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Dragmaster Mk. IV Early 60's Digger


Bernard Kron

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Early 60’s digger based on a Dragmaster Mk. IV chassis

This is an early 60’s dragster based on the Dragmaster Mk. IV chassis in the Revell Mickey Thompson Attempt I kit. The Attempt I was a fully enclosed streamliner designed to capture small displacement acceleration records in to two different classes using a couple of blown 4-cylinder Pontiac Tempest motors, which Pontiac had essentially made by taking their V-8 and cutting it in half. For this project I omitted the outer body, wheels, front axle and motor(s) from the kit. The inner body was cut down slightly and a front axle from the Revell Tony Nancy Double Dragster kit substituted – the Attempt I had a narrow front axle to keep the frontal area of the streamliner to a minimum. I removed the front roll bar hoop from the dual hoop setup that was a Dragmaster option. Most racers ran a single hoop.

The Attempt I kit is from the high-detail era of the early 60’s from Revell, a period with a reputation for fiddly, ill-fitting parts. This was definitely not the case for this kit and I recommend it highly for this sort of build, especially considering what Mooneyes Parts Pacs are trading for on eBay.

The blown Pontiac V8 is from a Revell Parts Pac with a Hilborn scoop courtesy of Altered States Models who also supplied the highly detailed Hilborn fuel pump. The headers are from a Revell Chevy V8 Parts Pac. The Halibrand 5-window mags and front 12-spokes are resin pieces from the infamous gregory23sc on e-bay, who did beautiful work until he stole everyone’s money and disappeared into the night… The very nice M&H pie-cut slicks are from Ma’s resin and the front tires are the little Pirellis that come in the Revell ’31 Ford Sedan “rat-rod” kit. Paint is Testors Lime Gold Metallic enamel and Duplicolor Wimbledon White with most metal surfaces finished in various shades of Testors Metalizers. The Dragmaster Logos on the cowl are homemade decals.

It was great fun attempting to capture the look and feel of this era of drag racing history. Dragmaster offered the Mk. IV as a turnkey dragster kit and sold a ton of them all over the US and Canada which is one reason this design is so iconic of the period even today.

The w.i.p. for this project can be found here: http://www.modelcars...showtopic=61756

Thanx for lookin’,

B.

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Edited by Bernard Kron
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I like this one a lot. Definitly captures the feel of the cars back then. Lightweight , Simple and crazy fast.

Untill recently I was never a big fan of the old dragsters. That changed when I went to the NHRA reunion in Bowling Green .

I have to give a big kudos the drivers of the cars.

Edited by gtx6970
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Thank you, everyone!

Having just come off a couple of shiny Kandy and Krome hot rods, I had originally intended to build this one as the kind of drag car you often saw at the car shows during that time; the slightly out of date diggers, altereds, competition coupes and gassers that had been retired to the show circuit with plenty of shiny new paint and bright plating to spice them up. Perhaps the most extreme example of this trend was George Barris' notorious re-do of the Chrisman Bros. '30 Ford Coupe, the "Dobie Gillis" XMSC 210 (see pictures below).

But as I progressed with the build I got into the race car side of things. If I achieved any degree of realism with this model I think it may be because it straddles the line between slick and shiny and rat rod rust and dust, but the effect is somewhat accidental. The Lime Gold and White paint scheme,for example, is a hold-over from the first stages of this build. The turning point came with the choice of rear wheels, finishing them in Burnt Metal Metalizer, and, as a result, dumping the shiny chrome front wire wheels to go for the 12-spokes. Then, when I buried the showy paint job in trade decals, I knew I was committed. I even tried to remove the Drag News stickers because I thought I had pushed it too far, but they wouldn't come off. Now I think it looks OK...

Drag car modelers are among the most technically demanding out there, the result of their emphasis on both historical correctness and highly detailed builds. While both correctness and detail interest me, I come from a somewhat different orientation. For one thing, I'm not inclined to build historical replicas, and I still have a great deal of progress to make on the technical side, so for the time being super-detailing isn’t part of the “message” of my builds. But I try my best to capture the spirit of the subject matter, while remaining faithful to the period details wherever possible so as not to “break the spell”. As a result, it’s especially satisfying to me if I can make a connection to others with the “look and feel” of my models.

Thanx again for all the kind words,

B.

The Barris XMSC 210:

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The Chrisman Coupe in its original form:

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Edited by Bernard Kron
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