Bernard Kron Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 (edited) This is my second project for the 2018 NNL West The Race of Gentlemen theme, my first having been a ’29 Ford roadster done as a pre-war style dry lakes car sponsored by Gilmore Oil. My original plan had been to do another pre-war car, a one-man dry lakes modified based on a narrowed Ala-Kart body shell. But after finishing TROG #1 I realized that this project was far too ambitious, having a heavy scratch building component, with a good chance I wouldn’t finish it in time for the show’s February 3rd deadline. So I’ve chosen to go to the radical opposite, a simple curbside build based on a neat Jimmy Flintstone chopped ’32 Ford 3-window with lakes-style slanted A-pillar. It even has a rolled pan, so all I have to do is fabricate a belly pan, rig up a front and rear suspension arrangement, and I'm good to go. I’m planning on using red tinted windows. If they’re dark enough I may even forgo the interior, in which case it will be a slammer! Here’s a composite picture from the Jimmy Flintstone web site showing the basic body shell and a really nice completed model whose builder, sadly, is uncredited. As you can see it comes with a bulging molded show car-style rear pan with molded in license plate frame. As you may know, Flintstone bodies are quite thick, so it was an easy session with my Dremel to grind it down to a smooth, trim competition style pan. Other than that the body came in fine shape and very little was required to prep it for paint. A popular style at the TROG meets is one where an old competition or street rod has been refurbished to sound mechanical state, but the original “barn find” patina has been preserved. There’s a fine example that’s featured in this year’s NNL Poster (see: http://nnlwest.org/ ). That’s the idea behind my project. Paint is Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze, a real 50’s Packard Caribbean style light blue. It was applied over successive layers of red and white primer and then distressed by sanding through the color layers in the appropriate spots. I then made homemade decals using some Photoshop techniques so that the decals themselves are distressed. Then the whole thing was sealed with Dullcote and further aged using weathering powders. Here are the results: The wheels and tires are next. I’ll be making scratch built flat aluminum discs, the precursors of the fancier domed spun aluminum Moon discs. That will be the subject of my next update. Other than that the rear suspension will be non-existent, hidden under the bellypan, and the front suspension is a basic dropped axle affair from my parts box. Even at a leisurely build pace it shouldn’t take long to do… Thanx for lookin’, B. Edited January 9, 2018 by Bernard Kron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintagercr Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Bernard, I look forward to seeing it completed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curt raitz Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Good Morning Sir Lookin' gud so far, isn't TROGing fun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phildaupho Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Looks fabulous as is and will only get better with suspension and wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Wow nice start. Great job on the paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Looking very "beachy" Bernie! Looking forward to seeing this one in the under glass section. Love the paint also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Muppet Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 You nailed that patina. Gorgeous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DustyMojave Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Bernard, these wheel covers on Tom Beatty's belly tank are the real fore-runners of Moon discs. thes were lids from wringer-type washing machines. That picture above is a page from Tom's book about how to build your own belly tank. I checked my photos of Toms car taken by my dad at El Mirage in the late 50s, but by then he had Moon discs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Another one that is going to look killer one the sand. Are you going to use soda can bottoms for your disc's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocking Rodney Rat Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Man, o man, I love that paint job!!! This is gonna be sweet! That body is a perfect choice for a slammer/curbside build. Bring it on home!!!! -RRR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 I can't agree enough with the others. This one is just supurb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geewhiz Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Since "TROG" has come to the forefront in the real car world it has taken off in the scale world as well. Kind of refreshing to have some new subject matter to model. You've taken the scale TROG world on in gentleman fashion, Bernard, and this 2nd build is very kool. As I've got one in my mind in the planning stages, you're quite an inspiration to me. Thanks for sharing all the kool builds that come from your hotrod mind!!! This one is gonna be awesome!!!????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 (edited) 13 hours ago, DustyMojave said: Bernard, these wheel covers on Tom Beatty's belly tank are the real fore-runners of Moon discs. thes were lids from wringer-type washing machines. .. That picture above is a page from Tom's book about how to build your own belly tank. I checked my photos of Toms car taken by my dad at El Mirage in the late 50s, but by then he had Moon discs. 13 hours ago, 1930fordpickup said: Another one that is going to look killer one the sand. Are you going to use soda can bottoms for your disc's? As you'll see in the next post, I chose to go with the simple flat ones that were seen in the late 40's and that they were done using .o20 styrene sheet. Richard, I'm familiar with that photo. Like everything Tom Beatty did, even the simplest details were done with flair. Besides that astounding for the era space frame peaking through, it stands to reason that Beatty would cobble up some backyard wheel covers with that extra something! Plain old flat wheel covers: Edited January 7, 2018 by Bernard Kron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 (edited) Thanks everyone. “Realism” had always been something that motivated me in my modeling. But realism is a pretty slippery concept. For different viewers, and even the same viewer in different circumstances, what looks "real" vary widely. For example, ultra-detailed models full of tiny, expertly applied parts to many will look “realistic” because the expectation is to see all these superbly rendered parts just as we would see them in the real world if we chose to look at something with care and in detail. For other viewers the same model might look busy and over detailed – some might say “toy like”. A great ultra-detailed model often “picks its battles”, as I like to say – the modeler includes the extra detail where it would be observed in the real world, and perhaps omits detail where it would get in the way. Most of the super-detail modeling I admire has this characteristic. But I also enjoy more impressionistic modeling, where colors and textures and subtle scaling effects are what render realistic impact to the completed model. With so little to it - no interior, motor or chassis detail to speak of -this project I hope will fall in the impressionistic category. It’s all color, texture, rolling stock and bodywork. To me that’s the appeal of the curbside/slammer approach. The wheels and tires are done now. The rear tires are Herb Deeks truck tires. I buy a stash every year from Herb at the NNL West. They're large enough in diameter to lend themselves to setting up a set of big ‘n’ littles. They are my current go-to for early era hot rods where narrow bias plys are the order of the day. The front tires are from the Revellogram ’37 Ford pickup and delivery kits. If you find an early enough issue they’re even branded Goodyear! They have a nice ribbed tread and pie-crust markings and pair up well with the Deeks tires. Both types of tires are 1/24 and require the slightly larger diameter 1/24 wheels generally found in Monogram models and in the sports car modeling aftermarket. For this application the actual appearance of the wheels was completely irrelevant. In fact the funkier and more useless the wheel the better, since it would be totally hidden by the wheels covers. Searching through my stash I happened on a set of – to my eyes – ghastly 90’s billet styles wheels in a Monogram ’37 Ford Sedan kit. Yechhh!!! They would do nicely... I stripped them of their chrome. Ironically the narrower front set worked best at the rear, where they were paired with a pair of the wheels backs from the aforementioned Revellogram ’37 Ford pickup/van kits; this time reversed which supplied a handy mounting for the rear axle. The wider rear wheels took up the entire width of the skinny front tires, perfect, because all I needed to do was mount the inner front wheel covers to the flush wheel surface. I used a circle cutting tool designed for cutting paper and thin plastic and cut 6 .66” diameter flat discs from .020” styrene. The discs were painted in Testors Aluminum Plate, allowed to cure thoroughly and buffed out. Then the discs were weathered to go with the bodywork. I’ve found that applying Kosutte Gin San metalizing powder to Testors Metalizer Aluminum Plate makes for a very convincing worn polished aluminum finish. This was followed by a light application of the same weathering powders as I had used on the bodywork. The result is a hopefully “beach racing”-appropriate weathered finish. Below is a composite picture of the process. Now for the bellypan panel, a blanking piece for the non-interior, the “suspension” and the red-tinted window glass… Thanx for lookin’, B. Edited January 7, 2018 by Bernard Kron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DustyMojave Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 I like that that photo used for reference shows the SoCal Coupe with the name of an old friend - Kong Jackson - lettered on the side. The coupe probably had Kong ignition at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt Tuttle Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Very nice weathering work. Will follow this with interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 Thanks! Just about done, which shouldn’t be surprising given overall there wasn’t a lot to do. The front and rear suspension is installed and so it was time for a stance check. Things look like they turned out OK, with a racy rake to go with the lakes-style angled A-pillar, emphasized by the weathered molding on the body. The wheel covers were re-done to match the bellypan (see below) – I felt the first attempt was too bright to go with overall worn look. The red tinted windows have been installed: As I suspected the small window openings combined with the relatively dark plexiglas, completely obscures the interior, so the model is now a full slammer with absolutely no inside detail whatsoever. I made a blanking sheet to seal off the interior below the beltline, avoiding any possibility of seeing the rough resin and crude structure. It’s a sheet of styrene painted flat black and taped in place. The bellypan was fabricated from .020 styrene and finished in Duplicolor Silver metallic lacquer. Treated with Kosutte Gin Sang metalizing powder it looks like bare metal steel. Followed up with some weathering powders to match the body work and it all tied together well. At this point I re-did the wheel covers with the same treatment to match. The bellypan will be fastened in place using the L-shaped tabs on the reverse side as glue points. The T-shaped strip down the middle of the reverse side is to give the thin .020 styrene some structure. The notch is to clear the rear "axle". In the composite photo below, besides the shots of the bellypan construction and placement and the interior view showing the sophisticated rear suspension system and the blanking sheet, I’ve included a detail shot of the front axle installation. I actually went to the trouble of fabricating a leaf spring from strips of .020 styrene, but on completion it turned out that the width of the spring was exactly the width of the slot in the bodywork to accommodate it, so it is totally invisible on the completed car. Oh well... All that’s left to do now is to fabricate the steering and suspension detail. The rear shocks will be nonexistent since they are hidden in the bodywork, the front shocks being Revell ’40 Ford Standard vane-type units. The radius rods will be split from those found in the Revell ’37 Ford truck and van kits. The steering will have a side mounted bell-crank and external tie rod. With that it should be done! Thanx for lookin’, B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.