Bernard Kron Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 ’29 Ford Highboy Roadster With Original “As-Found” Patina A popular trend among today’s Traditional hot rod enthusiasts is to find a genuine 40’s or 50’s hot rod and restore it to a safe and roadworthy condition while leaving intact as much of the old oxidized paint, road wear and surface corrosion as safety and good sense will allow. This is quite different than the “rat rod” movement where additional rust, perforation and decrepitude is added to the car or in fact invented where none existed. Modeling in scale to create a believable “as-found” patina shares much with military modelers who use many of the same techniques to do this. In this case I stumbled on some cheap black spray paint at my local auto supply store (Brite Touch Gloss Black in the aerosol can). I’m a sucker for cheap paints and was hoping to find a bargain-basement high quality lacquer. Such was not the case, and the paint dried with a subtle but noticeable light orange peel. Sanding it smooth still left a slight dull surface variation. It failed as a proper color coat but formed the basis for a truly believable old, worn, paint job. I decided to build a model around this happy accident using the recent (and now just re-issued) Revell ’29 Ford Roadster kit as the basis. The style is that of a classic mid-50’s street rod. The kit was extensively modified to correct its sky-high stance and modern rear suspension. I also swapped out the very-nice, but far too deluxe, multi-carb Buick Nailhead for a stock appearing and mildly warmed over Oldsmobile Rocket V8. The details are listed below. Base kit: Revell ’29 Ford Roadster kit, highboy version. Stock body and interior. Suspension modifications: Kit front suspension lowered by shaving the front spring and reversing the front cross member. Kit coil-spring suspension removed rear crossmember and transverse leaf spring from Revellogram ’37 Ford truck installed. Kit Ford 9” rear axle retained with scratch built lever shocks and scratch built location arms. Motor and transmission: Stock Oldsmobile Rocket V8 from Revell 1950 stock 2-door coupe kit with high performance exhaust manifolds from the Custom variant of that kit. 4-barrel carb from Revell 1/25th scale Deuce kits. Resin Oldsmobile “batwing” oil-bath air cleaner courtesy of Action Modeler (eBay vendor: action-shopper). Wheels and tires: 15” Front wheels from AMT ’40 For with Modelhaus 120A tires. 16” Wheels and Lincoln rear tires courtesy of Ed Fluck at Drag City casting, mastered by Dennis Lacy. Miscellaneous modifications: Revellogram ’30 Ford steering wheel. ‘32 Ford grill from Revell 1/25th scale Deuce kits. Paint and finishing: Brite Touch gloss black lacquer over Brite Touch red oxide primer and Duplicolor gray primer sealer. Black lacquer wet sanded with 1000 grit, then 2000 grit, sandpapers. Then detailed with rust red and light gray weathering powders. Interior finished in Testors Acryl British Crimson and Light Tan brush paints. Thanx for lookin’, B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larman Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 I really like this. Great job! You nailed the patina look perfectly and you also captured the look of a home built hot rod of that era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draggon Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Nice job, B. I love that patina. Looks good with the deuce grille and that Olds mill. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocking Rodney Rat Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Nice work as always, B... keep it real.... -RRR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bondo bill Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 great color & patina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooOld Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Very authentic looking and period correct roadster ! Great work Bernard ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Marischal Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Very fine build. steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Payne Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Bernard, you've done it again! I can't seem to find the right barn...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Looks fabulous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 (edited) Thanks everyone. I'm really pleased you all dig it. This "new" '29 kit (it was, after all, introduced in 2015 but then "disappeared" for a while) is the ultimate Parts Kit, but built straight out of the box, IMHO, it needs some work. The individual sub-assemblies (the motor, suspensions, chassis, interior, body, etc.) are beautifully detailed and finely executed. And well chosen, too. The I-Beam front end is as nice as ever has been done in 1/25th scale, for example. And both the Small Block Chevy (now in the roadster) and the Nailhead Buick (swapped over to the '30 coupe in the re-issues) are among the best I've seen. But the stock OOB build stands too high off the ground, the slim little '29 body shell separated from the ground by a vast amount of air. It needs to Come Down!!! Now that I've done both versions, channeled and highboy, I must say that the Highboy on its '32 Ford chassis rails is much easier to get looking right. I'll probably have another swing at the channeled version to see if 3rd time's the charm. Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh, since if you look at all the builds of this kit on the MCM board there's no lack of impressively done out-of-box builds. Suffice it to say I'm so glad it's back and am certain it will become a mainstay of my hot rod inventory. And yes, your comments and interest are greatly appreciated! Edited May 23, 2020 by Bernard Kron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Beautifully done, I like it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 Thank you Larry! I’ve had a request for some outdoor shots in natural light, so here they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Super nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 Thank you, Carl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave B Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 That's a great build Bernard, one of these days I may be brave enough to try a patina style build, but I don't think so!! Dave B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted May 28, 2020 Author Share Posted May 28, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Bantoft said: ...one of these days I may be brave enough to try a patina style build, but I don't think so!! Dave B Thanks so much David! Unfortunately (I guess...) the patina thing is more intuition than anything else. It's simply a matter of having the right "picture in your head" and intuiting the techniques you can use to get there, LOL! I swear I remove more weathering powder and polish more paint that I apply or sand to achieve it. It's really an exercise in knowing when to stop. Judging from your models I bet you wouldn't have a problem doing it since your cars always look "right" for what your aiming at. But if you lack the inclination to do it, then that, indeed, is a recipe for disaster. It's like me doing a showroom stock model. I wouldn't know where to begin - and yet I'm a huge fan of that discipline. Edited May 28, 2020 by Bernard Kron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 Very nice hot rod! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 Thanks Larry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Must have missed this one! While I'm not a huge fan of patina, especially the faux patina that seems to be the rage, I can certainly appreciate the subtlety and accuracy of your work - if this was dragged out of a 1/25th scale barn, it would look like this! The Olds engine is a nice touch, haven't done one myself yet. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 Thank you, Alan. I'm not a big fan of the rusty and crusty look myself, but a realistically done worn finish has always impressed me. Over the years I've seen plenty of worn paint jobs that somehow look right on the car in question, and that was what I was reaching for here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gseeds Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 Hey Bernard that model looks great , doesn’t matter which site I see it on, it’s just an awesome build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpa Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Very "ccol" build Bernard! Right from the pages of "Ol' Skool Rodz". You've really captured the look of a survivor! Love the Caddy "Batwing" air cleaner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 (edited) Thanks Gary and Mark! I'm glad you both like it. I must admit it's one of the more personally satisfying of my completions of late. Edited July 23, 2020 by Bernard Kron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyc Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 AHA! This is kinda the look I'm going towards with mine. Finally did a search to see what others have done. HAve had the kit since it first came out and will use the channeled frame with my chopped 31 sedan body someday. Trying to use kit parts because fabbing parts is just not fun to me anymore. It's about quick gratification. Looking through the kit parts, it's just not clear why Revell chose some of the parts they did - -the rear suspension is just way too modern for me. Way too nice. Have to weather it up. And you're right - both versions are just awfully high. Glad I found this one - good inspiration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted July 23, 2020 Author Share Posted July 23, 2020 On 7/22/2020 at 6:10 AM, randyc said: AHA! This is kinda the look I'm going towards with mine. Finally did a search to see what others have done. HAve had the kit since it first came out and will use the channeled frame with my chopped 31 sedan body someday. ... ...And you're right - both versions are just awfully high. Glad I found this one - good inspiration. Thanks Randy. In my experience the channeled frame is the more difficult of the two to get dialed in to a decent stance. I swear it sits even higher than the Deuce railed highboy piece. At the very least it's the same height but with the narrower A-bone rails it only emphasizes the mile-high stance even more. When I did the channeled version I landed up increasing the drop on the rear "z" as well as doing the both the front and rear end mods you see on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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