Bernard Kron

This is my first 1/4 miler project since late last year. I’ve been building hot rods but now it’s time for some drag machines. My initial build is an early 60’s A/ or AA/Dragster based on a Dragmaster IV chassis. I started with the Revell Mickey Thompson Attempt I kit, removed the second roll hoop, trimmed the rear tin work off the basic body, and swapped the Attempt I’s narrow front axle for a full width unit from a Revell Tony Nancy Double Dragster kit. Power will be a from a Revell Parts Pak blown Pontiac. Tires are pie crust M&H Racemasters courtesy of Ma’s Resin mounted on vintage Halibrands I scored on eBay a while back. Front wheels will be wires from the Tony Nancy kit. I'm really enjoying the detail and intricacy of this kit. Parts fit is surprisingly good. Not as fiddly as some Revell kits from this period. I'm saving the Attempt I's 4-bangers and the wheels and tires for my parts stash. Thanx for lookin', B. Here are some inspiration pics: And some pics of the chassis, some of the bodywork and paint, and the rear tires and wheels:

The heads and carb setup are reasonably authentic. . I'm not certain on the transmission, although it's quite clearly a modern unit, if I recall, an automatic of some sort. It's fairly simple to adapt an earlier transmission. In the aftermarket Early Years Resin make various 40's and 50's era transmissions including the classic LaSalle unit ( see http://earlyyearsresin.webs.com/drivetrainparts.htm ).

You're right, both the Speedwagon and the 3-window are Copyright 1996 and the Roadster is Copyright 1997. My mistake...

Early 50's Era Chevy 6 powered drag car: Pre-war Lakes Style 4-Banger Model A Hot Rod Roadster:

Very nice modern approach to an evergreen classic. Great stance and rake and tastefully handled contemporary design cues (wheels/tires, big blower mill, etc.). I think that one measure of a highly successful model both in concept and execution is one which would serve as a prototype for a great 1:1 build. It's by no means the only defintion of fine modeling, but it's very much appropriate to this one. Congrats! Did you have to scratch a new chassis in order to get the body channel you needed to set the stance properly?

Thanks for the link, Andrew. That's some great detail to refer to! Also, I was re-reading some of William's (Bill's?) stuff and I think the other kit worth considering as a parts source is the AMT '29 roadster kit. Now out of production and increasingly difficult to track down, I buy them whenever I encounter them at a reasonable price. Besides the '29 A roadster body shell which, for me, when mounted on Deuce rails with a Deuce grill shell, makes for the ultimate roadster (the A-V8), the kit also yields accurate model A front and rear crossmembers which, when combined with Deuce rails, get you solidly in the pocket for that 40's/50's traditional rod thing. Oddly, I have never done an accurate postwar 50's style 1932 Ford highboy roadster. All the Deuce highboys I have completed have used the Revell 4-link rear with the air bags removed (I can't stand them...) and the tubular front axle axle setup (gernerally with several leaves removed from the spring - the "Tim Boyd modification"). I have run out of 5-window hairpins so I tend to use the 4-bars... (lazy). The only two times I mated a buggy spring rear end to Revell deuce rails it was on a couple of A-V8's. This thread makes me think I should make room for a full-on period correct 50's Deuce highboy. Ah well, another one to add to the list... One other comment. The aftermarket is an excellent source for parts for this sort of project. Early Years Resin makes nice 40's Ford style backing plates for the juice brake look and ThePartsBox.com makes a fantastic 4" drop I-beam dropped axle setup that they have recently improved by casting in a metal reinforcing wire. The problem with resin front axles has always been that, while they look great intially, the tend to sag over time under the weight of the car. The wire corrects this. I still prefer to work in srtyrene when I can but I generally keep a stash of resin bits as well. I wish somebody would make chromed versions of the Revell 5-window hairpins in the aftermarket (Modelhaus are you listening?).

Unfortunately I've never done a WIP for a buggy spring rear end. However, I think that that Ace Garage fella just gave us a lotta ,good stuff on that subject! Here's a link to the Under Glass for that build: http://www.modelcars...100&hl=bellypan And some pics. It uses the Revell kit front axle but it doesn't have a "real" rear axle because it's all hidden under the full bellypan...

The roadster kit was the first of the Revell Deuce series. It's fairly clear that at the time it was released it was pretty much a stand alone offering, a pretty good rendition of a late billet era style car. Fashion has now eclipsed it as gradually it has been found to have its faults, mainly because more Traditional styles are now very much in vogue. As a result the wide front tires, the wheels and the four link suspension setups are things that modelers have to correct when they try to back date this kit. And frustratingly subsequent releases have pretty much failed to address any of these issues. The front wheels and tires, regardless of style (Torq Thrusts on all subsequent releases starting with the 3-window, plus pseudo Kelsey Hayes wires on the Tudor and steelies on the 5-window) are still too wide, the kits all come with the same small-block Ford setup with a second engine in the Tudor and 5-window kits (flathead and "hemi" respectively). If you want to do a buggy spring rear end you will have to install the appropriate crossmember and spring. At the front the backdate to proper 50's style would require a more traditional I-beam unit. The most commonly used source for both these conversions is one of the Revell '29 Ford RPU "rat rod" kits or the Revell '30 Ford sedan kit. As mentioned above, you'll also have to delete the disc brakes and substitute the appropriate "juice" (hydraulic) brake setup. There are other details that need attention, too, like the fact that the dashboard has a cassette player (!) and air conditioning outlets (!!) and that the kit doesn't come with a gas pedal and the motor has an automatic transmission. Here’s work in progress pic of the Revell Deuce chassis with the buggy spring conversion mentioned above: Another approach is to not fight the base kit too hard and go for a more contemporary look, but I still think the front wheels and tires are a disaster. I also think the kit benefits from lowering the front suspension to give it more rake, which is easily done by shaving the front spring. Here's a picture of a more contemporary roadster based on this kit, done in the style of the late Barry Lobeck with the front end corrected but otherwise largely from the kit: If you build a full fendered car many of these details are invisible and the car can be easily backdated through careful attention to wheel and tire selection and proper stance. The kit doesn’t come with fenders but they can be found in all the other variants and fit with no modifications. Here is a simple build where I kept most of the standard kit but paid attention to stance and wheel and tire choice.

Thanx again, guys! I'm surprised and delighted with the positive reception this build has gotten. It was just a simple diversion from some other more ambitious things on the workbench, but sometimes there's a lot to be said for relaxation - it has a way of loosening you up so that you're more intuitive in you approach to your style. Anyway, I have to admit it looks real nice on my shelf, now...

Scale & texture is so good that it looks realer than real under natural light in that little diorama, especially the closeup of the engine detail. Bravo!

There are at least two excellent flattie V-12's out there, both versions of the Lincoln. I've used one of them, the one from Early Years Resin ( see http://earlyyearsres...com/engines.htm , about half way down the page). This is the kit itself: And here's my buildup of it (the carb stacks and exhaust headers are mine). As you can see, it's very nicely detailed and quite crisp. Early Years Resin gives excellent service with delivery typically within 10 days to 2 weeks, maximum. Highly recommended. The other one is from ThePartsBox.com (see http://www.thepartsbox.com/ under Engines & Drivetrain - Engine Kits). I haven't built this one yet but have built their Nailhead V8 and it was superb. I've bought a lot of stuff from them over the years and quality is always first rate; and even though they're in Australia, service is prompt, complete and with excellent communication. Here's a picture of their version:

Well worth it to go to your photobucket. Gorgeous stance and textures and all those details scale beautifully. I especially like the intake and exhaust work. Big thumbzupz!!

Thanx everyone!!! The Revell Boomer Bucket kit is based on the Monogram LIttle T from 1964. It just goes to show what great bones that kit had. I bought the Boomer Bucket shortly after resuming building sometime in 2009 and immediately bumbed because of its decidedly late 20th century vibe (I'm sorry, the street rodder's trailer just doesn't make it for me...). So, when it came time to try out the Tamiya Clear Red this seemed like a suitably small target that, if it worked out, I might build up as a quickie. Well darn if it didn't work out! And then I had a brainwave to try the 5-window flames and, surprise again, if they didn't have the perfect rake, length and color - like they were made for it... (Like the carriage lights, I just didn't want to go with the kit pin stripe outlines...) So I thought, what can I do to get the car in the ball park to my own tastes? Hmmm... how about a set of steelies that I might not use otherwise? The "Rat Rod" steelies and wide whites seemed like the perfect candidate since they're so characteristically identifiable and thus, as nice as they are, ones I repeatedly have avoided using. So, some nice Early Years Resin '40 Ford backing plates, foiled out, a little Inca Gold, the spiders from Modelhaus, and I was just about there. What a pleasant surprise! I may have to build another one of these... Other than adapting the wheels it's just a OTB build with some details... I seem to be getting closer to straight OTB all the time. Yikes! The original Little T is still the one, IMHO, especially with the turtle deck and cylindrical tank options, the reversed rims, and the proper exhaust system. I can only assume many of the parts for a reissue are long gone... (As always, mad props to Blob Back and his incredible DPMCC instruction sheets website: http://www.thedpmcc....tionsintro.html )

Candy Apple Red ’25 Ford T Bucket (More pictures below) I’ve been experimenting with paint lately and recently shot the body of a Revell Boomer T in Tamiya Clear Red over Testors Inca Gold, the result being a genuine and very bright candy red. I then decided to take some of the Fad T vibe out of the car by deleting things like the carriage lights, the trailer and even the roof and switching the wheels, trim rings and tires to those from the Revell ’29 Ford Roadster Pickup, adding chrome spiders, courtesy of Modelhaus. The wheels are finished in Inca Gold. The flames are from a Revell ’32 Ford 5-window and the tailights are AMT ’49 Ford. The motor has its carburetion back dated with a six carb manifold from Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland topped by a half dozen Stromberg 97’s scavenged from some Revell ‘29 Ford RPU kits. The engine block is finished in Inca Gold. Other than those changes the build is straight out of the box. The interior is Duplicolor Wimbledon White with gold flocking. Thanx for lookin’ B.

Thanx again to all! Curt: Silly is good! Bill: I'm flattered and encouraged...

For my coupe I plan to simply open up the doors and trunk to show off the structure that way. I plan to have the outer skin be apart of the structure throughout, with the obvious exception of access panels like the trunk lid, doors and hood. With all the panels in place I want the car to look much like a traditional chopped and channeled 3 window. At the front I will probably go with lateral structures cradling the engine and extending to a front box of some sort that will take stresses from the suspension and steering and support the stock grill. I'm thinking something along the lines of the foot boxes like the ones I have on my frogeye Sprite which would extend to the bell housing and then narrow outside the engine block in some manner. I guess now I'll have to move this project up in my build list since I've started blabbing about it... Anyway, get started on yours so I can rip off some of your ideas!

I dig it as-is. Nothing wrong with a sketch...

This one has what is starting to appear to be your characteristic "roadster stance" - which is a good thing IMHO since it's particularly attractive in a sportscar sort of way. I've had a composite monocoque Deuce 3-window coupe with independent suspension all around and rear-mounted transmission on my to-do list for a long time now, so I'll be following this project with interest.

So cool to see a redesign perspective applied to the lines and form of a sportscar. "Customizing" in the older sense of the term. Your comment regarding the interior mods required helps give the project some depth and realism. Go for it in model form...

Thanx again for the props. You are all far too kind! And yes, Raul, I guess this is sort of the "anti-Raptor"!

Beautiful lines! Are you keeping the running boards or deleting them Jimmy Summers style? BTW, the Revell '40 Ford Standard grill, which has finer bars and is more detailed fits fairly readily into the AMT fenders.

Love the ruff 'n' reddy late 50's-early 60's vibe of this thing. Where did you find the massively cool blower drives?

I think that says it very well. I have to admit that I'm still not quite to the point where I understand exactly what I'm seeing, despite following along on the build threads. There's some sort of conceptual leap happening here. The remarkable thing is that when you see them in-scale, as it were, as I do each year at the NNL West, they look just as convincing. This can only indicate that there's a faithfullness of detail and crispness that carries you as far as the eye can see (or the lense can focus). The large size of this particular model only emphasizes the depth of realism even more, making these particular pictures even more shockingly "real" than, say, the small rods or drag cars. Bravo, John. So many beautiful textures, finishes and details to enjoy on this one. Thanx again for the pleasure you give us.

Thanx guys! As always your comments are greatly appreciated. Thanx Nico, but the fact that I build Old School is largely a matter of "picking my battles", so to speak. That is, technically my skills aren't quite up to doing a respectable build of say, a contemporary Ferrari or a super-detailed NASCAR. It's coming, though, bit by bit. The grass is always greener on the other side - I'm a huge admirer of showroom stock builders, for example, even though I know I'll never do that sort of thing myself. For the moment I build Old School because I know the subject matter and proper representations of many of the styles and themes in this area are surprisngly rare. I also have to credit my buddies over on the TRaK board ( http://trakinscale.proboards.com/ - Traditional Rods and Kustoms In Scale ), a hugely talented and motivated group who conspire to keep me locked into this area of the hobby! Thanx Kurt. The props are greatly appreciated. The black background stuff has proven surpringly controversial, at least in some circles. Some folks would prefer a pretty standard "record shot", most likely with a white or light grey background. But right from the beginning of my return to modeling 4+ years ago I've considered photography as an integral part of the process - I believe cheap digital photography, photo serving services and forums have revolutionized contemporary modeling. So my pics have generally been pretty stylized , sometimes to the detriment of the presentation,. But, like my modeling itself, I figure nothing ventured nothing gained, and that with time and practice I will eventually achieve the desired result. In the meantime, as I mentioned to Nico, I try to "pick my battles"... Regarding the black backgrounds, for me it's very much a work in progress, with still quite a few flaws to overcome. I'm still looking for a proper gloss black reflective base that photographs as a true black. Right now the process requires too much manipulation to get the right look. The ideal is to capure the final result as closely as possible in the camera, using the proper textures of bases and backgrounds and controlling the lighting. In the end, however, there's still a fair amount of cropping and manipulation involved...

Thanks Mike!