Stephanie's Rose- Halibrand-equipped '41 Willys - Completed 5-4-2014!

[Art Laski]

I'm limping in on this WIP with not much started yet, but trying to get ideas flowing. This is going to be a build of the Revell '41 Willys Street Rod, inspired by my little sister whose name is Stephanie Rose. She mentioned to me a while ago as she was admiring some of my other builds that she likes Willys hot rods, so I thought I would build one inspired by her, which will end up in her possession once I'm done showing it around.

Since she is the granddaughter of Ted Halibrand, I plan to accentuate the Halibrand wheels and also add a Halibrand quick change rear end and, of course, add some subtle logos to the body.



I'm thinking of going with a candy pink with some pearl ghost flames for the body paint. I picked up a flame mask from ebay all the way from Australia that I am eager to try out. Here's the mask:







Here is the center section I plan to use. It's a resin copy I made from the Monogram Pie Wagon. It's one of the best quick changes I've seen around.







I am also thinking about replacing the blower with an injection set up, as I think it will look cool to have some injector tubes sticking through the hood. I'm still trying to form my vision on this project, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to hearing them.

Thanks for looking!

Edited May 6, 2014 by Art Laski

[Sixx]

I think you're off to a great start...can never go wrong with a Willys!!! Sounds like it's gonna be really cool man!!!

[cobraman]

I look forward to following your progress. True..... you can't have too many Willys.

[John Teresi]

Oh BOY!!!!!.......this is going to be good Art........can`t wait to see the progress on this.

[slusher]

Sounds like a really cool project...

[Johan020]

Those flame masks are great to work with

[Dr. Cranky]

Oh man, I can't wait to see what you are going to do to the paint and that mask. It's gong to look killer. Go, Art, go!

[58 Impala]

Art, how much do those masks cost in US dollars? I couldn't find the price conversion on the EBay site, also what was the shipping?

[vintagedragfan]

this will be awesome Art, cannot wait to see this come together! love da willys!!

[Art Laski]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. I hope to have something new up soon.

John, thanks for making this build possible. Too bad you had your Willys done before I even got the box open! It would have been fun to do them at the same time.

Tom, the masks were about $13 shipped. If you search for "willys flame mask" on ebay, they pop right up.

[Randy D]

Hi Art, Looking forward to your work on this one!! Love the Willy

Randy

[Art Laski]

Love the Willy

Hey now, this is a family forum!

Seriously, Randy you're a masterful modeler in my mind, so I'm honored to have you follow along. Hopefully this won't disappoint.

[Mooneyzs]

Art... I can't wait to see this build come to life. it will be another Beauty by you.

[Tom Setzer]

Art We want to see more of this Build, it should be very good after the Great Start You Have Made!

[bryan_m]

neat!

bryan

[Art Laski]

I've been doing the parts cleanup on this kit for a while, so there hasn't been much to share until now.

I got the injector manifold and tubes I ordered from Speed City Resin. Really excellent parts, in my opinion.

The only problem is, the injector doesn't fit this particular engine very well, so I'll probably be scratchbashing a new one using the injector pieces from this unit and a scratch-built manifold.

I got the axle tubes in the rear end and primered, but the casting of the rear end had a few bubbles where the bolt heads were, so I used these great little bolts I got from my good friend, John Teresi, to fix it up.

Edited October 3, 2012 by Art Laski

[Art Laski]

There is a problem. The axle tube is thicker than the original rear end, so even after opening up the kit brackets, the shocks don't fit. I decide to make new brackets.

I made the decision to not only redo the axle brackets, but make a whole new suspension, and also make it functional.

I made some rod ends from plastic rod and guitar string, some radius rods from aluminum tube, and jam nuts from hex rod.

Then i made some new brackets by cutting them from plastic sheet and laminating them together.

More to come soon. Thanks for looking!

[John Teresi]

Now thats what I`m talking about......I love to watch your scratch and modify building.......Art my friend, you have some serious talents......can`t wait for the next up-date.

[Mooneyzs]

Art... Awesome work buddy!! Love your work man. Its great to see you making progress on this. I sure know how it is to get things cleaned up and ready. I have to agree with John... you have some talents for sure. Looking forward to more.

[Jantrix]

Very cool. Looking forward to more.

[Art Laski]

Thanks, guys. Some of these detailed changes are coming along slowly for me, but I'll be picking up some momentum soon. Appreciate you looking in!

[Dr. Cranky]

Wonderful progress.

[Art Laski]

Thanks for the support, Doctor!

I've been able to get a little more done on the rear end. It really had me wondering what I had gotten myself into! I felt like I created the hardest kit I've ever built. B ut the cool thing is, it actually works.

Anyway, here are some shots of the shocks and the mock up of the rear end. I found the springs at Home Depot in an assortment pack and they turned being the perfect size, just had to trim it down some.

[Art Laski]

As I mentioned earlier, the injector manifold I purchased just didn't fit. So I decided to scratch-bash a new one. I made the manifold itself from scratch, then used the injectors from the resin piece. I think it's going to work.

The piece on the left is the one I made, the middle is the blower manifold that came with the kit, and the right one is the resin injector.

I added some ribs and a distributor location.

Cut the injectors off the resin part.

And the final part.

Thanks for looking!

[crazyrichard]

thats one awsome build really gonna follow this one , awsome job !