Mr. Metallic

@Don Sikora II, now would be a great time to share your old-tool Revell 57 builds here

He certainly does a catalog. There are even a couple on my fotki page, but they are older, so you're better off asking for a new one. Buy with confidence. His stuff is some of the best in the business and his customer service is second to none.

This album is mine. If you read this disclaimer at the top of the album it states that any of the products pictured are from my personal collection and provided for reference only. Everything in the album was purchased and photographed by me. For price/availability you need to contact Rep+Min directly. Norm is one of the best casters in the business and has been so consistently busy for the last 30+ years he doesn't have time/inclination to be bothered with a website. Sure, it's not the most convenient way to order as we have gotten used to, but his business is not suffering for it. It will be a very sad day when he decides to retire like Modelhaus did.

In this area aftermarket companies and buys showcase their products. The link is for the "trucks" area, but there is a corresponding area for cars too http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/forum/57-truck-aftermarket-resin-3d-printed/ And here is a handy list of links to aftermarket companies points-of-sale

No coupon required, they've been running a 40% sale on model kits every other week since the 40% off "anything" coupon went away early last year.

Pretty sure RoG has the tooling for both. I'll have to look when I get home, but they have both been released in the last 15 years so they were probably produced in China, which would mean they will forever be there.

What if... when Monogram was designing the tooling for the Little Deuce they actually stuck closer to options and features of the Big Deuce? There are quite a few differences between the 1/8 Big Deuce and it's 1/24 brother, the Little Deuce. Most people probably don't even realize there are differences. The most obvious one is the wheels, but the rear suspension, and air cleaners are different as well. Plus there are several features of the BIG kit that were left off the smaller counterpart (probably due to cost, ease of assembly, etc) that in my opinion should have been included. The biggest of which is the molded plastic color. The other 3 kits in this series (Little T, Woody Wagon and Blue Beetle) all came molded in a primary color for the body and white for the rest of the parts (except the Woody which actually had the wood body parts molded in a third color). However, the Little Deuce (LD) got stuck with being molded in all white. A blank canvas for sure, but kind of boring for a kid who didn't have painting skills yet. I have been planning this project in various forms for about 18 years now. It started out as my attempt to clone an LD because at the time I didn't have the money for a true LD kit. So I was going to scrounge the LD specific parts and throw them at a Revell 32 Roadster kit. It has evolved through several forms over the years, the biggest step being overcome when I mastered the correct LeMans wheels and Drag City Casting offered them in their product line. What finally pushed it onto the bench was all the fun I've been having the last 18 months with building models featuring polished plastic as opposed to painting. I had an 80's issue of the Monogram 32 Ford roadster (saw tooling as the LD, but has been modified into a street rod configuration over the years) that is molded in yellow. I thought this would fit the bill perfectly for my little Big Deuce. And so it began in earnest. The body and fender unit itself is untouched other than getting polished with The Treatment polish. I deleted the wing windows from the windshield, added bumper brackets from a Revell deuce and hit them with Molotow to match the items in the BD. I used a set of copies of the LD taillights that were cast in clear red resin by Replicas and Miniatures of Md, a horn from a Blue Beetle and other LD specific parts from my stash of LD glue bombs. To match the optional part in the BD I took the covered spare tire and bracket from an AMT 32 Ford Vicky and painted it white to make it look like it was molded plastic. Moving on to the engine, I used an original issue LD Pontiac block, valve covers, fan belt, exhaust manifolds and intake. I hit the exhaust manifolds with Molotow to match the BD. I took the air cleaners from the Revell 29 Ford Model A kits because they are an exact match for the BD items, mounted to carbs from an AMT 40 Ford kit. Since the Big Deuce offered engine wiring when it was released i took a little artistic license and installed a Morgan Automotive Details wired magneto to finish things off (I know, I need to add the radiator hoses) I also improved the firewall, partially out of necessity. I didn't have any viable LD firewalls to use, so I traced the shape onto Evergreen sheet, clipped off the upper portion with the molded in gages and then used Evergreen 1/2 round to add the pleats to the lower portion. I then wrapped the piece with .020 strip to simulate the prototypical flange on the 1:1 part. I kept the insert as a separate piece so I could apply Molotow and reinstall later, matching the BD feature. The interior was a more straightforward affair since it hasn't been modified since the LD issues. I added parts box seat belts since the original BD offered seat belt material as a feature, and a big FOOT gas pedal. The biggest change was making the recessed chrome gauge cluster like the BD. I did this by removing the molded in cluster from the yellow dash and taking the cluster from another dash and mounting it from behind after I hit it with Molotow. Here's a look at the LeMans wheel which matches what came in the BD. it has been paint detailed a bit. I have addressed the fit issue since this pic was taken. Also note that at the rear the tires are now treaded like the BD as opposed to the slicks that were offered in the LD. Two blade knock offs are from the parts box to match the BD option. Wheels are "chromed" with Molotow The frame features a few subtle changes that may not be readily apparent. The big change is the swapping in of the Quick Change rear end as opposed to the stock item in the LD to match the BD. This required removing a portion of the gas tank to accommodate the QC, and swapping in a different rear crossmember. Since this was a "no-paint" project I had to get creative with the rear crossmember but cutting it from a molded in yellow 29 Ford pickup and grafting it into the LD chassis so it it wouldn't be noticeable. To finish off the rear I added arms from a Revell 37 Ford pickup and a scratchbuilt torque tube from Evergreen. The front suspension was left mostly box stock, and I added a brake reservoir from a Revell 40 Ford since the LD didn't offer one. I did replace the molded in mufflers with Evergreen tube since the molded in items had huge recesses molded into them. Glad to finally get this one out of my brain and on the shelf. I think I will go ahead and add the Little Deuce decals to the cowl, and I think I'd like to create my own license plates for all these Monogram builds I'm doing. Have to figure out how to get some vintage California plates made up, possibly with MN0G4M as the letters? Thank you everyone for your comments and questions are always welcomed.

We need to remember, this kit wasn't even properly announced until recently. The only reason we knew of it's existence prior to a few months ago was an "unauthorized" release of a pic of the 3D scanning of the subject. In normal kit development all the things that have taken place in the last two years on this project would have been done well before we even knew of the project. Add in a global pandemic and I'd say we're on track for test shots maybe by the end of 2022. Patience

I think this is a solid guess. And to help a business case they could get a Parts Pack out of the deal if they did those beautiful gold line Firestones Another reason this is a solid possibility is that I just scored two of these recently after years of hunting, so of course they would rerelease it now.

Great, yet another project idea to add to my list. Idea #2133- use up one of my multiple revell 29 ford roadster pickup bodies, kitbashed with the new Atlantis Yellow Fever kit Thanks Kit, just what I needed ?

Saw my first Lightning in the real world, and surprisingly it is at our dealership here in our little town of less than 2000 people. And it's on the lot, not an order for a customer.

Just a few more mods to make before I start polishing and detail painting. The BD comes with an optional covered spare tire and bracket. The LD has nothing like that, but thankfully the AMT 32 Phaeton/Vicky kits come with a nice smooth spare tire cover that closely matches what comes in the BD. The bracket is a little narrow to securely fit into the molded in frame horn covers on the LD tool, but this is a blessing in disguise. I bought some very small (1mm x 1mm) high strength magnets on ebay, and set a couple of them in a small pool of superglue on the underside of the frame horn cover. Then a drilled a hole and inserted a pin into the ends of the spare bracket. Now I have a removable spare. Does anyone know if the AMT 32 phaeton or vicky were ever offered in bright white plastic? The one I have is a milky white which will require painting. The BD also has a chromed gauge insert. To replicate this I hollowed out the gauge area on my yellow piece, and did the opposite on a spare black dash I had. Now I have an easily chromed and detailed gauge insert. The other mod was out of a matter of necessity, and since I'm not painting I had to get creative on how to solve it. When the tooling for this kit was updated in the 80's to delete the Pontiac engine and replace it with a SBC they changed the way the motor is mounted to the chassis. The Pontiac rested on a flange that projected rearward from the front crossmember, which is now gone. Since I'm using the Pontiac I needed to replace it, but it had to be the same yellow plastic. So, I trimmed a piece of the parts tree to fit, sanded it, and glued it in place. You can see I also removed the SBC motor mounts. Left to do are the bumper brackets and a couple other minor items. It's getting there.

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to Scott Solomon @Oldmopars for the great design work he did on these wheels for me. They will enable me to finally get started on a special project I've had my eye on for years. The design is spot on for the prototype, and he didn't even have prints to work on, it was a piece of artwork, and not even a straight on look, it was at an angle. And the print is beautiful. No evidence of stepping on the face, which is the most important thing.

You may be correct, but the Stacy David tooling was designed as a replacement for the continuously reissued 97 tooled roadster (I don't think it was ever out of the catalog after it's initial release, even though it went through several different box art iterations). Apparently the tooling was getting worn out and they took the opportunity to create a new tool to replace it. And I'm pretty sure the long game was always to update it after the SD run. and here we are today.

I guess it's my fault for nudging this off topic with my response about shipping issues. here's my attempt to get the conversation back on the topic in the title. Like Roger said, I highly doubt they will include the parts that are being replaced. But what I don't get about this particular issue and the changes being made due to "licensing", since when does Stacy David own the copyright on a chopped windshield on a 32 Ford? Or over frame exhaust headers on a Chevy engine? I suppose there may be a total percentage of the overall design they had to change in order to avoid the copyright infringement? Hence their ability to keep the (awesome) wheels and tires. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the coming changes, just wondering how much the "avoiding copyright" issues really is driving the changes.

That sounds like a great project. I have a couple glue bombs I have taken apart to build a box stock SOF, but thought about using the other parts to build an alternate color. I'll be looking forward to your version because yellow should look pretty kool.

I have been unable to get my hands on a bright white Little Deuce firewall. The only one I had left had been modified slightly, and was discolored. Since this is another minimal paint project I decided to replicate the firewall. But in doing so allows me to more easily add a key detail of the Big Deuce more easily, the chromed upper portion. Here you can see the last LD firewall I have left, the firewall that it got retooled into for later editions of the tooling (after the Early Iron edition) and the backer for the new piece I made out of .020 Evergreen. I used the new tool part as a template and put it back in the box it came from. After severing the upper portion from the LD firewall I used it to mark the height of the upholstered portion of the new dash. I marked the center if the firewall so I could start laying out my pleats using .080 Evergreen half round. In order to positively locate the firewall in the body I added short strips of plastic. I also drilled an access hole which allows me to remove the upper portion easily by pushing a pin through the hole. And here is the nearly finished assembly. I wrapped the outside of the whole thing with .010 x .100 Evergreen to finish of the edge and it adds a detail more prototypical to the real 1:1 firewall. Note how the upper section is removable for easy chrome and paint detailing. And here it is mocked up in place. Once the upper section is chromed I think only the most discerning eye will realize it's not the kit part.

Thanks for the explanation. I updated my above statement since it wasn't even I that was upset of the "lack of drag equipment"

Sorry, I was not aware it was a global issue. Of course the mainstream media here in the US just focuses on how it's effecting us here in the US, forget about the rest of the world. ?

Now that this kit is hitting shelves, anyone care to share the kit contents and thoughts? I hear that they didn't touch the glass tooling, so they windshield and backlite will take careful gluing to secure in their respective openings? Some have complained that the drag version consists of a straight axle and blower. Not even a set of their excellent newly-tooled slicks?

It's listed in this thread as one of the 3rd Quarter releases. However i don't know if that is officially from Revell or not Like Jim said above, the ports between the US and China are still twisted up with backlogs of ships, so that's probably why they haven't officially announced the date yet?

Very busy right now with 2 seniors graduating 2 weeks apart. Getting projects wrapped up around the house since we are hosting parties/relatives/etc. Any bench time was allocated to finishing my challenge dragster which is now complete (public debut coming soon). Anyway, I have been able to work on this one a little bit. Decided to make the gauge cluster a separate piece like on the Big kit. Just because I could. I cut out the gauge area on my yellow dash and harvested the cluster from another dash to slide in from the backside. I need to finesse the opening a little more, but otherwise it's ready to go.

So that begs the question, why doesn't an enterprising resin caster offer copies of the Nova exhaust for Camaro builders? My understanding is that the Nova exhaust drops into the Camaro frame.

Great to see you back here Snake. I was beginning to get worried, not because I hadn't seen the parts but because you haven't been around. Hope you are recovering well. And no worries on the further wait, our health is the primary concern, everything else is secondary.

These are very cool, especially the black Lindberg dragster and orange roadster. That Lindberg piece is a rare bird, and even though yours has the "wrong" engine in it (kit came with a 4 cylinder) it still deserves some love.