alan barton

Congratulations, Ismo, you have yourself a 35 Plymouth roadster! It is amazing how you have completely hidden the Chevrolet origins of your model. You have also nailed the stance and generally menacing presence of this rod.. And the colour looks pretty close too! Top effort! Cheers Alan

My last build for 2019 was this Willys. It was a great kit to build and very straight forward - my only issue was that despite appearing to have well moulded suspension pieces and a warp free chassis, unfortunately I've ended up with one wheel pawing the air - a bit weird but I will fix it. I attempted to take the "George" out of this model by replacing the 427 SOHC that seems to be in every '33 Willys model we ever see with a more likely 327 Chevy. I scrounged up an injection manifold and used the stacks from the Beverley Hillbillies" Oldsmobile, mainly because they just peak through the opening in the hood. Not sure where I sourced the block from although the black plastic suggests MPC. I transplanted the Ford auto from the SOHC engine to make it simple to install the Chevy into the frame - I'm sure someone must have adapted a C6 to a Chevy once upon a time! Toughest job was arriving at a set of headers that would allow the hood to close - I eventually turned to hand bent solder pipes with flattened aluminium tubing collectors. Other than opening the hood bulges and switching the steering to the right hand side, it is pretty much box stock - oh yeah, swapped out the Halibrands for Cragars and steel rims. Hope you all like it. Cheers Alan

Plenty of Aussies here, Ben, welcome to the mob! Just remember to say hood, trunk and tires instead of bonnet, boot and tyres and you will fit in fine! Good luck with the Dodge. Which side of the country are you on? Cheers Alan

Jim, when you are ready to fit the windshield frame, don't be shy! Use whatever combination of glues, epoxies, pinning, welding etc you have in copious amounts because for some reason they commonly come off! The one on my shelf is the old Matchbox version that was in blue plastic and it cracked away several times BEFORE I got it painted and then came loose again later on. Makes no sense to me but I've seen other examples with the cracked paint in this area or missing them altogether so it's worth keeping in mind. Like where this one is going - they definitely are a cool shape! Cheers Alan

Great to see someone replicating original factory construction techniques! This is going to be sooooo cool. Cheers Alan

That is stunning paint Dennis and a perfect match for the style of rod you are building. I will look forward to its completion! Cheers Alan

Ismo, it is important to know that Australian cars of the 1930s were based on American cars as far as the chassis and front sheet metal goes, but usually had locally manufactured, often coachbuilt, body shells. The government of the day gave tax breaks to encourage local manufacture. Therefore, you are far better off doing what you are doing with actual photos of the spider bait car rather than using the other photos that people have kindly offered. Most of these are pure American bodies. What will make your job easier to some extent is the fact that the Australian bodies often lacked the intricate details and complex curves of the OEM bodies. I am not sure if the car was ever featured in any Australian magazines but that might be another way. Or Google Australian 35 Dodge here's a link to the first image I found. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1935_Dodge_DU_Roadster_(12513603304).jpg Hope that helps, cheers, Alan

Steve, I've been a hot rodder since I was twelve, both 1/25 and 1/1 so there is virtually nothing on my shelf that hasn't felt the knife. But every time I see one of your magnificent showroom stock artworks on here it makes me want to cross over to the dark side and tackle an unmodified car. The razor sharp precision of everything you do leaves me in awe of just what a human being can achieve. Thank you for sharing all your techniques with everyone here as we all benefit from your patience, your expertise and your methodical approach to mode car building. A few years ago I found a holy grail of mine, a 64 Chevelle wagon. I hope to eventually master my airbrush skills sufficiently to tackle a project along these lines, maybe with a set of Americans like the Plymouth. Cheers Alan

That's very precise work there, Michael. Have you considered simply grafting on the Firebird lower control arms to give the illusion of an upgraded front end? Cheers Alan

Very pleased to report that my Contest Issue of MCM arrived in Perth, Western Australia yesterday, Thursday 12th December. That means it probably travelled in excess of 10.000 miles to the most remote capital city on the planet. Thanks for persevering Gregg, hope the New Year brings you back towards regular production. Cheers Alan

There's one big one for me and it is very specific to my fullscale interests as well as my modelling interests. Vertical windshields on 1928 to 1936 roadsters, roadster pickups and phaetons, irrespective of manufacture. Guys, please, check your Google images. Pretty much all manufacturers of soft tops by 1928 were gently laying their windshields back. It is an important part of the beginning of streamlined design. Go through any contest annual and there seems to be oodles of roadsters with windshields that look like farm gates. One of my favourite models, the AMT 29 roadster, is one of the biggest victims here, probably because of the way AMT moulded the windshield to the cowl trim. It only takes a little effort however, to just lean it back a couple of degrees. You're welcome! Cheers Alan

I'll probably have to get that one of it makes its way to Australia! Thanks for the review, Tim - how similar is it to the Revell 1/16th scale car - the same generation of FED or a later one? Cheers Alan

I remember the how - to articles on this awesome model very clearly, Tim. It was just as I was getting back into model building after the seemingly compulsory break to get a real car, look for girls, go to university etc. It is a beautiful time capsule of modelling techniques and styles of the time and yet it would be perfectly comfortable sitting on any NNL table today. Lots of goodness to view here - the cleanly detailed dash with realistic texture, the precise red and blue fittings (I'm guessing clear paint but wow, talk about neat!) the sharp separation between the black firewall and the gold body, not to mention the effort involved in opening and hinging the very fragile chopped doors, and, thank goodness, you didn't stick those awful chromed louvres on the front fenders - definitely a case of less is more right there! Cheers Alan

I have used resin copies of the Rat Roaster firewall on AMT bodies in the recent past and they just need the lightest of trimming around the top edge to give an accurate fit to the AMT cowl and allow the hood to fit. I also take the time to thin out the edges of the very chunky AMT hood - otherwise you have to do a lot more trimming! Cheers Alan

magicmustang, if you are chasing accuracy and it looks like you are, I would seriously consider using either an AMT 29 Model A or Revell 30 Model A frame. The original car used a modified Model A frame and from the HAMB photos the centre of it has stayed basically stock. You will need to shorten the rear and Z the rear crossmember at the same time, add the suicide front spring cross,member and perch and you are done. I believe this approach would probably be both quicker and more accurate, assuming of course that you have a Model A frame available. Cheers Alan

Wow, the things we do to achieve perfection! I've done that chain drilling thing before and know how challenging it can be - your results look spectacular! Not to mention handcarving those side pieces and getting them all so perfect. This thread will be my blueprint to bring my version home! Cheers Alan

This is very cool, Roger, rat rod proportions without the rat rod detritus everywhere. Like everyone else, I am very impressed with how cleanly you opened the grills and how sharp the bodywork is on your chop top. It's a neat truck. Cheers Alan

I just wanta get in and drive! What a magnificent exercise in restraint. I am very impressed by your patience in being able to graft those louvred panels into your hood and not damage them in the sanding process - that is an amazing feat in it's own right! Cheers Alan

Luca, that is an amazing build of an old favourite! I don't think i have ever seen such a cool conversion on this model. Were you inspired by Ed Iskendarian's T roadster? It seems to share a lot of similar proportions and details even if it isn't an exact replica. I would be very proud to have this one on my shelf! Cheers Alan

Surely one of the most beautifully and sensitively detailed 32s we've ever seen on these pages. The yellow wheels, the timber floor, the terrific grille detail, wow, I love it! Surely a Rodder's Journal cover car! Cheers Alan

Great to see all four together. I still have the Excalibur to build before I can complete my set. Well done! Cheers Alan

I usually cringe at the thought of racing movies as they usually do it so badly (can you say "Days of Thunder?") But my wife and I saw it with my Ford mad mate and his wife and we all agreed that it was a good movie. Like any car movie you can pick holes in it but for once, they are teeny weeny holes that really don't ruin the effect. That's eight thumbs up from Australia. By the way, Tom, bummer about Mr Rogers! Hee hee hee! Cheers Alan

Here's a before and after shot. One I did as a slammer many years ago, alongside a snap bomb (well, it couldn't be a glue bomb, could it?). A valuable lesson to be learnt here, don't display your models at an open air car show in the Australian summer .....sigh. It's a nice tight body shell. it has different hood louvers to the AMT kits and the running boards fit pretty nice, not included in the AMTs. I picked up the cheap Paddy Wagon as I figured it would be quicker to prep and paint than try to repair the sunken roof on my first one. A set of AMT headlights would help it out as well. Does anyone know the story of how the three MPC snap kits (40 coupe, Willys panel and 50 Merc) got away with being such obvious knock-offs of the AMT kits? Or did they change just enough to dodge lawsuits? Cheers Alan

Patience, Grasshopper!

Hi Bernard, back again! I am notoriously unreliable for getting things done BUT I want to send you a vacformed tonneau cover for your triple nickel. I don't have any lying around at the moment but I do still have the mould. I am currently travelling a lot for work but in the next few weeks I will be home so I will get the vacformer down from its shelf and pop out a few new copies. I need a few myself! This will be just the finishing touch you need for your car. I have included a shot of my Tony Nancy 22jr so that you can see what it looks like. Cheers Alan