Red Baron

[RatRod]

Man, I haven't posted a build on here in awhile, so here goes....

I originally built this for a contest on the Showrod forum that ended on April fools day this year. I had this idea (and the parts!) to do this one for years, so I'm glad I finally got to do it. How do you modify a classic like the Red Baron without losing the whole effect of what Tom Daniel originally came up with? Well.....I thought, what if Tom had done the R.B. when he was doing the crazy wide tire cars that were (and are) still really cool. Cars like the Horn Toad, Firecracker, Groovy Grader, ETC. So, what I came up with here is a chopped surfer helmet, lowered stance in the rear, wide tires, a few scratch built items, and here is a "what if" Red Baron.

And a shot of it sitting next to a box stocker for comparison...

Edited September 28, 2010 by RatRod

[Smart-Resins]

That is hands down, the best RB I have ever seen! I love the iodized looking red and those phat tires on there! Everything you did just comes together to a perfect looking build!

[Railfreak78]

Dude! I was about to put you down in there "Where's Waldo" section not long ago. Great to see you come back and with a Bang! Nice take on this I love it!

[Tijuanataxi]

Well John, its a killer that Baron. It really looks good, and they changes you made, really are spot on, and makes the model stand out.

But... dare I say it? You made a mistake on the headlights. Its not really your fault though, because Monogram made this mistake, on the drawing on the box.

The blacked out part of the headlights are wrong. It should be the upper and the lower part of the headlight that are blacked out, leaving only a small horisontal slot for the headlights. The reason for this, was to - during WWII - minimize the amount of light, that could be spotted by enemy aiplanes.

Check out the headlights on the Opel Blitz on the picture.

But anyway, a great looking Red Baron

[Romell R]

Its a great looking fantasy car and with that said , Who cares if the headlights are wrong the overall appearance is excellent. And i really dont think you'll have to worry about allied fighter planes shooting this ride up, they probably wont be able to keep up with it. LOL! Job well done!

[Tijuanataxi]

Yes, as I said a great lookig Red Baron. I´m not critisizing, just pointing it out

[Scale-Master]

It’s very tough to pull off customizing an iconic custom and keeping the soul of the original alive. I think you succeeded. I also favor the more natural “raw†metal treatments over the chrome. It has a bit more attitude now…

[cobra98]

Very nice,really like the changes

[Greg Cullinan]

Paint looks fantastic.Awesome idea as well.

The helmet chop makes a huge difference for the better.

[RatRod]

Thanks for all the great comments!!! This was a fun project, but still a little challenging to to pull off. Now I just need to get out of this three month slump, and build again!!

[davyou5]

I think the Red Baron would drive this thing on the road .

[imatt88]

Very nice! Love the color!

[Scott Colmer]

That's always been one of my favorites of yours, John. I agree with Mark about the excellent updates to a strong design. Not easy to do, but you pulled it off.

(It is good to know about the headlight treatment. I've been doing it the other way too.)

I hope you start thrashing again. Best way out of a slump is to cut plastic - I think.

Scott

Update - Oh dang walked right into the jaws of a zombie thread. Still a great model.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Scott Colmer

[Speedfreak]

I like your version John, nice looking model.

[RAMBENNA]

sweet baron , looks awesome

[Twokidsnosleep]

That is pretty darn sweet!

[Mopar - D]

Awesome build

[TheCat]

Great build.