Bernard Kron

After an unsuccessful attempt to insert a set of Revell louvers from the Roadster hood sides into the hood's top (the hood is too narrow to avoid having to sand up against the louvers and thus shaving bits of them away…), I had just about decided to stay with the stock hood. But then Drag City Casting's Ed Fluck gave me more than a little coaching and encouragement to try the louvered hood one last time by thinning the Revell louvers and gluing them in place. Suffice it to say that after hours of effort I wouldn't wish this on anyone as the louvers become incredibly fragile. The photo makes the edges of the plastic look far thicker than they actually are. It looks like it might work. I'll know once it's all under primer. In the meantime, I still wish that hands far more skilled than mine would create a definitive Revell '32 louvered hood in resin to go with the Revell side panels and deck lid. I, for one, would be an avid consumer of such a product. Thanx to Ed for the kick in the pants and the handy tips, and to you all for your interest, comments, and for lookin', B.

Here's the link: http://public.fotki....-city-casting-/ I tried it, it works. And here's some cool stuff I got in from Ed last week: Chopped '37 Chevy Coupe:: Chopped '34 Ford 5-Window Coupe & Chopped '34 Ford Pickup Cab: '32 Ford Louvered Deck and Hood panels & '34 Ford Filled Front Inner Fender Liners:

That came out real nice! I agree, great imagineering, and, as I said before, the color combo really makes it. But one thing, I can't form an opinion about the stance of this "vehicle"!?

Beautiful restytling and an excellent model. It reminds me of a modern Lusso.

The stance is now dialed in and much closer to both the Longman Roadster and my original mockup than it has been. I landed up building a new front crossmember which drops the front end a good 4 scale inches or more from where it was. In addition I cut open the rear deck to accept the louvered panel. Below are pictures showing the car both louvered and un-louvered. I'm interested in what you all think of the two versions. I've set things up to go either way. To my eyes they are quite different in character, the unlouvered car being somewhat closer in character to the Longman car. However I noticed that the Longman car has a wheelbase that's somewhat longer than a normal '32, leading me to think it had a suicide axle. Its lengthened hood is quite obvious. The wheelbase and hood section on my build are stock. The overall look on my build is more compact and less stretched out looking, with the car sitting slightly higher due to the 18" milk truck (artillery) wheels (the Longman car has 16" wheels). With the artillery wheels the louvered version, especially, has a much tougher, more aggressive look. Thanx for lookin', B.

Once I committed to the Milk Truck wheels the look of the build began to change when compared to the inspiration 1:1. It took on a more agressive, less polished, tone. The louvers sort of fit in to that. I agree that if I go with the louvered hood, then the louvered deck starts to make sense. The build-off on TRaK is for '37 Chevies it's based on the chopped body that Ed Fluck offers at Drag City Castings. Here's my first mockup:

Thanx guys! I'm finally making some (small) progress on this build. I got sidetracked by a chopped '37 Chevy build off on the TRaK board. The underlying issue with a project with this much scratch building is the sequence of final assembly. Everything you do beforehand must be done with that in mind. My hope is to do very little painting and finishing before all the subassemblies are fabricated and test fitted. The result is things are going fairly slowly. I've decided that I won't detail any parts that will ultimately be invisible. This will make things simpler and improves the chance that I'll nail the stance and proportions I want. This means there's no rear suspension to speak of, just a simple axle to locate the rear wheels. Additionally the drivetrain stops at the end of the bellhousing. As a result I've made some small spacers to set the rear axle height, added a rear cross brace, cut a simple styrene rod to length to serve as the rear axle, made a pair of filler panels for the rear wheel wells, and cut some notches in the front frame rails to properly locate the engine. Not very exciting stuff, but absolutely critical to getting this build right. One thing I'm wondering about relates to a change I've decided to make. Ed Fluck at Drag City Casting makes a nice louvered hood for the Revell '32 series and I've decided to use it to match the kit's louvered side panels. The question is do I louver the rear deck? (Ed makes a nice louvered rear deck piece, too – and I've got 'em both.) Waddya think? Here are some (not very exciting) pics of where I'm at now. I hope that next time things will look a little more interesting. Thanx for lookin', B.

This turned out to be a far more elaborate and ambitious build that it first appeared to be. And yes, I do think it's actually pretty classy! The red & white color scheme looks real sharp and the surprising amount of detail really comes across well.

I just got this in from Ed Fluck at Drag City Casting. Beatifully made and flawlessly cast with zero flash or air holes and it all fits perfectly on the donor kits! Ed has an amzing array of bodies and parts, many of which are quite unique and useful, especially if your into rods and customs. Here's a link to his Fotki: http://public.fotki....-city-casting-/ Chopped '37 Chevy: Chopped '34 Ford Five Window and Chopped '34 Ford Pickup Cab Luuvered Deck Lid and Louvered Hood for Revell '32 Fords & Filled Front Wheel Well Panels for AMT '34 Fords

The wheels and tires are from Modelhaus and are item T-640: "T-640 set of four treaded street rod black wall tires, two 6.00.18 fronts and two 8.00.18 rears with Artillery (Milk Truck Wheels) Ford 8-spoke "Desert Wheels" as shown in The Rodders Journal #36 and 18" wheel back rings" ( http://www.modelhaus.com/index.php?page=4&c=0&y=0&pt=33&part=1&Submit=Search ) They're also available in a set of four rears with a ribbed tread, strictly for dry lakes and salt flats work, as item T-647

Thanx guys! Wise guys...always wise guys...

Very impressive to see a ,build at this level;.I love the contemporary style blended with the sprtit of the dry lakes. The detail and craftsmanship lend a degree of crispness and authenticty which is often lacking in this style of build. Some questions. What is the origin of the Winters q.c.? Also, the body? And finally, will this be a curbside or, if not, what's the motor gonna be? Thanx for sharing!

Great role reversal (and give-back)! Congrats. Looks like your father definitely has the skills! How long has it been since he built? This is definitely in the modern,super detailed style.

Thanks for all the kind words and comments!. I've been hacking away at this thing for a while now and I'm starting to make some headway. I decided to make the belly pan and chassis as one piece. I began by making stepped side rails from styrene strip, the inner strip forming the actual chassis rails and the outer strip the vertical surface of the belly pan. Then I formed the rails to conform with the body and clamped them in place so that they "remembered" their shape. Once that was completed I glued styrene sheet to the bottom and filed the edges so they were rounded and blended with the rails to create a single unit. Finally I built up some z'd rails at the rear to hold the rear axle. I haven't decided yet whether I'll do a full detail rear end. It's seems pretty silly since the whole thing will disappear under the rear bellypan… I also got several other parts completed. The Revell '32 kit front axle was cut down to two leaves. The bellypan/.chassis front crossmember is raised to the top of the frame rsails and notched to receive the tab from the axle. I also made a rear rolled pan. The bellypan kicks upwards to meet it, just like on the Longman car. Finally, I cut up the interior to fit the channeled frame. The channel is about 5 scale inches. Here are some very rough mockup pictures showing the results of the work so far. Thanx for lookin' B.

Looks terrific, Alyn. A truly epic build! Super stance, cool concept and, of course, great details. Just how great the detail and construction of this model is can only be appreciated by going to the workbench thread Alyn included above. So much of this model is handcrafted and scratch built. If you didn't follow along don't miss it now, it's worth the visit!

After stumbling around for a few days trying to figure out what to start next I've settled on another attempt at a full bellypan channeled Deuce roadster. One of my favorite hot rods of all time is the Bob Longman channeled '32 Ford Roadster featured starting on page 28 of the July 1952 issue of Hop Up (or pg. 552 of Hop, The First 12 Issues).: I did my first attempt at a bellypanned channeled Deuce roadster about 18 months ago. It resulted in a build which, while it looked OK, just wasn't low enough, and, after an awful lot of work on my part had a bellypan that hardly showed. The stance was a little tail-dragging for my taste, too. Here are some pics: I'm sure you can see what I'm referring to. It's way too tall and awkward compared to my inspiration. That build was based on the 1/24 Monogram '32 Roadster (recently re-released) and had a fake chassis glued to the sides of the body and no drive train behind the engine. This time I'm using the Revell 1/25 kit and will attempt a more detailed build. For starters here's a mockup of the assembled Revell Deuce roadster body. The bellypan has been "painted" in using Photoshop as a general guide for the fabrication I'll have to do. My plan is to make a z'd frame channeled so that the bottom of the rails are just inside the body line and then add styrene below it to make the belly pan. The rails will be pinched so that they finish up hidden behind the grill shell. There's no discussion in the Hop Up magazine article about how the front axle is mounted, but it appears that the frame rails end on either side of the shell, implying a standard crossmember mount rather than a suicide setup. My model will have a full rear roll pan and be flathead powered, like the Longman car. Here's the mockup: Despite the fact that this is my second go-round on a bellypanned Deuce, something tells me this will be a challenging build. While it's not my intention to build a perfect replica, I hope I can capture the graceful lines and simplicity of the original. Thanx for lookin' B.

Came out very nicely indeed. The engine is especially well detailed. One suggestion: post it Under Glass so more folks can enjoy it. Many members wait for an "official completion" to check out a build.

Cool, man! Model kits from that period contained a ton of that stuff precisely because it's was in style! Great idea well executed!

I build in a decidedly Old Skool vein. Here are mine.... Chopped and Sectioned '40 Ford Coupe '40 Ford Fordor Mild Custom '49 Mercury '50 Ford Convertible Mild Custom '57 Thunderbird

Thanks so much for all the input. :lol: I went to Harbor Freight today just to check things out and they had a 100 PSI 3 gallon tank compressor that I had noticed on line for $85.00 (already very cheap) on special for $49.95. At that price I thought it would be worth taking a chance. It comes with two gauges (tank and line) and a 25 foot line. I spent another $6.00 on a water trap and an adapter for my airbrush line. Including sales tax I was out the door for less than $62.00. Fingers crossed that it will prove reliable and not too noisy! Unfortunately setting up a spray booth in the house is pretty much out of the question. I figure I'll take advantage of the 25 ft. line and make a workspace for painting out by the garage door, venting outwards but inside so that the pieces are out of the wind and weather. I'll probably make a small spray booth as insurance, but nothing fancy - i.e. without a vent fan, etc. I already use a respirator so that's covered. I also pre-heat my paint and my parts and haven't had any problems painting in that location using rattle cans, even in the winter. I have a ton of rattle can paint so I'll have to also learn the gentle art of decanting. Thanx again! I'm excited to start learning a new skill!

When I first started building model cars again about 3 years ago I was given an airbrush for Xmas. I bought a very cheap compressor which didn't work at all well and then tried canned air which wasn't any better. I got just enough use out of the airbrush to get an impression that with a proper air source it might have some real benefits for me. The time has come, I think, to try again. So, for those of you with airbrush experience here are some question I have. 1) Containment and ventilation – On my first go round I noticed that you could adjust the airbrush so that it sprayed in a very reduced area with far less overspray than a rattle can. Is it practical to airbrush in doors in a room that contains computers and other electronic equipment and which is part of the general living space in a house. Or is there still too much overspray and residual odor? Do you need a spray booth to get around this? 2) Compressors – A quick look over at Harbor Freight revealed some very tempting compressors for surprisingly cheap money. They seem to come in two flavors, with or without a tank. All have pressure gauges and water traps which I understand are quite necessary. Is paying for a tank a waste of money? A tankless compressor is obviously smaller and lighter, but one with a tank would theoretically be quiter once the tank fills up. But I don't think painting model cars means lengthy periods of time airbrushing. What range of PSI should I make sure I get? Is their a downside to some of the 100 PSI models? For example that they're difficult to adjust to the lower pressures required for airbrushing. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer, B.

Fabulous work, as usual. The model companies have really gotta hate you! You must have a tiny parts stash since you fabricate everything yourself! Can't wait to see more, more, more... except you must be approaching the end - I'll miss it...

Big Thanx again to everyone for all the props. Haven't quite decided yet what to start next. It will be, as usual, in the hot rodding vein, but whether it's a race car or street machine is up in the air...