Bernard Kron

Really nice work. The chassis, especially, looks great!

In addition to all 3 being really fine models, immaculately executed, they also demonstrate what an excellent kit the Revell 5-window was and how, even when built largely out of the box, in the hands of skilled modelers the results can be very satisfying indeed. ??

Thanks Bill. I had him saved. I didn't know it was Casey.

Good to know that you are brush painting. I'll have to give it a try. I've got several models planned for the TROG build off and this will come in handy. The one I've started for it now, however, doesn't involve weathering to any large degree so I'll wait until next year... LOL. (Note cheesy seasonal year end comment.)

Thanks. As I mentioned, to a large degree that's most of the worn effect right there. It looks like your weathering technique is additive, probably since you airbrush. I use rattle cans so my approach is subtractive. You appear to add details and effects whereas my approach is to apply several layers like, silver, red oxide and gray primers, and even pale green metallic, then sand down and reveal key layers to achieve a worn effect. That's what's so interesting about weathering, there are so many possible approaches, often determined by the final effect you're going after as well as the basic finishing techniques you tend to use. Build on!

What interests me is what the basic color you laid down is, that dark primer red. Is it a particular brand of red oxide (maybe Duplicolor which is darker than some others) over a dark base. It's very convincing in the first instance, before you do anything else. You can see that in the interior panels you just did.

What's his seller name on eBay? And yes I, too, miss his participation.

Really handsome hot rod. Classic restraint sez it all! I've always felt that chopped 3-windows make the nicest highboys of all. I especially dig the careful work on the hood sides. As the expression goes, this model really does the business!

This is my first entry in the TROG California Drag Racing 2023 Build Thread. My intention is to do several projects across the next year focusing on the various aspects of The Race Of Gentlemen events as they have evolved over the years. This first one acknowledges the original Spirit of Wildwood, the funky, no holds barred, old car and motorcycle beach racing in Wildwood NJ. I’m not by nature a replica car builder but this car, the Sea-N-Sun Motel ‘29 Ford phaeton from the 2016 Wildood TROG has always appealed to me. It caught the eye of several photographers, so if you’ve done a web search on TROG events chances are you’ve encountered it. I don’t much about it or its entrant, but the Sea-N-Sun is a real motel in Wildwood, N.J. rear next to the amusement park and the beach where TROG runs its event. It’s got a mildly hopped up 4-banger and is otherwise pretty much just a stripped down stock A-Bone. For my donor car I’m using a Monogram Red Phaeton survivor I got off of eBay, so it won’t be a strict replica since it’s a ’30 instead of a ’29. It’s just being shipped to me so in the meantime I prepared the logo art and am rounding up the parts from my stash, like the 4 cylinder motor and the stock hood, etc. Here’s a composite of the decal art development and the eBay photo of the donor car.

Today was paint day. The Tamiya TS-96 Fluorescent Orange doesn’t cover very well, especially over the white primer I used, so I decided to put down a single coat of Tamiya TS-31 Bright Orange as a backer. It had the effect of darkening the color slightly but the overall contrast between bright aluminum and the strong main body coclor is very much what I had hoped for. The photo below shows the result with Duplicolor white primer followed by the aforementioned single coat of Bright Orange, 2 coats of Fluorescent Orange and two coats of Tamiya TS-65 pearl clear. While the paint cures I’ll move on to finishing up the motor and then final assembly. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Thanks Bill. I consider the louvered hood a breakthrough offering, opening up a whole additional aspect of hot rod building.

Thanks! It's pretty straightforward. The tricky part, as it would be for any such adaptation, is the corner radiuses. The lucky part, as I said, is that the rood contours are so similar. It's a little like adapting the louvered rear deck that comes in the Revell '5-window kit to the the '29/30 Ford Model kits (Both the new Revell ones and the old AMT and Monogram ones). That also proved to be surprisingly straightforward because the contours match so closely. Here's a composite of the w.i.p. shots I sent to Jason while I was doing my roof cuts. In the first shot you can see that I initially a straight rectangular piece out of the roof. The second shot of the opening shows the work I put into radiusing the corners and also the fact that I had to add material back into the sides because, despite the fact that I made my cuts with the back of a No. 11 blade, the kerf from the cuts made the width slightly too wide. The 3rd shot shows the panel in place during this initial work. Also, here's a couple of shots from the first time I ever adapted the louvered Deuce deck to a Model A, the AMT roadster in this case, showing how simple it is. Since the contours match all that's required is to trim material from the top and/or bottom edges.

Thanks guys! Thanks for producing these Jason. In my view, they are basic to so many styles of hot rod modeling. I chose this show-style build so I could highlight the panels by finishing them in the polished aluminum look against the bright body color. The roof panel, which was developed to replace the solid rood insert on the recent Revell '30 Ford coupe kit, is close enough in contour to the roof contour of the Revell '32 Ford 5-window that the main work required to adapt it consists of correctly matching the shape of the hole you have to cut into the roof to the louvered panel itself. The panel is is slightly longer front to rear than the roof insert molded into the Deuce 5-window. I added the length at the rear when I made my cuts.

Thanks to you both, and thanks, also, for all the "Likes"!

A couple of months ago I posted here about the louvered hoods for the Revell ’32 Ford 1/25th scale kits and the roof panels for the Revell ’30 Ford coupe that Jason Lookabill (lookabillj@gmail.com) has created. I consider these an important addition to any hot rod modelers’ tool kit. The hoods in particular, as far as I know, have never been offered before. They match the louvered hood sides that came in the pre-Rat Roaster Revell Deuce roadster kits. I decided to start a project to feature these parts. I settled on a Revell ‘2 Ford 5-window coupe. The car would be a street-Iegal coupe designed to run in the same class as street roadsters in the 1960’s, but styled to also compete in local rod & custom shows – show ‘n’ go as it was referred to back then. I chopped the top 3 1/2 scale inches and cut a hole in the top to take the louvered hood panel Jason is casting. Along with the hood sides from the aforementioned Revell Roadster kits I added one of Jason’s 5-row louvered hoods and the optional louvered rear deck from the Revell 5-window kit. It’s a highboy but, because it’s running in Street class, I added fenders from the Stacey David Rat Roaster. The interior was adapted from the Stacey David kit with a scratch built roll bar and the Cal-Custom bucket seats that come in the Revell “Rat Rod” ’30 Ford Sedan kits. (See A & B below). The rear suspension was lowered by inserting 2 scale inch drop where the rear axle is located to allow the chassis rails to continue rearward to include the stock fuel tank. (See C below). The front suspension from the Revell 5-window kit was modified to lower the front end an additional 3 scale inches. The wheels and slicks are from the AMT Double Dragster kit with front tires from the Revellogram ’30 Ford Sedan kits The motor is the Chevy Small Block from the Stacey David Rat Roaster kit with a 60’s period correct GMC 6-71 blower from a Revell Tony Nancy Double Dragster kit. I’m still settling on carburation. The headers will be tubular block huggers. The louvered panels are finished in Krylon Chrome to simulate freshly polished aluminum. The body surfaces and chassis, which are white in the mockup pictures, will be finished in Tamiya TS-96 Fluorescent Orange with an overcoat of Tamiya TS-65 Pearl Clear. (See inset E below). The overall look will feature lots of kit-chrome bling as part of the show car aspect. I’m about at the midpoint now with the interior nearly finished (it will remain Aluminum and white as show below). The motor is also nearly there and largely what left is the paint and final assembly department. Thanx for lookin’ B.

Here are links to the other 2 threads mentioned. Tudor/Fordor Roadster/Cabriolet/Phaeton

Not what's traditionally known as a "5-window" but it's a very fine model indeed!

Thank you Charles. Glad you dig it!

The illustration you show includes a dual carb manifold (part # C6 - Ansen Manifold. It's in all the Revellogram '29/30 RPU/Sedan kits on the chrome tree.

Thanks for the specific reply. Much appreciated. I'll check out marine supply stores around here. Also Ace Hardware has "Klean Strip Methyl Ethyl Ketone Lacquer Thinner" in pint cans. At $8 it's probably worth a try.

For many years I've used methyl ethyl ketone (M.E.K.) as a solvent cement for styrene joints. It is very inexpensive and I can accurately control the strength of the bond by varying the amount and timing. A pint can will last me 2-3 years, easily. Recently I noticed it was coming time to get some more. When I went to various hardware stores I noticed they have all stopped carrying M.E.K. and now carry something called "M.E.K. Substitute". Has anyone had any experience using M.E.K. Substitute? Does it handle and work in the same manner as the real stuff?

This has to be one of the best looking versions of this infamously funky kit I've seen. The change in rolling stock and adjustments to the stance were just what's needed. Bravo!

Very nice indeed. 1:1 or in scale, a brilliant evocation of the Show Car.

Chances are the cars running at Labob will be more in the vein of the T.R.O.G. Santa Barbara drags than the beach racing on the Jersey Shore. Lot's more money, Historically Significant Cars, and general spit and polish to bring out and show off than at Wildwood. I think most hot rod modelers here will find something among these types of cars they can build here are a few pics from an excellent photo article that was on the Motor Trend web site (see: Motor Trend Coverage of TROG Santa Barbara Drags ).

I'm guessing that what's meant by spoked wheels refers to modern Torq-Thrust or Cragar sorts of things, rather than the pre-hot-rod-era wheels you're referring to. On the other hand those things are definitely not 40's-50's... (more like 10's-20's LOL).