Chopped '31 Highboy

[Intmd8r]

My latest completed build.  Call it a Jalopy/Rat Rod/Hot Rod/Retro, whatever - I'm calling it DONE!

The chassis and drive train are kit stock Revell, the body is Jimmy Flintstone chopped '30 Ford Tudor.  My parts box donated the rear tires and misc. detail items for the engine bay.  Not accurate, but gives the illusion that I was hoping for.

Edited June 28, 2016 by Intmd8r

[GMCMAN52]

It's got the look, like that you keep the 4 banger.

[Intmd8r]

A few more...

 

 

 

 

 

[Foxer]

rebuilt engine in an old rod ...  very cool!

[Bernard Kron]

Artful use of what's in the box of this classic kit. The result is surprisingly original and impactful. I think the treatment of the metallic finishes on the motor is especially successful. I'm surprised you didn't come up with something similar for the wheels. Very cool build.

Edited June 28, 2016 by Bernard Kron

[Harry P.]

Very cool! I especially like the way you did the rust and peeling paint on the visor. Very realistic. How did you do that?

[Intmd8r]

Thanks everyone.

I have a few of these kits in my collection that I've been using as donor kits for other projects. I told myself that I would build at least one of them as close to box stock as possible. Didn't succeed, but that explains the engine & wheel choice. Wanted to keep the factory ride height, but had to modify it slightly-it was making the 4x4 guys jealous.

The wheels in this kit are terrible-couldn't find a way to make them look better. Ironically, the kit rear tires are awesome for hot rods. Which is why I ran short on this one.

For the body, I applied black BMF in key areas before paint, dry brushes rust tones in other. Next was gloss black, decals, flat clear, then sanded until the desired affect-in that order. I used the Tamiya weather kit to bring it all together.

The peeling paint on the visor was a "happy" accident as result of being too aggressive with the sanding.

I did a small write up in the Rat Rod community build thread.

SC

[XJ6]

Not my kind of build but I can see you sure have some great talent ??

[bbowser]

Great weathering techniques, love the 4-banger.  I'll bet it's loud with those pipes!

[Hubert Rollins]

Very cool rat!!!

[Rider]

Man is this ever raw, the weathering looks great.  Did you use PE weld lines around the rear window.

[Intmd8r]

Man is this ever raw, the weathering looks great.  Did you use PE weld lines around the rear window.

sure did-been look'n for an excuse to use them lol

[Intmd8r]

Not my kind of build but I can see you sure have some great talent ??

that's quite the kind compliment. I have quite the gift of mucking up a "shinny" paint job, so logically I should do OK with a weathered one

[Rider]

Good job Steve, how did you find working with it.

[Intmd8r]

I used the PE weld lines by Studio 27. They seemed like the best bang for the buck from HLJ. The are very delicate and actually curl up like BMF when removed from the adhesive backing. Nearly lost all of them to the carpet it in the process.

I applied some around the rear window, sides, and cowl of the body. They tend to get covered up quite easily and disappear if you paint over them lol. My intention was to sand the paint off of the PE to give the impression of where the top chop may have been made.

oh well...never know unless you try....

[slusher]

Super neat build Steve. Really stands out from the crowd of weathered hotrods..

[ChrisR]

Very nice build!

[Helix]

Nice one Steve 

[modelfink]

WOW, I love this build. Very inspiring. Excellent weathering, and those weld lines are cool! Nice to see details of the 4 banger. I'm building one of those now and it helps visualize the final outcome.

My only critique is that the wheels and tires need some wear and tear, 

What's this rat rod community build thread you speak of? do you have a link?  I would love to read your write up

[Intmd8r]

Hey Travis-I did do some light weathering on the tires using the Tamiya kit to get rid of the new tire shine. Guess it didn't show too well in the pics.

I happen to like the chrome wheels-to each their own I guess. As I said before, the wheels in this kit suck-they really show the age of the kit. I experimented different finishes on a spare set for another build. The results were pretty much the same-enhancing the flaws, not hidding them.

This kit shares chassis components with the '29 Ford Rat Rod/Blue Bandito pick up, and some '30-'31 Woody kits. Regardless of the issue, I found that they ALL have twisted frames that need to be accounted for or corrected. Also, this chassis was never designed to be built without fenders by Revell/Monogram. It's not hard, but you need to modify the floor pan if you want to build without.

I don't have a tutorial or build thread per se, but you can see some more pics here:

Forums/Community Builds/Rat Rod Community 2016.

[Mike C]

That's a real cool build!

[Dennis Lacy]

I really like this model! The overall look you've achieved is actually quite representative of what's going on with young hot rodders in Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Norway right now. The tall ride height paired with the aggressive chop, the colors, the vintage airplane references with the header tips painted red, the horn mounted on the frame rail along side the engine, the somewhat rare but out of character (date-wise to the rest of the components) 60's mag wheels. These guys over there just get this certain look that guys here in the States don't get even though we have the same cars and parts.

I also think the weathering on the body is fantastic and that pealing sun visor is such an effective accident. 

[modelfink]

yeah, those Scandinavian roadsters are really cool. I was going to ask about the red tipped headers. I've never seen those before

[Rider]

I used the PE weld lines by Studio 27. They seemed like the best bang for the buck from HLJ. The are very delicate and actually curl up like BMF when removed from the adhesive backing. Nearly lost all of them to the carpet it in the process.

I applied some around the rear window, sides, and cowl of the body. They tend to get covered up quite easily and disappear if you paint over them lol. My intention was to sand the paint off of the PE to give the impression of where the top chop may have been made.

oh well...never know unless you try....

Thanks for that Steve. I'll have to find some at a LHS. It looks like us Cnds may not be ordering any on line goodies anytime soon if CP goes on strike. 

[Intmd8r]

Thanks again everyone.

If you ask me, the Scandinavian rods are doing similar stuff as the early roots of Hot Rodding in So-Cal, just with their own take on things. Cool stuff none the less-which is why I love it!

I take comments about "period correct", or it needs this or that with a grain of salt. It's hard to be original with a Hot Rod, most of the things you think are new have been done before at some point. Nothing on this build is new. Except for the body & rear tires, everything was sourced from the same box.

A lot of my inspiration comes from Google black & white images of the early rodding days in Cali or the salt lakes. Back then, guys were slapping cars together with whatever they had. Another reason why I kept the original 4cyl engine and factory ride hight.

I can't take credit for the header tips - I saw this in a picture and thought it would be a cool idea. I just changed up the colours.

And yes, the looming Canada Post strike sucks. Excluding Michael's, there isn't a hobby store within an hours drive of my home. I don't live in the sticks, just not enough support in the area to keep a store open.