Bernard Kron

Thanx! The Trailer is done, except for paint. Almost entirely scratch built from various shapes of Evergreen and Plastruct plastic, the exceptions being the wheels and tires (standard AMT Firestones and steelies), the fenders (AMT ’25 T rear ‘cycle fenders) and the springs (AMT ’37 Chevy rear suspension). I know zero about trailers so I used the little trailer in the Revell Edelbrock Midget kit as a pattern. Of course this one is much, much, bigger and had to have suspension to take the weight. Tomorrow I’ll start in on the paint. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Super slick. What are your ideas for color and finish? The big chrome T's and the sleeved rears set such a modern tone. Link to overall Fotki Site: http://public.fotki.com/tomcoolidge/ Link to Revell Olds pics: http://public.fotki.com/tomcoolidge/revell-1950-oldsmob/ Looks like you'll have to e-mail Coolidge for prices, delivery, etc. unless someone knows a better way... E-Mail: promolite2000@aol.com

This has become a habit with me - the annual NNL West Thrash. Trying to get my '34 Ford Dry Lakes roadster done along with scratching together a trailer for it to go with my matching '40 Ford Sedan Delivery I finished a couple of weeks back. Not much time left (it's next Saturday), but I think I might make it...

Thanx all! The tonneau is body color but has been finished in matte acrylic which has changed the shade slightly. I moved the body to its proper position which was slightly more forward that it has been in prior mockups. This is the final position and helps center the rear wheel in the wheel well. I had made some extensions to the lower edge of the wheel well panels to line them up with the rolled pan I had made. It required removal of some of that material. It was Dremel time, but things survived fine. The surfaces involved are largely hidden by the rear suspension parts, so it was nothing a little touch up paint couldn’t fix… The chassis is completed. I decided to stay with the stock wishbones as would be quite common during the period of this build, particularly on Fords starting with the more advanced Model 40 chassis (the ’33-34 period Fords). The rear wishbones are from the kit. I removed them from the kit driveshaft, cut my own, shorter driveshaft and glued them into the correct location. The front wishbones and steering are from the kit as well and line up perfectly with the ’37 Ford front axle despite the slight difference in scale, the drop and the reversed spring location. Lucky break! I’m in full final assembly mode. The next post should be as a completed project. I also have designed a trailer and I’m about to start assembly. Barring any last minute disasters, the roadster will make it to the NNL West … maybe the full set will too! Thanx for lookin’, B.

Beautifully executed, a true "tribute", a blend of the 1:1 and aspects of the modern Revell donor. A very handsome traditional hot rod in the contemporary style. Congrats!

Ed shows his stuff here: http://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc/member_dealer_directory/drag-city-casting-/

As long as everyone is winding up and clarifying their position on this release, here's mine. My disappointment in the RR lies in the the fact that it's a novel, idiosyncratic car, the reflection of one man's taste in rod building, and that in choosing to do this subject Revell created a model that had the potential to be less compatible with the rest of the Deuce 1/25th scale family than it might have been. As it happened the problem is now quite real, and it was compounded by significant variations in dimensions, fit, and parts design. The lack of additional details from the 1:1 that would have expanded the appeal of the kit, such as the I-beam axle and the optional hood sides, only served to diminish my enthusiasm for the kit. Ironically, I'm pretty neutral on authenticity and accuracy, whereas compatibility and features are very important to me. On a going-forward basis the kit is less useful to me than it might have been. I will find myself keeping an eye out for reasonably priced examples of the older Roadster release in order to get nice features like an unmolested body and hood top and those nice, highboy friendly, louvered hood sides, a more universal interior design, and a known and well documented general dimensional compatibility with the other three body styles currently in production.

Thanx for the updates Brett. I hadn't gotten that far in my comparisons but this is pretty bad news since the hood in the RR is so specialized. It implies that there is no stock hood available from another kit for the RR since the cowl is significantly wider on the RR. Slimming down a stock hood is not a job I would look forwad to. As I said earlier, the more I look the less I like...

As I mentioned above, I'm doing a review of the Rat Roaster kit on another forum, comparing the RR with the earlier "Goodguys" release as well as the other 1/25th Revell Deuces currently available. I'm checking for compatibility and differences. The body has two significant changes, the firewall covered earlier on this thread, and the rear valance which is Rat Roaster specific with two small extensions that surround the gas tank as well as an inset for the license plate (see pictures below). The modified rear valance would need to be cut back for a full fendered conversion of to be correct for a stock bodied car. As a result the wheel well panels are different. However the mounting tabs are identically placed and the two panels can be interchanged betwenn the two kits. I'm focused on anoth project I'm trying to get done by next week so I haven't moved on to the chassis as yet, but an initial examination indicates that the RR frame is very close to, if not identical to, the older issue chassis. I should get to a more formal comparison in a couple of weeks.

I feel it's unproductive to speculate on the internal goings on and motivations at Revell. The observation regarding some of their other recent releases is the interesting part to me. There's no doubt in my mnd that Revell has, and will continue to, produce some very fine kits. Indeed, I'm sure that for every corporate drone buzzing around within its wall there is an equally committed modeler driving the corporate mission forward, often quite succesfully. But, ... I have a copy of the Rat Roaster kit. The more I look at it the less I like it. If it's my future source for Deuce roadsters it has increased the number of fixes I will have to do to make it universal enough to be suited to a variety of variants. The smaller than expected number of "plus" features has made it difficult for me to be enthused about it. Even the cool wheels and tires, as nice as they are, use a mounting system where the wheels, at least, are not easily adaptable to more standard systems. The bottom valance at the rear is Rat Roaster specific (although how they could avoid this, if they intended to model the Rat Roaster, is unclear). Much of the interior is toy like and, again, Rat Roaster specific (compare it to the previous interior, despite the dashboard). The hood is useless. etc., etc. As much as I welcome a fresh tooling of a 1/25th Deuce roadster, if this is to be our only one I remain unconvinced that doing the Rat Roaster, particularly at this level, was such a good idea...

I’m closing in on final assembly. I built a bare bones gutted interior using the bucket from an AMT ’34 Ford 5-window kit, an AMT ’36 Ford steering wheel, a resin bomber seat from ThePartsBox.com, and a bunch of styrene strip. I also made some graphics decals. But the most important work was probably the heavy revision I did of the front and rear suspension crossmembers in order to modify the stance. I also reversed the front suspension to put the spring behind the axle. The result is that the car sits lower overall with a forward rake to it now. With decals applied the body is ready for its clear coat which I hope to do tomorrow. Still shooting for the NNL West in 10 days (minus travel time gives me a little over a week…). Thanx for lookin’, B.

Hiya Curt. Now That's modeling!!! Like Harry said: As I said when I sent you the link, there's a subculture for everything. Welcome to the wonderful, wacky world of Vintage Speedsters, whose epicenter just happens to be here in the Pacific Northwest: http://nwvs.org/index.shtml Quoting from my e-mail to you: "Dig deep, it’s full of treasures, in particular their section on vintage hop-up parts and motors. Also the section marked “Historics” which includes links at the top of its main page to “Classic Speedster Pictures” and “The Ed Hughes Photo Collection” that shouldn’t be missed: full of priceless period pics of these lo-buck racers from the Roaring Twenties and the early years of the Depression." The result is everything I would expect from you and more! The wire wheels are a delightful touch that add immeasurably to what would already have been a fine model. It defnitely looks like you really absorded the imagery and the lore on the Northwest Vintage Speedsters website. You should drop them a note with some pics of this car. I'm sure they would be thrilled. They might even make you a 1/25th scale honorary member! Looking forward to seeing this little jewel in a coupla weeks!

Thanx for the info. I think Wes' involvement may have been peripheral but I know he's a member and was the one who showed them off. In any case they have always had a highly unique appearance and certainly would spice up any Flathead-motivated project.

Bill, are thse Kong heads courtesy of Wes H.? I saw the protypes on line last year. I'd gladly pay actual money for set!

There are many aspects of this model, some very basic such as the "scalp't" roof and the rear deck louvering, and others more detailed, such as the mounting and design of the front suspension, that already diverge strongly from an authentic replica of a period hot rod. This is despite the gorgeous stance and period correct wheels and tires and the contemporary/traditional blown flathead. The roll-back soft top is another such detail. In that sense it's in keeping with much of the rest of the project. However, IMHO, it detracts from the really nice stance and lines of the car so I would vote against it, even if it is technically impressive.

Niko, critiques aside, they just get better and better. This one has "the look". Congrats. Looking forward to your next one.

Nice transformation/reinterpretation of this highly stylized kit. All the textures and details help me "see past" the basic Rat Roaster. I dig it! And it's nice to see you hitting your stride again, Doc.

Great thread! I’ve enjoyed the various reactions to this car and have been surprised a bit by the strength of emotion it has triggered. AMBR winners have always reflected the prevailing trend in state-of-the-art rod building at the time. The 1950 winner, the Niekamp roadster pictured above, was a serious, bucks-up piece of kit at that time, with it’s fabricated aluminum track nose and full bellypan and full house flattie under the hood. When Fad-T’s were the fad, Fad-T’s won the AMBR. When show rods were all the rage the hot rod equivalent of a show rod would win. This year the Traditional movement may appear to have broken through, but not before 20 years of trying. Elements of this style have shown themselves among the AMBR’s of recent years, but not to this level of purity. The Rodder’s Journal style modern recreation of a traditional postwar hot rod has finally achieved its AMBR win. But this style of building has been around since it emerged in the final decade of the last century. It is a reaction against the hi-tech excellence first launched by the late Lil’ John Buttera and the late Boyd Coddington at the end of the 70’s; a trend that would establish itself with a vengeance in the next decade and come to be known, unfortunately, as “Billet”. Buttera, Coddington, and their contemporaries made a conscious attempt to propel rod building into a more technically and stylistically modern idiom. As recently as last year this trend still informed the aesthetic of AMBR winners. The result, inevitably, was a longing for a more “roots” experience, an emerging trend documented in the pages of TRJ. 2013 marks the emergence of this trend onto the very top step of the hobby’s hierarchy of recognition. (But not before authentic restorations of historic rods and customs have been shown on multiple occasions at Pebble Beach.) This years’ AMBR, like most years, represents the current establishment in the rodding world. Longtime traditional rod re-creation and restoration enthusiast John Mumford bankrolled this “continuation” of a 30 year old project started by Kelly Brown. Roy Brizio’s shop (rod builders to the stars, much as Barris was in his day) built it, mainly from scratch, except for the more obvious bits like the beyond-rare Ardun V8-60 heads. It was even a bare-metal feature a couple of issues back in TRJ. It seems to me that Brizio and Mumford knew what they were on to since they totally nailed the color (an evocation of Ford Honduras Maroon, a popular customizer’s color on either side of WWII) and trim. It’s instructive to compare this car with last year’s AMBR which was, highly significantly, also a ‘27T style track roadster, in that case built by Jimmy Shine and Pete Chapouris. Shine and Chapouris are also members of the Traditional establishment, but didn’t quite “turn the corner” into such a hard core build as this one. Personally, as much as I love traditional rods (they are at this point the only style of car I model), I feel myself longing for the day we will be able to take the lessons we learned from Buttera, Coddington, et al, and blend them with the powerful beauty, the near perfection of form and function, of this exquisite little car, and create a new idiom. The Aluma Coupe was a spectacularly brilliant piece of design and engineering, the Boydsters a brave experiment in creating a New Age rodding idiom which unfortunately got grotesquely played out in the ensuing years. As Bill has pointed out, scale modeling gives us the means to start this journey on a modest budget. Let us begin! The Bill Lindig "indy" Roadster - 2012 AMBR Winner

There are two aspects of this build which appeal to me tremendously. One is the precision of the plastic fabrication. Examples at this level are such a pleasure to see and remind me what is achievable with sufficient practice and skill. I will almost regret it when you actually paint this project! The other is the stance and proportion of the overall car. It really is exceptionally successful. Thanx for sharing!

Thanx everyone! I’ve been making steady progress on this one, shooting for my February 14th deadline to bring it with me to the NNL West. I’m far enough along that I think I’ve got a chance. The bodywork is painted, as is the chassis, and various subassemblies are each about half done. The flathead V8 is from a Revell ’40 Ford Street Rod with heads from a Revell ’40 Ford Standard (painted red to denote the PowerFlow modifications) with a quad ’97 setup using carbs from Early Years Resin. I reversed the front axle to lengthen the wheelbase a bit. The paint needs trimming and rubbing out, the motor needs to get its headers and ignition installed and the carbs plumbed, and … well as I said everything is about half done. Thanx for lookin’, B.

I've begun a comparison and compatibility thread on another forum where I'm analyzing the differences between the Rat Roaster and the old Revell 1/25th roadster as well as compatibility with the other currently available kits. There are quite a few differences, some of which will require some work on the part of modelers to adapt or correct parts. Here are some pictures of the firewall and fitment issues. It's as Brett eiscribes, pretty simple to correct. If you want to use the inset firewall front the other kist there's a gap you'll have to fill because the edge in the bodywork for the firewall is much slimmer on the Rat Roaster.

Very nice work. Someday I'll introduce myself to the cult of rust. It seems like so much fun. In the meantime I'll enjoy cool stuff like this. But it seems to me it's a shame to see what is so obviously a hot rod shunted off to Truck purgatory. But that's true of so many fine rods that happen to have a pickup bed in their DNA...

Well put. We're not rivet counting here. Revell's failure to refresh this series with a Mk. II variant was hinted at with the wide front tires and whitewall decals on the 5-window, and confirmed with the "chrome" decals and lack of a replica front axle on this one. On another site I've begun a thread assessing the compatibility of this kit with the other variants still in production (the Tudor, 3-wndow and 5-window) as well as its compatibility to other kits. I can tell you right off that they've modified the body at the rear pan area so that it's a copy of the Rat Roaster, and that the wheels are incompatible with most kit and aftermarket tires except those that use the same hollow tire and raised ridge system. Kits like the '48 Ford and the recent Oldsmobile were well received for their genuine effort to introduce a more traditional flavor to the product line. Even the chop on the '48 drew relatively muted criticism. Time will tell if Revell still needs to "get it right" with respect to a proper "Traditional" variant, but I suspect the Rat Roaster will be hobbled by it's questionable aesthetics and even more questionable execution, The Traditional movement has been going strong for two decades now and has spawned shorter term sub trends such as rat rods. The market is hungry for a proper execution of this trend. The Deuce roadster was the perfect opportunity to do it. They tried to address it with the 5-window, tackled it well with the '48 Ford and the Olds, but seem to have missed a few steps with this one, IMHO.

I've seen this elsewhere (I think it was MOM on Koolest Kruzers). It is brilliant, not only in detail and execution, but in styling and choice of paint scheme. Modeling on this level is something to be aspired to! Bravo! Vraiment superbe!!