|
Post by Bernard Kron on May 1, 2019 20:43:31 GMT -5
I haven’t done a hot rod or drag car project since the Autorama last December. I’ve been working on some non-TRaKable sports car projects since then, a couple of Porsches. This project, however, has been percolating in my imagination for quite some time. It’s a ‘32 Ford roadster which will be done entirely in bare metal tones with the exception of the tires and any non-metal items like hoses and seating surfaces. The stance will be that of a “low Highboy”, with a Z’d rear end and severely dropped front axle, providing for a low overall ride height despite the body being mounted atop the frame rails. I’ve done the basic chassis work, based on a Revell Deuce chassis. I’m incorporating as many details that will emphasize the bare metal appearance as I can think of, so I grafted a ’37 Ford truck X-member to the Deuce rails. The rear end has a buggy spring from a Monogram ’27 Ford. The rear axle will feature a Halibrand quick change which will be visible from the back end because I won’t be extending the rear pan despite omitting the stock fuel tank. The interior will be all bare metal except for the upholstery on the bomber-style seats which are resin pieces I got from Big Donkey Resins. The picture below shows a rough mockup of the interior bits. The interior side panels will be glued and clamped into place to conform to the body shape. Below are some body photos showing the basic setup. All the metal finishes in the two phtos consist of Duplicolor Metallic Silver lacquer which was treated with Kosutte Gin San metalizer powder and a some thin black acrylic wash. Still to be determined are some pretty major items, like the motor and rolling stock, but I wanted to get the basic look started in my belated re-entry to things of a hot rod nature. The motor will most likely be something big and powerful, not a flathead, and the motor will determine whether I include hood panels or not. The wheels will most likely be traditional Halibrands of some sort, with skinny big ‘n’ littles. Thanx for lookin’, B.
|
|
|
Post by scalespeedshop on May 1, 2019 21:15:26 GMT -5
Looks like your off to a great start.
|
|
|
Post by spex84 on May 1, 2019 22:57:55 GMT -5
Ditto! That Ginsan stuff produces incredible results....looks just like metal!
|
|
|
Post by lo51merc on May 2, 2019 10:39:35 GMT -5
Real nice start B! Looks great already. Gary
|
|
|
Post by Dennis on May 4, 2019 19:31:19 GMT -5
Looks cool. For some reason I’m seeing this with either a Chevy 409 or a Pontiac.
|
|
|
Post by afx on May 5, 2019 6:33:35 GMT -5
Best attempt I've seen at a bare body.
|
|
|
Post by Plowboy on May 5, 2019 10:52:39 GMT -5
Cool project Bernard! The bare metal is quite convincing. For whatever reason, I picture it with a set of bare steel wire wheels. An idea I've had for a while is to build a model in bare styrene and use flat and gloss clears over it.
|
|
|
Post by Bernard Kron on May 16, 2019 19:07:15 GMT -5
Thanks for all the comments, guys!
I’m in the “bitsa” stage of this project. I’m doing some “bitsa” this and “bitsa” that, a natural outcome of my improvisational kit-bashing build style. I didn’t care for the thick look and stiffness of the interior panels so I landed up redoing them completely from .010” and .020” styrene sheet. The original was done from .030” styrene sheet as a base with .010 and .020 strip to construct the details. So the overall thickness is now about ½ of what it was. Because it’s so much thinner it’s flexible and rests snuggly up to the interior surface of the body. I also cut out the triangular areas so that the interior body surface is now revealed, creating a far better depth effect than before. I like it much better, now. I also added a dash panel from an AMT Phantom Vicky kit. Both the new panels and the dash are shown as part of the composite summary photo below. The rolling stock is now complete, too. The wheels are a combination of Halibrand mags that I first saw used many moons ago by Jon Ferren (Rockin' Rodney Rat) and which I've wanted to include in a project ever since. The fronts come from an MPC funny car kit, and the rears are the front mags from the AMT Phantom Vicky kit. Jon usually runs them in flat metalizer finishes, but in my take the wheel centers have been painted in Testors Acryl Jet Exhaust to simulate a Dow 7 coating while the rims were left in the kit chrome. The front tires are Modelhaus T110B’s and the rear tires are my favorite Old Skool hot rod rear tires, Herb Deeks bias ply truck tires. Next up, the motor. As I mentioned I wanted a big, powerful looking motor, and considered several of the currently fashionable “alternative” Old Skool power plants, like the Buick Nailhead and especially a blown Oldsmobile. But in the end I decided on the massive looking DeSoto Firedome from the AMT ’53 Ford Pickup Trophy Series kit. Those 8 Strombergs really command attention! And lastly I’ve included a photo of the front and rear axles. The front is the dropped I-beam from the Revellogram 1/24th scale ’32 Ford Roadster kits. I shaved the spring to bring the front end further down. The spot brakes are from the AMT Phantom Vicky kit. The rear is a resin Halibrand quick change setup from parts stash. The rods you see protruding from the ’40 Ford brake backing plates are the mounting pins for the rear spring. They’ll be trimmed away to a shorter length once everything is assembled. With the “bitsas” all cleared away it’s time for final assembly. The exhaust system and driveline will take some fiddling but it shouldn’t be too long before this project is completed. Thanx for lookin’, B.
|
|
|
Post by spex84 on May 16, 2019 23:53:03 GMT -5
Nice! Love that wheel/tire combo. For a while now I've been scratching my head, wondering what kind of car the '53 F100's Desoto would be appropriate for (in box-stock form). This is it! The combination of halibrand mags and bare metal body provide a suitably muscular foundation for that hemi to express itself. In a painted car, or a large engine bay, the '53 hemi engine can seem diminished and somehow not as impressive as it should be, but here it looks absolutely brutal...and classy, in that Rodders Journal way.
|
|
|
Post by gearface on May 17, 2019 13:35:48 GMT -5
It's shaping up really cool, Bernard. Just gets better and better.
|
|
|
Post by FordRodnKustom on May 17, 2019 15:29:06 GMT -5
Brilliant! Perfect choice for the mill!
|
|
deucedays
Soc
Love rods & customs also vintage road racers and current F-1
Posts: 21
|
Post by deucedays on May 18, 2019 10:37:31 GMT -5
I really like this one. It would look great at Deuce Days in Scale July 21 in Victoria. You could take the Clipper up for the day !!
|
|
|
Post by Bernard Kron on May 21, 2019 21:38:05 GMT -5
Thanks everyone, The chassis work is now complete with the exception of the steering tie rod and hairpins. At last I could check the stance by temporarily attaching the wheels and tires. So below are 4 photos which amount to a stance check. I came out as I wanted, with that characteristic tough and slightly fat look of a classic highboy. I fabricated a steering pivot arm to connect to the largely hidden Schroeder sprint car steering (a lovely resin piece from the late Ron Royston at Early Years Resin). The tie rod is done, fabricated from styrene rod and “plated” with Molotow, and the hairpins are the Revell Deuce ones from the 5-window coupe kit. Lotsa fitting, fettling and adjustment right now, but it shouldn’t be long before this project is completed. I’ll include detail photos with my final update before completion. With only black to contrast with all the bare and plated metal tones it looks very monochromatic, which is what I like about the baremetal look. Thanks for lookin’, B.
|
|
|
Post by Duane on May 22, 2019 0:35:14 GMT -5
B i'm diggin your '32, the bare metal look, gives it style !
|
|
|
Post by FordRodnKustom on May 22, 2019 10:05:15 GMT -5
I dig the stance, looks tough.
|
|