Bernard Kron

Thanks to you all. It's good to hear from so many of my favorite modelers here on the MCM board. Your fine work and encouragement are always an inspiration..

A truly Solid Sixteen, consistently of high quality. Bravo! All the best for 2020.

Impressively ambitious and finely executed, every one! I rember and enjoyed the full custom Stude and Rat Rod but somehow missed the 'Cuda which I like for its solid stance and modern conception. All the best for 2020.

Very fine work indeed. If 10 is a "short" year then what can we be treated to when the boards are clear? The 1/32s are impressive. Of course I like the "ghost" Bugatti... All the best for 2020.

A Solid Six in 2019 for sure! All the best for 2020.

So consistently high in quality. A pleasure to the eye. All the best for 2020.

Congrats on your second GSL! All these are superb models, but I especially like the contemporary sports racers and the P68s, both rarely seen subjects worth doing. All the best for 2020.

All superbly done. A real evocation of the Joy Of Modeling. The Moon Landing is a stunner, but as a died in the wool auto modeler my fave is the El Camino - a knockout. All the best to you for 2020.

2019 was a year of change, experimentation and recapitulation for me. Below my builds are presented in order of completion. 2019 started out with a fairly ambitious project which was begun in 2018 but was sufficiently complex to bleed over into the New Year. That’s the resin bodied Fiat Competition coupe. Then I worked in new subject matter as far as modeling is concerned, but something I actually know a fair amount about, classic sports cars. I built two Porsches on the trot, a 356 and a 904. This was followed by a couple of experiments in patina, a bare metal Deuce roadster and a barn find ’48 Ford street rod. Then I finally got around to building a project I had wanted to do ever since I built my first (and thus far only) Rat Rod for the 2016 NNL West – a “clean” show rod version of the same car, based on a ’29 Ford RPU body shell. And then finally a couple of half-finished projects from my stash finally got completed, a ‘29 Ford altered roadster and a late 50’s style digger. I certainly enjoyed sharing them with you all. Here’s to a happy and fulfilling 2020! B. “Krazy Koopy” Fiat Competition Koop Revell Porsche 356 Speedster Aurora Porsche 904 Revell Bare Metal ’32 Ford Highboy Roadster “Faded Glory” Revell ’48 Ford barn-find street rod ‘29 Ford A-Bucket show rod “Nickels & Dimes” '29 Ford altered roadster The Survivor” Short Wheelbase digger, ca. 1960

Thanks Misha! Below are the final “beauty shots”. This project is now completed. Some folks have commented on the “patina” of this thing. This kicked around in my stash since I started it back in early 2013. I actually got fairly far with it, including painting the body and applying its signature checkerboard scallops. But when it came to clear coating, with Krylon clear, I seem to have gotten a defective batch and the clear just didn’t seem to want to harden. Eventually I gave up on it and stuffed it into a plastic bag along with the Modelhaus T140 wide-whites slicks. Stupidly, I bagged it too early and eventually dirt and tire marks got embed in the paint. Last month I took it out one more time. Six years on, the clear had hardened up and stabilized. I tried to clean it up where I could but it only made things worse so I thought “Why fight it” and decided to finish it up, accepting the worn patina for what it was – a Survivor from another era. Hence the “patina”… and the name I have given this old prototypical early 60’s digger. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Thanks Snake! The BOYD concept is cool. I hope to take part again next year. Below are the final “beauty shots”. Some folks have commented on the “patina” of this thing. This kicked around in my stash since I started it back in early 2013. I actually got fairly far with it, including painting the body and applying its signature checkerboard scallops. But when it came to clear coating, with Krylon clear, I seem to have gotten a defective batch and the clear just didn’t seem to want to harden. Eventually I gave up on it and stuffed it into a plastic bag along with the Modelhaus T140 wide-whites slicks. Stupidly, I bagged it too early and eventually dirt and tire marks got embed in the paint. Last month I took it out one more time. Six years on, the clear had hardened up and stabilized. I tried to clean it up where I could but it only made things worse so I thought “Why fight it” and decided to finish it up, accepting the worn patina for what it was – a Survivor from another era. Hence the “patina”… and the name I have given this old prototypical early 60’s digger. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Just some quick snaps to show that I actually got ‘er done in 2019. More formal pictures and details tomorrow. The only major last minute change was a set of Curt Raitz’s fabulous Tru-Wire front wheels to lighten up the front end and balance with the white walls at the back. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Thank you, Brad! Just some quick snaps to show that I actually got ‘er done in 2019. More formal pictures and details tomorrow. The only major last minute change was a set of Curt Raitz’s fabulous Tru-Wire front wheels to lighten up the front end and balance with the white walls at the back. Thanx for lookin’, B.

This project is moving along nicely, although it has involved a great deal of scratch building. This is the nature of building out from a Parts Pak chassis, with nothing much coming from any one kit. But at least one bit of the scratch building was unexpected. I usually use pre-wired distributors and magnetos from Morgan Auto Detail (M.A.D.). They look good, come in a variety of distinct styles, and save a great deal of work. But I ran out. Going into the holiday season and with a personal deadline of end of 2019, any hope of ordering more and getting them in time was pretty much out of the question. So the simple Vertex style magneto you see in the pictures below was scratch built one desperate afternoon. The rear wheels were found in the depths of my parts box. They look like some sort of AMT piece but the source is lost in the mists of time. They were stripped of their chrome and, along with the Halibrand spokes at the front, finished in Testors Acrylic Jet Exhaust to simulate a Dow 7 coating. As mentioned in my last post, the small block Chevy is sourced from the Revell Slingster kit which supplied everything south of the blower casing including the blower manifold and the headers. The GMC 671 is from one of the countless Elephant Motor setups from the long wheelbase AMT Ivo/Too Much/Digger ‘Cuda/etc./etc. kits I have used over the years. The Hilborn 2-Port was cut out of the blower/injector piece from an AMT ‘40 Ford kit. The build is a bit further along than the photos show, with much of the interior completed, including the floor and most of the steering gear, as well as most of the front suspension bits. 12/31/2019 still looks like an attainable goal for completion. Thanx for lookin’, B.

This project is moving along nicely, although it has involved a great deal of scratch building. This is the nature of building out from a Parts Pak chassis, with nothing much coming from any one kit. But at least one bit of the scratch building was unexpected. I usually use pre-wired distributors and magnetos from Morgan Auto Detail (M.A.D.). They look good, come in a variety of distinct styles, and save a great deal of work. But I ran out. Going into the holiday season and with a personal deadline of end of 2019, any hope of ordering more and getting them in time was pretty much out of the question. So the simple Vertex style magneto you see in the pictures below was scratch built one desperate afternoon. The rear wheels were found in the depths of my parts box. They look like some sort of AMT piece but the source is lost in the mists of time. They were stripped of their chrome and, along with the Halibrand spokes at the front, finished in Testors Acrylic Jet Exhaust to simulate a Dow 7 coating. As mentioned in my last post, the small block Chevy is sourced from the Revell Slingster kit which supplied everything south of the blower casing including the blower manifold and the headers. The GMC 671 is from one of the countless Elephant Motor setups from the long wheelbase AMT Ivo/Too Much/Digger ‘Cuda/etc./etc. kits I have used over the years. The Hilborn 2-Port was cut out of the blower/injector piece from an AMT ‘40 Ford kit. The build is a bit further along than the photos show, with much of the interior completed, including the floor and most of the steering gear, as well as most of the front suspension bits. 12/31/2019 still looks like an attainable goal for completion. Thanx for lookin’, B.

It's presumptuous of me, I know, but to my eyes 2019 added up to a breakthrough year for you. Not only are all your models up to an exceptionally high level of fit and finish, but several of them show the emergence of your own style, with a conservative and yet original vision. In particular I refer to the maroon '40 Ford 3-window custom, the phantom '36 Ford pickup and the slammed light blue full custom pickup. ,But really all of them are constructed so well with such control that all you have to do is look at things like the stance on the SS or some of the under ghod shots to appreciate what you're doing. Build on! I'm definitely looking forward to what you have in store in 2020.

Thanks Scott. These old Revell Parts Pak frames really are fragile. The tubing diameter is pretty true to scale, but between the thin diameter, the fiddly structural design and the old plastic they break pretty easily. When I took this one back out I landed up tearing it apart and re-gluing and repainting the entire frame. Just sitting inits project bag it had managed to fracture in a few spots.

Thanks a lot, Brad. Much appreciated.

OK! One last swing at the apple in 2019. I started this one in April, 2013. The picture below is from June 1, 2013 and shows most of the basic parts I had going by then. The basic chassis is a Revell C1122 Dragster Frame Parts Pack. The front axle is from one of the Revellogram '29/30 ford "Rat Rod" kits. The rear whitewall slicks are from Modelhaus. The checker board decals were adapted from a Revell '32 Ford Roadster kit and the Caribbean blue body paint and mango chassis paint are by Krylon. Since then I stole the wheels for other projects. I started on it again in the past few days and I'm currently building up a small block Chevy from the Revell Slingster kit. It'll have a GMC 671 blower and 2-port Hilborn injectors. I'll also use the spoked Halibrand mag front wheels from the Slingster. With the paint scheme and short wheelbase chassis I'm going for some Old Skool funk with this one. It's a pretty simple build-up, and with the body and chassis largely painted out I've only really got the motor, steering and interior bits before final assembly ahead of me. I should have it done by year's end, I think.

OK! One last entry for 2019. I started this one in April, 2013. The picture below is from June 1, 2013 and shows most of the basic parts I had going by then. The basic chassis is a Revell C1122 Dragster Frame Parts Pack. The front axle is from one of the Revellogram '29/30 ford "Rat Rod" kits. The rear whitewall slicks are from Modelhaus. The checker board decals were adapted from a Revell '32 Ford Roadster kit and the Caribbean blue body paint and mango chassis paint are by Krylon. Since then I stole the wheels for other projects. I started on it again in the past few days and I;m currently building up a small block Chevy from the Revell Slingster kit. It'll have a GMC 671 blower and 2-port Hilborn injectors. I'll also use the spoked Halibrand mag front wheels from the Slingster. Not surprisingly if you know the stuff I tend to do I'm going for some Old Skool funk with this one. It's a pretty simple build-up, and with the body and chassis largely painted out I've only really got the motor, steering and cockpit and final assembly ahead of me. I should have it done by year's end.

Thanks! Just what I needed!

Looking forward to watching this commission build come together. Work of this sort serves as an inspiration and reference for all of us. This looks like a very nice kit. What are those lovely little clamps with the soft pads you are using?

Thanks Bob! As you note, this era of drag cars and street rods aren't actually modeled that much, at least judging from what I see here on the MCM board. I've always been a bit surprised given the success of The Rodder's Journal and the HAMB and the current Traditional Hot Rod revival.

Thanks for exceedingly kind words, Mike. "Ghost" cutaways like this only can be done if you plan way ahead and somehow manage to take perfectly registered shots while assembling the car, which would require placing both camera and car in the exactly identical position each time with highly consistent lighting. The exception is competition cars like this one, where the chassis and bodywork are entirely separate and the car is designed to be displayed with the body on or off. Only then can you can do it after the fact. I''ve done a few cutaway shots over the years but never had the courage and patience to plan for one where the body and interior are ultimately glued in place.