Paul Payne

Augie Hiscano and Gerald Wingrove would be proud! You ought to show this gem without paint for a few years, just so people can appreciate the fabulous workmanship. Thank you so much for sharing in so much detail.

Augie Hiscano would be proud..........

You've been reading your Gerald Wingrove books again, haven't you.......................

Cranky, This one caught my interest. I build 40's style hot rods, raced at the dry lakes. The lakesters and modified were single seat narrowed to about the width of a stock 32 grille shell. Depending on how old school you want to go, consider an Offy 4 banger or Ford model T or A engine with some vintage speed equipment- maybe a Frontenac head on the T block? The Revell ratrods pickup kit would have a lot of potential doner parts and the new midgets look promising. Anything v-8 would stick way out beyond the body envelope, and make the narrow body kind of pointless. Just thought of another possibility- how about the engine from the Monogram Bugatti T-35b kit?

Cranky, I crown you the King of Weathering! Thanks for sharing the great tips and techniques as well as the tantalizing photos of projects we haven't seen elsewhere!

Cranky, we too have a chihuahua named Emma- sweetest little pup you could want- a real eye roller! Keeps our toy poodle Abbie company- they are best buds! By the way, can't wait to see the new project!

Cranky, the aerodynamics alone are mindboggling...........................your builds absolutely define fun and creativity in model building! There is also the possibility you are the ultimate kit basher!

By the way, the newly tooled tires look awesome- as far as I know, this kit was only offered with solid rubber grooved tread tires for front and rear- the same tires used on the sport coupe and original Green Hornet. The re-issue of the Green Hornet had poorly detailed 2 piece plastic tires which were the only disappointment in an otherwise fine re-release.

Guys (and gals!), Check out what I did with restoring an original built example- this is a great start for a model which is not available in any other kit form- see more at "Black Widow rebuild project and Black Widow comparison in "Under Glass".

Really great weathering job- I lived in central Pa for years, we have a lot of dirt tracks with red clay as the surface- you would have had to add a ton more to weather it for that! Could you tell me the diameter of the wheels? They look a bit smaller than 15" or 16" wheels- I am thinking of using this kit as a source for hot rod parts.

A very fine build with lots of attention to detail- the leather hold down straps on the hood are especially well done! I have considered this kit because it looks like it would have loads of parts for hot rod projects- I was wondering what diameter the wheels are, since unpierced Halibrands are hard to come by- they look smaller than a scale 15 or 16 inch wheel.

I actually had to fabricate a new hairpin radius rod from bits and pieces from the parts box- definitely the most challenging part of the rebuild.

sjordan2, no crucifixion required! If the model had not been a decent build and had not had all the original decals applied, I probably would have disassembled it and painted it. However, I liked the idea of preserving a period build and only doing the repair work. Back in the day (and I go back that far), it was pretty common to not paint kits that were molded in color- often you could barely afford the kit, never mind paint as well!

and a couple more:

When I was home from switching jobs from Alabama to Elmira, New York, I decided to snap a few comparison pix of my rebuilt Black Widow and one I had bought already assembled. Here they are:

a few more pix:

I bought this one on line a while back. The front axle was broken and it was missing one hairpin radius rod. The build was clean original, and the builder must have used every decal on the sheet. The seller also included a very good repro box- love the old style Monogram artwork.

Well, the project is on hold for a bit, in fact it is packed away ready to be moved as I start a new job. I have been in Alabama for 7 months, but am relocating to Elmira New York. I will be 3-1/2 hours from Erie, where my wife is, and about the same distance from her family and my 93 year old mother in central PA. Once resettled, out will come the project. I figured out the rear suspension, also decided, at least for now, to use the side draft carb induction setup in AMT's 57 Chevy, where I got the blower from. I haven't decided whether to mold the headlight buckets into the fenders or let them float. The sheet metal between the grille and hood still needs a lot of work to blend properly, and I may need to lengthen the hood a bit to acommodate the Monogram 1/24th scale grille. Everyone, have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! [Edit Tags]

Shots of the new firewall and an overall shot of how the interior will look in comparison to the exterior. The seat will have a filler panel on each side between the ends and the divider to eliminate the gap you see. [Edit Tags]

Here's a comparison shot of a stock chassis and modified chassis- exhaust removed, battery box removed, engine compartment frame rails reinforced, rails here cut back to (hopefully) clear the exhaust pipes, and the chassis floor pan ribs removed. Shots of the interior- package shelf and divider panel cut from interior shell, will be glued to body with filler pieces added between the divider and rear of door openings. Floor was sectioned almost 1/4" at transmission tunnel and floor board kickup to fit the new filewall and (hopefully) clear the big transmission. Seat is from the Revell 1932 Ford 3 window coupe- these were very plushy seats! [Edit Tags]

Re: 1936 Ford Project Guys, I fianally got some more things done- been concentrating on the chassis, steering, rear axle placement, a low profile induction manifold to fit under the hood, and reworking the floor pan to fit a new firewall. Here is a picture of the induction manifold- ribbed center section with side draft ends. Not sure if I will go with mechanical fuel injection or side draft carbs. Started drilling out some styrene tube for fuel injection- very rough so far, threw some silver paint on the ends to check the look..... Poseable steering with a comparison shot to the unmodified kit dropped axle- still need drag lonk connection, steering arms, and tie rod- not sure how to route steering through the engine compartment, not going to be much room with the exhausts- thinking of pitman arm and drag link with a Schroeter steering box behind the dash dropping down through a chain drive on the firewall to the steering column- more darn engineering! [Edit Tags]

Go to 1936 Ford Project in this column- should have my name attached- will post more pix soon. In the mean time, keep working on your awesome project!

Great chassis and body mods- I am working on a 36 with chopped top also- looking for a 40's look on mine- my body had issues with thick and thin areas passenger side to drivers side making the chopped top difficult to attach- how did you resolve these issues? I also opened up the doors, found discrepancies between passenger and drivers side contours, will address with styrene strip on leading edge of passenger side opening and sanding back the leading edge of the door, about 0.060 to 0.090 at bottom to zero at belt line. Still, the AMT kit is the best for build options, especially if you want 1/25th scale. Check my concept out at 1936 Ford Project if you get a minute.

The color will be dark maroon with a black interior. The dash will also be maroon.