Bernard Kron

I just finished this Revell '29 Roadster. It's only my second one, this time on the Highboy Deuce rails. Once again I corrected the mile-high stance and replaced the modern rear supension with a '37 Ford tranverse leaf spring setup. The motor is a Revell '50 Oldsmobile Rocket V8. I still haven;t used the fine Nailhead Buick that comes in this kit! Go figure... More detail on the build can be found on the W.I.P. thread here: and Under Glass here:

’29 Ford Highboy Roadster With Original “As-Found” Patina A popular trend among today’s Traditional hot rod enthusiasts is to find a genuine 40’s or 50’s hot rod and restore it to a safe and roadworthy condition while leaving intact as much of the old oxidized paint, road wear and surface corrosion as safety and good sense will allow. This is quite different than the “rat rod” movement where additional rust, perforation and decrepitude is added to the car or in fact invented where none existed. Modeling in scale to create a believable “as-found” patina shares much with military modelers who use many of the same techniques to do this. In this case I stumbled on some cheap black spray paint at my local auto supply store (Brite Touch Gloss Black in the aerosol can). I’m a sucker for cheap paints and was hoping to find a bargain-basement high quality lacquer. Such was not the case, and the paint dried with a subtle but noticeable light orange peel. Sanding it smooth still left a slight dull surface variation. It failed as a proper color coat but formed the basis for a truly believable old, worn, paint job. I decided to build a model around this happy accident using the recent (and now just re-issued) Revell ’29 Ford Roadster kit as the basis. The style is that of a classic mid-50’s street rod. The kit was extensively modified to correct its sky-high stance and modern rear suspension. I also swapped out the very-nice, but far too deluxe, multi-carb Buick Nailhead for a stock appearing and mildly warmed over Oldsmobile Rocket V8. The details are listed below. Base kit: Revell ’29 Ford Roadster kit, highboy version. Stock body and interior. Suspension modifications: Kit front suspension lowered by shaving the front spring and reversing the front cross member. Kit coil-spring suspension removed rear crossmember and transverse leaf spring from Revellogram ’37 Ford truck installed. Kit Ford 9” rear axle retained with scratch built lever shocks and scratch built location arms. Motor and transmission: Stock Oldsmobile Rocket V8 from Revell 1950 stock 2-door coupe kit with high performance exhaust manifolds from the Custom variant of that kit. 4-barrel carb from Revell 1/25th scale Deuce kits. Resin Oldsmobile “batwing” oil-bath air cleaner courtesy of Action Modeler (eBay vendor: action-shopper). Wheels and tires: 15” Front wheels from AMT ’40 For with Modelhaus 120A tires. 16” Wheels and Lincoln rear tires courtesy of Ed Fluck at Drag City casting, mastered by Dennis Lacy. Miscellaneous modifications: Revellogram ’30 Ford steering wheel. ‘32 Ford grill from Revell 1/25th scale Deuce kits. Paint and finishing: Brite Touch gloss black lacquer over Brite Touch red oxide primer and Duplicolor gray primer sealer. Black lacquer wet sanded with 1000 grit, then 2000 grit, sandpapers. Then detailed with rust red and light gray weathering powders. Interior finished in Testors Acryl British Crimson and Light Tan brush paints. Thanx for lookin’, B.

I decided to stick with the stock height it. It suits the simplicity of this build, I think. Now I have a pre-chopped windshield for a future project. This project is now complete except I forgot to install the door handles. I’ll do that before I do the formal “beauty shots”. The summary of some final details shown below isn’t as sharp and clear as I’d like because I improvised some bench shots without a tripod. My usual photo setup wasn’t available today. I’ll include some sharper detail pics tomorrow. In the meantime thanks to all who followed along. Thanx for lookin’, B.

I'm finishing my second project based on the Roadster version of this kit and I thought I'd summarize my impressions. The new variations of the roadster and coupe, with the swapped engines and bonus Halibrand mags in the roadster won't have any impact on my assessment. I also have a '30 coupe which I'll do later this year, and based on my experience so far I suspect I'll handle it the same way. First off it should be obvious that these are Must-Have Parts Kits for any hot rod builder. Most of the stand-out parts are difficult to find in any other kit, let alone all in one box. Here are the highlights, IMHO. Excellent classic hot rod engines - Both the Small Block Chevy (originally in the Coupe but now in the Roadster) and the Nailhead Buick are extremely well detailed and can be used in any hot rod project as well as drag subjects, etc. The top side options of multi-carbs, injection (for the Buick) and GMC blower (SBC) will never be wasted and are top notch in execution. Best I-beam dropped front axle setup out there - Finely detailed axle with a generous drop and a strong well-engineered cast-in front spring that stands up well to cutting and shaving for dialing in the stance. The front shock mounts and tubular shocks are unparalleled in any other 1/24-1/25th kit. Somebody should re-pop them. Ditton the beautifully executed split wishbones. Nice, useful, well detailed Ford 9" with a well-executed pumpkin. Great multiple interior options, including 3 different tuck 'n' roll options between the roadster and coupe, as well as the "rat-rod" style buckets seats and bare interior in the coupe. Also really nice Bell steering wheel. Excellent multiple headlight options. Excellent wheel and tire options with steelies and Halibrands and superb blackwall big 'n' littles. Finely detailed and well proportioned, believable bodies, though really, from a parts kit perspective these and chassis options are the least important items in the box. My negatives for this kit are pretty much the same as everyone else, and after two projects I've got my modifications drill pretty much worked out. Things I (really) don't like include the mile-high stance, the modern coil spring rear suspension with the huge chromed traction rods which show down under the chassis (ugly!), and the stretched front half of the chassis (to accommodate the big Nailhead I assume) which screws up the proportions from a side view (this last gripe is only an issue if you swap in a smaller motor like a flathead V8). And I'm no fan of the raised real wheel well arches. But as I said my start-up drill for this kit is now dialed in and includes lowering the stance by dropping the front suspension (flip the front cross member and shave the spring) and replacing the entire rear suspension with a proper hot rod transverse leaf rear suspension (usually a '32 or later Ford cross member and spring). In my opinion the ultimate A-V8 can be built using the front suspension, interior, wheels and tires and windshield from this kit, the AMT '29 Roadster body and a set of Revell 1/25th Deuce rails. I'm delighted the Roadster is once again available and look forward to the upcoming re-release of the coupe.

Thanks Elvin! I have the luxury of two windshields to work from. So what do you guys think? Chop or no chop? Thanx in advance for the input, B.

Not a whole album, but side 2 of the Who's second album, A Quick One. Entitled A Quick One while He's Away. it was a rock opera in six songs, the best known being "Ivan the Engine Driver". That was in 1966 and S.F. Sorrow was in 1967. The Who's Tommy, which most closely resembles Sorrow, is from 1969, two years later. So, yes, it has a pretty strong claim to being the first no-holds-barred full concept LP. A Quick One wimps out by having an "A" side which is basically a compilation of singles and cover songs.

I always was a huge fan of these guys. Dick Taylor formed the band along with May after Taylor left his position as bass player for the Rolling Stones. Combining Phil Mays distinctively exaggerated "bad voice" singing style with Taylor's raucous jangling post-Chuck Berry (and pre-Clapton et al sustain tone) lead guitar cemented their position as the reining the Bad Boys of seminal British Rock. While SF Sorrow is undoubtedly an important and Classic concept album the material on the Pretty's first 2 or 3 LPs which features Phil May's brilliant vocalizing, are my faves (Midnight to 6, naturally, but also Rosalyn, Don't Bring Me Down and of course their brilliant cover of Bo Diddley's Pretty Thing) for their raw energy and a style of anti-social edge that would soon disappear until it reappeared a decade later with punk. There was never anything pretty about the Pretty Things but that's what made them so great. The cover of their first LP (a parody of a Rembrandt painting, a joke almost nobody got). Phil May second left next to Dick Taylor with the beatnik beard. Modern-retro video but with the original single audio of Rosalyn - Phil May at the top of his game! RIP Phil...

Thanks to you all! This will be an extremely brief update, just about the grill placement and windshield selection. Sometimes the simplest solution is the most appropriate. After spending time at the bench fiddling with various combinations of AMT and Revellogram ’29 Ford windshields and dashboard combinations, chopped and unchopped, the one solution I hadn’t tried was the windshield in the Revell roadster kit just as it came in the box. It’s a really nice part, a finely detailed and thin piece of kit chrome with a nice rearward angle cast into it. Finally I succumbed to the obvious and tried it unmodified with only a coating of Vallejo black wash to knock back the kit-chrome look. Bingo! The simple, classic hot rod look that was the whole point of this project. The grill shell mounting is exact;y as it will be in the completed model. Interestingly, adding just an .020 strip of styrene to the bottom of the cut down Revell Deuce radiator I’m using is what I needed to dial it in. I’m always surprised at the differences these seemingly tiny adjustments can make when working in scale. There are no major items left on my list except the biggy: whether to finish this up as the ultra-simple “as-found” period hot rod pretty much as you see it here, or to add some detail “The Race of Gentlemen” styled touches such as period decals and racing numbers. The process of finally assembly will no doubt decide it for me. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Thanks to you both. Much appreciated! I’ve gotten the wheels weathered, glued to the tires and the rolling stock glued to the axles. With the grill shell loosely mounted and the body held in place with a rubber band I was able to do a stance check. The grill shell will take some fiddling fettling but overall I like how low I was able to get it (a big improvement over Revell’s “mile-high: ground clearance) and the rake that the big ‘n’ littles provide. The next issue will be the windshield. To my eye roadsters always look best without one and it’s oh-so tempting to just call it a dry lakes racer and call it good. Time to face it, though… It’ll be important to conserve the unadorned simplicity I’ve managed to maintain so far. Thanx .for lookin’, B. I'm afraid that's just an illusion. The spark plug holes were drilled horizontally into the block and the plug wires glued horizontally. the short length of wire to meet the exit holes in the valve covers were simply bent up. I guess the shadowy area around the plug holes creates that impression.

Here's a '29 Ford Altered from the end of last year: And a late 50's style digger, also done a few months back:

Thanks Dan. This sure isn't turning out to be like the cover art that inspired me, though... LOL!

In general things were already very fragile with huge overcapacity in many different fields, for example retail sales (both on line and bricks and mortar), restaurants, automobile production, energy (fracking brought North America back as a net exporter, but pushed things over the edge in terms of world supply), industrial metals and commodities, biotech and even online entertainment and social media. Having to pull in our horns like this may very well be a tipping point but it sure isn't gonna make things any easier. I fear policy makers will find there are no good choices and it will be by no means clear what the least bad ones will be... The temptation will be huge to over-simplify and patience will be at a premium.

Thanks everyone! This technique was a complete accident, but once I stumbled on it I just had to invent a project for it! I got the motor built and the front and rear suspension parts done. The rear suspension is installed as well as the front axle. The motor is the stock Oldsmobile Rocket V8 from the Revell ’50 Olds stock kit. The only changes I made was to use the headers from the Revell ’50 Olds custom kit and change out the carburetion, adding a 4-barrel from my infinite supply of Revell ’32 Ford small ,block V8s. The “batwing” aircleaner is a resin re-pop of the unit found in the Foose Cadillac kit. I found it on eBay. It’s from Action Modeler (vendor: action-shopper) and they make very nice resin parts. Highly recommended. The air cleaner is finished in weathered black to match the bodywork. The chassis is the kit chassis with the rear modified to a more traditional leaf spring setup with a ’37 Ford truck rear crossmember and spring. The (rather sketchy) lever shocks were scratch build. The front suspension has been lowered at least a couple of scale inches, perhaps more, by reversing the front crossmember and shaving 3 leaves off the spring. The kit chrome was knocked back by coating it with black Vallejo wash. The inner channel of the axle has been filled with flat black paint. Now it’s ready for a stance check and any tweaking required. Time to assemble the wheels and tires. With the interior mostly done it’s getting close to final assembly time. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Handsome atmospheric photography of an immaculately turned out project. Bravo!

Thanks for that. It sums up the challenge we will all face as we slug our way through this. I've just read through all the comments and am relieved and pleased by how seriously everyone is taking this. I am concerned that absent a sudden major change for the better on how we can deal with this (i.e medical treatments with a far greater certainty of a positive outcome, and eventually, hopefully, immunization) this will require tremendous discipline, tolerance and sacrifice from all of us. I worry about those without the financial means and information to manage what remains our only option for now - social distancing. This bug has such a wide range of possible impacts, from essentially nothing although infected (being asymptomatic) to a long and serious illness with a dubious outcome. Even among those who have gotten it and gotten better sometimes recovery can take many, many weeks. So, as I said, I'm so glad we're taking this thing seriously. In our neighborhood here in Seattle there are many breadwinners working from home, and many households with children now online schooling, so families have been living in close confines since early March and Cabin Fever is a fact of life. (Sometimes you can see people sitting in their cars in their driveways on their laptops and cellphones!) We even have our own version of Happy Hour or maybe Rush Hour at around 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon when everyone piles out of their homes and whole families go for a walk. It's the end of the work day. As a result we see more of our neighbors and talk with them more often than perhaps we once did. Financial hardship is not evident in this middle class corner of Seattle, at least not yet. But with the prospect of living like this well into next fall and more likely into the new year it is already something we and our neighbors are concerned about. School will be out soon, even the virtual kind, and the pressure of isolation will increase. Some of us have discovered that we can visit with friends even if it means sitting 6 feet apart. I can't believe it took us so long to figure that out! We had a friend over the other afternoon and it was such a pleasure and relief, even at a distance, that we plan to do it much more often. In our home things haven't changed all that much except for the reality of internet meetings. I'm an enthusiastic cook but I do miss the occasional dinner party and going out is no longer the option it was when I inevitably grow bored with my own stuff. Otherwise we're having an unseasonably dry spring so the weather is warm and pleasant which is conducive to the daily walks we take. But I miss do my sports indulgences (motor sports and bicycle racing - both of which I fear will be m.i.a even into next fall). Wishing us all the strength to get though this, B.

These are such spectacular kits even in their stock form. The detail and realism that Monogram packed into this large scale model has got to be one of the high-water marks of the early years of plastic kit engineering. And your superb design and fabrication work exploits what you've been handed to the maximum. It's really a treat to watch your work. Bravo, Roberto!

Beautiful. I agree that, particularly in this scale, the weathering is very appropriate, and quite succesful. Those who may have been around these cars when their owners still raced them, before their value demanded they be restored to "better than new" condition, will recognize the worn edges and discoloration from heat and vibration. I can alsmot smell the odor of hot metal!

In 2015, shortly after this kit was first released I landed up building the Lowboy version. As it happened, at the time a seller on eBay was offering what amounted to the Highboy variant without the motor and tires (but with the wheels), selling all the parts needed, including the body, interior, suspension and chassis, for $15.00 delivered, Buy It Now. It was a no brainer and I sprung for it. The Lowboy I built was extensively modified to correct things that weren't to my liking, and I landed up installing a flat head. My intention was to build the kit version of the highboy since in the pictures I had seen of it at the time it looked OK to me. What I didn't like about these cars at the time, and still don't, is the mile-high stance. There's huge ground clearance and those big 'ol ladder bars hanging down in the back only draw attention to it. So in my build, to lowerde the stance, I reversed the front cross member, shaved the front spring and deepened the rather mild Z at the back. Like Dennis I swapped in a more traditional rear suspension - in my case from a Revellogram '37 Ford Delivery. Other than these changes it was pretty much a box build. Like Tim and Richard I landed up moving the grill shell back to improve the proportions. Dennis has commented elsewhere that what was really needed was to shorten the frame in front of the firewall. When it was all done it looked pretty much as I had intended, but even now, to my eyes, it could have been even lower. Now, 5 years later, I'm finally getting to the Highboy. The w.i.p. for it is posted elsewhere on the forum (see below). Again I have reversed the crossmember and shaved the front spring. I have also swapped in the same more traditional rear suspension, and lowered the rear axle somewhat by notching the frame mounts. I'm installing a Deuce grill from one of the Revell kits. It doesn't look like it will be difficult to do. I haven't gotten to the point of getting the car up on its wheels so I'm not sure this is the final stance. But I have noticed over the years that although the Highboy looks better than the Lowboy version, it still sits high. We'll see how it works out... I have built an AMT '29 on Deuce rails using the Revell rails in the past, and my feeling is that overall, if I build another '29 Highboy on Deuce rails I'll go the AMT/Revell Deuce route. It's a superior result to my eye. Here's the w.i.p. I have going: Here's the 2015 Lowboy: And here's an AMT '29 on Revell '32 rails with a Deuce grill:

When I was building my last project, a black ’32 Ford Highboy Roadster featuring a deep gloss paint job, I experimented with various black paints to compare their shades (yes black comes in different shades, although it is subtle). One of my many faults is that I have a weakness for cheap paints. I’ll always give a budget a try in the hopes that I find an incredible bargain. I don’t airbrush so we’re talking home and auto aerosol spray paints and craft acrylics here. One of my favorite cheapo aerosols is Brite Touch, sold here in the U.S. at auto supply stores and made by Sherwin Williams. Even the brand name is cheapo! I’m a big fan of their primers. Their grey is a lighter shade of gray which, if you’re doing a primer rod is much nicer, to my eyes, than the dark grey hot rod primers like Duplicolor or Testors. Brite Touch Red Oxide primer is a much truer red oxide color than other red primers, too, and also makes a terrific undercoat when you want some primer to show through (see below). They even make a black primer which is an ideal matte black for tires, among other things. I only wish they made a white primer. So I thought I’d try their gloss paints. There white gloss is a true white and flows and sets up nicely and is rapidly becoming a mainstay for me as an undercoat and as a race car base color. Now it was time to try their Gloss Black. This time it was an utter Fail. It doesn’t flow well and sets up with a grainy texture, almost like a very fine orange peel. Bummer! But what I did discover is that when you sand it out, whereas it will never get you back to a true, deep gloss, it does a fine imitation of worn, faded black paint. The shiny black Deuce Highboy came out the way I wanted it too, nice and deep and glossy (I used Duplicolor Universal Gloss Black with Krylon Clear on that one). After the usual brief period of builder’s block the obvious follow-up presented itself. After Glossy Black how about worn and faded black? After all I had accidentally stumbled on the perfect paint to do it, that wretched Brite Touch Black Gloss. And sitting in my stash since it was first introduced back in 2015 was the ideal candidate – the Revell ’29 Ford Highboy roadster. That kit which created tremendous interest and excitement when it first came out, shared a characteristic with most Revell hot rod and custom kits – the kit was engineered with a very specific vision of what the final result should be – one that I rarely agree with. It took me a while to come to terms with and when I finally built it I built the Low-Boy version. This left plenty of parts left over, including the Nailhead motor and the chassis and interior for the Highboy version. While I was building it someone offered a kind of “Highboy build kit” with a body shell and grill, all the suspension, the chassis, suspension and the interior. I still don’t understand it since all that was missing was the motor and the wheels and tires. But at Buy It Now for less than $15.00 USD delivered who was I to ask? Sold! And there it sat in my stash until now. The plan is to build the Highboy as kind of my version of Jairus Watson’s recent box art illustration for the re-issue of this kit which is coming out as I write this. Jairus’ illustration is of the highboy in worn black paint, featuring the rather questionable “rust” decals that come in the kit. But the illustration captures the flavor of what I have in mind. In my case the Nailhead, which has become somewhat overused of late, will remain in the box, and I’ll be using an Oldsmobile V8 in stock trim (itself on its way to being overused) with a mild hop up. I’m also substituting a ’32 Ford grill. The wheels and tires consist of the superb Lincoln tires and 16” wheels from Drag City Casting at the rear, and Modelhaus .120A tires on AMT ’40 ford steelies at the front. The patina on the paint was achieved as follows. The base coat is Brite Touch Red Oxide primer followed by a coat of Duplicolor Primer Sealer and two coats of the dreaded Brite Touch Gloss Black. The whole thing was wet sanded, first with 1000 grit to knock down the peal and create the worn areas, and then with 2000 grit to bring the shine back. One thing about worn and oxidized paint is that it’s actually quite smooth and not matte as some might think. Then I gave the result a light pass with rust colored weathering powder to create some mild surface rust in the crevices and corners, and then a dusting of pale gray weathering powder to simulate the oxidation and dirt. The result is what you see below. Next up is the Oldsmobile V8. Then on to the problem of what to do about all that kit chrome… Thanx for lookin’, B.

So nice, Ron!

In my case I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to the whole subject of categories. I believe we shouldn't have any at all, except maybe distinguishing between works-in-progress, general informational discussions, and formal presentations of completed models. This the MCM forum has always done well and is one of its great strengths. I believe it's a key reason why it remains so well attended and vital. The "other magazine's" forum was destroyed by having too many categories, too strictly enforced, and absolutely no recognition of the important distinction between On The Workbench and Under Glass. A general review and simplification of categories can only be beneficial. Assuming that categorizing one's work as "trucks", "drag racing", "showroom stock", "sports cars", etc. is a desirable thing, then I think this is a big improvement. In terms of what has been gained, we at last have a separate Under Glass for each of the category types, with no exceptions that I see. Fans of a particular sub-type might be disappointed to see their own particular genre missing ("sports cars" or "vintage and antique" for example) but I'm guessing that the proper research has been done and the categories we see are the ones that are the most often chosen. The result is the occasional oddity. For example, to my eyes at least, that of Motorcyles being relegated to "Everything Else", along with battleships, biplanes, and fantasy figures. The problem of T-bucket hot rods being "Model Trucks: Pickups, Vans, SUVs, Light Commercial" survives. I'm sure there are others as well... I enjoy discovering what's new regardless of category and let the thread title do the work for me. For this reason I''ll continue to use the "Unread Content" filter under "My Activity Streams" to keep me on top of what I've missed since I last visited.

I love fabricating tubular structures in my modeling and I'm posting on this thread because the information shared here is invaluable. I hope to see more valuable suggestions like what's been shown so far. I was comforted to know that my approach is surprisingly similar to JC's, which, given the quality of his results, is encouraging. I note that in JC's attached video the builder is, in fact, using Alan's technique, which is one I've used, too. Drilling into the underlying structure (floors or frame rails) simplifies construction because it allows you some "wiggle" in lining everything up and determining clearances. It's very string and rigid, too. Like everyone else, I work from side-to-side, making a pattern out of the prototype side and then duplicating it for the other. The idea of using soft jeweler's wire to prototype is genius and will definitely be something I try. I have also begun to use a lot of butyl covered wire, mainly, so far, for exhaust work, but occasionally for more finicky bends in structures. It's available from Plastruct (see: https://plastruct.com/collections/all/butyrate#MainContent ) and is really handy for this kind of work. The downside is you can't fish-mouth it. The butyl paints up like styrene. Like JC, everything I do is eyeballed and I sometimes will just cut a V into my rod end and let the solvent glue I use (I generally use straight MEK) do the work of fish-mouthing. But where I'm concerned about exact fit I will use a round rat-tail needle file and make a full fish mouth. For mild bends I use by fingers and let their warmth help me work the plastic. For larger bends I will look around my bench for a shape that's close (paint jars, nails, marker pens, pencils, etc.) and improvise a bending jig. This is a project I finished last fall. The "chrome" hoop is removable and made from aluminum tubing polished with Simichrome. The firewall and rear mains hoops are butyl-coated wite. The rest is styrene. The joints are "welded" with MEK. The butyl bonds with the styrene. If there were joints that were butyl-coated wire to butyl-coated wire I would have had to use 5-minute epoxy (I'm highly allergic to super-glue). Along the lines of Alan's suggestion, I drilled directly into the Ford Model A main frame rails to establish the front and rear hoops, then "eyeball engineered" the rest of the structure. This is an open car so it was far easier to do than if I was fitting a coupe or sedan.

You're right. It was Modeler's Haven!

Very nice indeed. I dig the tonneau. I have one waiting in the queue for the courage to build it right, like this is clearly done. The was the quintessential privateer's race car in the mid 50's so there are so many color schemes that can set off this beautiful body and still be right.

I remember this from back in the old Scale Racing Lobby days. It impressed me then and it impresses me now. It's what got me following your work.