Len Carsner

Something is about to happen that totally defies all logic! After sixty plus years many of us car-obsessed, model car builders had pretty much crossed a 1/25th scale plastic kit of a step-down 1950s Hudson Hornet off our bucket list. I mean…who was going to spend thousands of dollars to tool-up a nearly forgotten, orphan make that’s been in the automotive graveyard since 1957? Well, the “breaking news” is that finally our prayers have been answered big-time as Moebius, known around the globe for their high-quality space, fantasy and science fiction plastic model kits, has gone and done the impossible! No more rumors. No more speculation. No more production delays. No more harping, crabbing or complaining. Naysayers, rumor mongers, and trash talkers can take a breather! As we can all see here, the new Moebius 1953 Hudson Hornet two-door coupe is real, relevant and righteous! And this eye candy is just the beginning! A bit of history Hudson was an independent American automobile company from its beginnings in 1909 until the end of the 1954 model production year. At that point the legendary street sleeper, perennial NASCAR champ and those Fabulous Hudson Hornets, quietly became part of Nash-Kelvinator, builder of refrigerators and Rambler cars. What passed as a Hudson for the next three years was nothing more than a legendary name attached to a heavily disguised Nash Ambassador. Over those nearly five decades the company’s name was associated with terms like Essex, Terraplane, Twin-H-Power, 7X, Hornet, Hollywood, Wasp, Super Wasp, Commodore, step-down, Jet and Italia. Hudson Hornets dominated NASCAR’s Grand National series for four seasons, 1951 through 1954. Hudsons also showed the way in drag racing both IHRA and NHRA. Jack Clifford’s 54 Hornet literally toyed with many a factory-back competitor in the 1960s. Hudsons continued to compete at places like Bonneville late into that decade. And all of this was accomplished on the back of an old, outdated flathead inline 5.0 liter six cylinder engine. Hudsons were built in both Detroit, Michigan and South Africa. Follow along with us now as we take a closer look at the Moebius miracle, a 1953 Hudson Hornet plastic kit! This is the very handsome box art executed by Sean Svendson for the new Moebius 1953 Hudson Hornet kit. The vintage service station scene creates much nostalgia for many from an earlier time. Hands down, this has got to be the sharpest instruction sheet we’ve seen in years. Here are the three four-color outside panels with close-ups of a partially assembled built model, tips about interior/interior colors and a breakdown of small parts and pieces with recommended paint colors. The backside three panels of the Hornet instruction sheet features seven steps with a series of exploded illustrations that cover in great detail the complete assembly process. continued....

Oops, color me red (as in embarrassed....) Just trying to help, guess I didn't realize who I was dealing with. LC

Great start! I'll be watching this one. "Silent Sam" has always been my #1 INdy Car of all time. I had one of the original MPC kits when they first came out but it was destroyed over the years. SInce then I've collected enough rebuildables and parts to build maybe 4-5 cars. Someday I'll get started. For the decals I can suggest Indycals.net. They list the decals for the turbine car in six different scales, 1/43rd amongst them. http://www.indycals.net/decals/indy/67turbine.html Good luck. Len C.

An old adage says you can’t put 10 lbs in a 5 lb bag. That happens on occasion, even with printed material in model car magazines. There are only so many pages and the axe has to fall somewhere. We’re presenting here some important information that didn’t make the 1962 Chevrolet Impala article in the January 2011 issue of Model Cars magazine. This material takes the very nice out-of-the-box super stock drag racing version and elevates it to a higher level with some added detailing and some selected after-market parts and pieces. Follow along now as we give you a quick look at what the Revell 1962 Chevrolet Impala model can become when accurately built as a genuine NHRA B/FX Impala SS drag racer. A special thank you goes out to Larry Davis who’s insight and guidance on such subjects is priceless. Larry Davis, noted motorsports writer and automotive historian of this era in drag racing was a godsend of reference on this project. Here are but two of his books on the subject of early drag racing. The Revell 62 Impala comes with a standard bench seat seen here. The factory NHRA 62 Impalas were Impala SS’s so with the help of resin bucket seats and console from Model Car World we are able to add a bit more accuracy to this build. Here the MCW resin bucket seats and console can be clearly seen, painted, detailed and glued into place. To complete the competition accessories, a driver’s side seat belt was built and installed using The Model Car Garage set No. MCG-2127. These four water-slide decals sets from MCW open up more possibilities for personalizing your particular 1962 Impala B/FX drag car if you so choose. From top to bottom: - Dyno Don Nicholson - Dave Strickler - Ronnie Sox - Dick Harrell Shown here is the MCW 62-63 Z-11 Parts set. I chose to use the factory cowl induction air cleaner in the lower right corner of the package. Larry Davis tells me that the Strickler car was supposed to have this piece but they ran out of time before the first big event. I still think it makes for an aggressive looking addition to Revell’s newly tooled competition 409 V-8. Though I’m told that the original TOR III used twin pots over the dual quads, I just couldn't resist using the MCW resin factory performance air intake as shown here painted semi-gloss white. According to Larry Davis, the Stricker TOR III did use twin bonnet air cleaners like these shown here that would have been found on a Corvette of that era or a SS Pontiac. If you’d like to upgrade your 62 Impala to a Super Sport, The Model Car Garage offers this photo-etch set (No. MCG-2127), that has all the extra bells and whistles to do the job for you. Once again Larry Davis came to the rescue with his knowledge of the Dave Strickler 62 Impala. Larry described for me via email what the NHRA legal shorty-exhaust system looked like on the actual racecar. Rather than build something new, I simply straightened out the rear-most pipes on the kits drag layout, trimming them to end exactly at the center of the rear axle as the NHRA rulebook called for. Note also the addition of fuel/brake lines as well as emergency brake cables, all of which snake through the center part of the X frame as seen from this view. Most of that detailing was accomplished with light gauge aluminum wire and metal tag wire. Here The Old Reliable III looks pretty good on a black background. The driver figure adds a bit of realism to the racecar, as does the open hood. Note how the cowl induction air cleaner almost seems made for the car. Well, actually it was! Note also the addition of side window glass. I made a cardstock template and cut Butyrate clear plastic to make those additional parts. We hope you’ve found something useful in this addendum to the Model Cars magazine’s January 2011 article They’re Real Fine, These 409’s. And we hope ole’ Dave is smilin’ from ear-to-ear seeing this model of his famous Chevy drag car. LC -n- BC

It's hard to see in the picture but these wheels have a different pattern and holes/slots around them. Just a variation for those building alternative versions. Thanks for your interest, Len C.

As this article was being finished we received word of some of the first aftermarket detail parts for these kits. Norm Veber's Replica and Miniatures of Maryland is producing this optional set of wheels and tires that will fit either of the Revell midget kits. Greg Holland (GregsDecalGraphics) is offering a list of water-slide decals (click on: Revell Midget Kits) for both of the Revell Offy and Ford powered midget kits. For Len and me a very special thank you goes out to Skip Samples. Skip created two sets of custom-made midget markings that we think really put the old cherry on the whip cream for our two midget race car models. And finally, as you can see in the photos here, just about anything vintage or more current, plastic or resin (thanks Tom Coolidge and Shawn Carpenter) can be employed as a very proper and appropriate tow vehicle. BC

Len Carsner - #69 Bowes Seal Fast Jr Kurtis Offy/1955 Pontiac Mild Custom I would imagine that my reaction to these kits was the same as it was to many builders - I never in my wildest dreams thought we’d see these cars in this form in my lifetime. What a treat these kits are! My car replicates one I have seen in images posted on the internet. Testors Wimbeldon White was shot over Duplicolor gray primer. Other than the nerf bars and front and rear axles all other chrome parts were stripped and painted Tamiya Gloss Aluminum. Tamiya Gloss Black was used for the frame and Testors Flat Red finished the upholstery. All paints were sprayed from the can except for the flat red which was decanted and airbrushed. One obvious point to mention is that this kit is a lot like working with smaller scale subjects - a lot of delicate, fragile pieces. I had more than my share of repairs to make due to my ham-handedness, in fact, the brake lever was irreparably broken and I had to recreate one from wire and a jewelry bead. This kit definitely earned its Level 3 rating! I picked an appropriate tow vehicle from back in the day. I was already working on a mild custom 55 Pontiac for a future article on historic Pontiacs. This one is by Promolite (Tom Coolidge) resin and I'm told that it is one of only six such body's that were cast. Inspired by a 1/1 55 Pontiac I found on the net, my tow car was painted GM Cardinal Red and Tamiya TS6 Matt Black. This kit has been both a challenge and a pleasure to build. I’m well pleased with the result and can’t wait for the flood of aftermarket parts that will be hitting the markets soon. Bill Coulter - #1 Bardahl Special Kurtis Ford/1957 Pontiac Safari Wagon Many years ago, I first became aware of this kit (both Offy and Ford versions) being designed by icon hobby kit designer, John Mueller. The original concept had these minute race car kits being teamed up with Revell’s 1948 Ford woody station wagon and their trusty 1950 Ford F-1 pick up. And then for whatever reason, the story ground to a halt. Eventually, there was no indication that these midget kits would ever see the light of day, combos or stand-alone. You can imagine my total and complete surprise when some month ago the word came forth that indeed the green light (okay, maybe we should say they got the green flag) had been given to the midget project by Revell management. Speaking for myself, I was delighted to hear the good news but more so when I actually got one of these kits in my hands. I don’t think I’ve been as excited about a new kit in decades. Let’s face it, when you get folks like Tim Boyd, the acknowledged Godfather of all things model car street rod and custom, to stop everything and build a midget racer, you know there is indeed something very, very special about these new Revell kits. I can’t add too much to what these other three fine gentlemen have so adeptly related about the Revell midget kits. My basic advice would include terms like patience, stick to the instructions, great care and delicate handling, working slowly and cautiously and did I mention patience? The intricate parts lay out is also very, very delicate. You can’t just hack and whack when building these kits and not pay the price with broken and damaged stuff. When it comes to things like the windshield, please test fit the thing. Look at the instructions…and the box art for crying out loud. At least two of us (I’m not saying who) put that puppy on upside down. Oh, and attach it with white glue. You’ll appreciate that tip later especially if you have to remove it and reinstall it. As for my tow vehicle: Like Len, I've been building some vintage Pontiac's for a future article. This 1957 Pontiac station wagon is based on an exceptionally fine kit by Shawn Carpenter based on one of his dad's favorite cars. My model is painted Testors Chrysler Yellow and GM white. My midget carries that primary paint color and replicates a 1/1 midget, pictures of which I too found on the net. (continued in next post)

Hello all! This is an article we were working on that ended up with no place to go. Even though the midgets have been well covered by others we thought you might enjoy seeing what we've been up to. Len C. Four Midget Race Teams By Len Carsner and Bill Coulter Models by Glenn Day, Skip Samples, Len Carsner and Bill Coulter Revell’s new 1/25th scale Kurtis Kraft Midget Racer kits have certainly struck a common cord with model car builders of all stripes. Who might have guessed that these jewel-like, very delicate and accurate vintage oval track, open wheel miniature racecars would have launched such a building frenzy? It would seem that whether your model building comfort zone leans toward replica stock, muscle cars, drag cars, NASCAR, or vintage and classic cars, the new Revell Offenhauser and Ford V-8 60 powered midget racer kits seem to have sparked a degree of enthusiasm like nothing we’ve seen in years. A few short years before WW II, Frank Kurtis started a company with the vision to design and build “midget†racecars (smaller versions of the venerable sprint car racer). In something less than two decades, Kurtis Kraft had produced over 1,100 midget racers. Five hundred units were turnkey ready to race with the remainder sold to eager customers in unassembled kit form. The midget craze literally swept this country like a firestorm. On virtually any night (and maybe two or three times on a nice weekend) midget racing was taking place 24/7 on mainly dirt tracks at local fairgrounds and occasionally on larger capacity paved venues. American race fans couldn’t seem to get enough of it. Midget racing wasn’t limited to the US as the infectious form of wheel-to-wheel racing action spread to far-flung places like New Zealand. Midget racing attracted the entry level competitor as well as racing icons of the day. Most of the top American drivers (especially Indy) had a well appointed midget on a compact trailer attached to the back bumper of a wide variety of tow vehicles. In-the-day, the primary choices for midget power came from either the venerable Ford flathead commonly known as the little sixty V-8 or the pure race bred Offenhauser four cylinder double over head cam (DOHC). If you could afford the best you went with the pricy Offy. If you were racing on a budget, the little Ford FH V-8 was your weapon of choice. Presented here is the work of four builders, Glenn Day, Skip Samples, Len Carsner and Bill Coulter. Of these four midget teams, there are three Fords and one Offy. The following comments reflect the views of each builder on this new model car kit phenom. Glenn Day - #8 Smitty’s Muffler Shop Kurtis Ford/1948 Ford Woody I like this kit a lot, there is no doubt that this model has to be kit of the year. Once I decided on the color scheme for the car, I painted the nose and top half with Testor's #28131 white lacquer. After that was dry I masked off the top half with Tamiya 10mm masking tape, then shot the lower half with Tamiya TS-54 light metallic blue. Once that had dried I masked off the light blue and the white leaving a thin strip of white exposed. I then shot the exposed portion with Tamiya TS-8 Italian red. After completely drying I pulled the tape and light sanded the painted edges with Micro mesh to take the ridge down left from the masking. Then I applied the decals and shot the whole body with Testor's 1834m wet look clear lacquer. Once it had fully cured I sanded it down with Micro mesh 8,000 grit followed by 12,000 grit. Then I finished it off with Tamiya polishing compound. The frame was done in Tamiya Italian red and the interior was Testor's flat red with a shot of Testor's semi-gloss over it. The wires for the gauges and spark plugs that were all left over pieces from other projects. It took awhile to mask and paint all the colors but was worth it in the end. I just really wanted to get it done so I could see the finished project. I had to be patient, which was hard because it's been awhile since I've been this excited to build a kit like this one. The photo etch pieces, along with the rest of the kit fit and went together great. I had fun building this one and want to build the Offy midget soon. Also I would like to say the whole model was done with rattle can's. So either way rattle can or airbrush I don't think there's a wrong way to build this kit. Just build the kit and have fun after all that's what modeling is supposed to be - FUN and this one is that and more. Skip Samples - #27 Marck Motors Kurtis Ford/1940 Ford Sedan Delivery I used Tamiya Clear Red over Tamiya Silver Leaf, both spray paints that were decanted and shot through an airbrush. I learned a lot from this build that will help me with the next few I plan to do. Luckily, the instrument panel came loose so I glued it into the proper positions, and I think that helps it look a little better. Here are a few other things I'll do in future builds: Drill out the holes in the engine a little to make it easier to locate the headers. 2. Drill out the axle holes both front and rear to make it easier to slide the axles in. 3. Strip all the chrome from everything. Then assemble the little fiddly assemblies like the front and rear nerf bars, front axle, rear axle, etc. and clean those joints, then paint them glossy black and hit them with Alclad Chrome. 4. Drill out the hole on the body for the drag link a little bigger. 5. Follow the instructions! The building sequence for this kit is a pretty good one but I managed to get off track a little and messed myself up, not bad, but a little. If I had followed the instruction sequence properly, I would have had fewer problems, not that I had many anyway. (continued in next post)

Very nice. I tried doing one of these years ago, have always wanted to do one the "right way". Seeing this might jump start a new project for me. I bought a 1976 Laguna S3 in May of '76, my first ever new car. I still own it although it sits untouched for the last fifteen years awaiting both time and funds to do a proper restoration. SOmeday.....

Most excellent effort, sir! Very nice!

Final body painting, decals and assembly Tom Creeger had said earlier that he used Testors transparent blue for the body color over a silver base, he did this by building it up in light coats. The bumpers were then painted silver and here again Tom used the Testors spray can silver shot through an air brush. I got the front spoiler decal a little to high, it should sit closer to the bottom edge of the spoiler. The remaining decals were applied as the instruction sheet said and the white panels are great as there is little or no color the shows through. The only tough decals for me were the white roof panels. The blue lettering on the side of the car seemed a little darker than I thought it should be from the photos I looked at. But I could be wrong color in photos is not to be trusted because of all the variables like developing and editing that alter what you think you see. Len Says - I had some trouble with the roof decals too. Very time consuming and still had some flaws that I could not get away from. Take lots of time and use plenty of MIcrosol. Testor Gold Metallic was sprayed on the rear wheels (with a final light coat of semi gloss) and the fronts were just dull coated and mounted. The front wheels in the Quad cities on line photos of the restored car were very gray and dull. But there is a picture of the Hawaiian in the early days with chrome or polished wheels at all four corners. It’s your choice as to which combination you choose for your build. One thing Tom Creeger did was cut down the pins that hinge the body and make them shorter so the body could be removed easier. The inner body panels were done in aluminum to more closely replicate the restored car not the black indicated on the instruction sheet. Black would have been a good color when the car was raced because of glare off the panels. But as it sits now they are aluminum and that’s how Creeger did it on his model. Also Creeger used red plug wire for the chute release cables that go through the rear panel of painted tail lights. The release on the restored car is high and on the right side of the driver mounted on the roll cage. Len says: I followed the instructions and painted my interior panels matt black which also matches the reference photos I have for the original car.  Final thoughts… Race cars are constantly in evolution and building a replica is always a case of picking one day in the cars life and modeling that day. Things change to stay competitive, blower cases and engines can change from one run to another and bodies get hurt and fixed and may look a little different next week if you compared them. This model is not intended to be an exact replica of any one period in the cars history. Instead it’s built only as an average look for the car over all. It was an interesting project and I learned a lot about this car I never knew after studying it at length. The kit is a good build and the parts fit was good. Nothing in my kit was warped or had bad shrink marks. This model kit captures the look and spirit of the original car well. Happy Modeling Tom C. Len Says: Not much I can add to what Tom has already said, other than when I approached this build I naturally assumed that the experience would be much like the one I had with the Chi-Town Hustler. Nothing could be further from the truth! These kits are as different as night and day from each other. And if you are a fan of vintage drag cars these two kits are well worth you time and effort to add them to your shelves. Once again we've come to the end of a project. And we can't wrap this up without thanking those who've made this possible: Thanks to Revell - For trusting us to present the public with their latest offering. To the owners of these forums and their moderators - For allowing us a place to share our work in a comfortable and civilized arena. To Tom Creeger - It's been a blast working with you and comparing our work. You've really pushed me to "step up" my game and I'm grateful for everything you've done. To Bill Coulter - None of this would be possible without you and I don't know if I can ever express my gratitude. Thanks to you all, my friends. And thanks to all of the people who watched or commented on this project. Your interest does influence the manufacturers and encourages them to continue to develop new product for the market. Merry Christmas to every one! We'll see you after the New Year with another new project. Thank for your interest, Bill Coulter, Tom Creeger, And Len Carsner

One last update on the Hawaiian before the grand unveiling! We continue with more of Tom Creeger and his detailing seminar. Final detailing tips… The last things to do on the rear end were the brake lines from the calipers to the to the frame. I drilled 0.020 holes at each end of the calipers because there are two break lines to each side. The full-size car had dual calipers on each wheel, the kit brakes have one caliper per wheel. These are a carryover from the CTH kit and were used as is. For lines I used some small elastic string. The string was cut extra long and one end super glued and left to dry. Then I cut off all but the very tip of the glued end to keep it from fraying. The glued end was then attached to the frame bracket and the other end run into a hole in the brake caliper. When all 4 lines were in place they were painted with Testors 1246 silver (spray can shot into a cup) and just brushed on. The engine and steering linkage were installed next. I used the interior tub as a mandrel (tool) to get the roll cage glued together as a unit before painting. A little filler was used to smooth out the joints in the roll cage before it was painted body color like the frame. The interior tub was sprayed aluminum and the seat was painted semi gloss black. I had trouble with the seat belt decals and opted to paint the molded in seat belts Testors 1110 blue and add the Simpson logo cut from the seat belt decals. The steering is called out to be painted blue but I’ve looked and the photos say it’s aluminum so that’s how it was painted. The steering wheel rim was painted gloss black. I did add brake lines from the two master cylinders that run over and down the roll cage forward support. A hole about 0.025 was added to the back of the oil pressure gauge before painting and mounting it to the steering column. An oil pressure line was later added to the back of the gauge. With the interior out of my way I started on the engine plumbing. The two moon tanks were glued together and then stripped of chrome. The tank seams were filled and sanded smooth before and a hole 0.040 drilled top and bottom of each tank. One tank is coolant the other fuel. They were painted buffing aluminum and lightly buffed. To do the black tie down straps holding the tanks in place I got lazy and grabbed a magic marker and drew the straps on. BMF makes a black foil that would work great here and provide a cleaner look. The tanks were glued in and the plumbing started. The fuel pump is mislabeled on the instruction sheet as an oil pump. No oil pump is supplied in the kit but could be added easily to the engine, the oil pump looks pretty much like any stock Mopar pump and locates in the stock position. This oil pump is just taller for increased volume. The oil lines were not plumbed in this build. The oil filters were painted, decaled and mounted per the instruction sheet. Detailed photos are available on line at the Quad Cities Car Show, Fotki site or Jim Keelers awesome “Unraveling the snake pit†which shows the original first build of this car. This is how I ran the fuel lines: I must admit I did wander off the accurate path at the fuel pump some. This was done just to make it easier to build this time. The real car has a fuel shut off valve just off the fuel pump out put connection. The fuel line to the engine and both bypass lines are “T’d†in at that point. I chose not to add the shut off valve this time around. The system chosen is functional but not completely accurate for this car at this point. The biggest difference is the pump which is a carry over from the CTH which used a different system. Still it’s not far off and functional. I’ve included a diagram of the actual Shut off valve connections should you decide to add it to your model. The valve is cable operated from the drivers position. Originally it was a red T handle in the floor and moved to a red grab handle at some time. I would recommend a long look at reference on line. Also this diagram should help a little. Before I forget the valve is Black on the restored car just pick which way you want to do it. The side shot shows four (4) fuel lines. With a fuel system in place the cooling system was next. The original car had 3 square tanks with the 3rd tank for oil. The restored car has dual Moon type round tanks and I am unsure as to when the change happened. The cooling system utilizes an electric water pump mounted to the right side of the frame between the engine and the coolant tank. No pump is provided so one was made from plastic tube painted black and glued in place. Earlier holes were added to the block for the cooling lines. Figure 1 shows only the plumbing for coolant into the engine. In Figure 2 the return plumbing back to the coolant tank has been added to the drawing. If you were unsure about how all this hooked up I hope this helps clear it up. Arrows on drawings indicate direction of coolant flow. Please remember that no specific scale has been maintained in the drawings. Short update, but a lot to take in. At this point both cars are finished and the beauty shots are done. Want to see the end result? Check back on Thursday when we'll wrap this project up. Thanks for your interest, Bill, Tom, and Len

The instructions called for satin black which matches the pictures I have of the inside of the car. I used Tamiya TS-9 Matt Black so the finish wouldn't be too glossy or too flat. Thanks for your interest, Len Carsner

I used a little more of the square rod I’d made earlier for the manifold fuel block and made another fuel block in the same fashion. I cut the molded fuel block off the rear of the bug catcher and glued my new one in its place. A tail (A and N fitting) sticks out of the back of the block facing the left side of the car. This gets trimmed off and shortened up and is a termination point for the incoming fuel supply lines. The block was then painted matte black and glued to the front lower left corner of the bug catcher and the fuel lines were attached. Two lines go to the fuel blocks. One is the supply line and one is the bypass return to the fuel tank at part throttle and shut down. Sparkplug wires With the fuel lines on the injectors I thought it time to mount the valve covers and add the plug wires. The only color shots I’ve seen of the engine all had red plug wires and I’ll do the same. Like the CTH some 30 gauge red wire does the trick. After the glue on the wires was dry I painted the base of the magneto flat black, glued it on the engine and ran the wires to the valve covers. There’s another little chunk of plastic (I made?) to be 1/8 x1/8 x 1/16 thick that mounts to the bug catcher. This is where the fuel lines run into and out of the engine stop. The blower drive belt was sanded down to a more believable thickness with 400 grit sandpaper and painted semi-flat black and the pulleys painted silver. The front edge of the idler and crank pulley got a little brighter silver to finish them off. The kit includes a belt guard/starter mount that most kits never include. It is a little thick and could have been thinned out but I didn’t this time. Problem with this part is the instruction sheet shows it mounted backwards compared to the pictures of the restored car. I trimmed off the mounting tab on the guard, turned it around and glued it in place over the top blower pulley. But it just hung there in space looking lost. Remember the plastic sprue I stretched earlier? I cut some short pieces and glued them to the back of the starter mount and onto the blower front cover where the blower bolts wound be. The little pieces were painted silver and left alone I got one a little crooked but it’s there. I connected the main fuel line to the pump and left the bypass fuel line till later. Rear brakes With the engine this far along, I took a break and moved on to the chassis. I got busy trying out paints and I tired out a lot of them. I wanted something off-the-shelf and the closest one I found was what many already knew, Testors Candy Blue over silver. Ah…but what silver? I tried several and I’m sure there might be a better one but I used Testors Buffing Aluminum Metalizer, I just didn’t buff it. I looked at over 200 pictures of the restored car and the paint looked different in every picture and lighting. The actual color on the real car was posted earlier post on this site. This may not be an exact paint match but it’s a pretty fair substitute and the price was right. With the frame painted I continued with some more cheap (inexpensive?) detail and more of the stretched sprue. I glued different size pieces together (Super glue) for T fittings then added a long piece at one end. The T fitting went on the drivers side. The long end was stuck into the bracket I’d made earlier on the right side. The T fittings were painted brass and the lines Testors spray can silver #1246 shot into a cup and brushed on. When the glue was dry I added another piece of the stretched sprue from the T and ran it towards the front along the top of the upper frame rail. The line disappears under the cockpit aluminum so they don’t go too far. That's all for now, check back next week when we'll have another update for you. Thanks for looking, Bill, Tom, and Len

Last week was paint, this week we pick up where we left off with Tom Creeger and his detailing instructions. Fuel delivery system The fuel system can be broken into two sections. The first section is the injector plumbing into the engine. Most of the top fuel cars during this period ran a system with 16 injectors on the engine. Typically there would be 8 injector nozzles at the top on the bug catcher just above the blower with 4 nozzles on each side. Then 8 more injector nozzles are added on the intake manifold again with 4 on each side. With this Hawaiian project I’m just taking what was done recently on the Chi Town Hustler model and adding to it. Please join us as we get this one nicely plumbed up. First, I glued some strips of thin sheet plastic together until I had a thickness of 1/16 in. and about 1/8 in. long just to make it easier to work with. What I’m making is a little square rod 1/16 in. on a side. Then I dilled four holes close together as shown in the diagram at one end for the injector lines (which run) to the manifold. Next, I drilled a 0.040 in. hole just deep enough so the craft braid will stay in place and stay put when glued firmly. Next 0.020 dia holes were drilled in the manifold as shown here. The block and brace were glued to the rear of the intake manifold and the black-coated wires run to the intake holes, cut to length and glued in place. The fuel block was then painted aluminum and the brace was painted matte black. I glued a length of craft braid into the large hole and put a 2 in. piece of the black-coated wire through each of the four smaller dia holes. The Bug Catcher is next to get some detailing. Like the manifold, it also gets a set of fuel lines. The bug catcher is one piece and the detail is pretty good but needs a plate on the bottom to replicate the bottom of the full-size piece and give the fuel lines a place to hook into. Supercharger (Blower) Reference photos show the full-size Hawaiian funny car to have a gold anodized blower cases and I’ll replicate that here. I first painted the blower case with Model Master flat aluminum and shot clear yellow over that to simulate gold anodizing. Every picture I looked at the blower seemed a different color so I just picked one picture and went for that. Then, black-coated wire (same as used for spark plug wires) was run from the fuel block to the 4 holes in each side of the plate under the bug catcher for fuel lines on each side. The blower case ends were painted silver and glued in place. Magneto I sanded the top of the magneto flat. I find this often helps clarify where to drill the plug wire holes. Then I wiped a Marks-a-lot marker over the top of the cap area to give it a dark color. Then I used the tip of a new No. 11 X-Acto blade to register my drill point so the drill bit doesn’t move around while starting the hole. Then I angled my drill tip in a little towards the center of the cap which helps keep the bit from breaking out the sides of the part being drilled. I get the wire holes closer to the right spot and not ruin the part. I drilled the holes 0.018 in an eight-sided hexagon and painted the cap gloss black. I always recommend cutting the wires plenty long. Everybody has different ways of doing this but I like to use 5-minute epoxy as it gives me extra time to position the wires in the cap. And it works! continued....

After being allowed to dry the body was set out in natural light to judge the results. All in all I'm pleased. While the blue pieces were drying I painted all of the pieces that needed to be black with Tamiya Matt Black. The headers were also given a blast of dullcoat. At this point all of the major parts have been painted and can be set aside until needed. It's time for me to get to the engine and wheels. Check back later this week and we'll update you on Tom's progress with his detailing project. Thanks for looking, Bill, Tom, and Len

It's been awhile since our last update, a setback caused by computer issues. Now that things are back to semi-normal we'll resume our posts on building the next funny car release by Revell. In our last post Tom Creeger showed some of the preliminary work involved in the details he'll be adding to the engine compartment of the Hawaiian. For this update I'll be showing my prep for the body work and what I've chosen for my body color. Let's get back to it. First step in the prep work for the body was to fill in the hatch outline in the roof. The Hawaiian did not use the hatch while the Chi-Town Hustler did. From this angle you can see the rear spoiler has been added and the rear wheel openings have been re-worked. They look a bit large to my eye but I followed the guide lines on the inside of the body. Now that I've finished the body work it's time to hit the paint booth. I gave the body several light coats of Duplicolor gray primer, checking between coats for any spots that may pop up that need additional work. Once I was satisfied with the primer coat it was time to decide on what I was going to use to get the right color for the exterior. For the blue body color I'm using Testors GTS Blue Pearl. Once again I'll be using plastic spoons to experiment with which base coat I'll use to get the closest match to the House of Kolor blue used on the Hawaiian. From left to right is gray primer, gloss white, gloss aluminum, and gloss black. The color differences are subtle, but the black undercoat (on the left) was a bit darker than I wanted while the silver (on the right) brought out the metallic more than I wanted and made the shade a little too bright. I decided the white undercoat (center) was the best of the three. Back to the paint booth where Tamiya gloss white was sprayed on in two light coats followed by a third heavier coat. The GTS blue was built up slowly until I got the even shade I was looking for, after which it was allowed to dry before receiving three light coats of Testors Wet Look Clear. At this point the rest of the parts that needed to be painted blue were given their color and clear coats, after which they were allowed to dry in a dehydrator for a few hours. The body was sent to the drying chamber as well. continued....

This seemed like a good place to change subjects. Here the front and rear tires have been scuffed up and the appropriate sidewall marking decals have been applied. Also note that the rear wheels have been refinished with Testor Gold Metallic and once dry treated to a few light coats of Testors Semi Gloss. The reason for light coats is that the cardinal rule usually is that enamel can be applied over Laqquer but never apply lacquer over enamel. We had to make an adjustment this time as Testors Semi Gloss is lacquer only. Some minor detailing was also done to the lug nuts and axle centering holes with chrome silver and The Detailer black liquid. That's all for now, keep watching for our next update where I'll get into my choices for paint. Thanks, Bill, Tom, and Len

The Hawaiian has a little more of a cooling system than the CTH but nothing that craft braid can’t help improve on. To prepare for adding the cooling lines later, small holes about 0.040 in diameter were drilled in the block (both sides) before painting. These will provide a place to glue the craft braid used for the cooling line that will be added later. There are two holes for the return water lines one in the front of each head and one on each side of the block. The block holes are just to the rear of the freeze plug (two round indentations) on the left side of the block and between the freeze plugs on the right side of the engine block. Small holes about 0.020 were drilled in the heads where the headers attach, these holes will be used to pin the headers to the block later and provide a positive location for the headers and also make them stronger. Last thing you need at a show is to have something like a header getting knocked off your displayed model. The engine can now be painted. The transmission came first and was painted flat aluminum. After the transmission was dry it was masked off and the block and heads painted with Testor’s magnesium. The oil pan was fit and painted aluminum then a light coat of clear yellow was shot over the pan to give it a slightly anodized appearance. When dry the pan was glued to the bottom of the block and the bolt heads were painted gold. The timing cover is in two parts, with the engine mounts extending from it on either side. The timing cover was painted Testors Dark Anodonic Gray and when dry, the engine mounts were brush painted with Testors Aluminum Plate buffing Metalizer. It was allowed to dry and lightly buffed, It doesn’t take much here, just enough to bring up a little shine. Next, the timing cover was glued to the engine and the bolt heads painted with Testors Exhaust for contrast. The lower portion of the distributor shaft (upper left corner) was painted flat aluminum, while the middle section was painted Testors bottle silver and the top semi gloss black. You can use either Testors Black Chrome or Semi-Gloss Black enamel. Tom is really old school. He likes to mix his own semi-gloss black. “I mix mine in small amounts. Drip a couple drops of flat black on a piece of masking tape laid on my work surface. Then I add a drop of gloss black and mix well. I play with the proportions until I get what I think looks good. Best thing about doing it this way is that all you’ve used is a few drops of paint from two standard colors. If I have some paint left over I use that to paint the starter. Templates for reshaping front and rear wheel openings are provided inside the body shell. Revell has gracious engraved indentations representing their version of this operation. Tom recommends removing small amount of plastic until you are satisfied with the results. Making comparisons to images of the 1/1 racecar are encouraged. Hawaiian Website: http://carsandracingstuff.com/library/h/hawaiian.php"http://carsandracingstuff.com/library/h/hawaiian.php <img src=http://images112.fotki.com/v495/photos/7/1677637/9203974/A13Body2hoods-vi.jpg> Here you can see the differences between the CTH hood and the one used on the Hawaiian hood. We’re also preparing to fill in the roof hatch used on the CTH but not on the Hawaiian body. Tom recommends using Squadron MMD Green Putty for best results. In this shot we see the nearly finished bodywork. The escape hatch after being filled in with Green Putty, was sanded smooth and coated with primer. Tom is getting close to applying the base and top coat paint. A15- Here’s an example of Tom’s experimentations with various base coats and top coats of paint colors to achieve a reasonably close match to the restored Hawaiian body color: The restored Hawaiian is painted as follows: PPG Deltron Intense Blue Pearl Coat PPG DBU5357T Golden Pearl White Coat DBU5066 Source said it was a stock Chrysler color Again, these custom mixed colors could be used on your model but be aware that they cost an arm and leg…like primer, reducer, base coat, color coat, hardner (for urethanes and enamels), cha-ching! Tom says figure on about $30 each for these items (excluding primer of course). Creeger finally settled on Testors colors for the Hawaiian kit body shell found on their website: Testors paint charts http://www.testors.com/category/50736/Paints We’ll get into that subject in the next installment. continued...

Revell’s Hawaiian Dodge Charger NHRA Funny Car Tom Creeger, after looking over the new Revell Hawaiian kit said, “It’s another cool piece of racing history and when built will be a great companion piece to display with our Chi-Town Hustler. Revell has done a great job for us on this new ‘vintage’ kit…or maybe we should say…’once again’ “. With this build of the new Revell Hawaiian kit, Tom will add more detail to the Hawaiian engine and fuel system with basic old school techniques like we used on the CTH. Tube Frame: The frame is one piece so you won’t have to try to get it together straight, it’s already molded as one piece! It’s a good-looking frame, seems a shame not to give it more detail than we did in the CTH build up. So, first thing I’m adding to the frame is rear brake lines and the first is the brackets for those lines. There are many systems in a funny car all operating together. If we analyze them and use common tools and materials we can build a neat racecar with lots of detail and not go broke doing it. Complex systems separated out to the basics become simpler to understand and model. This car had a dual brake system with dual master cylinders so if one failed there would still be brakes at 200 MPH. Sounds like a good idea. Revell has given us the dual brake cylinders we just need to connect them. The frame was first cleaned up of mold lines and flash and there wasn’t much of that and then primed lightly. Rear brake lines: Gather some tools like a machinist ruler, a hobby knife, sand paper and sheet plastic. I’m using 0.010 thick plastic to make the brackets. The sheet is available at well stocked hobby shops and it sometimes comes in variety packs of different thicknesses. First, cut a long strip about 3/64 wide. Drill a 0.020 hole in one end of the strip as shown here. Then round the ends with the sand paper. The tip of your Exacto knife can be used if the correct drill isn’t at hand. You might want to practice on a spare piece of plastic until you get it right. Next, glue each strip in place as shown here, exposing I/16 in. (eyelet) above the side frames, then, cutting the pieces to length. Also, refer to the drawing provided. If the brackets aren't perfectly shaped etc., that’s okay. They can be gently sanded a little more when the glue dries. (I use plastic super glue but other glues work just as well to attach these parts to the frame rails.) Refer to Brake Eyelet Diagram shown here. When the brackets are in place eventually the brake lines should run parallel from left to right. The brake lines will be made using a method commonly referred to as “stretching sprueâ€. Stretching sprue: Stretching is accomplished by heating a length sprue over a heat source and as the material reaches threshold temperature the ends are pulled in opposite directions. Tom first tried a low wattage incandescent light bulb but he just couldn't get it to work very well. Heat from the bulb failed to heat the sprue to the proper temperature. Then Tom tried his wife's hair dryer. It worked quite well but… Caution! Be sure to have proper “adult supervision†when attempting this operation. Practice is everything here. The speed with which you pull (stretch) the plastic and area (of the sprue) heated dictates the finished size (diameter). Tom says this stuff can be used for a variety of things. Engine block: The basic block was glued together, the seam up the transmission was and filled and sanded smooth. The cylinder heads were glued in place. continued...

You can read my review of the kit contents on this forum, probably a post or two up or down from this one. We'll be starting our posts on the buildup real soon. Len C.

The main engine components are carry-over items but all others look to be new items for this kit. Other than the rear wheels this tree should look familiar. Here's a close up of the new rear wheels for The Hawaiian. Although the trans pan is the same everything else on this tree is new for this kit. So there you have it - a tree-by-tree look at what's in the box. Hopefully we've answered a lot of the questions some of you have had about what differences this kit would have with the Chi-Town Hustler. And as you can see this is more new kit than "re-run". Once again we've brought Tom Creeger into the mix to show us a few more simple detail tips. And for all of you low-dollar builders I'll be looking for a less expensive alternative to expensive candy paints for my box stock build. Keep watching, our next update will be coming soon. Thanks for looking, Bill Coulter, Tom Creeger, and Len Carsner

Well, here we go again with another new kit preview, review, and buildup. This time our subject is another new funny car kit from Revell - The Hawaiian! Coming so close on the heels of the Chi-Town Hustler kit you might be tempted to believe that this kit is just the same thing with new decals. Wrong! I started to list what was different in this new kit and came to the conclusion that it would be easier to list what was the same. So let's just take a look at the box contents and you can judge for yourself. From the box art you can clearly see some of the numerous differences between The Hawaiian and The Chi-Town Hustler. But is the kit really different or is it just phototshop magic? Here are the instructions and the decal set. The new decal sheet is clear and it doesn't look like doubling up the white areas will be necessary. The body and tires are carry-overs from the CTH kit. And yes, it does have the hatch engraved in the roof. We'll have to fill that in for accuracys sake. The glass tree has all new items.. including this back glass with the famous pineapple cutouts. The chassis is all new for this car and is the correct "engine and driver in the center" style. The body prop assembly is the only carry-over form the CTH kit on this tree. Note the correct hood insert. The Hawaiian is a very different car from the CTH and requires all different interior panels as shown by this tree. None of these are used in the CTH kit. The brake rotors and chutes appear to be the same as CTH, other than that the rest is new to the Hawaiian. continued...

Bill and I already have our kits in hand and the review will be up shortly. We'll also be doing our usual buildup at on the "On the Workbench" forum soon where we'll once again enlist Tom Creeger to help with a few more simple detailing tricks. See you soon, Len Carsner

These two views of the CTH chassis from down under show that by simply following the paint color call-outs on the Revell CTH kit instruction sheet, a well-defined and realistic tube frame and FC driveline can result in a very nice finished model. Note the added detailing on Creeger’s model really enhances the final results. Both versions of these CTH models are real eye-candy when displayed with the body in the up position. Whether OoTB or with additional driveline details, anyone would be proud to display either model in your display case or at a model car show. These three views of the chassis/driveline (sans body) serve to provide a clearer view of the OoTB and added detail built versions of the Revell Chi-Town Hustler 1/25th scale models. Not likely to ever happen but, this signature shot of Len Carsner and Tom Creeger’s dueling Chi-Town Hustlers gives us an imaginary view of what it might look like if the two 1/1 funny cars ever took a nostalgic pass together down the old quarter mile. Hey…you can't blame us guys for dreaming! Final thoughts… Len, Tom and I remain convinced that this new Revell Chi-Town Hustler 1/25th scale plastic kit is about the best version of this vintage subject that we’ve seen. This kit stands as one of the most accurately scaled renditions of this type of historic drag car. The attention to scale fidelity challenges anything we’ve seen before. The complaint has always been in the past that kits of these iconic drag cars have either been too generic, homogenized or maybe stylized is a more fitting term here. Where tube frames and roll cages often scaled-out to be the diameter of sewer pipe, with these new Revell nostalgic funny car kits, the accurate scaling of such core parts in such a kit appear to be spot-on to our eyes. Revell has certainly taken a big gamble putting considerable eggs (ie: thousands of dollars) in one basket here but considering the median age of today’s model car building public, they might just be on to something of considerable magnitude this time around. Nailing a vintage race car of any type is risky business whether you’re manufacturing a kit or building a model. The CTH has existed in three different versions over the last 40 plus years…the original, the restored version and the new clone. The age-old question is which version is correct? In reality they all are for what they represent. Each of us might have a preferred version but we can’t expect Revell to put all of them in one kit box. What Revell has created here is a striking replica of the CTH that really captures the spirit and essence of this legendary race car, for yesterday, today and tomorrow. Is this a 100% perfect model car kit? Probably not but all three of us were impressed with the way this thing went together. There were no fiddly things or parts and/or assemblies that just wouldn’t go together. This is a well-engineered kit that was a delight to build and it squarely sat on all fours the first time up on wheels/tires. There was a minor glitch on parts call-outs on the kit instruction sheet. No deal breaker here as the exploded views still clearly show how everything goes together correctly. There were questions about the craft braid Tom used to represent fluid lines on his CTH model. Though none of us has actually purchased this product for a while, I called the shop where most of this stuff came from and hooray…they still carry the product and I was told they’ll ship just about anywhere if need be. Here’s the pertinent information: Busy Beaver Arts and Crafts 937-429-3920 busybeaverarts@sbcglobal.net (email) http://busybeaverarts.com/ (website) Allison says they currently stock three brands of craft braid: - Amy’s - Darice - Pepperall She thinks it comes in three diameters. Our object with this project was never to see how rapidly we could assemble the CTH kit. As we’ve always done, we took our time and showed you just what to expect from this new Revell kit. We trust you’ve enjoyed the trip and learned something new in the process. Please stay tuned… we’re not done yet! Len, Tom and Bill