Bernard Kron

The creative juices musta been really flowing on this one. So much stuff that contributes to the overall impact... not just detail for its own sake. Very impressive (and yeah, the inner door panels are mega - pure sculpture!) Two thumbs up!

Your stance and black on black styling are a huge improvement over the 1:1. Beautiful build with a gorgeous result.

Super duper ultra-kool kustom!!!!

Thanx! I'm glad you all are enjoying the build. Regarding the seats, for some reason this has come up more than once. Ironically the seats I used are the official matching pair to the backseat, both are the "custom" seats from the AMT '53 Stude kit. I could have used the custom seats from the '50 Ford convertible kit, but they have horizontal pleats, too! And they are the "Jetsons" style buckets which can be found in countless AMT kits from the late 50's and early 60's. IMHO they really don't go well with the fairly conservative look of my build. Here's what I mean: I think the Stude custom seats will look OK once they're picked out in contrasting colors. If I can stumble on something else I might change them but the deal here is to keep this on the straight and narrow as a quick and relatively easy build so I can also work on a couple of other projects at the same time.

For a kit that started out life as a no-holds-barred full-on custom the AMT '50 Ford convertible sure has a bland interior, especially the later stock-only versions. The engraving on the door panels is extremely shallow and vague and the seats have absolutely no texture of pattern other than two buttons in the middle of the backs. In order to spice things up I decided to use some old-school AMT customizing parts. I cut out the back seat and door panels. For the front and rear seats I substituted the custom seats from the AMT 53 Studebaker Starliner with the center console from the AMT '49 Mercury. The side panels were made from styrene sheet. Here are some pics of the process and results. Can't decide to whether stick with my original intention of painting the car Cherry Metallic with a red and white interior or perhaps switch over to some shade of Lavender. The shades of grey, white and cream of the raw plastic are beginning to appeal to me, so maybe Lavender with a cream top, and white and grey for the interior might be an alternative. Opinions welcome! Thanx for lookin'.

I don't think I've ever found a search engine that did things the way I thought it should ! I think if you remember that putting things in quotes is equivalent to the Boolean "and" you can get pretty far if you use the Advanced Search page, especially by limiting the Forums you go to. I also am impressed that we can specify the posters (member names) as well. Sometimes I need to find a specific thread and can remember who it was by and a little something about the topic title. This is another example of the difference between the Search box at the top of the page and the Advanced Search page. Time to crawl into the head of the person who programmed it!

I just tried clear over decals and also "clear over decals" (that is to say the three words and then the three words enclosed in quotes). In standard search engine syntax the first way means find any instance of any of the words, whereas the second one means find only the exact phrase (i.e. all the indicated words in the order indicated). I tried both the search box that appears at the top of every page and the Advanced Search page. By using the quotations marks I greatly reduced the number of results found. Whereas Boolean logic phrases like "or" and "and" or symbols such as =, >, <, >=, <>, etc. aren't functional the simple use of quotes seems to help. However, while it still doesn't recognize the exact phrase, by using the quotation marks, it seemed to require instances where all three words occur somewhere in the thread (the Boolean "clear and over and decals"). If you use the Advanced Search page you can limit your results to topic titles and/or specific Forums (i.e. Under Glass, General, Drag Racing Models, etc.). In this case I went from a virtually limitless number of results to none at all when using quotes and just limiting it to Topic Titles (in other words there we no Topic Titles, regardless of Forum, where all three character strings appeared). Importantly, you are correct that the search engine doesn't discriminate between whole words and text strings so that it found both instances of clear and of other words containing clear such as clearing, cleared, clearance, etc. I hope this helps. While the search function isn't perfect or terribly sophisticated it can be used fairly effectively to find stuff, especially if you use the Advanced Search page.

Your welcome. There's an error in what I wrote: "..He charges a flat $7.50 per order for shipping regardless of size ..." He charges various prices for his merchandise!

Replicas & Miniatures of Company Maryland is the handiwork of Norman Veber. Norm is probably as fine a resin caster as you will find in the model car hobby. He is also an exceptionally honest and straightforward person to do business with. Not only are his castings exquisite in fit and finish, but they are unsurpassed in accuracy and detail. Some of the hobby's greatest modelers have made masters for Norm and it shows! Unfortunately Norm has never had a website to show his wares. Many of us have doubtless discussed this with him and when I asked him about it once he said that since he was essentially a one man operation he feared he would be buried with additional orders if he went on the web! (I'm sure he's right) As a result car model hobbyists have resorted to posting pictures of his parts on the web themselves, often on Fotki pages. But as you say, you can't order from these sites. You can order from Norm one of three ways. You can send him an order via regular (snail) mail. He publishes a price list and catalog. If you order from him you'll get a price list and also his most recent catalog update. If you want his catalog, which has excellent written descriptions and quite a few photographs, he charges $4.00 for it. They catalog also contains all updates and additions. (I make it a point to e-mail Norm requesting any updates that I may have missed since my last order to make sure I'm not missing any new stuff I might need) IMHO it's the best $4.00 I've ever spent on this hobby! You can also see the pages from the Catalog on Bob Black's fabulous Drastic Plastic Model Car Club* Fotki site. (http://public.fotki....casminiatureof/ ). Norm's mailing address is: Replicas & Miniatures Company of Maryland 317 Roosevelt Ave., S.W Glen Burnie, MD 21061 You can also order via e-mail. Write Norm directly at this e-mail address: replmincomd@aol.com And finally, you can call Norm during business hours (Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM EST) at this number - (410) 768-3648 - and place an order. Norm is very approachable and will discuss your requirements over the phone or via e-mail. He answers his e-mails very promptly, typically within 24-48 hours. He charges a flat $7.50 per order regardless of size and accepts MasterCard and Visa. As far as I know he doesn't accept PayPal nor does he sell on E-Bay. Here are some additional sites with pictures of parts from Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland. I'm sure there are many more. http://public.fotki....cas_and_miniat/ http://public.fotki....cas-and-miniat/ I hope this information will help you get started. You won't regret it! * This is the second time today I've referred to Bob Black's DMPCC. Bob has constructed an incredible resource and his two modeling forums Drastic Plastics Model Car Club (http://drasticplasti...s.com/index.cgi ) and Traditional Rod and Kustom in Scale (TRaK - http://trakinscale.p...s.com/index.cgi ) are among the finest forums in our hobby. The contributions that have resulted from Bob's tireless commitment to our hobby are epic! I strongly encourage folks to join DPMCC as a way to support Bob's work. You can join here: http://www.thedpmcc....membership.html

Just went through that myself. There's always reasons. In my case I've got two fairly complicated builds that have hit difficult spots. Then there were the Holidays and I was away from the bench from the end of November until New Years either traveling or entertaining family or preparing for one or the other. My usual solution is to start yet another build, but a simple one that I can finish in a couple of weeks. That's what I just did and it seems to be working. I find myself rotating through all three and making progress at last. It feels good to be back at the bench. Like you I've got three builds I want to get done by NNL West. And as has already been said, your builds are so nice I wouldn'I want to see you stalled any longer - so pick up that saw! Raul won't mind!

This build's return is welcome as always. The interior work is in keeping with the rest of the build: clean, detailed, imaginative and convincing. Good idea to to keep it plain. It';s always tempting to elaborate but that wouldn't work with the tone of the build so far. Looking forward to more, more, more!

Thanx guys. I'm thinking dark red and white tuck and roll on the interior. The chopped windshield and resin re-pop of the Carson top are parts that go all the way back to the original Trophy Series version of this kit. Until Dave sent me the Carson top I had intended to build a more rough and ready .hot rod version with bare steelies, kind of like the box art on the Millennium edition. But the moment that top went on I changed my vision of this thing. I agree, the proportions are awesome. So I'm gonna keep it simple and clean. Below is a pic of the side of the box from the Trophy Series showing some of the countless variations that could be built from this awesome kit (some more tasteful than others...). Also a link to the instruction sheet. (Both courtesy of Bob Black's incredible Drastic Plastic MCC instruction sheet archive. ) Now that's a re-issue Round2 should do! http://public.fotki....ford-convert-1/

I've been away from the bench for almost a month and a half, the holiday season having taken a heavy toll on my build time. With two quite intricate builds already on the bench, I decided I needed an ultra-quick, super straightforward project to get my rhythm going. This is it. The NNL West this year has as one of its themes "The 0's". that is cars from years ending in zeroes. Since I have yet to complete a car built any later than the 50's it's a pretty straightforward proposition for me. The 1930 and 1940 cars I'll be bringing with me are both Fords so I thought I'd build a 1950 Ford to round things out. Raul Perez had sent me an AMT '50 Ford convertible kit that, unfortunately, was the Millennium edition without any of the custom parts. But then I landed up trading parts with Dave Zinn and he was able to supply me with the chopped windshield and a delicious resin Carson top he had originally gotten from Geezerman. In addition I had an already completed lowered chassis with Caddy V8 from an as yet unfinished '49 Ford project. My plan is to do the absolute minimum of bodywork, keep the stock grill which I have always liked, and spend most of my build time on the interior. Color will probably be Metallic Cherry with a Cream Carson top and red and white interior. Here's the mockup (without bumpers which will be stock): Thanx for lookin'. B.

Stunning, just stunnning...in every way.

Beautifully detailed and on its way to becoming a great model of this unusual car. The fabrication is awesome and now that the paint is starting to go on this build is getting more spectacular with each update. Can;t wait for more!

Excellent first build. Acres ahead of what most first tries look like. Smart choice of kit, too. The Revell '49 Merc is a real "shake 'n' bake" - just put paint and glue in the box, shake it thoroughly and out comes a completed model. Very few fit and finish issues and a great Old School custom look. I agree that the spotlighted car against the wood and dark background is a cool photo idea. I'll have to remember to steal it!

I'm glad you've got this one off the bench, too - so I can enjoy it! I have no idea how the graphics compare to the original and frankly I couldn't care less whether it's a replica or your own original (in fact I'd prefer if it's your own, I think). A beautifully executed concept and the graphics are a super design. They suit the shape and lines of the car perfectly. Two thumbs up! Question: Given how intricate the design is did you draw it directly on the plastic with a Sharpie? And if so, is it essentially freehand or did you work from prior art? Added later: Just went and looked at the 1:1 again. Your art is your own - and it's great!

Jimmy Flintstone makes two chopped Deuce sedans, one for the AMT Vicky and the other for the Revellogram '32s. Surprisingly, he doesn't make any others. AMT: http://www.jimmyflin...ct_detail&p=311 Revell: http://www.jimmyflin...ct_detail&p=418 Inexpensive, with the usual concerns/warnings about Flintstone stuff... Sometimes the resin casting can prove thick and rough, but other times it's quite acceptable, depending on the vintage of the mold. R&R Resins offers a 3 window chopped a lot (4"?): http://www.resinrealm.net/Star/RRGalleries/Ford/index.html I have no experience with their products so I can't comment on them,

Hey Raul, both of those '32's are knockouts. Jerry's work is always Over The Top. I love how he interprets the kit parts and takes them to another level. Your black '32 is the classic contemporary Old School ride. You really captured the essence of it. Besides the superb finish, the stance and details are all just right. The roadster shell with the flattie, full fenders and details from the sedan kit is really the ultimate Revell '32 to my mind.

Gawgeous! The chop job is unique, oh so graceful and super tasty. It complements the rake (or is it the other way around?) perfectly. I really like the detail on the windshield frame (scratch built?), often overlooked after models have been chopped. It makes the whole front end look really mean! Perfect for the massive power of the 392 and the BIG rear tires. This is yet another one of your builds that just begs to be made as a 1:1. I'm all thumbs on this one!

Thanx for the review. I was considering one and your comments are very helpful, particularly the fact that the included "tripod" (?) holds the camera at a pretty high height and the need for more light than comes with set. Still it's very compact and handy and, with the third light you'll be getting and that smaller tripod you already had it should result in some pretty nice pictures.

Another brief criticism of the View New Content page. The Forum name is very small and very faint and hard to read. Also, you can't use the Forum name to click on to and navigate directly there anymore. So I guess I'd say that the View New Content page is a general bust (pardon my harshness) since several of it's key features are now gone. Here's a summary of what I think could be improved on it: 1) Less white space so you don't have to scroll so much. 2) Author of Topic displayed. 3) Topic title clickable so you can go to the start of it if you want. 4) Last post clickable so you can go directly to if you want. 5) Darker, larger type for Forum title and clickable access to Forum from any listing in View New Content page. In other words, the functionality of the old View New Topics page had been sharply reduced and it's less readable than it was, despite the fact that the page is graphically cleaner and brighter. A simple fix would be to adopt the page layout used when you access a specific Forum from the home page.

Test post to see how different this is from the old one. So far no big diffs.... Except I was able to set my options to display my post in its final form without all the HTML code gobbledygook. This is very nice and should probably be the default for most users. Here's a test post of a picture: Hmmm. doesn't display the picture while I'm typing. But If I click "Preview Post" it updates the image into the typing box. Very Cool!!!! Oops. It continues whatever type font changes you last made on to the next paragraph. Just like MS Word..... Guess I have to get used to watching out for that... Spell checker works fine... No more full edit vs. quick edit. everything's a quick edit now... Oh! The option for the full editor is now on the bottom of the quick edit page. But the "quick edit" is just as powerful as the old Full Edit... That's OK then. But on the View New Content page it no longer shows who the original poster of the thread was and you no longer have the option of going either to the latest reply or to the beginning of the thread. It defaults to the end. Bring these two features back!!!! Overall verdict, I like the look, kinda cool and modern, but the default font could be a little heavier. And there's a little bit too much white space in the layout. This is graphically nice but generates more scrolling than 'd like. So I'd give it a B+ to A- on the way to an A. But I thought the old one was just fine....

I love the Futura Custom - it's almost as spectacular as the '49 Merc Custom!!!

Alright!. The rear 3/4 view really tells the tale. Super stance and the diffuser looks great. Now get er done...