Bernard Kron

I'll be there. Raul Perez, Curt Raitz and their modeling buddies all chip in for some vendor's tables so we can have somewhere to sit. Some of them even sell stuff! Anyhow, I stay with Raul and his wife each year and chip in, too. So come on by and say hello!

No, I only have three b&w Instamatic snapshots of the build, two of the rail and the one of the set you see. The SBC dragster is the only build that survived, and that only because my mother liked it and kept it after I left home. Unfortunately, she's the one who bought the plastic case and glued the model to the base! (A "Survivors" thread might be an interesting idea, 'though...) BTW, I promise to contribute more current scratch building comments and experiences to this thread, honest!

I thought I'd share some scratch building from the dark ages before I had an income and before car modeling became the sophisticated endeavour it is today. I've showed this before so apologies to those who've seen it. It's from when I was a kid, the only model to have survived the decades, which I leave untouched as a reminder of a bygone age. It's a small block Chevy powered dragster made from both chassis in the Revell Tony Nancy Double Dragster kit, because wheelbases were getting longer literally by the month. But what's important here is that I made the body from index cars using a pair of scissors. I know, the result is hardly show quality, even during that period, but I was fiercely proud of the result at the time, and in its way, it still resonates with me today. I was big into index cards at the time. Here's an old picture of a race team setup I made using index cards and sprue:

Great thread. I hope it expands to reflect the experiences of lots of other builders. Just a general comment on scratch building along the lines of what Dave was saying. Too often, in many things, not just scratch building and/or modeling, people wait around for the "official" things to come into their lives in order to try something. This is hardly news, we all do it. I was reminded of this when I saw all those lovely tools. This is a trap we all must be careful to avoid, as much fun as acquiring great new tools and materials can be. Scratch building starts when you need to put something into your model that isn't in your box of parts or your kit stash, and isn't on the instruction sheet. But it is most definitely in your head and heart and needs to come out. The tools on your bench are really secondary, although it would be naive and disingenuous of me to claim that anything can be done with just spare chewing gum and scraps of lint. It's always a battle between what you want to get done and what you're able to do, but progress comes from trying, not waiting. All of which is to encourage everyone to make something from what you've got at hand and add it to your build. You'll be amazed at the excitement you'll feel of having added your own dimension to your model, of having stepped beyond the confines of the kit designer's vision, and perhaps knowing that you were able to create your own "model within a model". The tools and techniques will come as time and budgets allow, but the excitement may very well never depart.

There's so much that's so right about this makeover. It deserves a good long look. Congrats on a fine build.

The V-12 Modified is now complete. Full details and lotsa pictures can be found here in Under Glass: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53542&st=0&gopid=615227 Thanx too everyone for all the kind words and and for following along. B.

Here are some additional details shots:

Lincoln Flathead V-12 Powered Dry Lakes Style Modified Built for the V-12 theme at this year’s NNL West, this is a vintage dry lakes style Modified roadster. “Modifieds”, as they were called, were the earliest pure straight line racers in the hot rod lineage with the first ones appearing on the dry lakes in Southern California as early as 1926. Patterned after the board track racers of the period, they were made by taking a Model T body and chassis and narrowing them to a width just wide enough to carry the driver and the 4 banger motor. Modifieds ran at the lakes until the early 1950’s, evolving to sleek V-8 powered missiles capable of speeds well in excess of 150 mph. This one is based on the cool “Hot Rod Lincoln” Flathead from Early Years Resin, a scratch built frame and a cut down AMT Ala Kart ’29 Ford RPU body and interior. Here are the details: Bodywork and paint: AMT ’29 Ford “Ala Kart” roadster pickup body narrowed ¾”. Scratch built gas tank. AMT ’32 Ford grill shell. Duplicolor yellow paint, homemade “Lincoln V-12” logo decals. Interior: AMT “Ala Kart” interior, narrowed ¾”, re-skinned with styrene “tuck and roll”. Cut down AMT ’29 Ford dashboard and ’36 Ford steering wheel. Motor: Hot Rod Flathead V-12 from Early Years Resin. Scratch built headers, exhaust extensions and carburetor stacks. Chassis: Scratch built from styrene strip with a Revell ’29 Ford RPU rear crossmember. Suspension & brakes: AMT ’34 Ford front axle and spring and rear axle, AMT ’29 Ford rear spring and rear radius rods. Scratch built steering parts, front radius rods and drive shaft. Resin ’40 Ford brakes. Wheels & tires: Modelhaus “milk truck” style wheels, Ma’s Resin “Rat Rod” rear tires, Revell ’37 Ford truck front tires. The W.I.P. for this build can be found here: http://www.modelcars...opic=52567&st=0

B) B) B)

Thanx Curt! C ya fer breakfast on the 11th... On the home stretch now. With the car in final assembly I couldn't resist a quick snapshot and some Photoshop Phun. Next pictures should be Under Glass... Thanx for lookin',

Thanx for the reply Jack. I grew up in the Northeast so my roots were in sportscars but I saw my first hot rods when I was in first grade and always followed the drag racing game from as early as I can remember. So, much like you, I seem to have emphasized the other side of the continuum in my modeling, in my case vintage hot rods and drag cars. Like you, it's because they are satisfying and appropriate for the skill set I can bring to them. That's why I asked the question I did, and I really dig your answer. I agree, go fast is good in all its forms. And cost is a crutch when it comes to modeling. You do with what you have/want/can afford/find-a-way-to-get but it's what you do with it that counts. If it takes serious money to provide kits at the Model Factory Hiro level then so be it. I just want to make sure I have the skills that, if I build one, its not a waste of a perfectly good kit. In the drag racing world, the aftermarket stuff is out there (regarding p/e front wheels, for example, see Machined Aluminum Specialties System 17 Top Fuel Front Wire Wheels - http://www.mas-parts.com/cart/indexframe.html ), as well as the builders in the straight line world working to the highest standards. If you haven't checked it out, look up Straightline Modelers ( http://www.straightlinemodeler.org/ ) which provides an insight into builders who combine the rigor of historical accuracy and the finesse of the super detail builders (the one doesn't necessarily guarantee the other). But historical accuracy is by no means an end in itself - I find it far more important that a model capture the spirit of the builder and his vision than it is a superb replica. In any case, I'm into my 4th year of my return to car modeling so I have quite a good deal to learn. In the meantime I'll follow along with what appears to be very promising build of one of my favorite styles of drag cars, competition coupes. I completed one last year and it was one of the most enjoyable builds of my 2011.

Nice work so far, especially hacking up a Flintstone resin - not my favorite pastime... I like the tub and the resultant lowered body position. I'm looking forward to seeing more on this one. Do you find the visit the drag racing world different in any way from your sojourn in the world of F1, Prototypes and Japanese models?

Boy, all painted out on the completed chassis, one look at the way the body sits on those rear wheels tells me that when this is done it will look soooooo dialed in and together. I can't wait...

I like yours better. The wheel/tire combo and abundance of polish and chrome makes it realy pop.

Thanx, Alyn! I continue hammering away on this thing. I've gotten the motor done, including some exhaust extensions made from aluminum tubing. Here are a couple of photos. Thanx for lookin', B.

I can totally understand why this would be a prize winner. Besides being absolutely sanitary in execution, the wheel and tire change out, opening doors and trunk, interior details, etc. are all ready made for the contest table. But most importantly, I think it's how well you captured the current style in retro-gassers for the street (I'm assuming this started out as the Revell SWC kit). I'm not sure whether you meant to do that but that's my take on it and I'm sure I'm not the only one to pick up on that vibe. Congrats on a super build and a great looking car to boot!

Just got this from Round 2 in my e-mail. Sounds like good news to me, and will help drive model sales, I think. Not such good news for e-bayers and after market tire guys... but not so bad, either, really. 2012 is well underway and the Kats at AMT have been busy working on many projects! For this month's newsletter, we thought we'd talk about a particular area of "parts development." (Link to picture: http://trk.cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?QGZ9-QA5u-hkrqr0 ) Some of you may wonder, "how long does a model kit mold last?" In most cases, a very long time! In the heyday of the plastic kit hobby, long enough to make hundreds of thousands of kits, sometimes over a million or more. It's the longevity of the tools that allows so many desirable vintage kits to be reissued. Still, no tool lasts forever and that's especially true for tire molds. Always looking for ways to improve quality and add value, the Kats at AMT have taken notice of some tire tools that are reaching their "end of life," so to speak. They've worn out past the point of repair, and the time has come to re-create them, with a goal to increase realism and enhance their details. First up is the classic Firestone "Deluxe Champion" stock tire. This tire has had to be retooled a couple of times already over the years, as it's used in so many kits. The earliest 1/25 replica of this tire became dubbed the "Trophy Series" tire, as it was generic without any sidewall lettering. Later retools saw Firestone lettering added and changes in the style and accuracy of the tread pattern. AMT's new incarnation of the tire has improved detail, featuring an accurate tread pattern, engraved Firestone lettering as well as the "F" crest and associated "Gum Dipped" lettering. The non-whitewall version of the tire will have the size and "Deluxe Champion" lettering pad printed on. It's too small to be engraved; some of the tiniest pad printing we've ever seen! Next up are two different sizes of the venerable muscle car tire: Goodyear's Polyglas GT. AMT had the larger L60.15 size found in dozens kits over the years. MPC had the smaller F60.15 size version, which is known for its overly thick raised lettering, and for being included in kits like many of the 70's Pro Stock series. Comparing the two, AMT's larger version is much more true to the appearance of the 1:1 rubber. So it was decided to retool the smaller MPC version to more closely match with the larger AMT version, in order to have a good looking "big 'n little" set of tires. The best part? Since the real tires all had white lettering (with one of two variations - with or without the size included) the Kats are going to pad print the lettering on the tires. They will look spectacular, ready to go right out of the box! No need to try and paint those tiny details. Your models will have a professional edge and sharp appearance! Look for them to appear in AMT's reissue of the all-time classic Pony car: the 1966 Ford Mustang and others later in the year.

I love this style of modeling, and this is a great example. Congrats on a fine piece of styrene sculpture and a great charicature. Lookings forward to more pics soon...

Superb and immaculate build. You got the best out of an already great kit. Congrats & welcome to the forum. What is the source for all the yummy machined bits (air cleaners, oil filter, interior door handles & window cranks I think, etc.)?

Thanx everyone. I'm on the home stretch now. Looks like I'm gonna make it... I'm working on the motor details right now. I'm saving the decal and clear for last to avoid messing it up while handling the body during construction. Raul, I'm looking forward to our annual visit with great anticipation! See you at SFO on the 10th.

The chassis and interior are now done. Motor, decals & clear coat, and final assembly are what’s left. Here are some detail photos before things disappear under plastic… Thanx for lookin’, B.

Lovely stance, J2 ... and that interior is sharp!!!

Thanx James. It's only two weeks until the NNL West and "Jake" is thrashing madly on his V-12 powered vintage Dry Lakes Modified to get 'er done in time for the big show... Couldn't get it done without him... I found some nice resin '40 Ford juice brakes in my resin stash. From the packaging and resin I'm guessing they're from Earl Years Resin. Also some vane type shocks courtesy of Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland. The rear suspension is now done. Also got some paint on the headers and the front suspension and steering bits have been cut and painted. Thanx for lookin', B.