Bernard Kron

This is a beautifully conceived and executed project. I'm very much looking forward to the results Under Glass. Bravo!

Thanks everyone! Here's the completed model Under Glass with the final presentation photos:

Thanks Bill. Here's the post Under Glass with the final presentation photos:

Channeled 1929 Ford Roadster Hot Rod in Original As-Found Patina (More photos below) In 2016 Joey Ukrop wrote a wonderful piece for the H.A.M.B. entitled “A Fly in Amber: The di Falco Roadster” (see: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=31244 ). Accompanying the article were some very evocative photos Ukrop took which captured the hot rod spirit of this marvelous ’30 Ford Roadster . David di Falco is a hot rodder, fabricator and artisan with a shop north of San Francisco. He built his roadster in the modern Preservation style where the car is completely gone through to rebuild, restore and where necessary replace the original parts to render the machine mechanically sound, reliable and safe, while maintaining the “as-found” patina and period correct parts wherever possible. In di Falco’s case the car originally had no radiator shell, interior or windshield and had some fairly serious rust perforation in front of the doors. Di Falco cleaned up the rust and covered the perforated areas with bare metal panels held with machine screws. For missing parts such as in the interior he endeavored to match the patina of the car as he had gotten it. The original patina is remarkably intact. The additions and changes are all true to the era of the original car and only serve to enhance its remarkable character. This is a composite photo showing the original state of the car as di Falco got it and the action shot that inspired me to do this project. Obviously this is more of a tribute than a replica. I left off the bare metal patch panels because I thought they were a bit exaggerated. The body is a ’29 Ford and not a ’30 and my dashboard and steering wheel are different, as well as the carburetion on the flathead. Here’s a breakdown on the parts used and the work done. Bodywork:AMT ’29 Ford Roadster with AMT ’34 Ford Truck grill. Paint is Tamiya TS-16 yellow over Duplicolor Metallic Silver lacquer and Brite Touch Red Oxide Primer, in that order. The paint was sanded and distressed to achieve the patina, then gone over with thin black wash and dusted lightly with light gray and rust weathering powders. Headlights are AMT ’32 Ford and tail lights are from the Revell ’32 Ford Street Rod Roadster kit. The windshield is from the AMT ’29 Ford Roadster. Chassis and Suspension:The chassis is based on Revell ’32 Ford Street Rod Roadster rails, pinched to fit under the ‘29 Ford body. The floor pan is also narrowed Revell Deuce. The rear suspension including the rear cross member, rear axle, and tubular shocks are from AMT ’29 Ford Roadster kit. The front suspension consists of a scratch built front spring and a 4 ½ inch deep drop front axle. It is a resin copy of the item found in the various Revell ’40 Ford Street Rod kits. It’s made by ThePartsBox.com and features a cast-in wire to prevent sagging over time. It’s my go-to beam axle for hot rod work. The steering, shock mounts and front shocks are Revell ’32 Ford and the radius rods are cut from the stock AMT ’29 Ford items. Motor and Transmission:These are from the various Revell ’40 Ford Street Rod kits (coupe and convertible) and is built straight out of the kit with the Edelbrock heads and twin carbs. Wheels and Tires:The front wheels are AMT ’40 Ford steelies with Modelhaus T120 whitewalls. The rear tires and whitewalls are from the Revell ’40 Ford Standard kit. Hubcaps and trim rings are from the AMT ‘40 Ford. Interior:The basic interior parts are fabricated using the AMT ’29 Ford bucket with the seat bottom cut down to accommodate the body channel, and scratch built dashboard and side panels. The instrument cluster and steering wheel are adapted from an AMT ’40 Ford. The shift lever is a straight pin with a yellow head. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Thanks guys. Glad you all are diggin' it. I completed this project over the last few days. I’ll be posting the final presentation photos Under Glass in the next day or so. In the meantime here’s a composite shot of some of the final details. Thanks to all who followed along and… Thanx for lookin’, B.

Modelhaus tires are generally proportioned to fit the o.d. of AMT 1/25th scale wheels. The wheels theysell are all to that size. There are some exceptions such as the 18" wheel 640 series (640, 647, 640 Plus, 647 Plus), and specialty tires called out for other manufacturers such as the 271 for the Revell 50 Olds kits, the 303 for Revell promos, the 400 Monogram '59 Cadillac tires, etc.

Thanks to all of you for your interest and kind words. I’ve gotten the grill chopped and painted. Like the 1:1 it’s a ’34 Ford truck grill, this one from the AMT kit. I chopped it about 2 scale inches. I worked some more on the weathering on the main body, doing some additional sanding and detailing, the result being that the weathering is more visible and worn looking and yet the paint surface is more uniform and smoother. I’ll be doing similar work on the grill once the paint hardens. Hot rods like this are relatively simple machines so there’s not that much left to do, mainly completing the motor, lighting and suspension details, and then final assembly. Thanx for lookin’, B.

An excellent series of comparison photos between the Stacey David Rat Roaster and the new Duvall windshield '32 Ford Roadster kit can be found here: https://newkoolestkruzers.forumactif.org/t8031-1-25-revell-32-ford-rat-roaster-vs-32-ford-roadster#240195 on the French Koolest Kruzers website. It's in French but there is so much "Franglais" English language jargon that it's easy to understand what's being said.

Thanks for the pics! Much appreciated. Glad to see the chopped stock-style windshield included. Hard to see if the cowl indentations for the old windshield are filled in the photo, or indeed if the cowl has been otherwise reworked for the DuVall. The problem with the DuVall windshield is, of course, that it is highly stylized and specific, making it harder to make non-DuVall variants. But the Stacey David Rat Roaster was even worse in this regard with that horror-show perforated hood and the over-the-top stylized interior (both of which appear to have survived along with the guitar, the ribbon-mic shift lever, the chrome portholes and the Rat Roaster exhaust system - so for you Rat Roaster die-hards you probably can still build one from this kit...). Including the bucket seats is nice though. The new classic-style bench seat and interior sides, which are on their own new tree, (ditto the DuVall and the new exhausts) will help keep this kit closer to the great general purpose classic the original Street Roadster kit was. The cassette player and air-conditioning vents in the original release dashboard appear to be well and truly gone at last, LOL. Now if we could only do something about those airbags... And it looks like there will be a potential market for re-pops of the unchopped windshield and the old louvered hood sides...

In 2016 Joey Ukrop wrote a wonderful piece for the H.A.M.B. entitled “A Fly in Amber: The di Falco Roadster” (see: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=31244 ). Accompanying the article were some wonderfully evocative photos Ukrop took which captured the hot rod spirit of this wonderful ’30 Ford Roadster, This one in particular has stayed with me ever since: David di Falco is a hot rodder, fabricator and artisan with a shop norh of San Francisco in Petaluma California. The car he built is based on an old hot rod he bought which di Falco refurbished in the contemporary “as found” style where the car is completely gone through to rebuild, restore and where necessary replace the original parts to render the machine mechanically sound, reliable and safe, while maintaining the “as-found” patina wherever possible. In di Falco’s case he took some liberties since the car originally had no radiator shell, interior or windshield and had some fairly serious rust perforation in front of the doors. But the basic patina is intact. Di Falco cleaned up the rust and covered the perforated area with bare metal panels held with machine screws. Where he added missing parts such as in the interior he endeavored to match the patina of the car as he had gotten it. But these additions and changes are all true to the era of the original car and only serve to enhance its remarkable character. Here is the state of the car when David di Falco first got it: This project is informed and inspired by that wonderful hot rod. I’m using an AMT ’29 Ford roadster on Revell ’32 Ford chassis rails with the rear suspension from the AMT roadster. The paint is Tamiya TS-16 yellow. The front suspension uses the deep-drop front axle found in the Revell ’40 Ford street rod kits with a scratch built leaf spring. The interior is based on the AMT bucket and seat with scratch built side panels and dashboard with an instrument pod from an AMT ‘40 Ford. The flathead motor is from the AMT ’40 Ford convertible kits. The rear tires and wheels are from a Revell ‘40 Ford Standard and the front wheels are AMT ‘40 Ford with Modelhaus 120 tires. The hub caps and rings are AMT ‘40 Ford. I don’t plan on adding the sheet metal panels that di Falco used. The photos below show where I’m at so far. Thanx for lookin’, B.

One of the Great Mysteries of Hot Rod Modeling is the lack of aftermarket louvered hoods for the 1/25th scale Revell ’32 Fords. After all, Revell themselves started the ball rolling with the louvered side panels on the original ’32 Ford Roadster Street Rod release of 1998. Then in 2011 they added the louvered deck with the release of their 5-window coupe variant. At that point it should have been obvious that matching louvered hoods were a logical complement to the series. So, besides wondering why Revell never offered louvered hoods (which would have helped drive sales of “parts kits” for Deuce modelers), one has to wonder why we’ve never seen them from the aftermarket. At last there is hope. The other week I was reading the most recent posts on the thread discussing the superb chopped Deuce 5-window coupe offered by Ed Fluck’s Drag City Casting from a master created by Dennis Lacy. When Dennis first announced the advent of the Drag City chopped 5-window he also showed a nice louvered hood. That was in 2019 and unfortunately it was never produced in resin. Recently some members inquired about this. This prompted MCM forum member Jason Lookabill (68shortfleet) to mention that he had “three different louvered hood for the Revell 32 Ford available”. Well it didn’t take much to get me to PM Jason asking about their availability. He sent me some pictures of three beautifully proportioned variations based on the Revell louvers – 3 row, 4 row with the stock center hinge, and 5 row. I arranged to have Jason send me one of each and was delighted to see that the photos did not deceive. The casting are absolutely top grade, the louver placements dead even and symmetric with each row of a proper length, and the fit identical to the styrene Revell kit hoods. I have several Deuces that are crying out for louvered hoods and I chose 3 roadsters where paint matching would not pose a problem. Each example was also chosen for their suitability to one of the 3 styles. First off here are 2 composites of the photos Jason sent me: Next up the 3 row hood applied to a 50’s style channeled roadster with the Revell louvered side panels. I think the symmetry and simplicity of the 3 row complements the side panels perfectly. Then the 4 row as applied to a matte black highboy. The hinge down the middle sets off the stock hood side panels and shows that this style should be particularly useful for resto-rods and street machines. A finally a Hemi powered bare metal highboy with an aggressive louvered deck treatment that has just been crying out for this full-dress 5 louver hood! Also – A work in progress Jason also sent me this tasty 6-row rood panel for the Revell ’30 Ford coupe. I don’t have a donor car for it (yet…) but I finished it in bare metal steel for this photo. Those of you with a discerning eye will notice the louvers were installed backwards, one of the many challenges facing those who take on grafting louvers. Jason also told me he’s still working at getting these to mold to a consistently high level of quality. So, consider this a work in progress. Jason has molded a small series of the louvered hoods he is making available. If you’re interested PM him here on the MCM board (68shortfleet) or email him at Lookabillj@gmail.com.

Just to complete things, my order arrived today, the 13th as they said it would.

I just received confirmation of shipment. They say expect arrival no later than September 13th. 10 days from order will be just fine with me.

The only page that's functional on the Modelhaus Tires site is the Collection page, the home page that the site defaults to when you first go to https://www.modelhaustires.com/ . The Contact page, along with the About, Stockists and Journal pages have never been operational ever since the site was started. But my orders have always been confirmed, usually within minutes of placing them. If you haven't received a confirmation then you'll need a contact email. Unfortunately I don't have one because I've never needed to reach out to them with a problem or question. My orders have usually been filled within 3-9 days of confirmation. Perhaps someone here on the board knows a contact email for them. I currently have an order with them that was confirmed on September 3rd. I'll post on this thread when I receive a shipping notification.

Those are both beautiful models, and resourceful elaborations on the donor models. Bravo! I recently won a Daytona Coupe resin body on eBay. It was mis-advertised as a Ferrari and, luckily for me, overlooked. It turned out to be a beautiful casting and I suspect was based on the Lindberg Snap-Kit posted above since the hood is molded in place. There is no glass so the resin will be quite a challenge to build even if it stays as a curbside. There is a full-detail Gunze Sanyo version out there but both the Gunze and the Lindbergs are rare, keenly bid and expensive. Perhaps I'll keep an eye out for the Lindberg in the hopes its more humble provenance will yield an affordable example. Is the #11 car in you wonderful updated photo the Gunze Sanyo? It looks slightly less "squashed" in the windshield area than the Fillipinetti car.

I just received my copy of issue #85 in today's mail. 144 pages + covers, sealed in cellophane, shipped in the usual sturdy cardboard envelope. Arrived in pristine condition with the quality of photography, editorial content and production 100% at the level I've come to expect. ???

Thanks Rusty and Robert. I'm glad you like it! I tried to capture the vibe of the Bonneville coverage of the rod and customs nags from the early 60's. And I designed the model so that the hood and bodywork would be removable or displayed with the bodywork tilted up so I could show off the chassis. When the bodywork is removable like this it's possible to do a cutaway photo using Photoshop.

Thanks to you all! Your kind comments are greatly appreciated.???

Beautifully built and beautifully photographed. The result is highly realistic. Bravo!

Chopped ’31 Ford Tudor Dry Lakes Car (More pictures below) Based on the Revellogram ’31 Ford Tudor Sedan body shell this model represents a straight line racer of the sort that ran at the Bonneville salt flats and the SoCal dry lakes in the late 50’s and early 60’s. It’s as pure a form of scratch building and kit bashing as I am capable of. Since everything is either scratch built of from my spare parts stash here’s a breakdown of what went into it. Chassis: Tubular space frame scratch built from .100 styrene rod based on Revellogram ‘1 Ford Sedan floor pan. Rollover hoop is from AMT ‘39/40 Ford sedan kit. Scratch built removable push bar, Suspension: Dropped front tubular axle and coil spring rear suspension adapted from Revellogram ’32 Ford 0street rod series of kits. Front lever shock from Revell Tony Nancy double dragster kit. Motor: Basic block and heads from Plymouth 426 wedge V8 from Tony Nancy double dragster kit. Modified for dry sump lubrication. Potvin front mounted GMC blower setup adapted from Revell Parts Pak Chevy 283 V8. Scratch built headers from Evergreen butyl cover wire. Bell housing and in-out box from Revell Tony Nancy double dragster kit. Wheels and tires: Front wheels from AMT ’40 Ford kits. Rear wheels modified from Revell ’40 Ford kits, Parts by Parks spun aluminum Moon discs. Front tires from Speed City Resin. Rear tires from Herb Deeks. Scratch built front inner wheels discs. Interior: Scratch built firewall and interior sheet metal from styrene sheet. Steering wheel from Revell Miss Deal. Fuel tank from AMT Phantom Vicky. Battery from AMT ;40 Ford. Seat adapted from parts box seat of unknown origin. Seat belt from AMT ’29 Ford Roadster kit. Body work: Main body and grill shell from Revellogram ’31 Ford Sedan kit. Approx. 3 ½ scale inch chopped top. Firewall removed and doors glued shut. Cloth roof filled and smoothed. Hood top and sides adapted from Revell ’32 Ford kits. Transparent red plastic window “glass and grill center. Paint and graphics: Duplicolor white primer covered with 4 coats Duplicolor clear gloss lacquer. All decals designed and printed by the builder. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Thanks Ken! Here's a cutaway shot. All the final presentation photos can be found Under Glass here: Thanx for lookin', B.

Thanks guys! This project is now completed. I installed red “Plexiglas” windows, painted the wheels red and mounted spun aluminum Moon discs from Parts by Parks and did some final fettling on the suspension and hood to get t=everything fitting right. I’ll do final presentation photography tomorrow. In the meantime here are a few detail shots. Thanx to all who followed along and… Thanx for lookin’, B.

It’s official. I just received this in my email. TRJ #85 is shipping now!

Thanks guys! The body work, paint and decals have been completed. I wanted a pure icebox white and didn’t have any in my stash, so I shot some base coats of Duplicolor white primer and then applied four coats of Duplicolor clear lacquer. It did the trick. I made my own decals. The scallops were redrawn using a scan of the right hood side scallop from the .1997 edition of the Revell ’32 Ford Roadster Street Rod kit. The trade decals were redrawn using web images as a basis. All that is left now is to finish up the wheels and wheel cover, make the red Plexiglas windows and do final assembly. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Thanks John!