Bernard Kron

“Nitro-Jr,” Injected FED

50’s Style ’36 Ford Sedan Altered AMT Double Dragster “Tin Box” Build No. 4 – ’32 Bantam Competition Coupe The Tin Box Build Family Portrait

AMT Double Dragster “Tin Box” Side by Side Twin-Engined Dragster

29 Ford Highboy Roadster – “The Challenger” from Deuce of Spades ThePartsBox.com Deuce 5-window Lo-Boy

Thanx guys! I'm flattered to receive such props from two of my favorite builders! This project is now completed. The final "beauty pics" can be found under glass here: http://www.modelcars...showtopic=51880

In the main text I neglected to mention that the cool louvered hood is courtesy of Drag City Casting. Here are some additional pics of variations without the hood sides or engne cover;

Just Your Basic Chopped Deuce 3-Window Highboy (More pictures below) For my last project in 2011 I wanted to tackle something relatively simple and straightforward. I decided I’d do a Revell ’32 Ford 3-window and try to “empty the box”, using as much of the basic kit as possible with just a minimum of changes to add some interest. I started by chopping the top 3 ¾ scale inches, thinking this would be the extent of anything ambitious that I’d tackle, I had originally intended to build a full-fendered car but once I started working on the stance and test fitted the chopped top it became clear to me that it would have to be fenderless. To add some variety to the small block Ford that comes in every Deuce variant that Revell has ever offered, I added a pair of four barrel Holleys from Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland, along with Ansen valve covers from the same source. The key to the overall look, a classic early 60’s style hot rod, were the chrome reverse rim wheels and whitewall tires. The front wheels are from an AMT ‘29 Ford roadster kit and the rears from an AMT ’53 Ford pickup. The tires are from Modelhaus, T100C’s at the front and T180C’s at the rear. The firewall was adapted from the AMT Phantom Vicky kit. Paint is Duplicolor, the main body being Dark Toreador Red Metallic over dark gray primer, with black frame rails and Wimbledon White on the firewall. Everything else is straight out of the box. Thanx for loookin’ B.

Thanx everyone! Great to hear from you, Jerry. Nice to see that The Challenger is getting some TLC. Just don;'t mess with it's basic vibe. It is iconic!!!! I've got this one just about wrapped up. Just some minor details and cleanup and she'll be ready for the "beauty shots". I have to be able to post Under Glass tomorrow night. In the meantime here's an old-time sepia tone snapshot without the hood and a picture of the car that inspired the build, even though I wasn't aware of it until just a little while ago. I had started this thing intending to build a full-fendered coupe. It couldn't be any farther from my first ideas. I kept wondering what was drawing me to this type of result. Then I saw it over in the corner of my work room. It's part of a picture from an old TRJ promotion mailer that I cutout and have had hanging on my bulletin board for at least 3 years! Anyway, thanx to everyone for following along! B.

Thanks guys! Here`are some quick workbench snaps. The engine is finished and the chassis is nearing completion. The Replica's & Miniatures Co. of Maryland Holley 4-barrel setup along with their Ansen valve covers really changes the look of the kit motor. The rear end is now locked in and caused a slight lowering when compared to earlier pics. The firewall is modified from the AMT Phantom Vicky and finished in Duplicolor Wimbledon White. I've also settled on the final wheel/tire combo. It has resulted in a further evolution of the look of this build, setting it in the early 60's with a more polished look than it had with the body color '36 Ford wheels and, in the first mockups, with the blackwalls. The tires are Modelhaus T-100C's at the front and T-180C's at the rear. The front wheels are from the AMT '29 Ford Roadster kit, and the rear wheels are from my parts box but appear to be from a variant of the AMT '53 Ford pickup. They're a little deeper than the fronts. No more major decisions to be made, just a lot of final assembly work... Thanx for lookin', B.

Thanx everyone! The kind words are much appreciated. Here's an update. I'm still shooting for a 12/31 completion but boy has this one ever been fighting me. It's starting to get cold up here in the PNW and it cost me the initial paint job and required a visit to the Purple Pond. While re-sanding and polishing the body one of the A pillars broke out (I made two cuts to get the wedge-shaped piece needed for the lakes-style chop). If I get this one done in time it'll be the culmination of a fierce battle with the fates! Anyway, here's a mock-up with Modelhaus 100's and 180's for the 50's whitewall look. I'm also considering deep-dish AMT chrome baby moons with whitewalls for a late 50's-early 60's look. I'm also not sure about the louvered hood, and have an unlouvered version waiting in the wings just in case. Still pretty rough but making progress… Thanx for lookin', B.

Another great year, Marcos. All the best in 2012!

Nice to see a look-back at your year and all those tasty examples of your unique style. All the best in 2012...

Masterful detailing, the engine compartment in particular. Those air cleaners, and all the other aspects of the carburetion in general, are a real inspiration.

Lovely build! Really evokes the 1:1. The 1:1 was on my short list of desirable cars as a kid, and now the model is on my short list of must-get-to's...

A prolific year full of some mighty fine build(t)s, Brett. The detail and graphics in this style of modeling is always such a treat to see. Thanx!

Great lineup this year. As impressive as your recent vacuformed scratch builds have been - and they are superb, it's worth a look back to be reminded how versatile and broad your palette can be. Your race car builds are always a favorite of mine - you handle the graphics and detail so well on them. But, remarkably, I only remember seeing about half of them this past year. I'll have to go back and look them up...

Nice build! I like the "real" look it has, a result of the great details and the color choices. Motorcycles seem to bring out the best in great builders - maybe it's got something to do with the larger scale combined with a smaller subject. Anyway ... cooool!

Nicely done with slick lines and stance. I especially like the satin paint, it really suits the color and overall look of the car.

Now that's modeling! Superb, simply superb...

Thanx again, guys, for all the kind words. And yeah, Danno, sometimes I fail to realize how cleeeean a model needs to be when subjected to the cruelty of the macro lense! In this case this was a pic I took before I added the final details (you can see there aren't any wipers) but I simply never took another one quite at that angle so I decided to use it - but I must admit I didn't notice the hair until much later when it was way too late...

To finish the year off I thought I’d get back to basics and do a simple build based on the Revell Deuce 3-window (which, incidentally, has just been re-released under the Monogram brand). I’ll try to keep the changes to a minimum while still adding some interest to this venerable old kit. The chassis and motor will remain close to the kit specs, primarily attending to the stance by trimming down the front spring to give the car a bit more rake, and adding some cool Ansen valve covers and dual 4-barrel Holleys to the small block Ford, both courtesy of Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland. The body received a scale 3 ¾ inch chop and a neat louvered hood from Drag City Casting (see http://public.fotki....-city-casting-/ ). I went back and forth on whether to go full-fendered or highboy, but the moment I popped the body on the frame to check the stance it was settled. With the chop the car takes on a tough, purposeful look as a highboy that is missing once you tack on the fenders. As a result I’m going with Firestone dirt-track rear tires (again from Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland) with AMT Firestones on the front, both on AMT ’36 Ford rims. I just couldn’t bring myself to go with the kit Torq-Thrusts and modern radials once I set the stance and overall look. Without fenders those fat fronts have nowhere to hide! Otherwise the build will be pretty much out-of-the-box with the goal of getting it done before the New Year… Thanx for lookin’, B.

Donn's paint is superb ... but equally impressive is the virtually flawless foil work. Is there a section on that on the DVD as well?

As far as I know the only one out there is the AMT Tudor sedan. They are becoming more rare and starting to command a premium. If you can pick one up for less than $35.00 grab it. It also has all kinds of cool parts for making custom and hot rod variants on the '39-'40 Fords. You can make a '39 style coupe by combining the AMT coupe body with fenders and '39 style grill and headlights. Also, the more nicely detailed '40 Ford Standard grill in the Revell '40 Ford Coupe kits will fit the AMT '39 Tudor kit and is an improvement over the fairly crude AMT piece. Lastly, you can combine the '39 style headlights from the AMT Tudor kit with the Revell coupe kit and get a reasonable '39 facsimile. This is the AMT '40 coupe body on the Tudor fenders with the Revell '40 Standard grille and AMT '39 headlights. The body has been chopped and sectioned. (click on pic for larger image)

Nice build. I don't think Reventlow's crew ever built a bad looking car and this one's no exception. Here's a link to Patto's Place Decals: http://www.members.o...place/home.html Select the letter "S" under Decals on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down about 1/3rd of the way until you find Scarab - AJ Foyt - 1964 and select 1/24th to see a sample. It's exactly what you will need.

Raul's real close to done. We should be seeing something soon enough, I think... It most certainly hasn't been abandoned.