking good. I'm still a big fan of the old AMT '32 kits, even though they leave a lot to be desired when compared head-to-head with the Revell versions.You're showing what fine models these ancient kits can build up to with some thoughtful effort, scratch-building and creative mix-and-match parts sourced elsewhere.Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltsr Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Nice work Misha, I'm looking forward to seeing this come together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intmd8r Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Impressive eye for detail.Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geewhiz Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Great build, Misha!!! This thread sure is inspiration for an old Vickie gluebomb I recently aquired. I love the simplicity of these old kits and yours is looking like one of the finest!!!???????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Very nice work. Wonderful job of fabricating. Will be following, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mod3l Lover Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 I really like the front seat work there! Can you maybegive us a bit of insight to that cool idea you had? (have?) Just hoping maybe you have a few more pics!?! David S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 Outstanding attention to correcting the manufacturing errors and being unwilling to accept anything less than perfection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted December 22, 2016 Author Share Posted December 22, 2016 Thank you for the interest in this project, it's great to have a number of you following along! The AMT kits of the Vicky, recently re-released in a great combo of added features, restored parts & an excellent decal sheet, and the Phaeton I'm building, have a lot going for them. (Below is a photo comparing different treatments for the chassis between the "Deuce Days" Vicky I built this spring and the current one.) The luggage rack is built, ready for primer and Alclad Chrome. The trunk itself is my only remaining piece from the MPC gangster series back in my kid days. (The 32 Chev Panel is a holy grail kit for me.) So happy to find a new home for the trunk after all this time of it kicking around in the parts department. Thank you all for your comments and wishing all the best for the Holidays☃Cheers Misha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intmd8r Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 The trunk looks great! Really like how this is shaping up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 Real impressive work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 (edited) Happy New Year to all! Been able to sneak down to the workbench over the holidays to do some work getting the body ready for primer and further work on the interior. When doing a final dry fitting of the body tub with the fender unit and the hood, I noticed that it didn't quite line up, especially along the lower body line that runs along the hood and tub. That resulted in the top of the hood riding somewhat higher than the cowl. Also the body was crooked when sitting on the fender unit. Looking underneath the crookedness was apparent in one of the body rocker runners I had added on the tub. By raising the front of the tub with spacer blocks on the fender unit, it was possible to line up the body and hood correctly. Also went over the door panel lines with a scriber to deepen them. Finished the detail on the canvas top by running half round section around the perimeter of the underside. I'm wanting to include a flip up rear window, so added an attachment pivot to the window frame using small plastic tubing cut in half. The top now has the first few coats of colour. The seats have received their dark red leather colour, and the construction of the door panels is underway. Body is in primer, looking good, ready for the red to be applied. Happy New Year everyone! Cheers Misha Edited January 2, 2017 by Misha Extra photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Coming along nicely Misha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belugawrx Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Lookin good Mish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Battista Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Wow...! looking great so far... will be watching to see how this comes out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Very nice indeed. Looks like you need to buy stock in the Evergreen plastic company! Seriously, this is going to be a real beauty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelbuilder Mark Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Very cool project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowlife ! ! Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Enjoying this, a lot of careful work and its looks great ! Looking forward to more of this one.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intmd8r Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Yup-the chopped top gives the build exactly the right stance and attitude. I like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 What a great build. I like the way you have upgraded everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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