Dennis Lacy

I love it! Excellent blending together of the two kits for an even more bitchin’ hot rod than the AMT kit makes. Great color choice, too!

You’re killing it on the interior! The embossed “carpet” with the piping looks awesome!

I do the same with every Revell ‘32 I build, too. In the case of the Rat Roaster, they did that mod for us.

There’s some really creative work going into this model, Alan. Just as important as the ability to do the physical work is the ability to look at a part and be able to see it repurposed into something else. In that regard, the belly pan is bad ass! I look forward to watching this project unfold. I actually know the current caretaker (Karpo Murkijanian, super nice guy!) of the original Buttera Roadster and he brought it to an early morning hot rod gathering we had at a local shop just down the street a couple of months ago. I didn’t look close at it as I was too busy talking with friends but did see it coming in and parking then pulling out and leaving a bit later. It had the same updated wheels as in your picture under the trees to show the headlight mounting.

I was under the impression that low performance engines still got the offset outlet manifolds in ‘57 and the hi performance (dual 4-barrel and Rochester FI for example) engines got the center outlet “Ram Horns.” I thought that both styles came in the Revell ‘57 150 “Black Widow” sedan? I very well may be wrong. I also have a few of those Revell Tri-5 Chevy engines I bought by themselves on eBay and some of them are from ‘55 kits and that’s where I grabbed those manifolds from. Hmmm… ?

The axle isn’t exactly the same. The spring is redesigned at the top center to lower the front end an extra 1/16” compared to all the other ‘32 series kits. That’s like an extra 1-1/2” drop in full scale and it’s noticeable.

Thanks! It’s been built for a good while now. It actually uses the entire Rat Roaster chassis, exhaust, Chevy small block, grill/shell and modified interior panels, floor pan and seats. Wheels and tires are from Orange Crate ‘32 Sedan. I changed the motor to a dual 4 barrel intake and stock ‘57 exhaust manifolds. The pictures I have are terrible from a Nikon digital camera that never worked good. I should take new, improved pics.

Yes, the rear fenders are separate. I used them on this 5 Window a few years back.

That last picture with the chopped top looks absolutely WICKED! You’ve got the magic touch when it comes to retro drag cars. Always a treat to watch you put them together.

Very cool! The cargo area details are really nice. I especially like that you added an air dam to the front. I’ve been thinking about doing the same for mine and now I’m convinced. Glad I didn’t start painting the body yet!

Beautiful Corvette, Phil! The candy paint looks awesome and it’s customized just enough to be noticeable without being overdone.

Man, you’re doing a helluva nice job on this! Chassis looks great with the added details.

Not bad for rattle cans, right?

UPDATE! Was really hoping to do final assembly this weekend but after all of Saturday doing yard work and other chores then getting signed up for a kids birthday party today, it wasn’t meant to be. But, I did have the time needed to polish and wax the body, hood and dashboard. I use the same polish and wax on my models that I do on my full size cars from Adam’s. Great company and great product! The abrasives in their polish break down as the polish is worked giving it the equivalent of a multi-grit process in one step. They do make a finishing polish as well which typically is only needed on very dark colors. With the polish and wax taken care of all that’s left is to have the time to sit down and glue parts together. Maybe next weekend!

I’ll never look at a stapler the same way again! This is creativity at its best. Killer hauler that you created!!!

Making good progress. The color looks PERFECT!

@Rocking Rodney Rat @Kit Karson Are you guys seeing all this stuff?! Look at all the parts pack goodness and those killer updates to the Rat Roaster. Proper lakes headers and that Duvalle windshield!!

This weekend! At least that’s the plan…

Man, you always blow my mind with your retro drag cars and this one is no exception! Such a refreshing take on a fuel altered using the Bug body. It has the proportions of an Fiat and makes you do a double to confirm it’s NOT a Fiat. My favorite details of it are the two tone paint layout and the way the hood hole is asymmetrical, precisely cut around the blower and belt drive. I’d love to see this posed with your Short & Shakey Fiat!

I’m sure you won’t be the only person surprised. Everyone loves the American 5-Spokes but not everyone is gonna like these unless the appreciate the era.

UPDATE! Spent this afternoon finishing up some odds & ends on the Wagon in preparation for primer and paint. Got all of the chrome parts stripped to bare plastic. As any of you who follow my hot rod model projects know I’m not a big fan of kit chrome, I’m more into paint detailing. As I was looking at the stripped American 5-spokes I realized that I wasn’t feeling them anymore since the Wagon has turned down the path of a smooth 90’s street machine with all of the trim and emblems shaved, Grant steering wheel and Supertrapp exhaust. I decided it needed some more era and genre appropriate wheels. ZZ Top ‘33 Ford street rod kit to the rescue with its vintage Centerline wheels. As luck would have it they fit right into the existing tires. Since you can’t see through them I realized brake detail was no longer necessary so instead I found some wheel backs that would work. The fronts are from Revell’s ‘37 Ford Convertible and the rears are from Revell’s ‘64 Ford Thunderbolt. Both front and rear wheel backs have had bushings put into their center holes made from Evergreen 1/8” tube. The backsides of the wheels had 6 alignment pegs which I removed and smoothed off. Here it is mocked up. When you all see the paint scheme I’ve come up with the new wheels will make total sense and date the car perfectly. On to primer and paint!

You know what, this is the first time I’ve had GM projects at all!

@alan barton Good to see some progress from you!

UPDATE! Finally I got around to masking off the body so that I could spray the radiator and the big cavity in front of the core support matt black. I also painted the flat areas at the outer ends of the bumper opening matt black as well. This way there won’t be any bright painted areas to detract from the custom floating grill bar that I made. Next steps will be to brush paint the underside of the body flat black followed by polishing and waxing.

I had thought about suggesting to fill in the front opening like this but you did it anyway. Nice work!