Mr. Metallic Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 In case you missed it, this is part of a set of models I built based on the 4 classic Monogram Hot Rod kits from the early 60's portraying phantom plastic colors not offered by Monogram for these kits. This particular one is the Red Beetle, based on the Blue Beetle kit. Many people would think that I would have cut corners and used the more widely available recreation Revell/Monogram released a few years ago of this kit , the Blue Bandito. That's not the case. To many collectors chagrin I sacrificed not only an actual Blue Beetle builtup, but also TWO rare Boss-A-Bone's to get all the red plastic parts. Oh, the horror. Over the last couple years I added two Boss-A-Bone builtups to my group of restoration candidates. One complete one, and one mostly complete one I didn't grab pics of the partial one before I took it apart, but he can see the post-deconstruction pic below. You can also see the first mockup of the Red Beetle. Both of these builtups suffered from several issues, so I had to triage the best parts to use for this because I always intended to build it in bare plastic. The second builtup seen here was also disassembled to harvest the best set of red plastic parts. Sadly, both cabs exhibited severe glue rash where the builders had used copious amounts of glue to install the interior. So much so that the 2nd cab now sits in several pieces on my bench because it imploded. (Thankfully my friend Les Gibbons has come to my aid with a replacement BAB for a future restoration) The eventual winning cab has stress marks that could be hidden by strategic placement of the kits multiple aquatic themed accessories. So, I set about the restoration of parts to make them solid and presentable. First up was the axle. It had the ends broken off at some point. So, I needed to create secure mounting points for the brake/wheel assemblies. I simply drilled a hole and inserted a brass pin in place. A similar procedure was used to secure the seats to the floor pan. I also took the opportunity at this time to lower the rear suspension slightly by hollowing out the rear crossmember for the spring to slide into. After the repairs were completed I then moved on to polishing the red kit plastic and then straight into assembly. The great thing about this series of kits is that the assemble so easily. I added minimal flat black paint accents, and a bit of Molotow chrome ink along the way. To borrow a phrase from a popular Marvel TV show and comic series, What If... Monogram had released a third version of this kit before they changed the tooling? This is what it could have looked like. For more pics, follow the link, and thanks for looking https://public.fotki.com/crstan/finished_models_by_me/survivors/life-cereal-faux-vi/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatz4u Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 nice save, well done.......also like the 58 Ford HT, who made it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Metallic Posted October 15, 2021 Author Share Posted October 15, 2021 13 minutes ago, thatz4u said: nice save, well done.......also like the 58 Ford HT, who made it?? I believe it's AMT. The paint that was used on it badly etched all surfaces. It's taking a lot of sanding to get back to even usable condition. At least the chrome was present since Modelhaus is no longer an option ☹️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 Nicely done. Looked like polishing took quite a bit of effort. Great concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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