Bernard Kron

Tom, Your routine is essentially the same I use, except my final polish is with polishing cloths. If the surface is especially orange peeled I'll start with 3200 going out to 12000, but usually I'll start with 4000 since the 3200 and 3600 cloths risk going through the color coat. I usually color sand at 2000 wet although, again for rough stuff, I'll go down to 1500. With this project the decal louvers went on over the primer coat before color layers. They stood up fine to all the sanding and did not seem to lose any height. They seem to be pretty tough. The color coats did rub off the tops of the louvers, though, revealing a bit of the black color iof the louver edges. From a modeling point of view, however, this proved beneficial since it made the louvers show up better against the gloss paint. In the future I might try applying the louvers just prior to the final color coat and clear coats to minimize any fill from the paint. This build only had three color coats and two clear coats, all lacquer, so the advantage in terms of crispness may be minimal. B.

I've gotten the frame, suspension and body painted. I changed my mind regarding body color. Black body on a black frame was just one black blob. For contrast I painted the body and hood Duplicolor Maroon over black undercoat. Then I wet sanded the paint with 2000 grit to give it some tooth and dull down the sheen. Finally I dusted the body with a medium gray-brown weathering powder to simulate the dry lakes dust that collected on the cars as the day wore on. The frame and undercarriage is Plasticote Mr. Spray Satin Black over red oxide primer with the same wet sanding and dusting treatment as the body. The grill shell is coated with Testors gloss acrylic to tone down the chrome and make it look more worn. I've swapped the wheels out for AMT '32 Ford wires which more closely resemble the prototypic Kelsey Hayes style wheels prevalent during the period. The tires still aren't quite right. Right now I'm running the standard AMT Firestones at the front and the rears are from the Revell 40 Ford Standard Coupe, reversed with the whitewalls inside. The sidewall detail and shape of the Revells are more in line with what I'm looking for, but they aren't quite big enough to contrast with the fronts. I'm sure either Modelhaus or Replicas & Miniatures have what I need, but I'm loath to wait several weeks to get them. I'll figure something out… Maybe I'll just take the build as far as I can go and then wait for the proper tires. Next up is the motor. I'm thinking I may use the engine from the Revell 30 Ford Sedan mated to the AMT transmission. I must use the AMT tranny because it fits the AMT frame correctly and is a critical structural element. It's actually as nicely detailed as the Revell piece. For sure I'm running the Winfield head from the Revell kit. I also have a beautiful racing exhaust from Replicas & Miniatures which would run the exhaust pipe along the side of the body. If I go with that the hood sides will have to be deleted. Once the engine is completed it's pretty near done (except for the tires!). Thanx for lookin', B.

Thanx for the tips, Paul. I've used the RepMin big & littles before and they might work. I'm not looking forward to the wait for my order to be filled but they do represent a solution. I checked out the Revell Kelsey Hayes wheels. They are very wide for a 30's car and it would take major surgery to cut them down. But they sure are nicely detailed! I'll probably go with AMT '32 Deuce kit wires.

I was blown away when I went down to NNL West this spring and was presented with this car. It is as near perfect as a build can get. And Raul even remebered to include the painted centers on the Torg Thrusts and the p/e grill, which I always include on my Revell Deuces! Raul also revealed to me that this whole thread was just a setup to sucker me in so he could build me one! Well he got me! And now it sits proudly on my shelf as a reference build to remind me how it's all done! Thanx Raul!

Starting to take on its final appearance. The wood looks good... I kinda like the two-tone creme and red combo the way it is now but that's just me. Looking forwad to more, more, more!!!!

Another gorgeous BlueMoose straight up build. Rich paint and clean, fine detailing. Bravo! The insert engine approach works on a modern car like this since contemporary engine compartments have a monolithic, molded in look anyway. But it sure is less interesting to build as a model...

Very interesting ideas. I like the rear deck shape of the Austin body. I'm looking forward to the first mockups to see how it all goes together. If you did go with the aluminum small block, what would be your source for the engine?

Thanx a lot Alyn. That's just the tip I needed. The interior of you're '29 is close to what I'm after, and it sounds like the treatment of the tires you suggested should do the trick. Now if I can come up with the right rear tires...

I absolutely agree!!! And Mario looks right at home in that cockpit! Another stunner, Curt!

Hey Scott, nice to see all these tubular spaces frames! I've got a Piranha in my stash and after examining it briefly I was deceived by all the molded in details - I was kind of a modeling snob and figured they should have had a separate frame from the inner panels at the front. Wrong!!! It sure looks great with "a little" well executed detailing. Actually, with a lot of beautifully crafted scratch built replacement parts!!! What are your plans regarding bodywork? Also cool to get a peak at the LSR 'Vette again. B.

Thanx guys! The TRaK CPB is about building a non-rat but worn looking rod in the traditional style, a low budget runner where there's no money to make it shine. This is the image that immediately popped in my head: I've always been absolutely fascinated by Depression era Hot Rodding and how many of the elements that the circumstances of the period forced on the early racers became the icons of the sport. Roadsters are the lightest of the bodies, and also the cheapest of all the models, highboys are just de-fendered stock cars, and there you go. The iconic hot rod. Running the car lower, maybe mounting the body on the Deuce rails to fill that ugly gap between the frame rails and the edge of the body, and adding a Deuce grill, all were later things, introduced in the late 30's, that were logical steps to make for a prettier, more finished look. Just once I want to resist the temptation to go there and see what's involved in building what was the basic tool of mid-30's dry lakes racing, the gutted '29 A roadster. Here are some additional pics that define this type of car. I don't know if I will go totally over the top and detail things down to the level of the levers and rods for the mechanical brakes, though! This is quite a change of pace from my totally un-TRaKable, bright red 80's-90's Barry Lobeck style Deuce roadster with an SBC, dirt track rear tires and lotsa shiny chrome. It just suffered a minor setback so I'm building this guy as therapy from all that near-billet bling! Right now the tires are the 60's LSR tires from Early Years Resin (http://earlyyearsres...om/lsrparts.htm ). I threw them on because they had a balloon tires look, but they really aren't quite right for this build, especially the front ones. Small skinny fronts shouldn't be a problem from my stash, but if anyone has a suggestion for more authentic rear tires, I would welcome it. I want some "rubber rake" and also to capture the look of the oversized rears that were used to gear up the drive line for faster top speeds. This will also be my first attempt at a more worn and weathered look without going the rust route. The black paint goes on this weekend. Can anyone give me some tips on how to capture the dusty look all these cars have when they were photographed out on the high desert? Especially on the tires and all the nooks and crannies in the frame. Most of these cars weren't that old so rust isn't appropriate. They weren't scrap yard jalopies, just stripped down racers. Thanx Raul. You're right, there is no limit. That cowl makes for the ultimate hot rod roadster shape IMHO. That's too bad about the diorama pictures! I would have loved to have seen it. Borrow it back!

This is a brutally basic racer for a community build project on the TRaK board. It's a 29 Ford Roadster done in the style of the dry lakes runners as they appeared in the 1930's. Based on the AMT kit with AMT '34 Pickup wires. It'll be finished in a worn black paint job with a hopped up 4 banger. Other than the deleted fenders it's surprisingly close to stock, but then so were the originals. Thanx for lookin', B.

I got close to getting this done but then hit a roadblock that'll take a little time to rectify. First off was the continuing issue of the fit of the hood sides. They just would not line up with the edges of the hood top, no matter how I tried. Then it occurred to me to compare the hood sides that came in the Revell Deuce roadster kit with the blank hood sides I was using from a Revell Deuce 3-winodw coupe. Comparing the lower edges I noticed that the sides from the 3-window were curved upwards to conform to the fender valence that fits over the frame, while the louvered roadster good sides were straight along the bottom edge. Eureka! The roadster kit does not come with fenders at all, it's a pure fenderless highboy. It was the original kit and they made only one set of hood sides, louvered ones, that were made to fit snugly top and bottom between the frame rails and the lower edges of the hood top. Significantly, the Revell 32 Ford Sedan kit comes with all three variations, stock, hot rod louvers and blank, but all three are curved along the bottom. This means if you want to run blank hood sides on a fenderless highboy ideally you would have top sand down hood sides (which have the hot rod louvers) from the roadster kit. Having used the blank sides with the curbed bottom originally, this is exactly what I had to do. Below are pictures of what I'm referring to. But during final assembly came the major setback. After installing the nice taillights from the AMT Phantom Vicky kit, along with adapting some hood supports from the Phantom Vicky as well, I started to install the Model Car Garage p/e grill into the Replicas & Miniatures grill shell with its lovely detailed radiator. Low and behold the p/e grill didn't fit. Now, I've used this combination many times before, always without any problems at all. This time the p/e grill was too tall and I couldn't get it to sit properly. So after lots of fiddling around, the poor little p/e grill finally said uncle and split down the middle. I have ordered replacements of both pieces along with notifying the vendors of my problem but it means this project is on hold until I solve this issue. Here are some pics of the taillights and the car as it stands now. I hope to get the rest done in the next few weeks once the parts get in. It's frustrating because the car was starting to have "the look" I was after and the red painted p/e grill was promising to really complement the build. Oh well… in the meantime I've got another project to keep me busy. Thanx for lookin', B.

Thanx for all the lind words The chassis and engine are completed and assembled. I took some more formal shots to show the stance and rake as a result of the lowered front and rear, and also to enjoy all the shiny bits up against the bright red paint! Now for detailing the bodywork and final assembly and I can call this project done… Thanx for lookin, B.

Thanx for the input, Sometimes, unfortunately, you get mockuped-out and you wanna see the color. You're right, of course, and when you have to go back your gonna pay the price! This was not the first time the alternator on a Revell SBC bit me on a Deuce so I shoulda known better! As these things go I'm not paying a very high price on the little problems I've encountered. BTW, I'm diggin' the fabrication work on your Chevelle!

Hilarious! And she 's so charming in her own way. Patrese was always a cool customer in his F1 days and he shows it again in his little joke on his wife. Thanx for sharing!

The little curves on the ends are a decent substitute for tapered ends, they certainly scan well to the eye. I should provide a picture og them under flat paint, they look much more agressive that way. Gloss paint tends to bury them. I think they're missing a bet not developing products for the 1/24-1/24 car and truck market. I've sent them an e-mail with my thoughts regarding all this.

Nice straight up no-jive build. I like the stance and the subdued shades without going the rust route. Also the work on the headers on that Parts Pack Caddy. It's no secret: http://trakinscale.p...5.com/index.cgi? You'll dig it, I bet!

Thanx Raul. I noticed that the grill shell is currently a little high, too. It's because the locating tabs on the resin grill shell I'm using (from Replicas & Miniatures) are just a bit thick and don't slip into the slots in the Revell shell quite right. A little trimming of the tabs should do the trick. Then the hood will sit at a better angle and come down to meet the sides more correctly. Also, I may need to slightly shim the the top of the firewall. I removed some material the from underside of the rear edge of the hood to allow for the use of a firewall from the AMT Phantom Vickie but abandoned that because I couldn't get enough clearance for the distributor on the SBC. Now the hood sits down slightly from the cowl. I have to do some filler work on the Revell firewall anyway to get rid of that single hood support bar thingy and install a proper pair of supports, so it shouldn't be a big deal. Thanx Scott. I've always considered these sorts of semi-replica builds as composed of a series of small victories (and, potentially, defeats). Now that I've gotten the stance and wheel/tire combo dialed in I have to get the hood combo right. If I do that then maybe I have a chance at a proper Lobeck-style street rod. This build is certainly turning out to be more complicated than I had thought! But I've always wanted to do one of these so I'll keep plugging away...

A lot of progress has been made on this build. I'm very close to final assembly but habe now hit some snags that will need attending to. First off I purchased some louvers from Archer Fine Transfers (http://www.archertransfers.com/ ). This is an interesting product, resin surface details attached to a decal substrate. They are 3 dimensional but you apply them like a decal. There are many pluses and minuses but the bottom line is that they are a huge labor saver and permit you to do things that might be difficult or impossible otherwise. For a full review see my post here: http://www.modelcars...87&#entry308687 . I put 4 rows of louvers on the hood and a short row in the bottom rear corners of the smooth hood sides from the later Revell Deuce kits. Next up I made the interior. It's kit stock finished in Testors Leather acrylic paint. However, I've never cared for the kit dashboard with its air conditioning outlets and radio and cassette player (?!). So I cut them out, glued in a blank panel and installed a p/e dash from Replicas & Miniatures. Then I built the small block Chevy. It's made from various bits and pieces from my parts box but it's basically a Revell piece. The major snag is that the alternator drive is too big and pokes out beyond the hood side, so this will need to be modified. Otherwise it's done. The bodywork has been painted but the grill shell is too dark. I probably lost count of the number of color coats. The color is Duplicolor Torch Red over Duplicolor Red Oxide Primer. I think the grill is still showing too much of the primer so it will need some more coats of color and clear. And finally there's the chronic problem I always have with the Revell Deuces. For some reason the hood sides never fit very well without a lot fiddling. If any of you have any tips regarding this issue I'd sure appreciate it! If the photos seem a little all over the palace it's because I'm experimenting with different styles and lighting. Overall the car is starting to look like I want it to but it still needs some work to get it right. But the color and stance are there, the motor done if I can solve the problem with the alternator drive, the chassis half completed and the bodywork part way there. Maybe I can finish this one up in the next week or so… Thanx, for lookin', B.

Excellent summary of the issues invlved in making your own louvers. And they are pretty daunting as well as extremely labor intensive. Here's the fully polished piece. The Archer louvers have survived some pretty agressibe polishing on my part, starting all the way down to 3200 grit (I usually try to avoid anything more coarse than 4000). With three coats of clear and as many of color to protect them getting down to the raw louvers was not a problem. Here are some pics. There's more orange peel than I'd like but that's primarily an artifiact of the ultra-closeup picture. They look pretty smooth and shiny at any distance at all (like 1 ft.+). Overall the louvers remain finer and more realistic than most but could benefit from some more depth to stand out in relief more dramatically. As I said before, in an application with flat or semi-gloss paint this would not be an issue.

Archer Fine Transfers 6" O-scale (1/48) louvers (more pics below) Archer Fine Transfers (http://www.archertransfers.com/) is a company that makes decals catering mainly to railroad and military modelers. However they offer a unique product, resin surface details that are mounted to a decal substrate ( http://www.archertra...aceDetails.html ). Up to now they have made various patterns and sizes of rivets and welds. I have considered using their rivets but haven't had a project that needed them,. A couple of months ago they added louvers to their lineup, something I had always wanted. I'm currently building a a Lobeck style street Revell Deuce Roadster with dirt track rear tires and 80's-90's details. I wanted to add louvers to the hood and use the smooth hood sides from the coupes with just a small louver detail near the lower rear corner to vent heat from the exhaust manifolds. A perfect project for these louvers if they worked. Archer doesn't make a 1/24-1/25 scale product but they do make a series of 1/48 O scale products. They offer two sets of louvers in 1/48, 6" and 14", equivalent to just over 3" and 7" in 1/25. Because of the reduced scale the spacing between the louvers is somewhat compressed. Compared to the louvers on the hood sides that come with the Revell Deuce roadster and 5-window one inch of Archer louvers has about 22 louvers in the 1/48 6" pattern compared to about 19 louvers on the Revell hood sides. This is partially because of the spacing but also because the Revell louvers are much more coarse and thick than the Archer louvers. The Archer louvers also don't sit as high off the surface as the Revell louvers although they aren't that different than the molded in louvers on the recent '49 Merc kit from Revell. The louvers come molded in black which makes them easier to place against a light surface than a dark surface. Also, if you plan to use a light color you will have to be concerned about the black color showing through the paint if it flows away from the edges of the louver. In my case the final color is a very bright red. You apply the louvers to the base surface and then paint over them. Archer recommends using a decal setting solution such as Micro Set or Solvaset, applying it to the surface and then applying the surface detail decal. The Archer decal material responded extremely well to the Micro Set I used and I found no need to apply more Micro Set after I placed them. The decal material itself is continuous on the sheet and they recommend cutting them out as close to the edges of the surface detail as possible. I did that and I must say that the decal substrate is totally invisible once you paint over it. The decals themselves are quite fragile. They really can't be handled once they are separated from the paper underneath. So you absolutely must slide the paper out from underneath the decal only after you have placed the decal on the surface you're applying it to. If you don't the decal will immediately start to fall apart into little bits of louvers (or rivets or welds) that are nearly impossible to handle. The other thing you will discover is that any misalignment of the decal is very obvious, either in terms of how straight the row of louvers is or how parallel to another row or to reference details such as the edge of a body panel. I did one hood freehand and while it looked ok as I was doing it there were waves in the rows of louvers and they didn't start in exactly the same place, all of which was quite obvious once I was done. So on the second try I laid down some masking tape for reference. The pictures below show the packaging, the louvers laid down in place and the final result with 3 coats of Duplicolor Torch Red and 3 coats of Krylon Crystal Clear over them, unpolished. As you can see they held up quite well to a fairly thick coat of paint. If you plan on polishing the paint I definitely recommend clear coating the final color to avoid rubbing through to the black louver color. Overall I think they look finer and more realistic than most louvers that come on models. I wish the decal material wasn't quite so fragile but with practice it's something that you learn to deal with. Finally, I plan on dropping a line to Archer asking for 1/24th scale louvers that are slightly more widely spaced and which stand a bit taller from the surface. Train and military modelers tend to work in flats and while the louvers are extremely visible under flat paint, under gloss they would be a bit more dramatic if they were taller. I recommend them. They aren't cheap but they are a huge labor saving resource and permit you to apply louvers in situations that would be impossible otherwise.

Very cool subject. I always liked the radical look of the Parnelli cars. It should look sharp in full decals!

Yeah, on the page facing Raul's '40 Ford coupe. Congrats to all!

Thanx guys. Hoping for some color later this week. The front wheels and tires are from the Revell Stone, Woods & Cook Willys gasser kit (black car). While I'm not convinced as to how accurate they are for the actual SWC car, they sure look right for this one!