Ace-Garageguy

We'll be getting into that, but actually, you have it backwards. The ORIGINAL Dodge Red Ram hemi in the first Ala Kart kit released in 1961 was CORRECT. The "new tool" kit has a significantly under-scale engine. I've written several commentaries about this on here and other forums, as have several other careful builders, and several of us (including me) actually measured the real 1:1 engines to verify our statements. The good news is that the newly-issued "Mod Rod" kit from R2, which is derived from the ORIGINAL Ala Kart tooling, has a correctly-scaled Red Ram engine in it.

Well, at least the quality is consistent...

I'm glad those of you who have responded are enjoying it and find it to be worthwhile. There will be continuing updates and comparisons with photos and scaled renderings of the real car as we go along, as well as mockups using parts from both kits, and a good bit of swapping things around to see how best to capture the initial impression, lines and proportions of the original car. Since starting this, I've already noticed things about both kits I've never paid attention to before, and I'm beginning to see there's going to be more work in getting it right than I'd initially imagined. Still. I really want a correct-looking model of the Ala Kart, so I hope sharing my steps to get there will be of use to some of you.

Single most important one of all...and if everyone lived by this simple basic philosophy, there wouldn't be any need for any OTHER rules. Treat Other People as You Want to be Treated.

I'm fairly certain the first documented attribution of the basic concept appears to be in The Art of War by Sun Tzu (among other spellings), around 450BC. What's always fascinated me about it is that it's so obvious to anyone who's ever made any sort of plan, yet business lenders still stress the importance of carved-in-stone business-plans that are rarely worth the paper they're written on. Flexibility and imagination are the two most important characteristics a leader needs in any sort of adversarial environment, military OR business. Having a well defined desired outcome and an IDEA of how to accomplish it are mandatory, of course, but planning down to the detail level in advance of action is a total and complete waste of time.

Sheep's heart, lungs, liver, fat, onion and oatmeal baked in the sheep's stomach. What's not to love? Being a good 1/4 Scot, I love the stuff...best eaten while listening to bagpipe music with a wee dram of single-malt.

You guys ever had deep-fried Mars bars?

That wasn't directed at you. I was just disagreeing with Richard as to the accuracy of the AMT '32 Ford frames. Their shape and dimensions are fine, but they DO lack the signature '32 reveal that's stamped onto the REAL frame, so they tend to look a little too simple and toylike if not modified.

That's very helpful, showing the height and location of the crossmember, as well as the flattish spring and axle mounts. The rear of the rails are bobbed too.

I agree, in that the reveals are actually visible and important styling-elements of the 1:1 car if it's a highboy or full-fendered build. The frame IS quite good in dimensions and shape though, so with some effort, it's entirely possible to take it to a non-toylike level.

I've been thinking about this topic for a while, and though the list prices of models, paints, tools and materials are definitely rising, it's controllable. Tools are expensive, yes, but if you buy GOOD ones, they last forever. I still have tools from over 50 years ago, and they work as well now as when they were new. Buying abrasives from hardware or real-car outlets is a whole lot cheaper than buying stuff packaged for "modelers". Same goes for detailing wire, tubing, etc. You can often find things in craft stores that just aren't available from other sources, and cheap. I just got 10 feet of the best-looking, most realistic scale 2.5" rubber radiator hose I've ever seen...for $2. Glue and paint are going up, but again, costs are controllable. You get a lot more paint in a Duplicolor can than you do in a Testors or Tamiya for the same money. Buy model-specific paints and primers when they're necessary, use cheaper stuff when possible. Buy bulk MEK for glue if you're able to control the fumes. And an air-brush, though it's some money, will ultimately pay for itself in reduced material cost and higher quality work. Models? Yeah, they're going up. But buying smart from online sellers can save you a bunch. If you don't have to have the latest release TODAY, wait a few months and it will be a lot cheaper. I just looked up a few kits, and for example, the Revell '57 Ford sedans can be had for less than $20 shipped to your door. And for gotta-have new releases...well, I paid $20 apiece for three Revell '30 Ford coupe kits using 40%-off coupons. Consider buying "parts kits" and gluebombs too. Frankly, I'd usually prefer to build something nice from a $2 piece of somebody else's trash than hack into a new $30 model. As much as I'm able to control most of the costs, I usually don't feel too bad when i DO spring for something fairly expensive...which I rarely do.

A little more about freedom...

I just like to see accurate information presented. Your statement that " the frames on the AMT '32s.... don't look all that much like a real '32 Ford frame" isn't particularly accurate. If we're giving advice to someone, it's generally more helpful to give accurate advice. Otherwise, I agree with your statements entirely.

Freedom isn't free.

There's a fair bit of conflicting information out there about the car. Even Kustomrama, a site that usually gets it right, states that the original Ala Kart was "almost entirely destroyed by fire". Hardly true...if one goes by photographs taken at the time. This is the clone, immediately identifiable by its lack of coil-over-air-bag front suspension.

Actually, the AMT frames look very much like real '32 frames, but they lack the "reveal" stamped into the side and have completely incorrect floors. The "extra' frames in the new Revell '29 and '30 are pinched and zeed in the rear, much different from stock. The other Revell '32 frames are not set up for a buggy-spring in the rear, where the AMT Vicky and Phaeton have it at least molded separately (the AMT roadster and 5-window coupe frames have the blobular molded-in-one rear suspension). There's a fair bit of info on the AMT frames in question here... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/59708-32-ford-roadster-gluebomb-rework-sept-8-15-back-on-track/?page=1 And here: The AMT frames are dimensionally correct and as such, fit under the Revell fender unit like they were all measured and scaled by adults that passed elementary school arithmetic, too. (this is an AMT Vickie body with the wrong dimensions being corrected, mounted on the Revell fenders, and an AMT frame)

I'm familiar with the Ledbetter clone, but it differs significantly from the real one in several important respects, notably a Chebby engine and a Jag-based IRS rear end. These are NOT reflected in the "new tool" kit. The Ledbetter car has no louvers in the fender aprons either...so it doesn't really make sense that the "new tool" kit was prepared from access to the clone. It was always my understanding the "new tool" kit was done from measurements obtained from the original car during its long restoration. Perhaps more research is in order.

This is what Allpar has to say about this series of cars. They're usually pretty accurate, though they don't go into exactly which carb Chrysler fitted for the 4-bbl versions. http://www.allpar.com/squads/diplomat.html I have to say that of all the govt-issue cars I've driven, I vastly prefer the Ford Crown Vic to anything else.

Beautiful model of one of the truly great cars.

Cool idea. All "police-interceptor" guts under a Scamp would have been interesting, for sure. Still, swapping in a mildly warmed-over 340 and a beefed up 727 trans would have made a pretty quick (probably a lot faster than the smogged police version) and extremely tough grocery getter, maybe with junkyard HD front discs and upgraded shocks to round out the setup.

That thought occurred to me, and I've been studying pix I've found of the in-process restoration, as well as lots of photos of the car as originally finished. For one thing, the photos of both the restored car AND the original agree very well with what is presented in the original kit, for the most part. Some of the photos I've acquired are scalable, so I'll be doing a careful analysis of them too, and measuring BOTH kits to see what's right and what's not. There would have been no reason to make the changes to the car that show up in the "new-tool" kit, though I DID consider the cockpit may have been enlarged, as is common on rods these days, to accommodate fatter Americans. Not so, judging from the resto shots I have. People who love this iconic car can be glad it got done the way it did, as at one time, Boyd Coddington wanted to entirely rebuild it as something else, with a newly-fabricated frame under it. As far as I can tell, the very sympathetic restoration carried out by Brizio's crew left as much of the car intact as possible, even leaving most of the old lead in place. Other than the fire, the car wasn't heavily damaged or modified previously. A new hood was built to match the curves of the original cowl and nose (and apparently new flat bed-side inserts) but as far as I know at this point, the rest of the panels are original to it as built by Barris.

I may have confused you further. Sounds like it. You'd probably do OK by starting with the kit you posted earlier as it has about the right body and roof proportions to start with, and PROBABLY has the bobbed rear and cycle front fenders in it. A better frame would come from any of the Revell '32 Ford kits, or from either the AMT '32 Victoria or Phaeton kit.

Latest business scam from the little pieces of walking excrement who'd rather lie and steal than work... Sending out fake past-due invoices to email accounts they think are associated with business names they pull from Linkdin, and using phony contact names also pulled from the same source...obviously in the hopes that a busy small business owner, manager or geezer will knee-jerk pay something marked "urgent: past due". I just got a bill for $1600 and change from a non-existent company in Michigan. Morons.