Dennis Lacy

Great looking 34 Pickup! Sometimes some stance correction and a good wheel & tire swap is all you need. Love the dark blue with black fenders and dark centers on the Americans.

I thoroughly enjoyed following the project. Your attention to detail and screen accuracy are inspiring. The finished model is absolutely killer! ?

This is rad!

Stance and proportions look killer, Bill! I want to build a full-scale one!!

Thanks a bunch! I started typing a completely different message apologizing for not knowing the source and then it came to me, LOL. They are from the Retro Deluxe ‘29 Roadster / Mod Rod double kit. Now, the one I have is the pricier flat box version which is molded in white and it may be that these special tires are unique to it VS the standard shape box kit molded in yellow. The same tires in a beautiful wide whitewall version are in the Retro Deluxe issue of the ‘49 Ford. I have not tried fitting the hood so I can’t say. Also note I’m using AMT ‘29 Roadster fenders and grill so my results may vary. At this point I don’t think it’s gonna have a hood so it probably won’t matter. Do you get the same result if you try fitting the hood with the roadster pickup body? Thanks so much, Mike! Thats all I do. To me, model kits are just boxes of parts. ? Thanks, Joe! I enjoy sharing my work.

No actual work to report this weekend but I have made the decision to change the wheels and tires as I want this model to be early 1960’s period correct. That means an engine change from the proposed flathead but more on that later. Trust me, it’ll be bitchin! The Halibrand wheels and little front tires come from AMT’s “Gasser” wheels and tires Parts Pack and the printed narrow Firestone cheater slicks are from one of AMT’s Retro Deluxe kits of recent years. (Edit: The printed slicks are from the special flat box Retro Deluxe AMT ‘29 Roadster / Mod Rod double kit from a few years back.) That’s all for now.

Lots of awesome models in this thread! Monogram 1:24ths definitely don’t get enough love. I’m kinda guilty myself. But, I do have 2! Monogram 1930 Coupe turned into a fender-less, chopped and channeled Hot Rod way before Revell’s ‘30 Coupe became a thing. Monogram 1937 Sedan original issue updated with later issue IFS and lowered IRS. Retro back-dated the kit small block and Drag City Casting resin Halibrand wheels with Modelhaus resin tires.

Absolutely BITCHIN!!

I can only echo what everyone else has said. This is stunningly nice!!!

Now let’s see how the stance looks when the wheels are actually mounted to the axles! ? ?

Thanks so much! Lucky for you guys I have chronic OCD! ?

And now for yet another example of a hot rod project that I had no intention of starting but brainstorming a wheel and tire idea got the ball rolling and, well, here we are! I’ve actually had the desire to build a hot rod Woody, I just didn’t think it would be now. ??‍♂️ Here’s the initial mock up that got my juices flowing The front wheels are AMT ‘32 Phaeton fit in the 2-piece Goodyear tires from Revell’s Lil John Buttera T Sedan / Touring kits from the 70’s and 80’s, The rear wheels are the fronts from Monogram’s ‘30 Woody fit into the Goodyear rear tires from Revell’s ‘40 Coupe/Convertible hot rod kits. The Flathead place holder is from Revell’s ‘48 Custom Coupe. The MPC ‘29 Woody comes with a 1-piece fender / frame / floor unit that is a pain to work with. I decided to use the AMT ‘29 Roadster fenders and frame. These fenders also have the floor molded in and it will need to have the raised areas removed so that the Woody floor will fit. Here the raised areas have been removed from the gray fenders with the dark red fenders shown for reference. The Woody floor now fits. The other benefit to using the roadster fenders is that they are wider at the crowns allowing more tire to fit under them. And with the frame fit in place. It wouldn’t be possible to get any kind of a decent rear stance with the stock A frame so after weighing my options I chose to graft on the already Z’d rear section from a Revell ‘29 Roadster / ‘30 Coupe frame. I strongly considered using the rear axle and suspension that goes with the Revell A frame but I really wanted a more traditional set up so I assembled a quick change axle and spring from the Atlantis (former Revell) Mooneyes dragster. The molded rear cross member will be removed in favor of the stock A cross member. Material was added to the ends of the A cross member and some shallow slots were filed into the frame rails for it to slightly recess into just behind the axle supports. The quick change axle assembly and Model T style spring fit nicely into place. The split wishbone trailing arms are also from the Atlantis Mooneyes dragster. Pins were inserted into front end and simple mount tabs made from .040” sheet. I didn’t care for the excess frame section remaining behind the cross member and it would serve no structural advantage so I decided to delete it. The front axle is from Revell’s ‘32 5-Window. The spring was shaved way down to help get the front end low. A .060” pin was installed at the center which registers in a hole in the front cross member. A .020” strip of material was added to the front edge of the cross member to properly align the frame with the fenders. Like for the rear, some mount tabs for the hairpin radius rods were made from .040” sheet. With the back end of the frame Z’d the floor will need to be modified to allow it to fit so a section was removed for the frame to fit up into. So here’s where the project ended up. Very pleased with the results so far. Lots more to come!

Nice work on the conversion. Looking forward to following along!

Building later models has shown me how much more I like building Hot Rods! ?

Thanks! Polishing can be done right away as you say, it’s sealing with wax when the paint hasn’t fully out-gassed that can be a problem. When I’ve come this far I prefer not to take any chances! ?

I don’t think I’ve seen anyone put half the effort into this kit that you are. Killer work so far and very much looking forward to more!

ARDUN 4-banger you say? Get it done and in something so we can line ‘em up! ?

UPDATE! Had another great afternoon at the workbench today. The blown small block is completely assembled. Only extra detail is plug wires as this is supposed to be a relaxed “in between” model. Earlier in the week I was able to paint and clear the body, radiator shell, tailgate and dashboard all in Tamiya TS92 Metallic Orange and their clear. Everything turned out great and I can’t wait to see it all polished and waxed! Here’s a group shot and a couple of the body outside in the sun. After completing the engine I went ahead and polished the frame then went about completely assembling the chassis. Happy to say it went together without any problems and sits evenly on all four tires. Naturally, I couldn’t resist a mock-up with the painted body on the finished chassis! I REALLY like this Metallic Orange. I’ll let it sit for a couple of weeks then I can polish and wax followed by final assembly.

Looks awesome, especially in red! The addition of the flared injector tubes are a night/day difference.

This has to be the coolest take on this kit that I’ve ever seen. Absolutely killer!!!

I’m not a T Bird fan in the least but this is bitchin! Love the faded paint, Radirs (from the ‘64 Thunderbolt I presume) and chassis set up.

Perfect fit!

Jet Exhaust truly is the perfect carburetor color. Hope I can find a suitable replacement. And, correct you are about the source of the shotgun headers. I’ve been wanting to use them on something for years.

UPDATE! Despite living in Sunny SoCal the better part of the last couple of months has been anything but. Lots of cold, rainy days. Which is good because we need the water (even though most of it ends up in storm drains and out to the ocean ?) but it’s not conducive to spray painting. This past week we finally had some nice weather so I was able to resume painting after everything had been sitting in its first coat of primer for 2 months. As of now most everything is finished and the body and related exterior pieces are in final primer ready for color and clear. Here’s the engine parts group. Only thing missing are the carburetors which I normally brush paint with Model Master “Jet Exhaust” but I opened it to find it hardened so I’ll need a Plan B. The color of the engine is Tamiya TS92 Metallic Orange. A couple of engine parts set together to get an idea of how it’s gonna look. The interior and bed cover is finished in Tamiya TS7 Racing White with their flat clear. More TS92 on the steering wheel rim and column. The orange plastic sidewall inserts for the slicks are now black. The frame is finished in Tamiya TS14 Black with their gloss clear and still needs to be polished. I also flowed black paint into the axle beam recesses to break up the chrome. The rear axle is also TS14 while the quick change center is Model Master Aluminum Metalizer. With that I’ll leave off with a quick mock up partly in paint and partly in primer. The body will be getting the same TS92 Metallic Orange as the engine and steering wheel. More soon…

Some great kit-bashing and fab work going on here. Your solution for the floor pan is awesome. Filing that for future use! Are the ARDUN heads going to fit without clearance work on the inner edges of the fenders?