Bernard Kron

Beautiful quality execution that takes advantage of these incredible kits from the small producers (I'm reminded of the Galaxie Limited '48 Chevies) which respond so well to this approach to modeling.

We're obviously into some sort of "high baroque" period where elaboration of surface details (typically derivative of an established litany of standardized elements) around a common architecture passes for "design evolution". The interesting thing is that most of these cars are far less impressive in photographs than they are "in the metal" where they can be quite striking and surprisingly well proportioned. ... Which in my book still doesn't excuse the current paucity of genuine creativity. But all of this is nothing new - even in the golden age of the 50's and 60's Italian carrozzeria was pretty hit or miss...

Thanx for the info re: Darryl's Darrell's whitewalls. What a great product. I PM'd him with an order based on his e-Bay pricing. Regarding the picture posting, it sounds like you're posting through the MCM board rather than using the "image" icon on the Reply menu board. Here's how I posted your pics. I suspect if you do it this way you won't encounter any limits. 1) Go to your photo server site (in your case Picasa) and right click on the full sized image of the picture you want to post (I'm assuming a Windows based computer but I suspect it's the same for Apple OS systems). You'll see a menu with "Properties" at the bottom. 2) Select properties and you see a box with, among other things, a text string to the right of "Address URL ". Left click and drag your mouse across the entire string, making sure to highlight the entire text. You sould get something like ":https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mCiOuywzdiE/Tzx0hlMcswI/AAAAAAAAAEU/js_g92nbj9k/s640/kit%252039%2520ford%25201.JPG" . 3) Right click and select copy. 4) In your reply here on the MCM board select the Image icon in the second row of icons above the main box. It's the 11th one over from the left. An entry box titled "Image Properties" will appear. Paste the text string you copied from "Properties" into the "URL" box. Select OK. A picture should appear.

Nicely done. I'm taking the liberty of posting your pictures as many members don't bother to follow links. A great kit that AMT should reissue as they are starting to become somewhat rare and expensive. The body is most likely from the now-defunct R&D Unique. I did one of those as a mild custom a couple of years back. with the skirts, a deep candy purple paint job, white and gold interior, severe lowering, the kit OHV and Desoto bumpers from the AMT sedan delivery. The Fordor has its own unique character that's very appealing. I hope someone else offers it now that R&D Unique is gone. I'm interested in those whitewall appliques. They look very crisp and straight. How might I find out about obtaining them?

Here are my NNL West Pictures pictures: http://s16.photobuck...%20West%202012/ . Over 1,000 models and more than 300 entrants! Incredible quality and variety. My apologies in advance to all the fabulous builds I missed. They keep popping up on other people's compilations... And what a treat it was to hook up and spend face time with so many fine modelers! Also don't miss the sub-folders on John Teresi ( http://s16.photobuck.../John%20Teresi/ , Mike English ( http://s16.photobuck...Mike%20English/ ) and Ira Dahm ( http://s16.photobuck...012/Ira%20Dahm/ ). Thanx for lookin', B.

My gosh John! Thanx for the extraordinarily kind words. It was a great pleasure hanging with you and talking models and, once again, seeing your creative output "in the flesh". They all look even more exceptional when you can see them "up close and personal". As I described above this project was done for the 2012 NNL West V-12 Theme and that my friend Curt Raitz had the idea that we build some dry lakes based cars for the theme table. Well the third member of our unholy modeling trio, Raul Perez, at whose house I stay every year when I make the trek south for NNL West, says he actually had the initial idea, not Curt. Either way, I have to admit I was sceptical about how good the results would be, but as Curt proved with his coupe, the concept had a great deal of potential. Unfortunately, Raul is just getting over a massive case of Builder's Block which has lasted all of the past year, and he never was able to finish something for the show. Curt, on the other hand, not only finished his really cool chopped T coupe, he even went so far as to build a Dry lakes display base for our two cars. Here's a couple of pics of Curt's Coupe on the show table: And here are the two of our cars on display together: Given that they were built without a single bit of communication or collaboration between us, I think the way the two paired-up was remarkably successful! So here's the payoff... Pretty cool, huh? Steve H. picked the pair-up over a boatload of really stunning Ferraris, a very nice Hot Rod Lincoln Replica, and some other equally cool Lincoln Powered customs and hot rods. So special Thanx to Curt for his model and for going the extra mile and building the base and effectively creating the pair-up, and to Steve for his undeniably good taste and perspicacity... Seriously, I'm really flattered and thrilled by the recognition.

Came out great. It has a very modern vibe to it without doing the neo-billet thing. The color and paint finish are spectacular, and of course the basic concept is pretty fresh, too. Big thumbzupz, J2!

Roger, The C Channel is very thin and doesn't present any simple glue surfaces, which may make it tricky to handle. Once glued together it should be pretty strong, though. Strip would be simpler for a first attempt and offer greater flexibility.

Vintage dry lakes modified with simple rail frame made from styrene strip with Revell Ford Model A rear crossmember and suicide front end.

AMT Fiat Altered. Main frame fabricated from round stock. Roll bar setup from AMT Double Dragster kit.

Highboy application - AMT '29 Ford shell on Deuce rails. Stock Revell '32 Ford side rails trimmed at the rear end. Rear kickup and crossmember fabricated from round rod with suicide rear spring mount. Center and front crossmembers built from styrene "L", "T' and channel shaped stock.

Are you building a drag car or a traditional hot rod.? Is it open wheeled or full fendered? High boy or channeled? These questions have to do with how much frame will show. Sounds like your not going the realism route. My feeling about square vs. round stock has more to do with the last issue - realism. Round stock is stronger in the 1:1 world for the same weight, but somewhat more difficult to handle what with fishmouthing and all. Also, square stock in the 1:1 world can be cheaper since it can be formed from flat stock and welded with a seam, whereas seamed round tubing is much weaker than seamless round - again in the 1:1 world. So, from a modeling point of view, round frame members mixed with square elements has a more "fabricated" or "racing" look, whereas going the all square stock route looks either production-like or, on the other extreme, cheaper and less tech. I've done them both. If the frame will be hidden under a body then these issues are all somewhat moot... Here are some examples: Stryene strip for the side rails with the front curvature traced from a set of '32 Ford rails. Mixed square and round cross members with an AMT '29 Ford front cross member and and Revell Deuce center crossmember. (Click on picture for larger image) Stryene strip for the side rails with the front curvature traced from a set of '32 Ford rails. Round cross members with a suicide front end mount. Note: both of these frames were for extremely low channeled cars. Both used the same reenforcement trick for the side rails: i.e. they have been "skinned" with .010" styrene sheet to smooth out the finish and to strengthen the simple butt joints used at the frame "z".

Hi, I do this a lot. Probably almost half of my projects in the past year have involved scratch built hot rod frames, almost always out of necessity. Mainly it’s been because the body I have been using doesn’t accommodate a kit frame, or the subject matter simply doesn’t have an existing frame in a kit. It is not entirely out of necessity. I get a lot of pleasure out of building frames – it brings me closer to building the “whole car” and makes modeling less like kit assembly. I build frames out of styrene strip or styrene rod, depending on the subject matter and what I’m trying to accomplish. Most of the time some part of the frame will show when doing a hot rod, particularly an open wheeled one, so this is a critical issue. A third alternative is to use parts of an existing kit frame, extensively modified. The most important thing is to keep the frame strong and square as you build it up. Many builders who do this kind of work do it on a surface that’s marked out in a grid of squares, like graph paper, as a way to guide them in keeping their angles in line. It’s not something I have done personally up to now, but it’s an excellent approach and one I plan on adopting with my next frame build. As regards size of strip or rod stock you use, the most common mistake I have seen, and made myself, is to use stock that is too big. For example, 1/8” styrene tubing or rod scales out in 1/25th scale to 25 x .125 = 3.125”. This is a big diameter member in a frame and looks big to the eye in scale. If anything most builds benefit from the stock being underscale, looking finer and more detailed. My favorite round rod or tubing diameter for builds is the smallest styrene tubing diameter, 3/32” which in 1/25th scale comes out to 2.34375”, or 2.5” to the eye. Styrene rod is available in much smaller diameters. In general using hollow tubing for frame building, as opposed to solid rod, has no real advantage. The same point can be made for styrene strip, which you can think of as imitating rectangular tubing. So, for example, if you want to make a 2” x 4” frame member, then in 1/25th the strip you would use would be .08” x .16”. Again, if the strip you use is slightly undersized then it may be inaccurate but it will “eyeball” well in the overall build. I build almost exclusively in styrene, rather than, for example, in brass or aluminum. In modeling, brass requires soldering, a skill I don’t have. Similarly, joining aluminum is generally done using epoxy cement. There are several advantages to using styrene over other materials. The biggest advantage is that it “welds” easily using solvent liquid cements whose main ingredient is methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). Examples of this are Tamiya Extra Thin, Testors Liquid Cement, Ambroid Pro Weld, Plastruct Plastic Weld and Tenax 7. Personally I use the raw ingredient itself, MEK, which I buy at the hardware store in pints. Cheap, plentiful, and I don’t care if it evaporates as I work because a pint will last me a very long time. The advantage is that you can assemble the frame elements with a weak joint, making sure things are properly lined up, and then go back and brush each joint with more cement which will wick into the cracks in the joint and dissolve the styrene surface, welding the joint together and helping to close up any remaining gaps. Like a real 1:1 metallic weld, the result is exceptionally strong and rigid. To make sure my joints are in proper alignment I use various methods. The most common and important one is to pin all my joints. You can use either thin styrene rod or metal wire such .020” piano wire or brass rod. I use both. The metal wire is stronger, but the styrene rod will dissolve into the neighboring styrene if you applying cement to it. Pinning your joints locks in the alignment and strengthens the connection. The downside is that it requires a ton of time consuming and tedious pre-drilling as you work. But the first time your frame elements shift on you and a rectangle becomes a rhomboid, you’ll start pinning with a vengeance, trust me! For round tubing or rod it’s critical to “fishmouth” the ends so that you get full contact between the two pieces. Another technique is to use simple jigs by laying out the angles on paper and then transferring them to a piece of wood and making rows of small nails or brads to hold the frame elements in alignment. And yet another technique I use a lot is to actually clamp the strip or rod to the bodywork to shape the frame element to the car and then make the crossmembers to fit. This ensures a tight, accurate fit and is very effective when making highboys, for example. This is a very big subject and could easily warrant a series of articles or short book. I’ve tried to limit it to some key points and to avoid pictures in my response so as not to hog the thread. I’m far from the most skilled or experienced frame builder on this board so I’m confident others will chime in with greater detail and advice than I can provide, but perhaps this will help to get you thinking in this direction. I encourage you to try your hand it. Building your own frames is a powerful modeling tool than can open up a wealth of new horizons, and is extremely satisfying in its own right.

Love the strong graphics and the realistic detail and finish. This kit is rapidly becoming a classic, already. It has a way of showing off the best of a builder's talents. Looking forward to seeing this one on Saturday.

Thanx Mike. I tried a respirator and working outside, neither of which are terribly practical, but the problem is the CA's still on the model gassing off. I read a iittle about CA allergies on the web. Apparently it happens to modelers now and again, usually suddenly without warning, after they've been using it a while. That's the way it was with me. It's not a total deal breaker - I've built plenty of models since I quit using it and I'm gradually developing work arounds.

For what it's worth, I'm flying down from Seattle and I can get between 6-10 1/25 models, depending on size and height, in my regulation carry on, packed in two shoe boxes, and they arrive safe and unmolested. I carry clothes and toiletries in the spaces between the boxes and in my day pack (NNL West is pretty casual...). C U there!

I use various adhesives for different jobs, but everything I do is informed by the fact that I can't use CA (Super Glue) at all. I used to, but a couple of years back I developed a violent allergy to the stuff. It comes on quick and takes weeks or even months to get over. I can't even be in the same room with an open bottle of the stuff, let alone something that's curing and gassing off. While I’ve been able to find substitutes for most applications, you can’t beat thin CA and an accelerator for very small, very fine, yet strong joints. It’s why I choose my battles carefully when it comes to detailing. Styrene to styrene: My preferred weapon of choice is Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK), sold in hardware stores as a cleaning solvent for floor covering adhesives. It's the active ingredient in most liquid cements like Tamiya Extra Thin, Testors Liquid Cement, Plastruct Plastic Weld, Tenax 7, etc. I've tried them all and MEK is my current favorite. It creates a super strong weld, is relatively benign to plastic surfaces and beyond cheap (the hardest part is finding it in pint containers for about the same price as Tamiya Extra Thin or Tenax). My #2 in this category is Tamiya Extra Thin cement, and I love the Tamiya bottle because it has a nice brush in the cap and it's low, squat shape means it doesn't tip over. These days my old Tamiya bottles have MEK in them... For situations that require some initial tack for position I use Testors Tube Cement in the red tube, applied with a straight pin to control the amount I put down. Styrene to non-styrene or non-styrene to non-styrene (CA substitutes): I've settled on three as follows... Contact Cement - This can be bought in hardware stores, too. Very cheap in the small 4 oz. jar, which is fortunate because it dries over time in the jar, usually in about 2 months or so. Basically this is just high class rubber cement, but sets up to create a very strong semi-flexible bond. It can also be applied to the contact surfaces, allowed to dry for a minute, then pressed together for a quick, strong bond. Great for large, clean joints. I apply it with a pin, and despite the fact that it’s incredibly goopy and drippy, I’ve learned to create some very small, clean joints with it. Also, it cleans up easily. It can be wiped away with alcohol, or, once dried, picked away with tweezers. 5-Minute Epoxy – Slow setting and lacking initial tack, but incredibly strong. Ideal for high stress joints. Will join any type of material to any another. The downside is that any residue is thick and goopy and shows badly. And once it dries, it can be nearly impossible to remove. The good news is that epoxy wipes away fairly cleanly with alcohol if it hasn’t set up. 1-Minute Epoxy – Work fast! Just like the 5-minute stuff but much more unforgiving. I’m still learning to handle it, but it looks like, if you get your timing right, it could be a substitute for fine joint work using CA. Clear joints or critical surfaces such as fully painted bodywork: Examples include headlights, taillights, windows and p/e surface details. My weapon of choice is Aileen’s Tacky Glue, a white cement somewhat like Elmer’s Glue but with a lot of initial tack. Dries clear. For p/e parts on painted surfaces I use clear enamel. Mockups: This is an often neglected category. These days I mainly use rubber cement which I slather on liberally and then rub away the residue with my fingertip. Pulls apart easily and any residue can be readily rubbed away. Relatively benign when it comes to painted surfaces, too. I used to use Elmer’s Carpenter’s Glue a lot (another white glue) which cleans up with water and dries with a strong joint, but the set up time is quite slow. Another trick, for small styrene to styrene joints, is to use a tiny amount of liquid cement to create a weak but stable joint. It pries apart with a knife blade. The risk is that the joint is too strong and you pull away plastic when you break the joint. I use this technique for chassis fabrication a great deal. If I like the final position I can always reinforce it by flowing in more liquid cement (in my case MEK).

Thanx guys! I'm wracking my brain for a suitable wisecrack but it just won't come... Seriously, I'm glad to hear it. Can't wait to see it Under Glass!!!

First off, great topic to bring up, Doc... Secondly, there are two possible interpretations of "clean" that are being explored, and they cover the classic two sides of modeling, the aesthetic and the technical. I will side with the technical on this one. For me "clean" means, as Andy has expressed so well, "devoid of errors", and has little to do with whether or not I find the colors, lines, details, etc. consonant with the apparent purpose of the build. Things like proper attachment and alignment are part of "clean" but things like whether colors complement each other properly aren't. So "clean" means sanitary, where there is nothing about the physical execution of the model that interferes with the eye taking in the finished product. It may be ugly, garish, out of scale, poorly proportioned, ill-conceived as an idea, mechanically dubious, and just plain dumb, but man that's a clean build! For emphasis I'll point out James2's example above. It is definitely not ugly, garish, out of scale, poorly proportioned, ill-conceived as an idea, mechanically dubious, or just plain dumb. But it is rusty, funky, dirty and a little broken down, which does not prevent it from being totally sanitary in execution, which contributes hugely to its undeniable success as a model. Speaking personally, the "clean build" is a holy grail, an unattainable kind of perfection which, if it ever were to be achieved, might very well cause the entire time-space continuum to grind to a halt. But it is also the the complement to the other aspect, the drive to express something "worth talking about" in one's models, whether it is a superbly accurate replica of an object from the material world, or the wildest flight of fancy of ones unbridled imagination. In this sense the "clean build" may be elusive but it motivates me at every turn at the bench. But my meager attempts at facing the challenge of coming up with decent subjects and ideas motivate me just as much. Obviously, great modeling invariably expresses aspects of both.

Jack, I was racking my brain as to where I had seen 1/25th scale hubs and rims to lace your wheels, as oppposed to the less succesful approach of using p/e spokes. It was at MicroNitro ( http://www.micronitro.net/nostalgia.htm ). Are you getting some of those?

Are you still shootin for the NNL West? Regardless of its state, bring it! I wanna see it! So cool, man... BTW, a coupla pages back you mention a miter box that allows you to cut 30 degree angles on tubing. My cheapo setup only allows me to do 45 & 90 and my fine tooth Zona is too short to fit it in any case. What do you use? Anybody who attacks plastic as incessantly and with as much confidence as you do is definitely the source to ask!

That is a very cool image. It'sototally understandable it would get you back to building drag cars. How could you resist? Love the wheel well work on the body. Some notes on sources for future 1/25 work. Regarding a Bantam body there's are vendors on e-bay I have bought from repeatedly who do fine work and provide an excellent product, thin, clean, etc. Light years ahead of JF and inexpensive. I used one of these Bantam bodies last summer and was quite pleased. Worth keeping an eye out for. My current favorite is gregory23sc. It's all very strange since they seem to offer the same merchandise under different names... Unfortunatekly gregory23sc has nothing on offer at present bit will reappear shortly with a full li neup once again. Bizarre... Here are some pics of mine before it got painted and finished out for my build: (Click on pictures for larger image) Regarding M&H Dragmaster tires the best sources for these are Modelhaus and Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland. Unfortunately delivery time form either of these companies is 6-8 weeks. To make matters worse, Replicas & Miniatures, hands down the finest resin caster on the planet, doesn't even have a web site! And Modelhaus has an excellent site for ordering but it has no images! Replicas & Miniatures can be reached at replmincomd@aol.com . The prorpietor is Norm Veber and he offers a 30+ page catalog that's well worth the $4.00. He offers a large selection of 1/16 scale parts as well. Modelhaus is at http://www.modelhaus.com/ . Look under Parts, Tires, for various offerings. The description for the M&H Racemasters is as follows: T-291 (1959-1962) two Racemaster Drag Slick tires, 8.00-14 size, flexible black resin; Tires; Price : $4.50 But just as nice is the new Parts Pack from AMT under the new owners, Round2, who are creating new tools for all the old AMT tires. There first release is a set of 4 [airs of Racemasters in various sidewall configurations. Generally available at your LHS and online for around $10.00. Here's a pic: I'm looking forward to seeing your build progress and learning more cool techniques...

Thanx again... Danno, don't know what you mean by that! , but thanx...

Thanx for all the generous compliments, everyone. This turned in to a more detailed and complex build than I had intially intended, but I really got into it so it was quite enjoyable. And it is for the NNL West after all! I hope to see many of you there...