Shiny Black Deuce Roadster - Update 3-29

[Bernard Kron]

It’s been a while since I posted a new project. Preparing to go down to each year’s NNL West in Santa Clara always involves a major thrash to get models done to show, and, as a confirmed “messy desk executive”, my work room always lands up looking like a .bomb hit it, with kit boxes scattered on the floor, paint cans and jars perilously perched randomly everywhere, and piles of styrene competing with tools and brushes for whatever space is left. On my return at the end of January I didn’t imagine that I would be actually forced to hunker down in my home for an extended period, but it was a welcome excuse to finally clean up and organize, post thrash. At last, a couple of weeks back I started another project.

Speaking of the NNL West, that storied model car shows features some of the finest work of Central California car modelers and highlights a particular style of building – the “NNL West Style” as I’ve come to think of it, is one featuring impeccably deep and smooth paint jobs and plenty of kit chrome. It’s a sparkling feast of modeling eye candy and I always return home inspired and aspiring to someday build something in that style. Generally I go more for realism over shine, and almost always the kit chrome comes off straight away. But with this project I decided to try my hand at this way of building.

I chose yet another ’32 Ford as my project so I could concentrate primarily on paint and finish, It’s a shiny black highboy, based on the Revell kit. Most of the parts used are from either the Roadster version (body, interior, chassis, front suspension) or the Sedan (flathead V8, .smooth hood side panels). The rear end has been converted to a buggy-spring setup lifted from a Revell ’29 Ford Roadster Pickup kit. The front tires and Halibrand mag wheels, front and rear, are from the Revell Orange Crate, with Herb Deeks truck tires at the back end. That’s rolling stock I’ve long desired to include in a project and is part of the traditional look I’m going after. The Halibrand quick change of unknown origin is from my parts box. In keeping with the shiny ‘n’ chrome build style kit chrome has been [reserved wherever it’s appropriate.

A highlight of the project will be the up-top, a lovely piece I bought several years ago from an outfit called Carbon Copy Resin that came and went all too quickly. It’s a beautifully done casting and will be finished in buff colored canvas to contrast with the main bodywork. It’s displayed in the photos below on the primer black “Therapy” highboy I did a few years back, which most closely resembles this project. Like the Therapy roadster this car will have a chopped windshield and a raked stance. But this roadster, besides being glossy, has a rolled rear pan instead of the stock fuel tank at the back, and a v-shaped spreader bar at the front. The simulated ox-blood leather upholstery is done with Testors Acryl Insignia Red and lightly brushed black washes. The six-gauge dash panel is from Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland and the Bell sprint car steering wheel is from the recent Revell ’29 Ford Roadster kit.

Next time I’ll show the car up on its wheels for stance check and then it will be time for final assembly.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

Edited March 29, 2020 by Bernard Kron

[Snake45]

Very nice. Love the interior! Drive on! 

[cobraman]

Very nice work.

[NOBLNG]

Really nice. I LIKE!

[espo]

Nice to see a fully dressed Flathead and I like your interior treatment. 

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks to you all. I'm glad you like it.

I’ve gotten a good deal done in the last couple of days. The front and rear axles are now glued in place and the wheel mountings finalized. This permitted me to do a stance check and the car sits pretty much how I imagined, so now I can focus on the final details and assembly. The pictures below are with the body parts wheels just loosely tacked in place. There’s no interior so the back half of the main body may sit slightly higher but the difference, if any, will be slight. I chopped the windshield about 1 ½ scale inches and I got the top painted, using Testors acryic Radome Tan. I used a similar technique to paint the fabric top as that used on the upholstery, hand brushing light coats, cross hatching the brush strokes as the paint layer dried to achieve the desired texture. In the case of the “leather” for the upholstery the strokes are random, alternating between diagonal and right angle strokes. The effect on the top I was going for was a matte weave and so I stuck primarily to right angle strokes. Black is notoriously difficult to photograph, and a light tan like I used on the top is no easier, but the photos capture the overall look fairly well. The contrast between top and main bodywork came out OK, I think.

In the second photo below there’s also a group shot including the only 2 black Deuces in my collection. I was surprised I had so few, considering I have probably a couple of dozen ‘32s on my shelves. I seem to tend towards reds and maroons more than other colors. The chopped Tudor highboy is a model I built a couple of years ago. The full-fendered roadster was built to a description of my ideal Revell kit bash I wrote in a forum post at least 10 years ago. My friend Raul Perez built it as a surprise gift after he read it. I still refer to this model from time to time as an inspiration of how a precisely built and thoroughly detailed model car should be done.

Since cleanliness and precision are the main goals of this project, now come the dangerous part – final assembly. Fingers crossed all goes well…

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

 

[Phildaupho]

I always enjoy reading your posts and viewing your models. This is going to be one handsome Deuce.

[curt raitz]

Very Nice Bernard...I like the chrome wheels on the car.

ya gotta watch out for Raul, he's a sneaky guy...but ya know that already!

keep on building buddy

c'ya

[Scott8950]

looks perfect

[gman]

I love your building style- hard to beat a period Duece, and the black paint/red accents and period correct mill certainly contribute to "the look." The up top is icing on the cake.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks everyone! Your kind comments are much appreciated.

Here’s a small update. I got the rear end and rear suspension finished up. The taillights are the little tear drops included in the Revell 1/25th scale ‘32 coupes and sedan kits mounted to the photo-etch backings provided in the Model Car Garage photo-etch detail set for these cars. The exhaust system was run out to the back end using butyl covered wire painted stainless steel and polished tips made from aluminum tubing. The engine compartment is completed. Most of the parts are from the Revell Deuce Sedan kit but the chromed fuel block is a mystery part I found floating in the bottom of one of my parts boxes. Proper grill shell braces were made from stainless piano wire (a pet peeve of mine is that awful “curtain rod” center brace that comes in the Revell Deuce kits). Left to do is completing the front suspension, installing headlights and gluing the windshield in place. Really not much… Shouldn’t be long now.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

 

[alan barton]

Love how this is going Bernard.  I hope to soon past a Bernard inspired roadster on this forum but it is not quite ready yet.  It was a hiboy that I started years ago and it wasn't quite talking to me - and then you posted your "big seat roll" roadster and that's when I knew what I had to do.  And the distressed leather look I finished about a month ago looks very similar to what you are showing us here. 

That rear rollpan is really cool!

Cheers

Alan

[David G.]

That's one sweet looking Deuce you have going there! It sits well, has a good rake.

David G.

[Bernard Kron]

Thank you, David and Alan!

This will be the final update. I got the front end completed. It features a Model Car Garage photoetch grill and headlights from a Revell ’29 Ford Roadster Pickup “Rat Rod” kit. The reason I used these headlights was because they have separate buckets from the chrome rims. I stripped the chrome off the buckets to paint them black to match the body. The Revell ’29 RPU kit is a very old Monogram kit and it doesn’t come with clear headlight lenses, although it had nicely engraved lens detail on the chromed plastic. To give the headlights a proper modern kit look I flowed 5-minute epoxy over the kit lens surface. The result is the clear lens effect you see in the photo below. Next up it’s time to post the requisite “beauty shots” of the completed model Under Glass. Thanks to all who have followed along with this build.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

[Paul Payne]

Great work, Bernard- looks like a classic

[dino246gt]

Wow, I love it, a black '32 roadster with a flathead, what's not to love!!!

 

[rustybill1960]

Awesome build Bernard

Thank You for sharing

Later

[Bernard Kron]

One again, thank you all so much. I'm glad you dig it. You can check out the final "beauty pics" here Under Glass: