Bernard Kron

Hi Claude. I'm surprised at how many of these projects I failed to see across this past year. You are truly a master of Radical Modern with both the skills and the vision to pull it off. Of course the relatively conservative "Acid Rush" is a delight but it's the simplicity and stance of the Torino that pushes my buttons. All the best in 2022. B.

Hi Claude. I'm surprised at how many of these projects I failed to see across this past year. You are truly a master of Radical Modern with both the skills and the vision to pull it off. Of course the relatively conservative "Acid Rush" is a delight but it's the simplicity and stance of the Torino that pushes my buttons. All the best in 2022.

I followed many of these projects this year and came away impressed by how successfully your skills and approach communicate your knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject matter - plastic or metal, assembled or reworked or kit bashed - it all counts as creativity, and these are all fine examples indeed. All the best in 2022.

2021 proved to be a disappointing year in terms of the number of models that I actually completed. While it’s not unusual to start a project and then set it aside for a while, I generally don’t let projects linger for too long, and rarely start one without finishing it within a year or so. It does happen that some projects have stayed in their box for several years, but it’s not that common for me. This year, however, was an exception in many ways. I suspect that the limited socialization that the current pandemic has forced on many of us has something to do with it, but 2021 was a strangely unfocused and lackadaisical one for me. I completed 5 models and started at least as many that are all fairly far along but will have to wait to 2022 for completion. Besides the Covid Blues there was another reason for some projects falling away, and that was that I sold 20 of my earlier models dating from when I first returned to modeling in 2008. I auctioned them on eBay, and many of them required repair and cleaning, and re-photographing. It was an effort well worth doing since I felt better about selling them and I’m sure the buyers appreciated a clean, freshened up build, too. In the event they were all well sold and I’m glad I did it. But in terms of bench time it probably meant deferring a couple of projects. In any event here are my 5 for 2021, 3 Deuces, a fat-fendered ’40 Ford and a 50’s Maserati. The multiple Deuces show what a lazy year it was for me, because I can always find a way to do another Revell Deuce if all else fails. All 3 were “spare parts” builds put together from odds and ends in my stash. The same was true of the ’40 Ford Sedan Delivery. The Maserati was a first for me, made from an obscure and rare resin curbside kit, something I had never tried before. So please accept my best wishes to you all for a healthy, happy and fulfilling 2022. Thanx for lookin’, B. ’32 Ford “Pseudo Tub” 60’s Style Show Car - February 2021 ’53 Maserati A6GCS Fantuzzi Roadster – June 2021 ’32 Ford Chopped & Channeled 3-Window Coupe – July 2021 ’32 Ford ’50’s Style Channeled Roadster Show Car – August 2021 ’40 Ford Sedan Delivery Hemi-Powered Street Rod – December 2021

’40 Ford Sedan Delivery Hemi Powered Street Rod (more pictures below) This was my final project for 2021, begun on the afternoon of December 28th with a self-imposed deadline to get it done by year’s end. I did complete it on the afternoon of December 31st, so basically a 96 hour build. My motivation was that 2021 had been a kind of stale year for me with only 4 projects completed so I wanted to challenge myself to get No. 5 on the board. Like all most of my projects this year this is a spare-parts kit bash. The basic kit was the AMT '40 Ford Sedan Delivery, one of my favorite parts kits for doing late ‘40’s and 50’s customs because of its flipper hubcaps, baby Moons, ribbed bumpers and tubular nerf bars, and also for the tri-carb Buick Nailhead. As a result I’ve got plenty of spare bodies and chassis to work from. I wanted to do a 60’s style raked California style street rod. I had a blown 3962 Hemi from the Revell Miss Deal that I had recently gotten in a box of Miss Deal parts I won on eBay and I felt this would make the perfect exaggerated street rod statement to go with a heavy dive-bomb rake. I used the front and rear axles from the Revell ’32 Ford hot rod kits, shaving the front axle spring to get the front end in the weeds as much as possible. I radiused the rear wheel openings to clear a set of Revell Goodyear drag slicks. The slicks and the AMT Firestone blackwalls were modified to fit a set of Torq-Thrust mags from the Revell Deuce kits. The nerf bars are from the AMT ’36 Ford coupe kits and the bucket seats for the interior are from an AMT ’37 Chevy kit. Paint is Duplicolor Flame Red for the fenders and Brite Touch Black Primer for the body and hood. Thanx for lookin’ B.

All done! Formal presentation photos will be posted tomorrow. In the meantime Happy New Year to you all!

Thanks Bill and Larry. Below are photos of the chassis, motor and interior. I’ve begun finally assembly. I think I’ve got a chance at finishing in time, even before this evening’s New Year dinner. Here’s wishing you all a happy and fulfilling 2022. Thanx for lookin’, B. P.S. Yeah, I know the radiator is backwards. It's been corrected...

Thanks guys! Things are moving along nicely. The motor just needs wiring. The chassis is fully painted, has its axles glued in place and only requires steering and locating arms, brakes and wheels glued in place. The interior parts are in paint and I should be able to get the interior done this afternoon. If all goes well final assembly should be either this evening or tomorrow. The photos below show the body fully painted although the rear door needs to be installed. Colors are Duplicolor Flame Red and Brite Touch black primer. Thanx for lookin’, B.

As is my habit at this time each year I post a summary of my modeling output for the previous twelve months on my favorite car modeling forums. This year, to my shock and dismay, I discovered that I had only finished 4 projects, whereas 6 to 8 have been more typical in recent years. Moreover, 3 of them were 1932 Ford show rods and the fourth one was a radical opposite and quite rare for me, a 1955 Maserati A6GCS sports racing car. So, to summarize, very little output, extremely narrow band width except for one anomaly. The truth of the matter is that I started another 4 or more that are still sitting my bench. As a result I decided to set myself the challenge of building one more model in the few days left in 2021. It probably took me as much time to decide what to build as it will take me to do this project, given the very few days left in the year. I decided to build an AMT 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery in the style of the radically raked street rod style popular in Southern California in the early to mid ‘60’s. I have bought multiple of these AMT kits as parts kits for their hubcaps, bumpers and triple-carburetor manifolds for Buick Nailhead V8’s. So there are plenty of spare parts in my stash and this project is a spare-parts kit bash. The suspension, front and rear, is adapted from the Revell ’32 Ford series of kits with the front axle and front cross member modified to lower the front end as much as possible. The Ford 8-inch rear axle is in keeping with the big horsepower provided by the blown Chrysler 392 Hemi V8 from the Revell Miss Deal kit with a chromed scoop from a Revell Pontiac 421 Parts Pak. The wheels are the Torq Thrusts from the Revell ’32 Fprd Series adapted to AMT Firestone Supreme on the front and Revell .Goodyear drag slicks on the rear. Paint will be gloss red fenders with a matte black main body. Below is the work so far. I started yesterday afternoon, December 28th. Updates will be as frequent as events demand. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Thanks Alan and Andrew! The chassis, driver’s compartment, suspension, drive train, floor pan and inner body structure are now completed. The motor is about halfway done. The photos below show the motor resting temporarily in the engine compartment. I had hoped to complete this project before the New Year but nearly everything thus far is either scratch built or heavily modified so I suspect this will be my first completion of 2022. Thanx for lookin’, B.

It's the same kit but with different box art. I bought one in 2020 on eBay, although not from the same vendor. It took quite a bit of time to get to me but arrived in goof order and was a very good molding. I liked the look of the Cromadoras so I built mine with aftermarket copies of those wheels instead of the more prevalent wire wheels. The Cromadoras were used by some privateer entrants, notably David Piper.

Thanks everyone. As would be expected working from such a simple toy model I am having to fabricate almost everything for this project. So far only the tires and wheels come from a kit and even those have been extensively modified. The tires are the AMT Firestone DeLuxe blackwalls found so many of their kits. In this case I sanded them down to eliminate the tread and sidewall detail to represent the smooth bias ply tires run at Bonneville in the 1950’s. The wheels, some 1980’s Speedline style mags from my spares box, are hidden behind styrene discs which will be finished in aluminum metalizer. I got a great deal of work done in detailing the chassis and interior, fabricating the front and rear suspension, the inner bulkhead panels to support the body, the seat, and the various fluid tanks. The large tank at the front of the chassis is the water tank for the motor, the medium sized tank to the right of the driver is the fuel tank, and small tank is the oil tank for the dry sump lubrication system for the motor (in order to bring the height of the engine down below the hood line). Behind the oil tank is a small battery to power the electric pumps for the various fluids. Using this approach helps keep things compact in the crowded interior space. Not shown in the photos are the firewall and interior panels for the cockpit. These have been fabricated and will be finished in bare aluminum. Also not shown are the front shock absorbers. There is no rear suspension to speak of, the rear axle being mounted directly to the chassis, and common practice on 1950’s era streamliners. The steering system, too, has yet to be fabricated. The next major step will be constructing and fitting the motor. After that comes styling and finishing the bodywork. Thanx for lookin’, B.

First off, great to see you back. Secondly, great yo see your superb craftsmanship applied to a radical project like this.

Thanks for all the interest, everyone! This is rapidly turning into one of the more ambitious projects I’ve taken on. Going full-detail and trying to maintain some semblance of historic accuracy is presenting me with some pretty big challenges. I’ve gotten the basic chassis completed, but in building it some very basic problems needed to be addressed. The first is to keep the original hood line intact. This will mean I’ll have to fabricate a front mounted accessory drive between the engine block and supercharger. This is because I’ll want to mount both the distributor and the fuel pump in that area. There’s just barely enough length to fit the supercharger behind the front suspension and the usual top mount distributor would stick up above the bodywork. The other major issue was, in order to keep the driving position low within the bodywork and maintain the central location of the seat I will need to offset the driveshaft to one side of the driver. The original Hill-Davis streamliner that inspired this project placed the driver to the left of the drive shaft. For my streamliner I fabricated a transfer case to run the driveshaft to the driver’s left. When the model is completed my plan is to mount the chassis to the belly pan with a lift-off body in order to display the chassis and motor. The photos below show the completed chassis, the transfer case for the offset drive shaft and a mock-up showing the final position of the driver and motor. The next major challenge will be designing and fabricating the suspension. Thanx for lookin’, B. Cutaway of Hill-Davis Streamliner showing left hand drive position: Front mounted ignition as used on the small-bock Chevy in the 1958 Reventlow Scarab Mk. I. I intend to make a similar setup but with the supercharger drive included.

Thanks for all the interest and kind words! I made simple scale drawings for the chassis. The plans are actual size for the model so all I have to do is cut the styrene rod to match the drawing and begin construction. I received a shipment of .100 inch and .080 inch rod for the main frame tubes and cross braces. I’ll probably improvise the suspension mounts. Below are the plans with an overlay of the body, motor mockup and wheels. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Six years ago I built a curbside model of an early 50’s Bonneville streamliner, similar to the famous SoCal streamliner which was the first car to go over 200 mph (209+) at Bonneville in 1950. Considering it was powered by a single flathead Mercury V8 this is remarkable. It’ a testament to its small size and excellent aerodynamics. That model was based on the Hawk Bonneville Streamliner 1/32 scale rubber band wind-up toys which were later purchased and re-released by Testors under the Easy Builder name. There were four “different” versions depending on where the driver was positioned and the size and shape of the engine cover. This was accomplished by varying a single plastic piece, the strip running down the center of the car, the 4 kits being otherwise identical. The 4 Testors EasyBuilder Kits The instructions for the Bonnie Buggy version with the driver in the center of the body and single rear engine. Obviously these models were simple to the extreme but they can actually look quite realistic once you switch them to 1/25th scale tires and add some historically correct details and graphics. Here is the model I built in 2015: For Version number 2 I’ve decided to build front engine version inspired by the Hills-Davis City of Burbank streamliner which broke the pre-war Class C land speed record set by Auto Union on September 13th, 1952 with a speed of 229.77 MPH. It was powered by a single unsupercharged flathead Mercury motor with C-T Automotive OHV heads. September 13th, 1952 – World Record! For this version I plan to add engine and cockpit detail which were missing from the 2015 version. I haven’t decided whether to run twin small-block injected Chevys or a sing small-block Chevy with a Potvin blower. Here is the work I’ve done so far. I started with the Turbo Go version of the Hawk toy cars, a version based on LSR cars run before and after WWII by Donald Campbell. The canopy is set all the way forward leaving room for the huge aero engine in the back. I reversed the center strip to place the driver at the back and reshaped the headrest area and the rear bodywork. At the front I extended the bodywork downward to eliminate the lift that the shape of the original Hawk body would have certainly created. I also have built a belly pan which will support the engine, chassis and cockpit detail. Thanx for lookin’, B. Comparison of the original Hawk Turbo GO with front mounted cockpit and revised bodywork with rear cockpit and re-profiled aerodynamics: Various views of the initial conversion. The white plastic is the modified area, the yellow from the Hawk toy car.:

I've done many spare-parts builds over the years. Sometimes I think that's mainly what I do, but that can't be or how would I land up having the spare parts to use. LOL? Here are a few of my most recent ones. As was pointed out earlier, hot rods are ideal for this kind of project. Since I mainly build hot rods and customs that might explain why I've done so many spare parts builds. This is my most recent spare parts build. It was the result of winning on eBay a huge box of spare Revell '32 Ford parts, virtually everything you'll find in those kits including motors, chassis, fenders, and interiors - everything but wheels and tires. The seller had started a channeled '32 Ford Roadster and I used his spare parts and stuff from my stash to build this 50's style hot rod. At the start of 2021 I built this '32 Ford Phaeton from a Revell Tudor body that I had chopped over ten years ago and didn't like the result. I removed the top and built this 60's style "Pseudo-Phaeton" show car using a chassis from an AMT Phantom Vicky and the Nailhead Buick from the recent Revel '29/'30 Roadster/Coupe kits. These two bucket rods were built using leftover '29 Ford Model Pickup buckets, the ones that come in the various AMT '29 Ford Roadster kits and were originally from the Ala Kart kits. They both have scratch built chassis and 100% of everything is from my spares box. The purple rat rod has a Revell small block Chevy and the dark red metallic show rod version has a Revell Oldsmobile V8 from a Roth Beatnik Bandit. Both have front whitewalls that are the stock version tires in the AMT '34 Ford coupe kit, but mounted on different wheels, while the rear tires are from Revell '40 Ford Standards. Two each front and rear means I used up all 8 leftover tires!

Thanks, RRR. This drives home Atlantis' generosity with the spares, now doesn't it?

Thanks RRR. I think you pointed that out earlier. Amazingly generous of Atlantis, either that or they planned on being far too busy shipping product to mold up one measly part, LOL...

Oops. I got caught up in the conversational moment and was unclear. Can someone post the Atlantis Mooneyes Dragster instructions?

Can someone post a description or quick pics of the instructions. I'm wondering, particular, what is on the roadster chassis that they had to include it.

When I first saw the photos earlier today I thought the same thing. So I went to the Atlantis description of the kit. Currently it says "...This kit comes from the old custom car parts. Atlantis has retooled and fixed many of them to bring this kit to life. The kit will be molded in white and chrome with newly tooled tires. Features Dragmaster chassis, tons of extra customizing parts, detailed chevy engine with potvin manifold..." No mention of a second engine. Now either they changed it from earlier or I was conflating this kit with the recent announcement of the Fiat altered which is supposed to come with 2 motors(viz. "...Includes two engines, wiring and custom decals. ...").

Shipping, as you can imagine, is relatively expensive unless you plan your order to spread the expense. First off they require a minimum order of $25.00 AUD ($18.75 USD at current exchange 0.75 USD/AUD rates). Fooling around with their excellent ordering system it appears that they charge a minimum of $25.00 AUD (again $18.75 USD) to the continental USA and that that covers most orders up to $125-$150 AUD depending on the weight of what you order. Then the shipping cost seems to go up in $10.00 AUD increments. So .for example, in my case i usually spend around $65.00 AUD so with $25.00 USD that comes to $90.00 AUD = $67.50 USD delivered, for lets say, a set of wheels and tires (their selection and quality is second to none), some suspension stuff, lighting and maybe some steering wheels. Their catalog is large and useful if you build hot rods, and drag subjects so when it comes time to order it's relatively easy to come up with a reasonably priced package. Check 'em out - you'll be glad you did! .

Thanks everyone. This project was great fun and one of the highlights of this year so far.

Hi Dave, Thanks. The photo links all work for me. i can see them all on my computer, both in the original post and when I expand your quote. It's a pretty recent project and the photos are all on imgbb, my current photo hosting service. I also was able to go to them @imgbb when I clicked on the photos posted here. I hope they show up for you. It was a fun build. B.