At Last! Louvered Hoods for the Revell ’32 Ford series

[Bernard Kron]

One of the Great Mysteries of Hot Rod Modeling is the lack of aftermarket louvered hoods for the 1/25th scale Revell ’32 Fords. After all, Revell themselves started the ball rolling with the louvered side panels on the original ’32 Ford Roadster Street Rod release of 1998. Then in 2011 they added the louvered deck with the release of their 5-window coupe variant. At that point it should have been obvious that matching louvered hoods were a logical complement to the series. So, besides wondering why Revell never offered louvered hoods (which would have helped drive sales of “parts kits” for Deuce modelers), one has to wonder why we’ve never seen them from the aftermarket.

At last there is hope. The other week I was reading the most recent posts on the thread discussing the superb chopped Deuce 5-window coupe offered by Ed Fluck’s Drag City Casting from a master created by Dennis Lacy. When Dennis first announced the advent of the Drag City chopped 5-window he also showed a nice louvered hood. That was in 2019 and unfortunately it was never produced in resin. Recently some members inquired about this. This prompted MCM forum member Jason Lookabill (68shortfleet) to mention that he had “three different louvered hood for the Revell 32 Ford available”. Well it didn’t take much to get me to PM Jason asking about their availability. He sent me some pictures of three beautifully proportioned variations based on the Revell louvers – 3 row, 4 row with the stock center hinge, and 5 row. I arranged to have Jason send me one of each and was delighted to see that the photos did not deceive. The casting are absolutely top grade, the louver placements dead even and symmetric with each row of a proper length, and the fit identical to the styrene Revell kit hoods.

I have several Deuces that are crying out for louvered hoods and I chose 3 roadsters where paint matching would not pose a problem. Each example was also chosen for their suitability to one of the 3 styles.

First off here are 2 composites of the photos  Jason sent me:

Next up the 3 row hood applied to a 50’s style channeled roadster with the Revell louvered side panels. I think the symmetry and simplicity of the 3 row complements the side panels perfectly.

Then the 4 row as applied to a matte black highboy. The hinge down the middle sets off the stock hood side panels and shows that this style should be particularly useful for resto-rods and street machines.

A finally a Hemi powered bare metal highboy with an aggressive louvered deck treatment that has just been crying out for this full-dress 5 louver hood!

Also – A work in progress

Jason also sent me this tasty 6-row rood panel for the Revell ’30 Ford coupe. I don’t have a donor car for it (yet…) but I finished it in bare metal steel for this photo. Those of you with a discerning eye will notice the louvers were installed backwards, one of the many challenges facing those who take on grafting louvers.  Jason also told me he’s still working at getting these to mold to a consistently high level of quality. So, consider this a work in progress.

Jason has molded a small series of the louvered hoods he is making available. If you’re interested PM him here on the MCM board (68shortfleet) or email him at Lookabillj@gmail.com.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

VERY nice stuff.

I've been making some for my own consumption for quite a while, in .020" thick real fiberglass.

[Calb56]

They are nice, I have a couple from Jason. I got one to go with Ed Fluck's 5 Window and the other is going with a sedan.

Charles

[Mr. Metallic]

This is perfect timing with the Revell #2 roadster bout to come back (already hitting shelves in Europe).

The quality looks good, thanks for sharing Bernard.

@68shortfleet , what is the best way to get some of these?

[68shortfleet]

20 hours ago, Bernard Kron said:

One of the Great Mysteries of Hot Rod Modeling is the lack of aftermarket louvered hoods for the 1/25th scale Revell ’32 Fords. After all, Revell themselves started the ball rolling with the louvered side panels on the original ’32 Ford Roadster Street Rod release of 1998. Then in 2011 they added the louvered deck with the release of their 5-window coupe variant. At that point it should have been obvious that matching louvered hoods were a logical complement to the series. So, besides wondering why Revell never offered louvered hoods (which would have helped drive sales of “parts kits” for Deuce modelers), one has to wonder why we’ve never seen them from the aftermarket.

At last there is hope. The other week I was reading the most recent posts on the thread discussing the superb chopped Deuce 5-window coupe offered by Ed Fluck’s Drag City Casting from a master created by Dennis Lacy. When Dennis first announced the advent of the Drag City chopped 5-window he also showed a nice louvered hood. That was in 2019 and unfortunately it was never produced in resin. Recently some members inquired about this. This prompted MCM forum member Jason Lookabill (68shortfleet) to mention that he had “three different louvered hood for the Revell 32 Ford available”. Well it didn’t take much to get me to PM Jason asking about their availability. He sent me some pictures of three beautifully proportioned variations based on the Revell louvers – 3 row, 4 row with the stock center hinge, and 5 row. I arranged to have Jason send me one of each and was delighted to see that the photos did not deceive. The casting are absolutely top grade, the louver placements dead even and symmetric with each row of a proper length, and the fit identical to the styrene Revell kit hoods.

I have several Deuces that are crying out for louvered hoods and I chose 3 roadsters where paint matching would not pose a problem. Each example was also chosen for their suitability to one of the 3 styles.

First off here are 2 composites of the photos  Jason sent me:

Next up the 3 row hood applied to a 50’s style channeled roadster with the Revell louvered side panels. I think the symmetry and simplicity of the 3 row complements the side panels perfectly.

Then the 4 row as applied to a matte black highboy. The hinge down the middle sets off the stock hood side panels and shows that this style should be particularly useful for resto-rods and street machines.

A finally a Hemi powered bare metal highboy with an aggressive louvered deck treatment that has just been crying out for this full-dress 5 louver hood!

Also – A work in progress

Jason also sent me this tasty 6-row rood panel for the Revell ’30 Ford coupe. I don’t have a donor car for it (yet…) but I finished it in bare metal steel for this photo. Those of you with a discerning eye will notice the louvers were installed backwards, one of the many challenges facing those who take on grafting louvers.  Jason also told me he’s still working at getting these to mold to a consistently high level of quality. So, consider this a work in progress.

Jason has molded a small series of the louvered hoods he is making available. If you’re interested PM him here on the MCM board (68shortfleet) or email him at Lookabillj@gmail.com.

 

Thank you Bernard. 

I will get my hands on a 30 coupe soon hopefully to test out that roof insert.

18 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

VERY nice stuff.

I've been making some for my own consumption for quite a while, in .020" thick real fiberglass.

Those look great, I have considered trying to work with some f'glass for some parts too.

However, i am not a fan of the louvers on the Monogram 32 hood. But that's all we had to work with for many years.

7 hours ago, Calb56 said:

They are nice, I have a couple from Jason. I got one to go with Ed Fluck's 5 Window and the other is going with a sedan.

Charles

Thank you Charles

10 minutes ago, Mr. Metallic said:

This is perfect timing with the Revell #2 roadster bout to come back (already hitting shelves in Europe).

The quality looks good, thanks for sharing Bernard.

@68shortfleet , what is the best way to get some of these?

Craig, Unfortunately these were molded from the standard Revell roadster/3w/5w/sedan hood and not the Rat Roaster hood which is slightly wider. These may work just fine on the Rat Roaster, but I have not tested one for fitment. However, you bring up a good point, I could certainly master one based on the Rat Roaster hood.

As far as getting ahold of these, feel free to PM me or email me @ lookabillj@gmail.com

[68shortfleet]

On 9/13/2022 at 4:54 PM, Bernard Kron said:

Also – A work in progress

Jason also sent me this tasty 6-row rood panel for the Revell ’30 Ford coupe. I don’t have a donor car for it (yet…) but I finished it in bare metal steel for this photo. Those of you with a discerning eye will notice the louvers were installed backwards, one of the many challenges facing those who take on grafting louvers.  Jason also told me he’s still working at getting these to mold to a consistently high level of quality. So, consider this a work in progress.

If you’re interested PM him here on the MCM board (68shortfleet) or email him at Lookabillj@gmail.com.

 

I was able to get a louvered roof insert test fit on a 30 coupe, and get a couple pictures. Turns out I didn't mold the louvers backwards after all, like I thought I did.

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by 68shortfleet

[Calb56]

32 minutes ago, 68shortfleet said:

I was able to get a louvered roof insert test fit on a 30 coupe, and get a couple pictures. Turns out I didn't mold the louvers backwards after all, like I thought I did.

 

Very cool!!!

[misterNNL]

On 9/13/2022 at 10:07 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

VERY nice stuff.

I've been making some for my own consumption for quite a while, in .020" thick real fiberglass.

Beautiful stuff there Bill!

[Dennis Lacy]

I had the pleasure of meeting Jason this weekend and talking to him at length. Great guy who is downright passionate about scale hot rods. I picked up 2 of everything from him and I’m looking forward to putting these parts to use. They’re very nicely made and you all need to get in on this while they’re available because we never know how long these products will be around. No one else offers louvred hoods for the Revell ‘32 series! 
 

[Kit Karson]

Mock up...

[Dennis Lacy]

3 hours ago, Kit Karson said:

Mock up...

?

[Calb56]

His stuff is great!

I'm using one hood with my 32 Sedan and the other will be used with a Drag City 5 Window chopped...

[Jon Haigwood]

On 10/14/2022 at 1:47 PM, 68shortfleet said:

I was able to get a louvered roof insert test fit on a 30 coupe, and get a couple pictures. Turns out I didn't mold the louvers backwards after all, like I thought I did.

 

Hw come I didn't know about these Jason ? I will ask about them in our club meeting Sunday

[68shortfleet]

1 hour ago, Jon Haigwood said:

Hw come I didn't know about these Jason ? I will ask about them in our club meeting Sunday

Sorry you didn't know, I have had them displayed at the meetings a few different times.

[Calb56]

So... Jason has these great louvered hoods and now in another thread I find out he's casting solid Halibrand magnesium wheels from the 40s.

What other traditional treats are you working on?

 

[68shortfleet]

I do have those Halibrand style wheels, they are sized to fit the wonderful tires from the Monogram 41 Lincoln. I have cast a few of those tires too, but they suck to cast and the blem rate is really high. So, I do not really want to be advertising those, and I do not have any cast at the moment.

I did recently find a decent wire wheel that fits those same Lincoln tires and I am working on a mold for those too. But, I suspect they will have a high blem rate also.

Other things in the works is a four row louvered hood for the new Revell 32 Ford(Rat Roaster re-tool), as the hoods(that you got a couple of) i did have just didn't fit that body very well. However, the new hood appears to fit all the Revell 32 bodies except the old 1/24 kit that Monogram did and has been sold under the Revell name too.

Yesterday I started working on a louvered hood for the AMT 34 Ford kits. I'm hoping to use one these before the month is over.

I have a couple other items I am working on, but it's doubtful that I will sell any of them. I.E. More Halibrand wheels. Google search "Canepa 32 Ford fordor"

Jason

 

[Calb56]

59 minutes ago, 68shortfleet said:

Other things in the works is a four row louvered hood for the new Revell 32 Ford(Rat Roaster re-tool), as the hoods(that you got a couple of) i did have just didn't fit that body very well. However, the new hood appears to fit all the Revell 32 bodies except the old 1/24 kit that Monogram did and has been sold under the Revell name too.

Yesterday I started working on a louvered hood for the AMT 34 Ford kits. I'm hoping to use one these before the month is over.

I have a couple other items I am working on, but it's doubtful that I will sell any of them. I.E. More Halibrand wheels. Google search "Canepa 32 Ford fordor"

Sounds very cool, the Halibrand wheels sound great, especially Indy style like on the Canepa 32 Ford...

Even if you don't cast any to sell it'll be great to see them, you do really nice work.

Charles 

[Mr. Metallic]

On 1/13/2023 at 3:31 PM, Calb56 said:

So... Jason has these great louvered hoods and now in another thread I find out he's casting solid Halibrand magnesium wheels from the 40s.

What other traditional treats are you working on?

 

Maybe @Bernard Kron could update the title of this thread? Just a thought