Bernard Kron

Now you be rockin'!

Hi Fletch, Have a good show. Sorry I'll miss it (and the Roadster Show) 'cause of my commitment to the NNL West. Anyone in the PNW should participate since the number of shows available to us is shrinking. B.

I agree that the roof should be stock height. The recent Merc shows what happens when the model company makes the aesthetic choice for us. It limits what we can do with it. Also, this is another piece of evidence that the posted picture is quite likely poor evidence of what the actual release will be like. Bummer ... it's just a tease and not real information.

Great Old Skool build of an Old Skool kit of an Old Skool Dragster.

Actually, that makes much more sense. It would permit them to essentially re-release the sedan kit with the 5-window shell and fail to deliver on all the other cool stuff I indicated above. Thanx for a really depressing reality check, everyone!

I've been to most of them and it's always the same deal, random selection, inconsistent from branch to branch. I was hoping for a web outfit that carried a large and consistent selection. I was also disappointed with the response when ordering a specific color. I think part of the problem is my needs are sort of backwards from what the product is made for. Rather than having a preexisting color I'm matching, I want an array of colors to choose from. Trouble is, the stuff is reasonably priced, comes in two sizes, and goes down nice...

One reason I decided to ask and post this is because there's enough in that picture that resembles the sedan kit (the fat wires, engine, etc.) that I wondered if this was a next step evolution of the '32 series. I agree that it looks mighty like a retouched 1:1. If they actually went all the way to a kit that escaped the problems with the base '32 roadster kit from the late 90's it would sell like hotcakes, I'm sure!

Not in the immediate Seattle area, only in the outlying suburbs. Why? Do they have a particularly good selection? On line I drew a blank searching dor Dupli-Color.

Looking through the Revell website the other day I saw this picture of their new Deuce 5-window kit promised for this spring (hah!). I noticed quite a few significant differences with the kits offered so far. I know people are saying it will include a hemi engine in addition to or in lieu of the small block Ford, but the picture, which shows a flathead engine similar to that found in the Sedan kit, also shows several other tasty features that would have the potential to make this kit an important addition to the lineup because of its potential as a parts source. I've highlighted those features below. Does anyone know anything about this?

I've had good luck with Dupli-Color Auto-Spray touch up paints. I buy them at my local Schuck's Auto Supply stores, but its kind of a random ;luck of the draw as to what colors they have. In one instance I bought a can from an odd lot discount table they had out and when I ran out I placed an order for more, but they never called me back to say it came in. As far as I know they never have received it. Is there a good on-line source that can fill my order and which keeps a good selection of colors in stock? I went to the Dupli-Color website and looked up "where to buy" but most of the companies, all large chains, didn't offer a decent on-line selection.

Now that's one tough lookin' ride! Welcome to the forum.

It does look really Cool! Thanx for sharin'.

I always keep an eye out for your latest. Your home made decals always add something to your builds. And I think this one may be your best build so far. Really nice details and chassis work! Thanx for sharin'. PS.Any other pics of the back end? The decal is obscured by the glare in the photo.

Nice save! And I'm glad I aked, it makes a great build even more impressive. Lyle is right... Welcome to the board.

Now that's an exciting design! Thanx for posting this.

The work on the '32 frame is great. Obviously from someone who knows his 1:1's. When you say that the majority of what we see is scratch built (i.e. all but the short-block on the motor, etc.) does this include things like the quick change rear end? Do you fabricate small detail parts like that out of plastic or metal? Thanx for these great models, I'm sure you'll catch up with Jay over time, even if it's only in scale!

Yeah, taking the retro theme inside is something we should have expected from such a meticulous execution of this concept, but it still caught me by surprise. Lovely!

I always look forward to your builds. You really have a feel for these factory stockers. It's not just that they are so clean and well detailed, your sense of color and scale makes them just pop! Case in point:

New pics look great. Can't get enough pics of this one! The tonneau cover is a great idea but it's gotta be removable so as not to miss that lovely interior.

Totally, utterly cool! BUt you'd have a tough time with it at an IPMA show...

And what hood might that be that said 21-stud is under, hmmmm? The interior is very likely based on some other interior. The only version of the Monogram r/p that I could find instructions for was the Blue Beetle, which has bucket seats, but the interior side panels do look very much like those in the transkit. Most aftermarket transkits are based on pre-existing plastic models or promos. Occasionally, however, major pieces are made from scratch. I know that the interiors that Lyle Willits has made for RMCM are quite often built from scratch. Lyle is a wizard at such things. And much of Rik Hoving's work for RMCM is scratch built. He too is a modeling wizard of the first order. Thanx for the compliment, but as you can see this was a much more straightforward build, thanks to the transkit, than the epic and herculean task you have embarked on with your '29 Roadster. One, incidentally, which will have been well worth it since the result will be several notches above what the RMCM transkit, as excellent as it is, can provide

Friday? What's going on on Friday? I gave to go to California on Friday....

Yikes! Here I am answering one reply and here comes another! The RMCM transkit is a very complete one as these things go. All parts are white resin of a very high quality, very thin and finely cast. It comes with the following: A frame based on the Revell ’32 frame but narrowed and pinched to sit precisely under the A body (part of the work it saves you if you plunk down the sheckles for the transkit). Also included is a separate crossmember. The model A roadster body, adapted from the AMT body and tweaked to mate perfectly with the frame. A one piece hood that has been extended and adapted to mate correctly to the ’32 Ford grill shell. Along with the frame this is one of the key labor saving benefits of the transkit. A ’32 Ford grill shell that has been opened up to accept a p/e grill set if desired. Also included is a radiator that has been engraved on both sides should you go with the p/e grill. Two sets of windshield frames and blank dashboards, again adapted from the AMT kit. One set comes with the windshield frame and dashboard in one piece, and one set with the two separated in case you want to have the frame sent out to be chromed. The windshield frame itself has been narrowed slightly to more exactly mate to the body than in the AMT kit, and it has been angled slightly to the rear instead of standing straight up at 90 degrees as it does on the original. A separate floor piece with a raised transmission tunnel to allow installing a the Revell small block Ford. A tuck and roll 3 piece interior A revised firewall to allow installation of the Revell Ford engine. Clear acetate for the windshield. Instructions and templates. I wrote a review of the kit last year which has detail pics. Here’s the link: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.p...p;hl=Miniatures I don’t know what to say. I don’t think grace and power are mutually exclusive, although delicacy and belching may be… In any case the comment applies only to a static model, not a 1:1 unleashed!

Thanx CB. I know I've got this reality thing happening. Even when I built the Tube Rat I had a bit of that goin' on... : There's things about that that I like, but there's things about it that I don't... The grass is always greener... The chameleon thing about highboys and the way they photograph is something I've always noticed. It's especially true of cars with narrow tires where there's little visual cue from front that the tires are different, front to rear. The "bigs" tend to shrink in every aspect when they are distanced from the front. In addition, the exposed chassis rail often blend into the shadows beneath the car and give the body a kind of wedge shape that hides the rake. This can be a real trap, at least for me, when setting the stance. I will often crouch down to workbench height to look at the car from different angles as if it were a 1:1. The front ¾ view will get that muscular, all lined up and filled in, “cute†look which may or may not be what I’m after. But then when I look at it from the side it might have a more aggressive look, with more air underneath the car and an obvious rake. So, do I open up the space underneath the car in front of the rear wheels when viewed ¾ front by raising the rear end, thereby risking too much rake from the side view, or do I lower the rear end to calm the rake down, and risk the sweetly logical alignment of the rear deck and the rear tire? In this case what helped solve the problem were the front and rear radius rods as seen from the side. It’s why I left them chromed. They added a horizontal visual plane that helped fill in the gap created by the rake. When you see the old pictures of these early A-V8’s they always look radically tough from the side and all hunkered down and locked in from the front … so I knew I was OK!

Thanx guys! The RMCM transkit is a beautiful piece of work with incredible fit and finish. But it’s strictly a highboy, and I just couldn’t imagine building this kit any other way. You’re supposed to complete it with one of the Revell ’32 kits. This implies you would have build it with the small block Ford, wide tires and modern wheels, that airbag rear end and the modern radius rods front and rear. For me that would be a pretty weird setup for the ’29 which has a lighter, finer look to it than the ’32. Those fat late 90’s parts just don’t cut it. (Even with the new Sedan kit you still have most of these issues.) So you either channel it, in which case you don’t really need the precision fit of the body to the chassis the transkit provides, or you build it Old School, which is what I did. This meant converting the rear suspension and going with steelies, skinny big ‘n’ littles and a classic Old School color (either black, maroon, a darker blue or maybe certain darker shades of green). Once you go Old School this is pretty much what you have to do. The hardest parts are getting the stance right, adapting the flathead to the chassis, and coming up with radius rods that look right, since the Revell ’32 kits are useless in this regard. I favor the basic ’29 body over the Deuce. I think it’s the narrower, more vertical looking sides and the tucked in cowl, which give it a more graceful and delicate look, especially when it’s lowered or channeled. I plan to do more ’29 roadsters, but future projects will probably use the AMT roadster kit as the basis, since they won’t be classic highboys. I think, however, if you do want to build a highboy with a Deuce grill shell and ’32 rails, the RMCM transkit is the ideal basis, since it eliminates a lot of nightmares adapting the hood and mating the body to the rails. The rear end conversion is surprisingly straightforward.