Bernard Kron

For some reason it feels like I’m moving through this project at a glacial pace. I just don’t have a lot to show for it when it comes to forum updates, even though I’m actually ready now for final assembly. The interior is finished and fitted to the body shell, ready to be glued into place. The dashboard is from the AMT Phantom Vickie kit. Window glass is cut, fitted and glued in place (but not terribly visible in photographs…). All the suspension bits are trimmed, fitted and ready to be glued into place. And finally, and at least something that hasn’t been shown before, the motor is done and already glued into the chassis. It’s a Revell Parts Pack small-block Chevy with 6 Revell Parts Pack Stromberg 97’s mounted to a manifold from a Revell ’57 Chevy Nomad kit. The exhausts are Revell Roth Tweedy Pie items, originally intended for my recently completed ‘27T Highboy (they wouldn’t clear the bodywork) and generously supplied by Dale Verts (Thanx Dale!!!). Also in the “never shown before” category, the wheels and tires are done, including adapting them to the Revell suspension bits. The wheels are Modelhaus Radirs, zero offset at the front and standard offset at the rear. The tires are old-style Modelhaus with the Firestone branding on the sidewalls. Boy I sure miss them. I keep my eyes out for them on eBay and try to buy them when I can. The rears are slicks and the front T-110s, both with whitewalls. So, in point of fact all that’s left is to trim and fit the radiator, install the grill into the grill shell and do the final assembly. It shouldn’t be long now… Thanx for lookin’, B.

Thanks guys. The interest and kind words are much appreciated. I have an update and pics I want to post but I 'm having problems getting it done. Stay tuned...

Thanks guys. This project has been temporarily crowded out by another one but I should be updating this one soon.

The bull nose strip on the hood is a nice touch and well worth going back to do. Lookin' good!

Thanx everyone! Despite not posting progress on this project for a while I’ve been progressing quite well. One thing about doing a chopped and channeled car is that there’s quite a good deal of “collateral damage” that needs to be accounted for. Add in a z’d back end and the work required to correct things increases even more. In this case the obvious areas include the interior, which needs to be sectioned, the rear fender wells which need to account for the raised rear axle line, and determining a way to accurately and positively locate the channeled body shell. Once you’ve done all that you can get back to your refularly scheduled programming, things like bodywork, paint and aesthetic and mechanical details (the actual interior design , motor, suspension, lights, etc.). Happily, I’ve made progress in all these areas. First up was determining a positive location for the channeled body shell. The Revell kit firewall was cut down and relived to provide the front mounting points for the body shell and the provide clearance for the motor. An L-shaped strip of styrene provides the location point for the rear of the chassis. The bodywork is finished, and despite the fact that I’ve chosen a candy paint job, seems to be clean and relatively invisible. The fender wells were adapted from the kit pieces and clearanced to allow for the new rear axle position. All the seams were filled with styrene, sanded smooth, and then treated with a skim coat of body putty. The primer is Duplicolor Sandable White. The basic paint is Tamiya TS-73 Clear Orange over Testors Pure Gold lacquer. The result is an intense Kandy “Old Gold” color rather than the greenish Testors Inca Gold frequently used. Test shots show that only the recently re-introduced Tamiya TS-13 Clear Gloss seems to be compatible with the color coat. Other lacquer clears thin the underlying Tamiya TS-73 and create runs and light spots. I have yet to apply the final clears so I’m still nervous about possible flaws. The chassis itself was trimmed and styrene strip panels fabricated to fill the areas left open as a result of the z’d frame and of shortening the rear frame ends to allow the frame to set inside the trunk area. Then I trimmed the stock gas tank so it would fit inside the rear trunk panel. The kit interior was sectioned by removing the depth of the channel job, slightly more than 4 scale inches, from the bottom of the frear and side panels. Then I cut out the inner detail panel from the kit interior and substituted quilted upholstery made from Evergreen styrene tile [atterned sheet cut at a 45-degree angle. A similar treatment was provided for the rear panel by making a surface piece glue to the sectioned kit rear panel which has a center panel cut out of it and filled with quilt-patterned styrene. Colors are Duplicolor Naples Gold over red oxide primer with Duplicolor Wimbledon White quilt panels and “carpeting”. I haven’t yet decided on steering wheel and dash panel details. The seats are from the Revell Stacey David Rat Roaster kit and will be finished with matching Wimbledon White quilted areas over Naples Gold . Still to do is the motor which I have already started. The basic engine is a Revell Parts Pack small-block Chevy with a six-pack of Stromberg 97’s. The engine block is finished in Wimbledon White to match the firewall and interior. There will be plenty of chrome to go with the show-car theme of this project. I have already chosen the wheels and tires but will save them for my next update. Thanx for lookin’, B.

I agree that even in it's current form this is the best Bucket-T kit available. I also think the original is miles better with beautifully proportioned details, especially the wheels, tires and exhausts. The mosre recent reissues suffer too much from the whole Fad-T things, and parts like the trailer are just too dated to be of any real appeal. The Little-T is generally in circulation and available if at elevated collector's prices. What a tremendous opportunity for an enterprising after-market supplier to do a back-dating kit for this model. Here are the parts that would need to be included in order to do it (I believe the front brakes would also have to be included): This is my attempt at capturing at least some of the spirit of the Little T using the parts I had available in my stash at the time. Without the wheels, tires and exhausts I mentioned earlier it's pretty hopeless, so I tried something different while avoiding the Fad-T thing.

It’s been a while since I posted an update on this project. I’ve been going through a “flat spot”, kind of my version of builder’s block. There’s no lack of possible projects to engage in, my backlog would keep me occupied for a long time, but occasionally I just sort of slow down with seemingly straightforward things suddenly taking on more importance than they really deserve. So it was with the ’49 Ford. It was quite likely triggered by a paint problem. The clear coat I shot over the colors from my last post was from a bad can of Krylon, one I neglected to throw out. This particular can takes forever to dry completely. The result is that every time I tried to polish it I would leave thumbprints or smudges in the final coat. So I fiddled endlessly with it and just sort of ground to a halt. I started on the chassis but stalled on the motor. So I moved on to the interior and (probably) made a mountain out of a molehill. After all it’s not a convertible so how hard should I try? Pretty hard as it turned out… I landed up cutting apart the AMT kit interior bucket and creating a full tuck and roll interior from .080” half-round styrene and various flavors of styrene sheet. The color is Duplicolor Oxford white with black piping using .010” insulated wire. The dashboard is finished to match the top. I’m waiting on some door handles and cracks to finish it up and still have to detail the gauge faces. Then I’ll glue it together. The chassis is completed. Nothing special, just some lowering blocks at the rear and the kit supplied front end lowering, as described earlier. The chassis used is from the AMT ’50 Ford convertible which comes with a single molded-in exhaust, so I had to add a matching exhaust on the other side using some AMT ’49 Ford parts/. The sheet metal of the underside is finished in Duplicolor Oxford White with a black chassis. I’ve started the motor, a small=-block Ford from my endless supply of these things from various Revell Deuce kits. Dimensionally it matches the kit motors so it’s fairly straightforward. I’ll post pictures of the chassis and motor in the next few days. I’m probably not far from final assembly and things seem to have picked up again. I hope to show more action over the coming days.. Below are some pictures of the interior. Thanx for lookin’, B.

This model really projects the satisfaction that can be gotten from executing a really great kit really well. Bravo!

I’ve started a new project based on the annual contest over on the Modelers Haven forum. This year’s contest is for any car the majority of whose parts are from the Revell ‘32 Ford 1/25th scale kits. With only a couple of months left to go I felt it was time to get started on my entry. My base kit is this: My intention is to use as many parts from the box as possible. I already know I'll be changing out the tires and wheels to Radirs and wide whites, and quite possibly the motor to a small block Chevy. The plan is to build a 60's era show-style chopped and channeled LoBoy. The suspension parts will be modified from the kit parts to allow for the lowered stance and the z'd rear end. The basic interior panels will form the basis for the upholstery, although I will most likely make custom tuck 'n' roll overlays on top of them. I'm not certain but I will perhaps use the bucket seats from the recent Stacey David Rat Roaster. Here's the basic work so far. The frame has been z'd about 4 scale inches at the rear. The front end has been dropped an additional 2 1/2 scale inches by shaving two leaves off the front spring and notching the frame rails at the front cross member. The top has been chopped about 4 1/2 inches. Despite the radical chop I managed to avoid a tiny "mail slot" rear window by cutting the window out and then re-installing it. About 2 1/2 scale inches were removed from the window opening height with the rest removed from the surrounding body material. The result is a rear window that's more in proportion to the side windows, giving the car a more balanced overall appearance. The body is channeled the depth of the frame rails, about 4 scale inches, and the firewall trimmed accordingly. I have my '49 Ford to finish but I plan to work steadily on this one to get it done before the deadline. Thanx for lookin', B.

Yeah, as the man said, Slick! Great pics, too. Bravo!

Super build. I love the toned-down realism of the finishes - very much in keeping with the actual Garlits cars. This was unlucky 13 for Don, the car that nearly cost him his foot. But it started a revolution as Garlits and crew worked across the following year to solve the mystery of getting a rear engine car to handle, thus changing the face of drag racing forever. I always have trouble with the look of (I think I'm right on this) the ex-Tommy Ivo Don Long frame in these kits, it's (no pun intended) so lonnnnng. But in point of fact that's what SR13 looked like and your meticulous work captures it very well indeed. Congrats!

Well here's my Fordor, as in Ford...

Nice machine. Love the AMT/Revell approach to a full detail build, especially the motor and the stance.

Is the ZZ Topp chopped top compatible with the original kit?

I'm not a kit collector, but when I won this on eBay I was genuinely excited. I just received it and it's absolutely like new, the chrome is bright and shiny, the tires are still flexible, the decals in fine shape, and all the parts are present and accounted for, although quite a few have come off the trees. The box says Copyright 1962 and, judging from slight yellowing on the little Monogram promotional catalogue that is included, it's probably from that era. Was this kit ever re-issued? My understanding is that the tooling was sacrificed to create the Thom Taylor roadster. It has always been recommended as the supreme representation of the '34 3-window and cabriolet and, now that I have one, I can certainly understand why! It is a beautiful kit, rich in detail and one of those incredible period documents that Monogram did so well. The Hot Rod variants really have that funky "jalopy" vibe that's featured in the cover art of many of the Lindberg and Aurora hot rod kits, but with accurate and well detailed representations of period parts. The body is thin, superbly cast, flash free and crisp, and appears to be faithfully proportioned. While I'd have liked to have seen more individually cast detail parts, such as a separate floor pan, carburetor and intake, etc., the parts count is already astronomical as a result of its Coupe/Cabriolet 3 in 1 Stock, Custom, Competition offering. All in all it is an incredible kit, one of the true all-time greats. If it is actually lost to us because of its conversion then the key parts, like the main body, fenders, roof assembly, cabriolet parts, etc., should be replicated in the aftermarket, or the kit revived as Revellogram did with the Slingster. I'd love to convince some resin caster to make a copy of the key parts .. Because of its rarity I'm concerned about building it, not so much because of any intrinsic value, but because I'm having trouble deciding which type of car I would build. It would do so many variations so well! But I have no assurance of ever getting another one. That's why I am so anxious to see it revived in some manner. Rest assured I will build it, but it may be a while as I try to resolve this issue one way or another.

All the attention to detail paid off with a very fine model featuring a great deal of scale realism. I especially like the toned-down chrome of the All-Clad. The MAS wheels photograph quite well and are a definite worthwhile addition. I have had concerns about the flat photoetch spokes but they look fine here. Great to see most of line available once again via e-Bay. I will have to treat myself to a set of those wires for a forthcoming project.

Run, don't walk, to Tim's link and click it! Then read the accompanying text with each of the pictures. You will be amply rewarded. Great to see you in "full cry", as it were, angling for that contest win at the time. No-holds-barred, knock-down, drag-out top shelf model building late 70's style. A real stunner in every way. Fascinating to see the "fingerprints" of the First Golden Age (I consider today's revival the New Golden Age) in this build done at the time of the initial NNL when the hobby was about to begin its gradual fade from popularity. Kit bashing taken to levels we can barely imagine today in the modern era of aftermarket parts, resin casting and styrene stock. The paint work is especially successful and interesting, working so ambitiously with spray cans and hot rod paints. And of course the car itself is absolutely contemporary with it V6 and the whole proto-hi-tech rod thing goin' on (the full-on Hi Tech/Billet madness was to explode a few short years later in the 1:1 world but the greats were already building their Indy-inspired dream machines by then while wrestling with the realities of galloping inflation and not one but two Oil Crises...). Thanx for this...

From what I've seen of the Parts Pack competition chassis it never looked all that promising for the Parts Pack Competition T... But the Fiat chassis is a straight fit, no problem. Did you buy the "Tin Box" edition Double Dragster or the standard cardboard box issue? With the Tin Box you with a duplicate chrome tree that will allow you, with some additional styrene stock, to build a second dragster because the extra tree is the one with the dragster suspension bits including the quick change (as well as, IIRC , the chrome bits for the twin Chevies). From the Tin Box, between my Parts Pack Altered, a Fiat made with the Double Dragster roll bar and scratch built chassis and parts box front suspension, a twin Chevy rail and a competition coupe using a parts box Hemi and resin aftermarket body, I got four cars done. It was a challenge I set myself...

Agreed! What a pleasure to behold! This reminds me why I admire so much the great showroom stock modelers. The discipline, knowledge, and skill required to create a convincing replica of a subject most viewers are inherently experts about is daunting, to say the least. Models done to this level also serve to remind us what a fine job the manufacturers have so often done in creating these kits for us.

A quick update after getting the clear coats on. I’ve been experimenting with candies and metalflakes this past year. I don’t use an airbrush so I am limited to aerosol ‘flakes and transparents, which are fairly rare. I have discovered a Dupli-Color product, Dupli-Color Metal Specks, which looks promising as a properly scaled metalflake base. I used it recently on a Ford ’27 T Highboy roadster, but the color coat was not a true transparent but one of Dupli-Color’s metallics. These are fairly transparent but, once you apply enough coats they begin to hide the flake on the undercoat. This time I shot Tamiya TS-74 Clear Red, a true transparent paint, over Dupli-Color Metal Specks Sparkle Silver. An earlier picture I posted showed the raw color coats without the clear, but while applying the Clear Red I could tell that without the final gloss coats I couldn’t really tell if I would get the depth and contrast that you can achieve with a metalfllake paint job. As the paint sets up it loses much of its initial gloss. In addition, in order to get a maximum flake effect I didn’t color sand the ‘flake coat which contributes some slight roughness to the color coat as well. The clear is Krylon Crystal Clear Gloss which goes down with a high build and deep shine. Unfortunately it takes several days to get hard enough to polish out properly, and the underlying texture of the ‘flake will require some final sanding and polishing of the clear. The photo below shows 3 coats of clear over two coats of color and two coats of ‘flake. As you can see, the depth is definitely there and I think this approach shows great promise. I think a final polish will only enhance the richness. Additionally, Dupli-Color Metal Specks paint is also available in tinted ‘flakes, specifically Burnt Copper, Retro Red, Ocean Blue and Shimmering Green. I plan to experiment with these on future projects. Thanx for lookin’, B.

I live in the Pacific Northwest which must rate up there in terms of hostile environments for painting model cars outdoors. While it never freezes, except for about 8-10 weeks in the summer months when the weather is ideally warm and dry, we have relatively high humidity and cool temperatures and extremely frequent and lengthy bouts of drizzle and rain. Yechhhh!!!! Anyway, I shoot Dupli-Color paints a lot and am quite happy with them. In the winter time it's necessary for me to pre-heat the paint by warming the can in hot water. This helps eliminate some of the blushing. I'm also careful to get the model indoors immediately into a heated environment. This also helps. In the summer months when conditions are warm and dry I can get perfectly smooth and even applications with a high initial gloss, just as shown by Bill above. But in the winter, despite all my efforts blushing is always a threat. Fortunately, I have found that Dupli-Color paints dry hard and respond to color sanding and polishing very well. I have tried various clears and keep returning to Krylon Crystal Clear Gloss which does not blush, even in the winter time. But I still heat the can to get good flow and set up.

Thanks Mike. I'm really enjoying working with such crisp detail in the greenhouse. I'm hoping to capture the basic look that I'm imagining the original AMT designers had in mind when they offered these relatively conservative customizing parts. Couldn't have attempted it without you...

Thank you, everyone! The basics are now done, which is to say stance, wheels and tires and basic paint. The chassis is lowered about 2 ½ scale inches all around, the front with the kit supplied lowered position and the rear with lowering ,blocks. Tires are from Modelhaus with kit wheels and chrome trim rings and dimpled dog dish ‘caps from the Revell Beatnik Bandit kit. The paint gave me a little trouble. The Duplicolor Universal Black lacquer went down with no issues. Then I masked the main body and painted the roof a red metalflake consisting of silver Duplicolor Specks for the underlayer and Tamiya TS-74 Transparent Red for color. When I removed the masking a piece of black laquer came up on the trunk lid. It’s a bit of a mystery because it was covered loosely with paper, not stick-on masking tape. So I masked around the trunk lid and re-shot it. It came out OK. Here’s a picture showing the repair. Below are mockups showing the basic car. The paint is color sanded and I’m waiting for decent weather to shoot the clear coats. The grille is the tubular piece from the AMT kit. It will get chrome headlight rims and Lucas beams, the kit chrome bumperettes, spots and most likely lakes pipes. The interior is next on my list to design and execute, as well as determining the motor (I’m thinking a small block Ford). Thanx for lookin', B.

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