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Everything posted by Bernard Kron
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The stance is terrific. It really improves the look of the car immeasurably. The color scheme goes very well with the new wheels, too. Really nice build.
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Thanx everyone (and thanx Raul for the kit ) I agree on both counts. The Street Rod really wants to be slammed. When I'm not in Shake 'n' Bake mode I plan to do just that!
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Here are some detail shots:
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Revell’s billet-era ’41 Willys Street Rod subjected to a serious case of de-blinging. (More pictures below) Friend and modeling pal Raul Perez has an expression for kits that are especially well engineered and that virtually “build themselves – Shake ‘n’ Bake. He says that with these kits all you have to do is open the box, put in a tube of glue and a can of paint, close the lid, shake, and out comes a perfect model! We were discussing such kits the other week and he mentioned the Revell ’41 Willys Street Rod as an ideal example of the concept. So he sent me one! (Thanx Raul…) It came this past Monday afternoon and I just finished it less than a week later, easily the quickest build I’ve ever done. It’s a beautifully conceived and executed kit with lovely detail, everything fits just right, the instructions are spot on, and great results are virtually guaranteed. Shake ‘n’ Bake! This is as close to an Out-of-the-Box build as I’m ever likely to come. Even so I’m no fan of the billet rod look and this model is a prime example of that style. It needed a serious case of de-blinging! So I made some changes… First off I can’t remember a kit with more chrome than this one. Except for the transmission, block and heads virtually the whole engine comes chromed. In addition tons of chassis parts and even the entire radiator are chromed. Except for the door handles, headlight rims, license plate and tailights, everything was stripped and treated to various shades of Testors Metallizer for a more realistic look. The kit interior comes with a center console and contemporary buckets seats as well as a prototypic late 90’s billet upholstery scheme. These had to go. So I cut out the console and substituted the transmission tunnel from the Revell Stone, Woods & Cook Willys gasser. The door panels and steering wheel also came from there. The seats are from the Revell ’32 Ford Sedan Rat Rod kit. On the outside those modern style mag wheels wouldn’t do so I ditched them and went for traditional Torq Thrusts, a Revell ’32 Ford kit providing the fronts along with the tires. At the rear I kept the gigantic kit tires but substituted the suitably wiiiiide wheels from the Monogram Stinger kit. Paint is DupliColor Primer Gray (actually a finish paint and not a primer) over DupliColor White Primer to make sure the Gray stayed nice and bright. Decals are from my parts box and the whole thing is sealed under Testors DullCote. I kept the chrome on the wheel rims for contrast to the body finish. The grille is the nice p/e unit from the Stone, Woods & Cook kit. Except for what I’ve mentioned everything else was OTB. I went for a streetified gasser look and I think it came out how I imagined it. Thanx for lookin’. B.
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Great looking design and beautiful modeling. The result is remiscent of the classic full custom models of the 60's but with the crispness that we can get today. Two thumbs up!!!
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Just a beautiful, beautiful model in every way. Makes you want to spend some time taking it all in. So many cool details like the headers, that battery in the back, and the really tasty stance. It just goes on and on...
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Gorgeous detail stuff. You must have nerves of steel correcting stuff after laying down all that nice shiny paint. But when ya gotta, ya gotta... The cowl and dash area is particularly pretty. Looking forward to more after yur return to sea level.
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Wow, Curt! .... So let me get this straight. The Type 35 kit is the source for the motor and suspension bits (gray stuff in the photos) and the chassis and body are scratch built from plastic. The concave louvers have been punched into the actual plastic using a tool you made using the "heated plastic" method referred to in the article. Scale is 1/24 working from plans published in the magazine article. Yes, no, maybe? BTW, the mag articles look very cool. What's the mag? Great fab work, something you do very well but which is sometimes less obvious on your OTB-based builds. As the saying goes, More, More, More...
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Just made it through all 85 pictures of your build so far. Beautiful, beautiful work. Can't wait to see you finish it up. I'm sure many won't have the patience to view all of your photo album, but let me say it's really worth it! Perhaps you could share some selected shots with us all here on the board?
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Hey Curt, this one's niiiiiiiiice! Love the colors and textures and the details are really tight and clean so that the whole build really pops!
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Superb stance, tasty channel job and great color combo. Really a classic ride. I'm surprised the AMT shell worked out so well. It'salways seemed a bit oddly shaped to my eyes but it looks just fine on this one! And very nice photography which helps "selll" this handsome rod. Two thumbs up!
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Great to hear from more builders whose work I admire. Thanx to all of you for following along on the W.I.P., it really helped a lot when the plastic started biting back... And the compliments are greatly appreciated – this era of modeling cars doesn’t get covered all that much and I wasn’t sure it would actually work out. I wondered whether details like the rear kickup and crossmember and the firewall, while authentic, would “translate†visually. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the results! Bill, here’s a link to The Parts Box: http://www.thepartsbox.com/. Unfortunately their site has been down for several weeks; apparently they’re doing a major update. Hopefully they’ll be up soon. When it comes to aftermarket parts in the traditional rodding and dragster vein I would rate them second only to Norm Veber’s Replicas and Miniatures Co. Of Md. when it comes to quality and range of offerings. The fact that they list their full catalog on line with pictures and descriptions of absolutely everything is really awesome. And they ship quickly, too!
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Imagination, creativity, self-confidence and skill - a sure fire formula for success! This is definitely one to follow.
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Thanks to all you guys for the generous accolades. I really am flattered to get such props from so many of my favorite creative builders! Still a long way to go to get to the promised land of the Clean Build but I do think this was some sort milestone - it sure felt like it should have been, in any case! That's the competition steering wheel from the AMT '53 Studebaker Starliner kit. Somebody should cast it. Regarding the seat, I wish I could drill such straight and clean holes as those, but I'm afraid that work isn't mine. That's one of the new resin bomber seats from ThePartsBox.com. Lovely, isn't it? The two vertical middle slots are a nice touch. They also sell the same seat plain without holes and upholstered with simple pleats. The ubiquitous "rat rod" seat from Replicas and Miniatures Co. of Md. has always had holes that were too big for my tastes, so I was delighted to see this one offered. Norm makes bajillions of gorgeous parts that I have bought from him so I don't mind spending some cash with another great resin house.
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Inliner powered Ford ’29 A Roadster from the early days of drag racing, circa 1953. (More pictures below) I began collecting parts for this build almost a year and a half ago. I wanted to capture the look and detail of the early drag cars circa 1953 or so, before roll bars and when the paint and design on a nicely turned out machine was closer to other race cars. The body is an AMT Ford ’29 A Roadster on heavily modified Revell ’32 rails. The louvered rear deck is from the new ’32 Ford 5-window from Revell. The advent of that part is what triggered the actual build. The awesome inline Chevy 6 with the Fisher head from the AMT ’51 Bel Air is courtesy of the generosity of CB. I modified it with injectors off the Revell Tommy Ivo Showboat Buick Nailhead engine and detailed the front accessory drive to accept a Hilborn injector pump. The rear suspension is a resin quick change setup from Early Years Resin. The front suspension is modified Revell ’32 Ford with two leaves removed, the shock mounts deleted and finished in Testors Metallizer Gunmetal. Shocks are so-called “friction†shocks, actually vane type hydraulics from a Revell ’29 Ford RPU, front and rear. That’s the major stuff – there’s lots of other details from my parts box. Otherwise everything else you see is scratch built including the pitman arm on the steering. That nice bomber seat is resin from ThePartsBox.com, BTW. Paint on the frame and grill shell is Tamiya Dark Metallic Blue, the body is DupliColor Cherry Metallic with Duplicolor Oxford White panels outlined in gold Pactra Trim tape. The numbers are gold leaf decals from the old Monogram Classics Super Modified Dirt Track Racer/Kurtis Kraft Indy Racer double kit. This was an intense and challenging build for me. Thanx to everyone who followed along on the W.I.P. Special tip of the Hatlo hat goes out to Dan Helferich for advice on the ’51 Bel Air and of course to CB! I probably wouldn’t have finished it without your collective interest and encouragement. More detailed pics can be found on the workbench pages here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21932 Thanx for lookin’. B.
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'29 A Roadster Drag Racer - Early 50's style
Bernard Kron replied to Bernard Kron's topic in WIP: Model Cars
Thanx John! I hear 'ya. Unfortunately the body has to be glued to the frame or it won't sit right. And, frankly, this build is pau. The thought of doing any more on it is..... At least I took lotsa pics. It’s done! This has been a 3 month build, a very long time for me; most of the time my builds take 6-8 weeks max. I decided to omit the tonneau cover. It just didn’t look right to me. I’ll probably keep on working on it. If I can get it looking OK I’ll post some additional pics (don’t count on it…). Below are some detail pics of the steering and the grill, a p/e piece from Model Car Garage fit into a Revell shell that I hogged out. Under Glass pictures can be found here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24422 Thanx for lookin’. B. -
Great story, great idea and very successful build. Now you own a super-nice replica, maybe not like owning the original, but it still must be very satisfying... Awful nice modeling skills you got there!
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You intimate that restoration builds and OTB builds of rare and classic kits takes a well-advanced kit bag of skills to do them justice. I agree completely. In some ways the responsibility to do these kits justice would seem to be a considerable burden. Fortunately for all of us, you skills are more than up to the job! I'd love to visit your museum... Thanx for sharing!
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I saw this build on another board and neglected to comment on it there, so I'm glad to see you sharing it here. If anything shows that rare, highly sought after kits should be built this is it. This is a beautiful build of a classic bare-bones drag bike and is more attractive as a completed model than it ever would be as a collection of plastic trees in a sealed box competing for collector's dollars. Super sanitary technique, meticulous attention to detail, and great lighting and photography all combine to make this a stunning example in every way. No way you could ever regret popping the box open on this one.
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Shadowbox Coupe - Final Update before Completion
Bernard Kron replied to Fletch's topic in WIP: Model Cars
Uber-kool, Fletch! The stance and agressive look of the car is over the moon! (The content and composition of the pictures is pretty darn hip, too!) So here's the question: are you gonna finish the build for these guys, or are you gonna do a replica of the car as it is in the picture? -
Boy, those are both strongly, and succesfully, styled, very unique builds. Even in the pictures, they look to be flawlessly executed. They should make outstanding completed models. I'm certain your skills and vision are up to doing them justice and they're far enough long that the original builder's hand will be quite obvious. Nonetheless, you'll be able to add many critical elements in the choice of interior details, motors, chassis work, wheels and tires, and, of course, the paint scheme. It must be flattering to be chosen by such a master craftsman to complete his work, even if a little daunting! And I agree, you did get the better of the deal (gracious of you to insist on a trade, BTW).
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'29 A Roadster Drag Racer - Early 50's style
Bernard Kron replied to Bernard Kron's topic in WIP: Model Cars
Thanx everyone. The good words have kept me pluggin’ away! CB, if I had to hazard a guess these stripped down competition roadsters probably came in around 1800 lbs. max. So, given that this big injected six cylinder probably put out an easy 225-250 horses at the rear wheels, and more on alky, it would really skoot! At last I’m getting a sense of real progress on this build. I thought I’d get this one done last weekend but for some reason all the details are taking me a long time to do. The motor, chassis, interior and most of the body details are all done. Since the body will be permanently mounted to the chassis I took some final chassis pics and then began assembly. Still left to do are fitting the hood (the resin hood splayed outwards slightly again so it needs to be reheated and bent to fit), assembling the grill and final alignment of the hood and grill in relation to the body. The last detail will be a tonneau cover. Ideally I would like the hood, rear deck and tonneau cover all to be removable to show off the interior details. Thanx for lookin’. B. -
Ed's Chopped & Sectioned '40 Ford Coupe - COMPLETED
Bernard Kron replied to Bernard Kron's topic in WIP: Model Cars
Thanx Alyn! Yeah, like I said, given the precision and cleanliness of Ed's work It's pretty scary to take on. But this car is too pretty to just study. It's gotta be built. Ed Fluck is an interesting guy. His dad was a resin caster before him. It probably explains his meticulous attention to detail and careful work. He's been very generous with his advice in moving me through this process. Bill Hines is one of my customizing heroes when it comes to pure technique. It's amazing to think that at his advanced age he's still chomping on that cigar and sharing the secrets of his trade with the younger generations. He must be well into his 80's by now... It musta been way cool to have seen the master at work! Also interesting to note how very similar scale customzing is to the 1:1 world. -
Ed's Chopped & Sectioned '40 Ford Coupe - COMPLETED
Bernard Kron replied to Bernard Kron's topic in WIP: Model Cars
Bill, I’m not sure exactly if Ed removed the bottom of the body in a simple cut parallel with the belt line or not. I think he did. The fact that the trim sits virtually identically relative to the rear fender top in both the sectioned and unsectioned bodies is completely coincidental since Ed’s work is on an AMT model and the unsectioned car is from Revell. It’s too late to do a proper comparison of AMT coupes since I don’t have an unmolested AMT example. Instead I thought I’d use my sectioned AMT ’39 Ford Tudor I’ve just started to explain the other part of the sectioning process you must do. With the body reduced in vertical height you have to remove material to adjust the wheel arches in the main body to accept the fenders. The way I did it (and I’m sure Ed did the same thing) on my Tudor is to make a template of the wheel arch areas (front and rear) on the main bodies before removing the body material I also took a measurement of how much I planned to remove from the body. Then I marked a point upwards from the bottom of the unsectioned body equal to this distance and laid the templates in place with their bottoms aligned to this point to see what material would have to be removed from the wheel arches and get an idea what damage would be done to the body! After removing the sectioning material I used the templates to draw a line as a guide for removing the material (in my case with my Dremel, but anything from a pair of nail clippers to a jeweler’s saw will do for the rough work). Finessing was done trial and error with a roll of 80 grit sandpaper (or a Flexi-File if you have them) until I got the proper fit. Here are some pics that might make things more clear. The shaded areas represent the templates required. The sectioned body sits at an angle when not mounted on the fenders because I haven’t trimmed the area under the trunk lid yet. In actuality I made my cut parallel with the belt line. As regards the interior, at a minimum you have to remove material from the vertical height of the interior. The AMT kit uses a bucket for the interior. The Revell version used separate panels to assemble the interior from a floor piece, two sides and a rear panel. If you plan to use a stock appearing interior it’s best to take the time to inspect where to want to remove material so that the final result looks as close to stock as possible. The Revell system also makes doing accurate cuts a good deal easier. In either case noting the amount and shape of the material you sectioned out is critical here. This is really no different than if you channel the body over the frame. If you do both then you must take the total amount and shape of the material “lost†into account. In my case, on both cars, I plan to make my own tuck and roll custom upholstery from plastic stock so my options are pretty wide open. I will probably use some combination of the AMT bucket and scratch built panels. When I get there I’ll try and remember to include some photos of the process. As you can see, just like in the 1:1 world, once you start cutting into the body the follow-on impact is quite considerable. Preplanning your work after some careful thought can be invaluable. So is, obviously, experience but there's only one way to gain that! Just start cutting... The rewards, in my opinion, are more than worth it! -
As clean and meticulous a build as your 1:1. As the owner of a 1:1 1960 Frogeye I know what must have gone into your road car to get it to and maintain it at that level. The model reflects it brilliantly. It will be nice to have that little reminder around the house of what awaits you in the garage!