1930 Ford Red Chariot - 24 Hour Build

[Tom Geiger]

This weekend was the 15th Annual 24 Hour Build on Facebook. Gary Kulchock and his team from West Virginia have been the masterminds behind this event which grows every year.  This year over 200 people registered models.  Terry Sumner kept track of the people and models, and for the first time, this year Peter Hays introduced a Zoom chat room during the event.  

I decided to add to my row of Monogram Model As and had wanted to build a Red Chariot for some time, which will sit next to my Blue Beetle.  Monogram updated most of the Model A kits over the years, so the original custom parts are no longer available.  And some things changed,like axle width to accommodate wider tires.  The originals of kits like the box I show above are expensive when they can be found.  Still we want to build replicas of the originals.

Starting with the most recent version of the 1930 Phaeton,  I set out to build my Red Chariot. The parts that are obsolete that I needed and saved for this build include the front bumper, the very cool wheel covers, the rear slicks, tail lights, four cycle fenders and the engine, especially the intake setup and exhaust.  Also the non-fender mounted headlights have a bracket to glue them to the chassis.   I had much of this in my hoard, but I improvised on a few items. First, I mounted a pair of standard headlights onto brass rod and drilled the corresponding holes in the frame.  I actually like this better than the heavy appearing plastic ones.  I'm always learning new stuff about these kits, and on this build I learned that the early front axle has slots to hold the front cycle fenders.  I had to improvise and create a mount for these during my precious 24 hours!  The slicks shown here are from my parts box and are hand hollowed out to barely  allow for the large wheel cover. I really need a pair of original slicks!

This is how far I got in my 24 Hours.  Essentially up on wheels and done, minus a lot of little details.  I have the cowl lights ready to attach, plus the original era firewall and front bumper. I also need to install the steering column, shifter and hand brake in the interior.  I wasn't happy with the way the opening is exposed on the front seat side, so I didn't glue it in place so that I can address it later.

I didn't have the original Red Chariot decals and saw that people have improvised these over the years. Sources I picked on where a recent Revell 29 Ford roadster,  RM Blue Bandito and the last version of the Green Hornet.  Paint is Tamiya Italian Red that went down very nice over Duplicolor white primer.  Due to time restrictions, there is no clear or polishing.  I would like to find a set of the original tail lights that install over those little bumps at the bottom of the back panel.  

My one indulgence against efficiency was to make the basswood floor.  I usually instruct people to keep things simple and not to do any scratch building.  But in my defense, I had followed my advice to build a kit you are familiar with.  I had done the wood floor on my TROG phaeton, and even had the cardstock template from that effort. So it wasn't a huge undertaking. And it just makes the model !  

And new stable mates together.  The TROG Phaeton was on my bench during this build for reference.  Over the next few days I will finish up the little details and adjust things I'm not happy with.   And as soon as that's done (and it stops snowing!) I'll take some family photos outside.

All in all, the 24 Hour Build is a lot of fun.  There's a ton of camaraderie from builders around the world.  I spent the time in the Zoom chat room with folks from across the USA, Europe and Canada. It was fun to have company as we built and it added a whole new dimension to the event.  I've been doing this since 2013 and will continue to do so!  People are already planning out their projects for 2022!  

 

Here's all of my projects since 2013...

[slusher]

Great looking model, Tom!

[AMT68]

You accomplished a fine looking and very detailed model in such a short time period. Neat vintage box art additionally. 

[Phildaupho]

Great project well built !!

[NOBLNG]

Nicely done there Tom!

[PappyD340]

Nice hot rod Tom!

[Modlbldr]

Very nice build Tom. Beautiful paint and I like the wood floor. It was a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to doing this again soon.

Later-

 

[BeakDoc]

Very nice, Tom, especially for a 24 hour build.

[doorsovdoon]

That looks amazing, I love those wheels. I like the stock ride height on this one too.

[Danno]

Outstanding, Tom!

[Life, aka work, emergencies chased me down twice and disrupted my effort. Next year!]

??

[Tom Geiger]

Thanks guys!  The Facebook page is already up for next year's 24 Hour Build!   Some folks cannot get enough!

[bobthehobbyguy]

Nicely done. Impressive results in a short time frame.

[Tom Geiger]

I can never leave well enough alone. I wasn’t 100% satisfied with this one so I pulled it apart to do some upgrades. Of course I managed to mess up some more stuff to fix. I finally pushed it off the bench today and took some final photos.

 

I added tail lights and made a Red Chariot license plate.

And set her for a pose with stablemate Blue Beetle..

And here’s the full set of Monogram Model A’s... so far!

Edited April 18, 2021 by Tom Geiger

[echo]

I like the subject, those old models have some charm to them, some nice details for a quick build. The old Monogram box art is so appealing, makes one want to buy it and build it.