Bernard Kron

It's the Photoshop processing that makes the photos look a bit like drawings. You've pushed the contrast and brightness, and perhaps manipulated the highlights and shadows a bit. Purists might object, but there's nothing "pure" about either Tom Daniel's original concept or your superb elaboration of it. The processing is perfect for this build and, as I said before, I love the result. BTW, all those scratch built goodies are not only beatifully excecuted, but they definitely are a key factor in taking this model to it's very special level. Thanx for sharing!

OK, first off, very, very kool. I'd love to know more about the mods you make to achieve the surreal look you attained, Harry's question reveals you changed the front wheels, certainly a key aspect of the effect you've achieved. But what about the photography? Did you process the pictures or did you use paint effects when building the model? I'm referring to things like the air scoop and the tires. They don't look "real". They look like drawings! I love the result. It's brilliant. How'd you do it????

This will be a fantasy build, a shop car for Frank Baron, Bob Tattersfield's partner in the famous Tattersfield-Baron 4-carb manifold for the Ford Flathead. A modeling friend of mine cast up some resin 4-carb manifolds and sent me a few (he doesn't want me to reveal his name since he doesn't want to go in the resin business). I decided to build a 4-carb flattie and install it in a Jimmy Flinstone chopped '36 Ford 3-window coupe. The car will be a streetable lakes car. The idea is that Frank used the car around town and ran it at the lakes, circa 1948 when he and Bob first launched their line of speed parts. So far I've prepped the chassis, lowered the back end, scratch built some skirts, adapted the AMT 5-window '36 Coupe hood to the 3-window cowl (see pics below) and completed the bodywork. The bumpers are '40 pieces. The car is in white primer. It will be Duplicolor Oxford White with red lettering and paint accents, inspired by Bob Piersons's white '36 3-window featured in the August, 1948 issue of Hot Rod Magazine which ran 120 mph that year. Thanx for lookin', B. …My initial steps on this project: The AMT 5-window has a shorter hood with a different shape that their 3-window: Scratch built skirts from sheet styrene:

Nice builds, Steven! You really nailed the "feel" of this great kit. For those of you curious about the Golden Age of drag racing (in this case, the early years) this kit is ideal, since it came out at the time and is an amazingly faithful representation of the cars of the period. Besides which it's beautifully engineered, goes together great, and gives you tons of choices with what to do with it. It's hard to think of a drag kit that's more fun to build.

Super nice indeed. Crisp & clean. I always enjoy these short trackers and check in on them regularly when they pop up. Slim, I always look for your stuff, whether it's here or on the H.A.MB.! Regarding categories, I'll take the other side and say that everything should simply be "Under Glass" rather than getting lost in some particular sub-category/sub-culture. In my opinion the "other magazine's" website has been destroyed by too many style-specific categories in which to post your builds, along with absolutely no general category like Under Glass, forcing the builder to choose a category each time, or multi-post across overlapping ones (even worse).

"Futuristic" Dream Cars

"Retro" Cartoon Cars - Production versions, foreign style: Nissan S-Cargo: Nissan Figaro VW "new Beetle" Scion XB Fiat 500

Kandy Kolor wheels and chrome wheel spiders:

Thanx again, guys!!!! :) That was the Marsh-Steffey-Logghe car, from around 1965, the first Jr. Fueler to run in the 7’s. It weighed just over 1,000 lbs. on the line!

Very nicely turned out. I like all the nicely picked out parts, the fuel and ignition lines, the parachute pull, etc. It complements the detail that, even back then, Revell put into their kits and gives the build a modern flavor that suits it!

Once again, thanks so much everyone!

Very nice!!! I'm sure you'll agree that this is one of the all-time fun kits to build - so many variants and so well engineered that there is something about it that brings out the best in everyone who tackles it. Yours is no exception. You've given it your own own personal style. I'm looking forward to seeing it done. I dig all the shininess and clean detail.

Breathtaking!!! It's wonderful that kits are on offer than respond to modelers with your skill and patience. I can only imagine how rewarding it must be to get this sort of result on such a marvelous subject. Bravo!

About 4 years ago I started thinking about modeling again after being away from the hobby for many decades. The inspirations for my return were really a testament to the power of the Internet. As a kid and into my late teens I only built cars, even though my best friend was a great airplane modeler. My heroes at the time were the great scratch built modelers of the 60’s, Michele Conti (see http://www.contimode...om/homepage.htm ) and Manuel Olive Sans ( see http://www.olivesans.com/ ), who, at the time, defined what could be achieved, and in many ways still do. So the first thing I did was search for these iconic names. Here is the image that clinched it for me – I had to start building again: It’s the chassis from Olive Sans’ masterful replica in 1/10 scale of a Maserati Birdcage. But scratch-building a Birdcage was hardly what I was about to do after so long! (Indeed, I doubt I'll ever build something like this...) So I began to wander the web and discovered a “new golden age” was emerging from what had become a far smaller hobby than when I was building, although one that was producing models to a much higher standard and with a far larger palate of techniques and approaches than in the original Golden Age. Obviously, many of the great modern builders who work in the contemporary high-detail style who show their stuff on the MCM boards and in the magazines were among my influences as I wandered around the web so I won’t mention them again now. It’s inevitable that if they haven’t been mentioned here already, they will in due course I will just say Thanx! for being here and inspiriting me. But I will mention one MCM-er in particular because he has mentored me as I develop my skills and has become a great friend – Raul Perez. Raul has had a bit of a builder’s block of late, but when I first “came back” Raul was quite prolific and was creating a wonderful series of contemporary street rod style cars that really showed me what could be done in plastic. He had posted a Revell Merc and I sent him a PM appreciating it. His support since has been invaluable. He has introduced me to many fine modelers and shown me their work by taking me to their homes and inviting me each year to stay at his house while we attend the NNL West (speaking of prolific, a shout out to that great auto modeling generalist Curt Raitz). Outside the world of MCM there are some builders who are big influences and who, for whatever reason, don’t seem to show up here, so I’ll mention them now. One is Steve Boutte, very well known for his superb Traditional style customs and the simplicity and purity of his style. He has a web site that I discovered as I was starting up and was a strong initial influence. His work really defined for me the great change that had occurred over the years. (See http://www.sbkustoms.com/ ). Steve has begun showing his work again recently, and as a result has returned as an influence in my work. Another great modeler of Traditional Hot Rods is an Australian name Bryce Michelmore who resides primarily on the TRaK board (see http://trakinscale.p...s.com/index.cgi? – and an extra-special Thanx to Bob Black, proprietor and creator of this marvelous site). Like Boutte, Michelmore has a relatively pure and simple style, but the harder you look at his models the better they look, and almost no other modeler I know captures the essence of the classic customs and hot rods of the postwar era through the early 60’s as well as Bryce. He is certainly one of my current inspirations. A builder who has quite a reputation, and deservedly so, but whose work isn’t shown much is the great modeler of classic drag cars, Roger “Riceman” Lee. His models epitomize the style espoused by the hard-core crew at StraightLine Modeler (see http://www.straightlinemodeler.org/ ) and probably is as close was we get to Conti and Sans in the hot rod and drag racer vein. A great, great scratch builder working largely in brass, the Riceman’s work inspires me every day, even though I work in plastic and probably will never machine a part or solder a joint. Here is an example of his style: http://www.bigyohns....S-H-model.shtml . (BTW, speaking of brass, how can we not mention Jerry Cardinal? Raul introduced me to Jerry and the opportunity to see his work “in the metal” helped me understand what can be achieved.) There are many, many other builders who inspire me as I move along through my builds. As I said before, lots of them are very well known and frequently participate here at MCM, but I feel I should mention a couple who might not get referred to, even though they are frequent contributors to the proceedings on the MCM board, For me they are real inspirations because of their abilities and the special character of their works. One is Dave Zinn (DoubleD). His work has a unique texture and patina that makes his models look especially “real” to me. I’ve never been able to determine how much of it is due to his obvious skill and the fine detail of his interiors and engine compartments, and how much of it is due to the unique flatness of natural light in his outdoor photographs of his models. More than anything it’s the “look” of his builds that inspires me. Dave's subject matter is ever-changing but never disappoints! The other is Shane Gans (fuelcoupe), a superb scratch builder of traditional drag cars, working primarily in styrene. Shane too often refers to himself as a “mere hack” when compared to others here, but we all know nothing could be further from the truth. His focused and disciplined approach inspires many of us here both for the excellence of his technique and the wonderful subjects he comes up with. The trouble with this discussion is that for all of us our list will change at any moment. So I’ll close by saying Thanx! to each and every one of you for being here, for showing and sharing, and for inspiring me at every turn. Sooner or later you all Make My List.

Two things about these that are so great: 1) The pad-printing is incredibly fine and crisp, which allows types of lettering and approaches to design that have been largely unavailable. 2) They have a nice texture to the "rubber" - these tires look great left slightly shiny or dullcoated, and the tread area takes very well to scuffing, The only negative is really just a temporary one (I hope!). They're very stylized and, until Round2 comes out with additional styles, they will really jump out on people's builds and be very noticeable for what they are. So I wish them great success with this initial release and that they will be encouraged to create more.

Gorgeous design and execution so far. The mockup shows that all your careful work means that the surfaces are crisp and the details all show up extremely well. As a result I'd suggest staying away from a monochrome look (i.e. black on black, grays with silver, wheels painted to a similar shade as the body, etc.). I'd say do the main body in a bright color with strongly contrasting interior, wheels, and engine compartment to emphasize all the nice elements of this build. Mike's suggestion to use a metallic or pearl might add some highlights to show off the shapes a bit better than a solid. Myself, I'd do it in a medium pearl orange with a stainless roof panel, polished aluminum wheels and grill, with a dark red/orange interior with stainless steel highlights and matte body color engine compartment cover.

Beautifully done! Two thumbzupz!!!

It was supposed to be a Chevy (hence the logo) but was in fact a mistake... As I'm sure you're aware, the Skipper's Critter motor (and several other Revell variants) is an Oldsmobile and thus has slanted Hilborns. I received the engine from a friend over 3 years ago and he represented it as a small block Chevy. At the time I was just getting back into modeling and I didn't give it much thought. So when I started this project I picked up the half-built motor with the intention to complete it as an SBC with the overall look based on the vertical injector stacks an SBC would have. Thus I substituted the injectors from the AMT kit to get that look. Almost immediately as I posted my w.i.p. my mistake was pointed out to me. Frankly, at this stage I know better, based not only on the the injectors, but also the more intricate shape of the area around the exhaust ports, and the more rounded appearance of the valve covers, and I can offer no excuse. I was simply too lazy to start another motor, having already modified the back half of the Olds to take the clutch housing/firewall from the Digger 'Cuda kit. So I guess it's either an Olds with an odd injector setup, or it's an "Oldsrolet" with a disingenuous decal scheme. I'm certain this error will forever curse this build...

Thanx everyone!!! One of my first attempts at this cleaner, more detailed way of doing race cars, more like some of the great builders I admire on the MCM board.

Thanx everyone. I glad you all liked it! Probably not. I'm guessing it's a very early Lenco 2-spd. The first commercialized Lencos were in '68 so this would be about right. From the molding it looks like it's supposed to have a cast-in differential nose piece, but as I said it's just a guess. When I was building the interior it concerned me enough that I researched interior photos of the Tommy Ivo FED (the original version of this kit) but came up blank...

Haven't been checking this thread out since page 10 or so! Boy have I missed a lot.... Incredible! I really dig how the variety has opened up to span the whole range of drag cars. Here's a coupla pics of my latest, which I just finished, a late 60's Junior Fueler, (more pics here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=47749 )

A few more pics:

“Nitro Jr.” - Late 60’s Style Junior Fueler (More pictures below) Chassis & Drive Train, Interior Details: AMT Digger ‘Cuda Slicks & Rear Tires: Revell Tony Nancy Double Dragster Kit “Shorty” Style Body: Altered States Models Motor: Block, heads, pan and accessory drive – Revell Skipper’s Critter; Hilborn Injectors – AMT Double Dragster; Detailed Hilborn injector pump – Altered Sates Models; Injector stacks – Parts By Parks; Magneto – Morgan Auto Detail; Scratch-built exhaust manifolds Paint: Body - Duplicolor Platinum Pearl Metallic with Duplicolor Metallic Maroon stripes; Chassis: Duplicolor Orange Mist Metallic; Interior – Testors Acryl British Crimson; “Nitro Jr.” Logo – Home made decal Under Glass overlaps with Drag Racing models to some degree so I wasn't sure where to place this - the result is that this has been posted in both... As the front engine dragster reached its peak in the late 60’s the Top Eliminator ranks included the Junior Fueler, an ultra-light machine running fuel injected motors on heavy doses of nitromethane capable of running in the 7’s at speeds of over 200 mph and often weghing less than a 1,000 pounds. Junior Fuelers, when properly driven, would regularly beat blown big block AA fuel dragsters and were quite capable of taking home Top Eliminator honors. Besides the allure of their underdog status and incredible efficiency, they were also among the prettiest cars of the era with clean, simple lines. As a result they were often featured at custom car shows where they would be decked out in fancy paint jobs and plenty of chrome. This is my take on these cars as they existed in their final evolution at the end of the decade, with the extra long wheelbase of the period. The basis for the project was an AMT Digger ‘Cuda kit I picked up on clearance at my LHS. It offered up its chassis and running gear, although I substituted slicks and rear wheels from a Revell Tony Nancy Double Dragster kit, which are more correct. The pretty little resin “shorty” style body is courtesy of Altered States Models and is a beautifully executed casting. Altered States also supplied the finely detailed Hilborn fuel injector pump. A Revell Skipper’s Critter kit supplied most of the motor with fuel injectors from the AMT Double Dragster kit and injector stacks by Parts By Parks. I designed the “Nitro Jr.” logo in Photoshop and made my own decal. The w.i.p. can be found here: http://www.modelcars...opic=47586&st=0 Thanx for lookin’, B.

“Nitro Jr.” - Late 60’s Style Junior Fueler Chassis & Drive Train, Interior Details: AMT Digger ‘Cuda Slicks & Rear Tires: Revell Tony Nancy Double Dragster Kit “Shorty” Style Body: Altered States Models Motor: Block, heads, pan and accessory drive – Revell Skipper’s Critter; Hilborn Injectors – AMT Double Dragster; Detailed Hilborn injector pump – Altered Sates Models; Injector stacks – Parts By Parks; Magneto – Morgan Auto Detail; Scratch-built exhaust manifolds Paint: Body - Duplicolor Platinum Pearl Metallic with Duplicolor Metallic Maroon stripes; Chassis: Duplicolor Orange Mist Metallic; Interior – Testors Acryl British Crimson; “Nitro Jr.” Logo – Home made decal As the front engine dragster reached its peak in the late 60’s the Top Eliminator ranks included the Junior Fueler, an ultra-light machine running fuel injected motors on heavy doses of nitromethane capable of running in the 7’s at speeds of over 200 mph and often weghing less than a 1,000 pounds. Junior Fuelers, when properly driven, would regularly beat blown big block AA fuel dragsters and were quite capable of taking home Top Eliminator honors. Besides the allure of their underdog status and incredible efficiency, they were also among the prettiest cars of the era with clean, simple lines. As a result they were often featured at custom car shows where they would be decked out in fancy paint jobs and plenty of chrome. This is my take on these cars as they existed in their final evolution at the end of the decade, with the extra long wheelbase of the period. The basis for the project was an AMT Digger ‘Cuda kit I picked up on clearance at my LHS. It offered up its chassis and running gear, although I substituted slicks and rear wheels from a Revell Tony Nancy Double Dragster kit, which are more correct. The pretty little resin “shorty” style body is courtesy of Altered States Models and is a beautifully executed casting. Altered States also supplied the finely detailed Hilborn fuel injector pump. A Revell Skipper’s Critter kit supplied most of the motor with fuel injectors from the AMT Double Dragster kit and injector stacks by Parts By Parks. I designed the “Nitro Jr.” logo in Photoshop and made my own decal. The w.i.p. can be found here: http://www.modelcars...opic=47586&st=0 Thanx for lookin’, B. A few more pics:

Its all done, now and posted Under Glass, here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=47739&pid=517874&st=0&#entry517874 . I did some final detailing, including a parachute pull cord and handle and the usual plumbing and wiring. Here's a coupla teaser shots processed to look like old magazine color pics from back in the day. Thanx to everyone for following along! B.