Raul_Perez

Thanks guys!! I appreciate the compliments!! Clay, Thanks for pulling this out of the archives??? (I think...) Remember my young friend, revenge is just another way to spell one of those 5 letter words Gregg won't let us use anymore. Later,

The red paint looks awesome!! I built a few of these kits when they were new. They're GREAT kits to build!!! Thanks for sharing,

That should look pretty cool!! Especially since the Avanti salt flat racer that it'll be pulling is also supercharged!! I'm putting a matching Mustang Cobra 4.6L SVT engine in mine to match the engine that's in the Raptor. You just gotta love it when a plan come together...

I'll second that!!

Yep...the trailer will get a custom air foil in the front to keep all the dust, dirt and road grime off of the Raptor when it gets moved between the shows... George, I was busy for a couple of months helping a friend sort out a resin '35 Chevy coupe. Yes, this will have a matching trailer for the Raptor to ride on. When it's done, there will be no mistaking that it was all built as matching pieces in a set. Later,

Thanks, Dave!! I have a lot of fun building the customs. Some come out pretty cool and some end up back in the box to be used later as parts cars. I'm hoping this one will end up as a 3 piece set; hauler, trailer and custom hotrod. Later,

Hard to pick which one I like most...but I'd probably have to say the '41 Sedan Delivery... Can't wait to see them done!!

Looking good, Dave!! I can't wait to see this one at the NNL West in March!! You are coming, right??

I haven't decided on the chassis or interior yet, but I have a spare Lightning kit to take parts from... The Raptor was designed after this type of dinosaur. The truck will have similar design features, including the peak on the roof from the head of the dinosaur. Thanks,

How am I ever going to wedge all of that chassis, engine and interior into a '53 Ford hauler?! I guess I'll have to use a little "magic dust"! You know, ...a little for the model, a little for me... ...a little more for the model, a little more for me... ...a little more for me, a little more for me... Oh, back to the topic at hand...nice work!! Those are really cool looking trucks!! Later,

Thanks! Yeah, the plan is to make this one look like it should have gone to the crusher... No...this one isn't built to leave the ground or the time zone its in... You need to give one of these builds a try!!

This is being built as the hauler and trailer for the "Raptor" that I built earlier this year. When done, the hauler and the trailer will look very similar to the Raptor in design and color. The Raptor was a tribute to Ed Roth. The thought was "what would Ed build today if he had all the latest materials, engines, wheels, tires...?? From the start, I didn't like to shape of the side window openings on the doors, feeling that they were too tall in the front. With that, I tilted the front of the roof down about 0.05". At the same time, the hood needed a SERIOUS pie cut to get the front of it down where it needed to be. I also added the "spine" on the hood at that time. Not liking the look of the stock grille opening, even with the custom headlights that match those on the Raptor, it was time graft on the entire custom nose clip from the AMT '50 Ford Convertible onto the truck. That included a bit of reshaping of the front edge of the hood and another piecut. Here's how it looked at that point (the spine on the hood still needed to be replaced): The problem now with the new front end was that the truck looked too "nose heavy". The front looked like it stuck out too far beyond the wheel opening. To fix that, I moved the front wheel opening forward 0.20 inches. I also added 0.06" thick styrene to the top and bottom of the running boards to give them a more "modern" look. I'll drill them later to make room for the exhaust outlets. Here's how it looks now, sitting next to the Raptor. A bit more body work here and there and this one will be ready for a good coat of primer, followed by the Testors Fathom Green lacquer and the stripes. I hope to have this one ready for the NNL West in March...

Clay, I can only post one at a time!! Give me about 30 minutes...

The theme for the upcoming NNL West in March is "Cats and Rats". As a former bodyman, I've often wondered what happens to a lot of these cool custom cars after they leave the shop...are they well cared for and preserved for eternity or beaten into submission and handed down, then eventually left to rot in some old barn...you know the story. With that, I started wondering what a ratrod in the future would look like...no, not a rat-rodded "Back to the Future" car, just a ratrod 50 years from now. What will it look like? What kind of fuel will it run on? To start this build, I sifted through some of my 1:12th formula 1 scale engine parts. I wanted a heavy/industrial look for the engine. I found an old 1:12th scale oil tank that looked perfect for the block. To it I glued some Vette heads, an air filter box from an '00 Camaro, some parts from a Back to the Future II Delorean kit, (why not?), a few pieces of aluminum tubing, wires and some various scratch built goodies. Here are a couple of pics of the engine before I weather it: Here's what it's going into, a '32 Sedan body that's been channeled over a frame that's been stretched to make room for the multi-fuel burning future engine. If you look closely, you can see the beginnings of the fuel tank in the back seat. The wheels are from a Prowler. The chrome has been stripped. They still need to be painted and weathered. Where else will those wheels end up in the future?? Anyway, this has been a fun build so far. I've still got a lot of scratch building and weathering to do before this one truly looks like a rat in the future...

Cool stuff, Geezer!! I've seen this idea done before, but I can't remember where...

Very nice detail work, Greg!! Thatnks for sharing,

That's coming along nicely!! I have got to pull that kit out of my stash!! (After I finish what I've already started...)

It looks like you're off to a good start!! What color are you going to paint it?

Very nice start, Jürgen!! That'll look great when you get the bare metal foil work done on it!! Keep up the GREAT work!!

Very nice, Dave!! I can't wait to see this one finished!!

I saw this one the first time through...BUT...it's GREAT to see it again!!! Thanks for sharing,

Michael, Beautiful work as usual!! Where's the Autolite decal for the oil filter?

OK, Clay...thanks for not pulling ALL of them out of the archives! Thanks for the compliments, Ed! I'll post a few pics of the Raptor hauler this weekend...

Thanks, guys! Wait another year and my pal Clay will probably drag them out of the archives again!

Gotta love the Allison engine in just about anything!! I like the rear engine concept in something like a truck!! Thanks for sharing,