Mr. Metallic

Surfboard is from the reissue of the Revell 37 Ford pickup. The one from a few years ago with the hot rod parts and the 38 Ford grille.

Never claimed the engine was an Edsel. Just made to look like one. It's not even close to replica stock, so I have no worries

This is based on the Jimmy Flintstone conversion. It required minimal cleanup, and required very little modification to the Revell 57 Ford kit parts to fit. Even the kit glass nearly snapped into place, just like on the Revell kit. Probably one of Flintstones best castings ever. To begin the conversion I shaved a little off the front gravel pan and rear floor. I was even able to keep the locator pins on the gravel pan and drill new locating holes in the body. I trimmed the AMT Edsel firewall slightly to fit, and then cut the top half of the 57 firewall off. It fit behind the Edsel firewall quite nicely. Otherwise, I used the Edsel radiator support and radiator without modification. The rest of the frame/chassis is all Revell 57. I did lower the suspension all around. Up front I simply drilled holes for the attachment pins higher on the part, and in the rear added lowering blocks to the top of the springs. The interior conversion was pretty straightforward too. I didn't want to get bogged down in converting the side panels to the Edsel configuration, but I did use the Edsel seats. The rear seat was modified slightly to accept the rear panel from the Revell seat since it would be exposed to the open by the rear cargo area. To fit the Edsel dash I first installed the 57 dash. I added a brace across the front of the interior to maintain the correct width and add strength. I then removed the 57 dash. I added a couple pieces of Evergreen strip horizontally on the sides of the Edsel dash so it would simply sit in the existing notches in the Revell interior sides. I made sure the dash was far enough forward that it didn't interfere with the windshield, since that is the only issue I had with assembling the 57 Wagon I built previously. I paint detailed the dash and added epoxy lenses. For the engine I used the revel 57 block and added the key bits from the Edsel being the valve covers and air cleaner. I added vinyl tubing for heater hoses and a Rep+Min of Md distributor. The body is mostly stock. I removed the sideview mirror and hood ornament. I slightly tunneled the headlights by removing their mounting tabs. I scratchbuilt the board rack from square brass and simply drilled shallow holes into the roof to accept it. I tied down the board with sewing thread. The color is Testors OneCoat Graphite Dust. Wheels and tires are Pegasus Sovereigns. This was definitely the best conversion body I've gotten from Flintstone. Whoever mastered the body did a really nice job, and Jimmy did a good job of keeping the parts thin and straight. My only caveat is make sure you get all the mold release off. I have had particular trouble on my last few builds of Flintstone bodies of removing whatever he uses for a release. A simple soaking in Westleys does not cut it. I tried wiping it down with alcohol as well. I had paint adhesion issues all over this thing, and unfortunately one reared its ugly head while I was applying the bare metal foil. I trimmed off the excess and it pulled a big chunk of paint with it. Final assembly was complete, and I wasn’t about to disassemble the whole thing, so I just touched up the missing paint. Far from perfect, but shelf worthy. Thanks for looking

That's great stuff. Good to see some aftermarket stuff coming out for this kit. I need a couple of those firewalls, and probably the rest of that stuff too.

Glad to see someone do this version. I always thought it was kind of cool. And the extra details you added really make it even better

I really like this. I'm following along

In case anyone is interested, a few weeks ago I submitted a bunch of resin masters to a well known caster, based on the 30 coupe and 29 roadster. Hopefully they hit the market soon. I'll let you know when they do!

Tim, make sure you use the right set of parts when using the Nailhead and the 30 body/interiors. I speak from experience, and had to do a lot of grinding on the top of the tranny on an otherwise box stock build. I'm pretty sure I used the wrong floorpan. Great kit, this issue was all my fault.

Just completed my first build of this kit yesterday. It's not 100% box stock, but I'll pass along my findings here. It assembles really well. I especially love how the windshield frame,body and window glass all sandwich together. Almost didn't glue mine. Everything else fits together really well. I was concerned with the roof fitting, because out of the box mine did not seem as tight as the pics I had seen on line. As a precaution I added filler behind the seem. It probably didn't need it. I have been working on a set of fenders. I'm using set from the Monogram 30. The width does seem a little wide, but that makes fitting big tires easier However, a significant tweak is necessary. The arc of the fenders needs to be tightened up a little. as it passes top center it flares a little to much towards the rear, so I had to apply pressure and glue. I let it sit overnight, so we'll see what it looks like when I get home.

Wicked build. Well done

As far as the frame goes, if you do want some more detail couldn't you use the Revell 40 frame?

Well, I just scored a decent builtup of the Superstang, so I'm sure Round 2 will announce they are releasing the kit. Which would be fine with me, because I'd love to have another. Wish my issue had those sweet original issue wheels. Anyone have any built models to share?

That's a sick chop. Looking forward to more

I remember a few years ago Rod and Custom had a few features on rods with the modern Ford and Chevy inline 4 engines. I thing they were mostly T bodies. But your build works for me too. Nice ideas.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes together. I have one of these resin kits myself, so I'm looking to see if you run into any issues. Maybe it will even inspire me to put mine on the bench.

I think that's why people are asking for pics of what's in the box, not just the photo from Revell that was released well before the final tooling was even done, lol.

I stand by my original comment. He was looking to fit fenders to the new Revell kit, not the new Revell body to another kit. People out there are looking for fenders that fit the 29 roadster and 30 coupe because they want to use the new kit. That's why I'm working on the fender set that drops on the new Revell 29 frame. Thanks for catching the difference between the 29 and 30 fender sets. Looks like maybe I'll have to develop a separate set for the new 30 kit.

Well, it looks simple enough to scratchbuild, but who wants to spend time doing that lol?

No previously released model A fenders will fit this kit, or the 29 roadster. The frame is lengthened slightly versus stock ahead of the cowl. I'm working on a master for a set of fenders for these kits, just waiting to get this 30 coupe in my hands so I can be sure they fit.

Thanks for passing mine along. He's very interested, just have to get them finished up

Thanks for the parts I'd. I've wanted that windshield since I saw it on Bill's roadster and have been lusting after it. Now I know where to find it.

I appreciate the advice on opening the panel, and I am familiar with how to do it. But, with the nature of a vacuum formed part, there is not a clearly defined line to scribe through. So, all I was saying , is that care must be taken no matter what method is used to open the panel.

I pulled the trigger and ordered the belly tanker kit from Star Models. It consists of resin parts for the frame, engine and interior, vacuum formed parts for the upper and lower body shell, engine cover and interior bulkhead, various lengths and materials on tubing, and 4 black resin wheel/tires pieces. The resin castings for the engine look like they are based on the Revell 50 Ford pickup, which IMHO, is one of the best flatheads ever kitted, so it's a good place to start for a resin casting. They parts will require a little cleanup, but are free of defects. The vacuum formed parts are well done, and look like they will only need minor cleanup. Care will probably be required when fitting the engine cover to the body because the material is very thin. Trim too far and it's probably ruined. Overall, this looks like a strong starting point for a belly tank racer. It's definitely not going to be a shake and bake endeavor, with a bit of scratchbuilding and modifying parts from other kits to complete it. My only question is the size of the tank. To me it seems oversized, but I could be wrong. I know there were several different sizes of aircraft drop tanks, but this one seems really big. In the photo you can see it's measured against a 1/25 scale ruler. I could be off base, so someone knowledgeable feel free to correct me It may take me awhile before I put it on my bench, but it looks like a good starting point.

Rectangular headlights maybe?

The Monogram T'rantula show rod dragster comes with an open parachute. I have another set in my parts box, I think it came from the MPC Challenger funny car that Model King had out a few years ago.