'32 Ford Full Bellypan Lakes Roadster - Final Update 07-04 - Next stop Under Glass

[Bernard Kron]

About every two or three years I have a swing at building a full bellypan 32 Ford hot rod. The first one was a gold roadster based on the old Monogram 1/24 scale kit which doesn’t have a separate chassis. Since putting a bellypan under a Deuce completely hides the frame when modeling one you may as well use the bellypan structure to s\erve as the chassis. This was the technique I developed for this initial build back in 2010. Unfortunately I wasn’t aggressive enough in showing the bellypan and the car landed up looking like a mildly channeled highboy rather than a bellypan car. Then in 2012 I tried my hand again and this time I wasn’t shy about showing the pan and the result, this time on a Revell Deuce roadster came out better, with a pretty nicely visible deep pan, although the rear section rose toward the rear of the body shell a bit too much for my taste. Then in 2014 I built a chopped Revell 5-window into a lakes car and pretty much got the visible bellypan look I was after. Here’s a composite photo of all three:

Now it’s time for another one. I started out intending to build street roadster but then got sidetracked thinking about using some Old School Indy Firestone tires and Halibrands like the ones found in the ex-Monogram Revell Kurtis Kraft 500 Indianapolis roadster kit. As fate one have it Indycals Decals has issued some super-sweet detailed aftermarket resin versions which are far more finely detailed and properly scaled which sealed the deal for me. The result was that I’m going for a lakes roadster look with a tonneau cover and roll hoop. The Indycals wheels and tires should be here tomorrow but in the meantime I’ve gotten to work on the very extensive fabrication and body work bellypan builds require. Part of the key to getting an aggressive enough looking pan, I’ve learned, is to make sure the curvature of the pan is fairly pronounced. It also helps to build up the real roll pan deep enough so that the bellypan doesn’t kick up too much past the rear axle. Here’s where I’m at so far. The basic “.chassis” cum bellypan has been constructed, built up from various shapes of styrene strip and rod, the rear roll pan fabricated and installed, the tonneau cover made and the roll bar fabricated from aluminum tubing. The lower surface of the bellypan will be fabricated once I’ve finished fitting the interior bits and motor. My plan is to do a yellow car with white side panels and bare aluminum tonneau cover and bellypan bottom surface.

These are the wheels and tires I’m getting from Indycals:

Below is my work so far on the model.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

Edited July 5, 2017 by Bernard Kron

[Ace-Garageguy]

You know you have my interest. I can't resist anything with "bellypan" and "lakes" in the title, and those old Indy tires are the perfect choice.  

[misterNNL]

Very interesting project Mr.Kron,but then all your car's are!

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

Sweet. Bring it on home, Bernard!!! 

[wayne swayze]

Looks very interesting. I'll be watching to see how a talented builder goes about this.

[Straightliner59]

I've attempted to build a bellypanned A-bone a couple of times, and so far haven't been happy enough with the results to continue. Next try, I'll employ your technique. Looking good, Bernard!

[Phildaupho]

Great start Bernard. Looking forward to future updates.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks everyone. Glad ,you all are diggin' it.

Doing a bellypan hot rod sits somewhere between a scratch build and kit bashing. No kits or instructions for this one! Got some more fabrication done and the tires and wheels came from IndyCals. I fabbed the basic interior bits from styrene sheet and strips and added extensions to the roll bar to represent the interior portion visible from the driver’s opening using styrene tube. The tires are painted flat black and the wheels are in white primer for now. I made inner wheel discs from styrene sheet which will be finished in polished aluminum metalizer. The outer wheel surfaces will be painted to match the secondary accent color once I put down body paint. They’ll most likely be white. The tires will get their decals, which come with the wheel set, at that time. I also fabricated the front axle in order to get the nose down more like the blue roadster shown above. Next up choosing and making up a motor.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

Edited July 2, 2017 by Bernard Kron

[alan barton]

I like where this one is going and I would kill for a set of those wheels!  What a natural choice!

Looking at the side view, is there any chance of getting the nose down just a smidge? I think it would really show off the bellypan is there wasn't so much air beneath it.

Cheers

Alan

[Bernard Kron]

Thanx Alan. Yup, the nose is comin' down!

Slow but steady on this project. I got the interior panels and seat (upper 2 images, below), with the exception of the instrument panel, cut, fabbed and finished, along with the bellypan underside panels (lower 2 images, below). The seat is a resin piece from Crazy Scale Auto Parts (http://crazyscaleautoparts.cybrarygoddess.com/). They’re all finished in Testors Buffable Metalizer Aluminum Plate which will be a thematic element of the car. The grill will have a solid aluminum panel as well. In keeping with the “enhanced curbside” approach to the build the dashboard will be fabricated to attach to the underside of the tonneau cover with only those portions that are visible in the completed model getting any detail. Along with making the instrument panel, I have still to determine the powerplant, build it, and fabricate the mounting bits for it. I’m thinking in terms of a top-mounted blown motor, if it’ll fit, either a SBC or an Oldsmobile. It’s really a secondary element in this car so I’m struggling as whether to “sacrifice” an Olds for this project. Once the powerplant issue is settled it will at last be time for finishing up and detailing the body structure, then paint, decals and final assembly.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

Edited July 2, 2017 by Bernard Kron

[iBorg]

I'm following this one.......

[Draggon]

Excellent approach to tacking the bellypan/frame issue, B. I've thought of doing it that way, just never followed through.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks guys!

This project seems to have developed a case of the stumbles as I’,m staggering along in fits and starts. I’ve gotten the basic paint done, a two-tone combination of Testor’s Daytona Yellow Lacquer and Duplicolor Oxford White. I also did some detail work on the bellypan, inserting a pair of ovoid holes in front of the rear wheels for the exhaust. With the basic body paint on the photos below include a rough mockup of the body showing the plain aluminum grill panel. Also included is a detail of the grill shell. I banked the radiator with a piece of styrene and finished it in aluminum Metalizer to represent a coolant tank which a lakes car like this would use to reduce the drag caused by the radiator core.

The motor is still fighting me. Although I have one built it just doesn’t seem appropriate to the car.. It’s a blown SBC but the 671 blower seems too big and dominant. I hope to have resolved things in time for my next update.

Thanx for lookin,
B.

Edited July 2, 2017 by Bernard Kron

[GerN]

Great design work!

[bobthehobbyguy]

Nice start.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks guys!

Decals! I got the graphics designed and the decals made and installed. I’m waiting on some headers to get the motor done and then, at last, it’ll be time for final assembly.

Thanx for lookin,
B.

 

Edited July 2, 2017 by Bernard Kron

[Phildaupho]

Great looking decals!! How did you do them??

[Bernard Kron]

Great looking decals!! How did you do them??

Thanks Phil. I design my decals using Photoshop, which, unfortunately is quite an expensive program. I was able to originally buy it as a business expense and upgraded along the way to the last version that you could buy outright (Photoshop CS6). Since then Adobe has switched to a rental model and today it's called Adobe Creative Cloud. It costs $50.00 per month - outrageous! In any case the steps I'll outline below can be duplicated in other graphics programs such as Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Powerpoint, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, etc. The good news is there is an excellent open-source Freeware programming every bit as capable and powerful as Photoshop. It's called GIMP and is available here: GIMP.org .

The SpeedSport logos and the 235 number were both done the same way. I started by choosing an appropriate font, then made a basic text in white (Step A, below). Photoshop has a function called "Stroke" which allows you to draw an outline around the edges of an object. In this case, starting with my base number I applied a black line. You can set "Stroke" to put the line either outside the edge of the object or inside it. You can also adjust the thickness of the line. Here I applied the black outline to the outside of the object. (Step B, below)

Photoshop allows you to layer images on top of each other. It's at the very heart of the program and allows you to do many powerful effects. You can even adjust the transparency of layers. In this case I made a copy of the original 235 number but set it to be a black number. (Step C, below) It's positioned on top of the white 235 with the black outline. Then I applied a yellow stroke to the inside of the black number. (Step D, below) The black number was set to 100% opacity (transparency) so that, except for the outline, the underlying white number would be hidden. Because the stroke on the lower white layer is also black and is on the outside, and the stroke on the upper black layer is yellow and on the inside, the effect is to make a black number with a yellow outline style. (Step E, below)

 

 

For the trade logos I usually go to the web and search for web images of the logos I'm after. They're invariably low resolution and it's important get as large an image as possible to work from. My example below is for the Firestone logo with the racing flags that's at the top of the stack of logos on the front of each side of the body. The original logo was fairly small and only 72 dots-per-inch (DPI). The result is a fairly blotchy and fuzzy image. Also it was some what distorted so that is was too narrow and tall. This first thing I always do is make a high resolution copy set to the maximum resolution of my printer, which for me is 600 DPI. This is done in Photoshop and is just a a single mouse click.

Photoshop allows you to stretch and distort an image so I readjusted the proportions of the logo to make a skinny and wide design instead. I also used Photoshop to fill the red and black areas with solid red and black color to eliminate any blotchiness. All the trade logos on the car were sourced from the internet and cleaned up and edited in similar manner. Here's a before and after of the Firestone logo:

One of the great things about making your own trade logos is you can make sets of them which you have arranged for proper placement on the car in advance of applying the decal. Anyone who has spent time applying little itty-bitty trade decals to the side of a car knows what a PITA that can be! In this case I made panel of all the logos which I applied as a single decal on each side:

I use inexpensive clear and white decal paper which I buy on eBay and standard hobby shop decal solvents. My printer is a cheap Cannon MP560 inkjet printer/scanner. After I print my decals I seal them with clear acrylic spray, Usually a couple of layers will do the trick. Really nothing special to note. I do dream of the day I can buy a Micro-Dry printer like an ALPS so I could print white and metallic, though!

I hope all this gives you an idea about the techniques I use to make my own decals. Decals can be a powerful creative tool for your modeling.

Edited July 1, 2017 by Bernard Kron

[Phildaupho]

Thanks Bernard for the great decal tutorial.

[Kit Karson]

Impressive Bernard! -KK

[mod3l Lover]

You know you have my interest. I can't resist anything with "bellypan" and "lakes" in the title, and those old Indy tires are the perfect choice.  

X2 for sure!!  I loves me a "Salt flats car"!!!

  And you do such nice work, it's inspiring to

say the least.

    David S.

[Randy D]

Great stuff Bernard,  the car is looking good and thank you posting the decal info !

 

Randy

[Kit Karson]

Impressive build, Brother! -KK

[Bernard Kron]

I just updated this thread to images from my Imgur free account. Hope everything looks good. It does from where. In the meantime I will wear my Photobucket P500 Logo of Death in my signature as a Badge of Honor!

Oh yeah, I have been working on this and there's a major update coming soon... despite the Logo of Death...

Edited July 2, 2017 by Bernard Kron

[Bernard Kron]

Between waiting for the headers to arrive and the current Photobucket dustup I haven’t lacked for excuses to move this prevent me from attending to this project. Despite these things I’ve gotten the motor done, the front suspension completes and the wheels done and the rear wheels mounted. In the photos below the front ones are just hanging in place on the axles but not glued and positioned.

The motor is a Revell Parts Block Chevy small block. The blower is one of small GMC 471’s from the twin Chevies in the AMT Double Dragster kit which is also the source for the Hilborn 2-port injectors. This would be a typical lakes motor circa ’59-’61. The tubular headers courtesy of VCG Resins have been extensively modified so they hug the block as much as possible to fit under the hood. The distributor is a “Frankenstein” style magneto from a Too Much dragster kit with a pre-wired cap from Morgan Auto Detail. The chain drive was adapted from an AMT ’40 Ford Tudor kit.

The wheels are now complete. Oddly, IndyCals does not provide knock-off spinners for them, even though an extension search on the Internet of photos of these wheels mounted only ever shows them with knock-offs. So I adapted a set from the Revell ‘32 Ford Highboy kit that is the origin of the body. They look like they were made for them!  The tiny Firestone decals were a bear to apply but well worth the effort in terms of the overall look. The details of the front suspension were all adapted from the Revell Deuce Highboy kit as well.

That’s it for now. The interior panels are glued into the body, as is the dashboard, gearshift and seat. The body is now glued in place as well. Not much to left to do except fitting the grill shell and hood and the usual final detailing and cleanup. Most likely my next post will be of the completed model.

Thanx for lookin,
B.

Edited July 3, 2017 by Bernard Kron