Bernard Kron

Superbly evocative replica of this important car. Really captures it. Bravo!

Gorgeous result. Tell Jimmy to cast it thin!

Superb. Right color and detail for the era. It's a powerful argument for the benefits of working in metal which allows a thinner edge, greater crispness of detail, and more control than is sometimes available in plastic. This is a true multimedia effort drawing from whatever sources are necessary to get the job done. And it succeeds brilliantly in capturing the period. Bravo! Beautiful work.

OMG Bill! That's heartache beautiful! Enjoy yourself at the NNL. I'm sure you'll spend the day discussing this masterpiece.

Thanx! The coupe is now completed. Below is a teaser shot. For more "beauty pics" and final details got to the Under Glass post here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=81375

’41 Willys Retro-Mod Street Rod (more pictures below) This project was inspired by many different fat-fendered coupes done in a variety of styles. In particular I would point out a metallic blue street rod from issue no. 4 of The Rodder’s Journal, a typical late billet era street Willys with a blown big-block Chevy and a nose-down rake, and a few years later, also in TRJ, a battleship gray ’40 Ford coupe, also big block powered (‘though not supercharged) and severely raked. This second car was featured at a time when TRJ had finally found its style and, although very modern underneath, was almost totally stock on the outside with steelies adapted to the big-power rubber it required. And then, about 4 years ago my friend Raul Perez did a hemi powered Revell ’40 Ford coupe with a Revell Willys street rod chassis underneath and a wicked lowered stance as well as some sweet and subtle chopping and sectioning on the bodywork. All of these cars were swimming in my head last month when a whole group of superb Willys coupes started popping up on the ‘net, including a pair of shiny black modern street rods which really got me motivated to start a Willys of my own. A .couple of years back I had purchased a Willys kit from Curt Raitz that included an aftermarket resin chassis that dramatically lowered the Revell street rod. As many of you probably know, the stance on the Revell kit is undistinguished at best, being rather lamely nose-high with a pan flat stance. Unfortunately the resin caster that makes this chassis has developed a poor reputation for service and I felt that if I ever used the chassis the chances were slim to none I could ever replace it. So instead I decided to use it as a model for how to lower the Revell chassis myself. So when I started this project I knew I would lower the car, but with a couple of super-fine modern street rods just completed I felt obliged to do something different. I decided to combine the depression era color of the TRJ ’40 Ford with the stance and powerful look of the late-billet Willys from issue no. 4. Raul’s ’40 Ford would help remind me of what a fine street machine should look like. The result is what follows, a Revell Street Rod kit with the front end lowered some 3+ scale inches for a pretty severe street rod rake, a Hilborn injected Chrysler Firepower 392 hemi adapted from the kit mill for some serious retro action under the hood, and a diamond tuft upholstered interior to extend the backdating to the driver’s compartment. The only bodywork was adding a hood scoop from an AMT ’49 Ford coupe kit. The color I chose is Tamiya TS-19 U.S. Navy Intermediate Blue. With a minimum of trim and the Depression era color I thought the car might straddle the line between Retro and Billet. I chose to use steelies finished in body color to emphasize the slick single color theme, but without any of the machined aluminum bling. I used AMT ’40 Ford fronts. The rears are AMT deep-dish reversed rims from a ’29 Ford Roadster kit, stripped of its chrome and with the centers drilled out to take baby Moon caps from an AMT ’40 Ford sedan delivery kit, which are also used on the fronts. Tires are from the kit. Other than the radical drop on the chassis, accomplished by raising the entire front suspension assembly, most of the car is straight out of the Revell kit. The other major change, eliminating the billet style interior, was accomplished by using an aftermarket floor panel from Altered States Models which combines the tubbed rear from the Street Rod kit with the interior bits from the Revell Stone, Woods & Cook Willys gasser. I cut the centers out of the kit door panels and added diamond tuft inserts along with a rear panel of the same sort. Add in a pair of diamond tufted buckets from the recent Stacey David Rat Roaster kit and … Instant Retro! The Firepower valve covers and Hilborn injectors were left over from a Ross Gibson injected 392 I used a few months ago, and the really nice 7” injector stacks are from Speed City Resin. The Hilborn injector pump is from Altered States. That’s it for modifications. What I tried to achieve was a blend of classic hot rod styling with the smooth monochromatic look of the Billet period which I have always felt was well suited to the Willys coupe. A modern chassis with lots of Old Skool vibes in the details. Thanx for lookin’, B.

Thanx! The chassis is all painted, detailed and finished with the engine installed. One of the great pleasures of the Revell Willy’s Street Rod is the highly detailed mechanicals, both the motor and the chassis. The kit is designed to simulate building a 1:1 chassis with many finely made parts and sub-assemblies. It’s well engineered, too, with excellent fit and location during build up. I used Duplicolor Gunmetal as the main chassis color with most parts finished out in various shades of Testors Metalizers to give it a utilitarian look in keeping with the overall tone of the project. Below are some final shots of the chassis before it disappears under the bodywork, along with a test drop of the body shell and interior over the chassis to make sure all the clearances are OK. IO had to include it as a teaser to show all those stacks sticking up out of the engine compartment! Not too much left to do, now… Thanx for lookin’, B.

The replacement parts arrived from Revell – one week from order instead of the 2 to 4 weeks they indicated! Massive thumzupz to them for service “surpassing expectations”. So I immediately got to work on the chassis. With the lowered front end, getting the posable steering working was a real bear. Ditto fitting the non-standard motor. But I think I’ve gotten most of the hard stuff out of the way now (here’s hoping…). Below are some quicky snaps of the roller showing its radical stance. (Sorry about the plastic dust and dodgy focus.) Tuff enuff? Now to get this baby buttoned up. I’m shooting for the weekend… Thanx for lookin’, B.

Thanx Bill! Here’s the completed motor. The basic injectors and Chrysler Firepower valve covers are left over from a Ross Gibson 392 I used a few months ago to build a Junior Fueler rail. The really nice injector stacks are 7” items from Speed City Resin. The injector pump is courtesy of Altered States Models. As mentioned earlier most metallic finishes you see are Testors Metalizers except for the valve covers, accessory drive and oil pan, which are all finished in Duplicolor Chrome. I find that Duplicolor Chrome can be made to resemble a variety of metals depending on how much you cover it in black wash. The valve covers have no wash, the oil pan only a slight wash around the edges, and the accessory drive has been washed fairly heavily with thinned black acrylic. Now I’m essentially on hold on this project until the rear axle arrives, at which point it will be time for final assembly. I have plenty of other modeling projects to keep me busy in the meantime... Thanx for lookin’. B.

Glad to see you back doing one of "those" paint jobs! Really Striking! Love it... Nikola Tesla (Serbian-Italian, 1856-1943) was a brilliant inventor and theoretical physicist who “won” the Current Wars of the late 19th century pitting Thomas Edison (advocating direct current – DC – for which he held many of the basic patents) against George Westinghouse and his Westinghouse Corporation, which held the North American rights to Tesla’s alternating current (AC) system. At the time it was believed that electricity would be produced by many small, local generating plants distributing over relatively small distances. AC was cheaper and more efficient in this regard. Edison held out bitterly and as late as 1903 was still advocating DC even though AC had prevailed 10 years earlier. Ironically, today DC is used to transmit electricity over very long distances, such as over undersea cables. Tesla was an eccentric genius who, over his long life, held more than 700 patents in basic and applied technologies. He was a believer in a universal life force. He spent his entire life searching for it and was a practitioner of what he believed to be “pure science”. In 1931 when Edison died, Tesla told the New York Times “If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search... I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor.” Today he is most known for his futurist vision of the world, his spectacular experiments in ultra-high voltage static electricity, and for his uncompromising eccentricity. He was an outspoken vegetarian and animal rights advocate (although he also strongly supported eugenics…), rarely slept, and is believed to have been celibate his entire life. I think that it’s for this image of relentless idealism, as much as his undeniable importance in the development of the practical use of electricity, that Elon Musk chose Tesla as the name of his car company.

I've seen your work "elsewhere". and we could stand to "steal" a few ideas from you, if I'm any judge. Welcome! Steal away! And please share some of your conversions with us...

As far as I know RepMin doesn't make one, however there are a couple of excellent aftermarket resin kits of hopped up versions of this motor (with finned heads and multiple carbs). The one I have used and recommend highly is from Early Years Resin (see http://earlyyearsresin.webs.com/engines.htm ). Nice detail, looks great when finished. Super reliable and fast service, too. Here's some pics, of the kit from their website, and of one I built up last year (the headers and carb stacks are mine...). Another excellent supplier for these is ThePartsBox,com in Australia. I have not built this motor but have built their excellent Nailhead V8 and bought lats of parts from them over the years. Quality is second to none and fill time is excellent despite the fact that they are half way 'round the world from me. Here's a picture from their site:

FYI, Ed Fluck at Drag City Castings makes a gorgeous tuck and roll setup for the Revell Olds kits. He can be reached at lowcab36@epix.net or 570-289-4345.

I can remember listening to the Velvet Undergound's "banana" album (their first album with a cover by their initial svengali, Andy Warhol) and feeling that it was flawed, a little too self consciously "avant garde", even somewhat musically amateurish, but never, even for a moment, trivial or unimportant. The album sold poorly and its progenitors, Lou Reed and John Cale, while fated for a lifetime of fame and notoreity, would never be associated with major chart-topping hits. As Brian Eno is often quoted as saying "The first Velvet Underground record sold 30,000 copies in the first five years. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band." In fact, it actually sold 58,000 copies in 2 years, but who's counting... As Chilly points out, the Velvets opened doors (in contrast to their hopefully named contemporaries The Doors, who, while being far more famous and succesful at the time, have proved much less influential). Lou Reed built a career around his prodigious talents as a poet, observer of the contemporary scene, and quite a song craftsman who, despite the often sordid eccentricity of his musings went on to pen many rock 'n' roll classics on the same level as those he and Cale had written for the "banana" album. Reed is, to this day, one of the most frequently covered rock artists. Since those early days there has not been a single generation of pop musicians who did not count among themselves those who paid homage to what Reed created. His impact was immediate, continuous and enduring. Perhaps the earliest and most important acolite was David Bowie, whose first singles were released within 2 years of Reed's earliest work and who has always stressed the enormous impact that Reed's music has had on him. It could also be argued that Reed was the godfather of the Punk rebellion, a model for singers and writers of the late 70's like fellow New Yorker Patti Smith, the Sex Pistols' (and P.I.L.) John(ny) (Rotten)/Lydon, the New York Dolls, the Buzzcocks' Pete Shelley, not to mention groups like L.A.'s Black Flag and X and countless other punk bands who would form the basis for the New Wave in the USA and spread across the nation to influence artists like Tom Petty and REM. In the post-Punk New Wave of the UK his followers included Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, Billy Idol and Roxy Music's Brian Ferry. Some may be surprised to learn that one of the icons of today's rock establishment, Bruce Springsteen, cut his teeth on Lou's work during this period. Into the 80's his followers would include U2's Bono, the Smith's Morrissey, Robert Smith of The Cure, and, as the decade progressed, pioneers of the new electronica like Depeche Mode's Martin Gore and Joy Division/New Order. Even hip hop artists like The Beastie Boys are included in his legions In the 90's and into the new century, artists who openly acknowledged his importance have included acts like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, Beck, (who has done his own version of the entire "banana" album), right up to contemporary million selling talent such as The Killer's Brandon Flowers and the UK's Muse and hip bands like Death Cab for Cutie and Silversun Pickups (who probably have finally unlocked the secret of Metal Machine Music...). So Lou Reed has slipped off his mortal coil, but his influence is epic, lasting, profound and extraordinarily broad. Here's a list of some of his best known songs. Reed is quintessentially a 70's artist and it is this period that yielded his broadest acceptance. I think you'll be surprised as to how many you may know... From the "banana" album (The Velvet Underground & Nico) Sunday Morning I'm Waiting for the Man Femme Fatale Venus in Furs All Tomorrow's Parties Heroin There She Goes Again I'll Be Your Mirror From White Light/White Heat (Velvet Underground) White Light/White Heat Here She Comes Now Sister Ray From Velvet Underground Candy Says Pale Blue Eyes From Loaded (Velvet Underground) Sweet Jane Rock & Roll From Lou Reed (Solo) Lisa Says Berlin Wild Child From Transformer Vicious Perfect Day Walk On The Wild Side Satellite of Love From Street Hassle Street Hassle

How oh how did I ever miss this a year ago when it started???? Incredible stuff on here, pages and pages of it - too many great builds to comment on! First off, running your car in primer on its way to a completed paint job is a venerable tradition in the kustom world. Here is a pic of the recently restored Jack Stewart '41 Ford as it looked in iconic white primer, just for a little "flavor": For good or bad, most of my projects don't stay in primer for very long unless they are pretty much dead in the water. Here are some oldies I really need to get back to... '53 Studebaker streamliner - the "Studeliner" It will have Potvin Hemi power: Ardun powered Competition Roadster And a couple of '49 Fords, a custom (in blue suede) and a road racer (in white primer).

Cool!!!

Here's a quick snap from the workbench I just took. It gives a sense of the look I'm going after. As I said originally, your model encapsulates the modern style so well I feel obliged to explore another area - a modern stance, tires and chassis, but perhaps being built by a contemporary collector of vintage parts. Still lots to do...

Yes. I'm continuing on the retro route, with Old Skool Chrysler Firepower valve covers and Hilborn injectors on the kit motor. I dechromed most everything and am going with a black block and heads and polished aluminum and steel finishes. I'll try to get some pictures up in the next day or two. Thanks for the interest!

Neither, thankfully. There's dust on the paint. It brushes off (which I didn't do - ah the responsibilities of shiny paint...). But you had me going so I went and checked!

Beautiful! I especially like the proportions on the 2-door sedan body, it gives this model a special "something". I'm such a fan of well executed showroom stcok builds like this one. Definitely a case of "the grass is greener..." since I'm congenitally incapable of building anything stock and rarely do replicas of any kind. Thanx for sharing!

I got the paint cleared and polished which brings out the blue a bit more. Here are some quick workbench snaps. Thanx for lookin' B.

Welcome back Peter! The Timbs car came out beautifully. When you were last active you were delighting us with the details of the chassis and motor. Now, as a completed model it is doubly impressive. Your diorama concept is truly inspired and should complement this stunner perfectly. I can't recall if I ever thanked you for the Timbs body you sent me. The lines are a real inspiration. I wouldn't presume to build another Timbs replica but have ideas for an early 50's LSR car. Clearly this shape was "in the air" at the time, since it's so evocative of the Bluebird. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your future projects in the months to come.

Thanx! I didn't cut out the Baby Moons that I'm using. The molded in Baby Moons on the rear wheels were simple drilled out to make a hole of the proper diameter to accept the separate Baby Moons I did use. They can be found in various vintages of the AMT '40 Ford Sedan Delivery kit. In the case of the recent Round2 re-releases I think they're in the Three Stooges version.

Thanx for all the interest and kind words! Things are progressing well on this project, with most of the parts painted, the chassis and motor partially assembled and the interior completed. I added a padded header and diamond tuft insert to the rear panel to echo the inserts I added to the door panels. Paint is Testors Acryl Heileblau and Light Gray (more military colors…). The Corvette steering wheel is from a Monogram 1/24th Scale ’32 Ford Roadster. The shifter, door handles and gas pedal are scratch built. As mentioned above, the floor assembly is courtesy of Altered Sates Models and is a resin piece, a combination of the interior surfaces from the Stone, Woods & Cook gasser and the tubbed wheel wells from the Street Rod kit. Eliminating the console, combined with the colors, the classic style bucket seats and steering wheel, and the diamond tuft upholstery, I think gets rid of much of the 90’s billet vibe and establishes more of the neo-Retro thing. I’ve managed to misplace the rear axle and have ordered a replacement from Revell. Very frustrating because I was looking forward to dialing in the stance. While I wait for the part I’ll polish out the paint, finish detailing the motor and get ready for final assembly. With or without the replacement axle, more next week as I finish up the retro-styled injected Hemi. Thanx for lookin’, B.