Lil John Buttera Coupe

[coupe guy]

Is the Lil John Buttera 1934 Ford coupe 1/25 scale?   That's what it says on the box but it seems to be a bit smaller?

[alan barton]

George, the Buttera coupes are very small compared to an AMT 1/25th scale or Monogram 1/24th scale coupe.  This is because Revell chose to use a Buttera Model T sedan tubular frame to base the model on. As a result the coupe is  considerably scaled down to suit the Model T wheelbase and track measurements. It can build into a really nice looking model but it will never be an accurate rendition of a 34 coupe.  The model below was built by an entrant in last year's Super Model Car Sunday event here in Perth.  He did an excellent job but as you can see the proportions are not what you would expect - the hood is particularly short as is the grille.

Cheers

Alan

[coupe guy]

Thanks for that information Alan.  I was going to use the body only to make a drag gas coupe or an altered coupe, maybe that will work out.   Seems like a 1/25 scale blown motor might look goofy, we'll see. 

[Casey]

 

[Snake45]

2 hours ago, coupe guy said:

Thanks for that information Alan.  I was going to use the body only to make a drag gas coupe or an altered coupe, maybe that will work out.   Seems like a 1/25 scale blown motor might look goofy, we'll see. 

I think that would be an EXCELLENT use for this body. My own might well end up that very way. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Several years ago, after being very disappointed in the under-scale of the kit body in question, I did some measuring to see if it could be used for ANYTHING with reasonable accuracy.

Turns out it's a pretty decent starting point for a '34 Fiat Balilla, a car that was much smaller than the Ford, but had similar styling.

    

The Fiat Topolino was a popular body in the "altered" class, and I don't see any good reason a Balilla couldn't be the basis of a "what if" model that represents something that actually could have been built. Stretching the rules a little, even a gasser-class car of similar size to the popular old Anglia is also feasible.

Edited September 29, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[coupe guy]

So now I purchased a Revell chopped '34 ford coupe and its the same undersized body.  The assembly instructions are dated 1982.  Does AMT or Monogram make a '34 Ford chopped coupe?  I really want a chopped top version.

Edited October 4, 2018 by coupe guy
added info.

[Mark]

There's the Revell snap kit (chopped '34 three-window), and the ZZ Top Eliminator which is a '33 three-window.

[Dave Van]

Cute little model.......must be about 1/29 scale. Sad too as if scale it'd be nice! 

 

[Snake45]

31 minutes ago, Dave Van said:

Cute little model.......must be about 1/29 scale. Sad too as if scale it'd be nice! 

 

I've compared the body directly with the 1/24 ZZ Top. Surprisingly, it's not THAT much smaller--a little, but not as far as 1/29. Its major problem is the hood is just way too short. If a correctly sized/proportioned hood were available, or could be scratchbuilt, the body could be used into a fairly decent model (IMHO).

Meanwhile, as Mark mentioned, the Revell '34 snapper builds up into a sharp looking model. I believe Ace (Bill) has some issues with it, but it looks good to me. Here's one I recently "rescued" from the local toy show. 

[Mark]

If you have, or can check out, an original-issue Revell chopped coupe kit, the assembled "prototype model" pictured on the box (a red car) has a Monogram 1/24 scale body, with the Buttera chassis pieced in!  Revell did a lot of that back then; several of their 1/25 scale funny car kit boxes use photos of assembled 1/16 scale kits with the wiring left off.  The wheels and front tires usually give those away.

If you shorten the Buttera chassis (and fender unit) and do some slicing and dicing on the coupe body, you could maybe get a semi-acceptable Model Y coupe (with widened fenders) out of it.  It'd probably be a phantom body style, as I'm pretty certain all of the coupes were of the five-window style, some having a "sport coupe" top covering that blocked out the quarter windows.  The Y actually predated our '33-'34 styling; it's been said that the Y fender/grille/hood styling was enlarged for the North American '33 Fords.

[Dave Van]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

I've compared the body directly with the 1/24 ZZ Top. Surprisingly, it's not THAT much smaller--a little, but not as far as 1/29. Its major problem is the hood is just way too short. If a correctly sized/proportioned hood were available, or could be scratchbuilt, the body could be used into a fairly decent model (IMHO).

Meanwhile, as Mark mentioned, the Revell '34 snapper builds up into a sharp looking model. I believe Ace (Bill) has some issues with it, but it looks good to me. Here's one I recently "rescued" from the local toy show. 

I built the kit way back when it first came out.....do not have one now. I just recall getting a AMT 34 Ford kit and being surprised in the size difference. 

[Casey]

3 hours ago, coupe guy said:

So now I purchased a Revell chopped '34 ford coupe and its the same undersized body.  The assembly instructions are dated 1982.  Does AMT or Monogram make a '34 Ford chopped coupe?  I really want a chopped top version.

The short/quick answer is the Revell SnapTitie '34 Ford Coupe is the bet choice, but it's not perfect.

More discussion on '33/'34 Fords here: 

 

[Richard Bartrop]

What about using it as a starting point for a rear small Ford, the Model Y?  Built in Europe, and they have been made into hot rods.

[Dave Van]

The RM 34 snapper is not bad......

[coupe guy]

So I did purchase the Revell Snap Tite coupe..  It appears to be scale correct, the difference with the John Buttera  coupe is very apparent.  The hood is molded as part of the body however.  It was an ebay buy, the seller has a few more at $9.99 + shipping, no box or instructions, but complete and new otherwise.  It is item #222981259724.