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Revell '34 Ford three window


Straightliner59

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In mid-March, I will be leaving Minnesota after almost 14 years, and returning home to Colorado. As my time here dwindles, I picked up Revell's '34 coupe snapper, determined to finish something...anything, before I go. Just a few of the modifications I've made include a scratchbuilt rear spring, a front axle from Revell's old Model A Pickup kit, aluminum door panels, firewall, dash and seat made from .005" aluminum flashing (GREAT stuff! Especially after its been sanded free of its plastic coating, and annealed.). The spindles are scratched from Evergreen channel, strip and rod. Front wheels are from a Revell Thunderbolt kit, rears from an old AMT Deuce. Shocks are aluminum tubing with mounts (and tie rod ends) made of HO scale handrail stanchions. Orange paint is Krylon, directly from the can. It's not my best work, but, I am really burning it at both ends, trying to finish it before I am packed and on the road! Comments welcome. Oh, yeah--this complies with NHRA rules for a modified coupe in either 1959 or 1960.

Body With Insert.jpg

Dash-Seat.jpg

Chassis Components.jpg

Interior.jpg

Rear End.jpg

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Thanks, Mike. I love doing that stuff. For this application, I prefer to use contact cement to bond the aluminum to plastic, and to itself, because you don't have to create a huge surface area to achieve excellent adhesion--just a small flange. I've got it up on the wheels since my last post. I moved the front axle forward about three scale inches.

Body On Wheels 2.jpg

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Hi Dan. Nice to see you posting stuff again. I always have been a fan of your work, especially the fabrication stuff. It always adds some depth and realism to your models. The sheet metal forming is something I have yet to master. This looks simple and on target, which is no doubt the point of the exercise. I'm looking forward to seeing this come together.

I did one of these a few years back for exactly the same reason, to build something that's creative and beyond a mere kit build, but simple enough that it could quickly come together. Mine was fenderless too, and backdated from the 80's style Monogram original. Like you I discovered the key was the stance and front axle position. The rest was surprisingly straightforward.

Edited by Bernard Kron
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Thanks, Bernard! I'm an admirer of your work, as well. I am just referring to this as a "slumpbuster". The Thursday before last, I went to a hobby shop, specifically seeking this kit, because it does lend itself, so well, to exercises like this one. It's the same with those very early Monogram kits.  I've always enjoyed building curbside models. It's fun to create enough items of visual interest to make a simple model interesting. Modeling is truly an artform, and what is art without interest?grin I should be able to post a couple more photos, later, once the completed tires and wheels are mounted to the "chassis".

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OK! The posable steering will look great on the finished product. And you gotta dig the "chassis". cum lower engine detail thing happening. The crisp and accurate period detailing on the suspension parts and brakes already hint on what a fine model this is shaping up to be. I love the utilitarian colors.

I was trying to remember how I handled the stance problem so I went back to look at my build and, while I didn't go whole-hog and cut out the chassis details like you did, I did land up ditching the kit rear end and substituting a separate Revell 1/25th Deuce piece while keeping the Snaptite radius arms and springs, lowering the whole thing a couple of scale inches. At the front, like you, I relocated the kit front suspension mounting tab, in my case lowering 4 scale inches.

Edited by Bernard Kron
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"Chassis" is the only way to describe this assembly, even though the majority of the chassis is molded to the floor section.grin I've always loved things that are utilitarian. That's probably why I gravitate so much toward dragsters--especially earlier ones. I much prefer paint to chrome. Given a choice between the "California Charger", and, "The Bug"...well, I built a replica of the latter!

I actually raised this one, a couple of inches.

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Here are a few shots of the interior, as it progresses. The seat has been padded with the last I had of those old, foam dryer sheets. Guess I;ll have to find something else to use, going forward! Also visible is the HydroStick shifter unit, and the holes drilled in the spokes of the steering wheel. Next, I'll cover the seat with kitchen parchment dipped in diluted white glue...

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Time for an update on the '34. The seat is covered and painted. The rollbar is assembled--it needs a bit of cleanup, then is ready for paint. Once the interior is buttoned up, I can paint the ceiling and install acetate windows, before closing up the body/floor pan unit. After that, I can finish making, and install the shocks, pittman arm and drag link and the radius rods, which will put this project very close to finished.

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Seat 2.jpg

Seat 5.jpg

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Thanks, Glenn! I like the stance of yours, as well. LOVE the tire/wheel combo! Here's one I built years, when I had a crappy camera! It would be fun to see how many ways this little gem of a kit could be interpreted!

 

 

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Coolness!!  The crappy camera and the color you chose combine to give it a distinctly "little pages" vibe. Glenn and I built ours at about the same time over on the TRaK board, so as long as we're in hijack mode here was mine:

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The details are coming along great. Can't wait to see it with everything dialed in and in full battle dress.

Edited by Bernard Kron
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A small update...I made a scoop from .005" aluminum flashing it still needs a bit of tweaking, to achieve a perfect fit. The interior is slowly coming along, but nearing completion. I also turned a tach on the lathe, and discovered that there isn't enough room to install it on the dash, so I won't be using it. I'll find a place for it, some day!

W Scoop 5web.jpg

W Scoop 3web.jpg

Tach 1.jpg

W Scoop 1web.jpg

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It may not look like much, but, this scoop is the culmination of years of study and practice, and hours of cutting, annealing, forming over a hand carved wood buck, re-annealing, forming, hammering, filing the tong on my miniature anvil to a custom shape to form the end of the scoop, and filing, sanding and polishing, until I achieved this little gem! It's just about an inch long, and I am damned proud of it!grin

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  • 4 months later...

This project is nearing completion, as all I have left to add are a handful of small pieces, a couple of product logo decals (I'd call them contingency stickers, but, what would they have really been worth in 1960?), and some touch-up. She has her warts, but I like the way it sits. I made all these decals, except for the skull, which came from an aircraft sheet. I don't know if anybody else has used the inkjet sheets from Blinggasm, but I am very happy with the results. I got both clear and white, through Amazon. The clear is very thin, and went down without a problem. I "built" the Texaco logo from scratch, using PhotoImpact Pro, and printed it on white. I manipulated various fonts and added the lines with PI Pro, as well. Those were printed on clear.

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