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Post by Bernard Kron on Mar 27, 2020 19:18:04 GMT -5
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’,
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Post by krassandbernie on Mar 27, 2020 19:32:41 GMT -5
If I am not mistaken, I had cast that top (which was accompanied by a chopped windshield frame) for this guy. It looks like the one I molded and cast around 10-12 years ago. The back window is even the same. I never heard from him after that commission job. I did not sell any.....they went to him to market himself. I don't recall how many I made for him; but it was around 50-75 copies I believe. Your project looks great so far Bernard! Here are a few photos I had saved of the top I cast for this guy....mocked up on a project that never got off the ground.
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Post by Bernard Kron on Mar 27, 2020 19:39:59 GMT -5
If I am not mistaken, I had cast that top (which was accompanied by a chopped windshield frame) for this guy. ... Thanks Ed. I'm sure it's the same one. I have the windshield but these days I know how to chop the Revell piece and leave the chrome intact. Now I know why it was such a nice casting! It also came with some of the best instructions I've ever seen with resin pieces.
BTW, I still want those Deuce up-tops when they come out!
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Post by krassandbernie on Mar 27, 2020 22:03:19 GMT -5
If I am not mistaken, I had cast that top (which was accompanied by a chopped windshield frame) for this guy. ... Thanks Ed. I'm sure it's the same one. I have the windshield but these days I know how to chop the Revell piece and leave the chrome intact. Now I know why it was such a nice casting! It also came with some of the best instructions I've ever seen with resin pieces. BTW, I still want those Deuce up-tops when they come out!
Dennis is slowly making headway with the new deuce uptop. He had to order some Evergreen strips on-line; and was waiting for them to arrive (last we spoke) before he could finish up the master work. It's not all that wise to go out to the local hobby shop (or anywhere else right now).
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Post by Dennis on Mar 27, 2020 23:15:43 GMT -5
Great looking project, B! I can't wait to see it sitting up on those Orange Crate wheels. I bet it will look bad ass!! I really like the appearance of the "upholstery". That top looks familiar! I actually ended up buying the one Ed saved for himself seen on his mocked up roadster above. Here it is sitting on my own roadster after I received it a few months ago. I love the shape of it but the back window shape is a little funky. It inspired me to create the '29 roadster top which then led to the '32 roadster top I'm doing now.
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Post by skip on Mar 28, 2020 21:17:52 GMT -5
Beautiful work there BK, I think I like this one more than any of your others and they were nice too! Proportions are right on the money, that top is really nice on this, almost looks like the car was built for it. Caps and trim rings would set off those Steel wheels perfectly, just enough glitz that it enhances the rest of the car but isn’t the focus as is often the case with a lot of mag wheels. That’s they way I feel about the billet wheels, often they overpower what they’re put on, kind of like wearing stripes and plaid together, it’s either one or the other!
Ed, unless there was some sort of you wouldn’t cast that top agreement, why not cast some up. They’ll sell for sure, at least after BK takes this little Black Beauty down to the NNL that is...
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Post by krassandbernie on Mar 28, 2020 22:10:22 GMT -5
Beautiful work there BK, I think I like this one more than any of your others and they were nice too! Proportions are right on the money, that top is really nice on this, almost looks like the car was built for it. Caps and trim rings would set off those Steel wheels perfectly, just enough glitz that it enhances the rest of the car but isn’t the focus as is often the case with a lot of mag wheels. That’s they way I feel about the billet wheels, often they overpower what they’re put on, kind of like wearing stripes and plaid together, it’s either one or the other! Ed, unless there was some sort of you wouldn’t cast that top agreement, why not cast some up. They’ll sell for sure, at least after BK takes this little Black Beauty down to the NNL that is... I am certain I gave my word to this guy that I would only cast them up for him at the time of our arrangement years ago. This was mastered by him.....his pet project if you will. Dennis is almost done mastering a new (similar/more appealing) uptop anyway; so it wouldn't make much sense to copy this guy's old top, right?!
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Post by skip on Mar 29, 2020 10:49:03 GMT -5
Beautiful work there BK, I think I like this one more than any of your others and they were nice too! Proportions are right on the money, that top is really nice on this, almost looks like the car was built for it. Caps and trim rings would set off those Steel wheels perfectly, just enough glitz that it enhances the rest of the car but isn’t the focus as is often the case with a lot of mag wheels. That’s they way I feel about the billet wheels, often they overpower what they’re put on, kind of like wearing stripes and plaid together, it’s either one or the other! Ed, unless there was some sort of you wouldn’t cast that top agreement, why not cast some up. They’ll sell for sure, at least after BK takes this little Black Beauty down to the NNL that is... I am certain I gave my word to this guy that I would only cast them up for him at the time of our arrangement years ago. This was mastered by him.....his pet project if you will. Dennis is almost done mastering a new (similar/more appealing) uptop anyway; so it wouldn't make much sense to copy this guy's old top, right?! Ed, that was kind of what I thought, the top Bernard is using is rather nice, with the small oval rear window and all and would look great on any Deuce Roadster. That was why I sort of asked if there was a "Do Not Cast" agreement between yourself and the person who made the master. It's that nice of a top (at least in pictures). I'm sure that it must be nice if Bernard is using it! Understand that you do not want to get in the middle of a "Hey I Mastered That Top and It's Not Yours" kind of stone throwing match! Too much akin to someone stealing your work through recasting, so yeah I get it! I'm sure based on Dennis' other work that the new top he is mastering with be more like a Crown than just a Deuce top!
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Post by Bernard Kron on Mar 29, 2020 15:19:58 GMT -5
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.
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Post by FordRodnKustom on Mar 29, 2020 16:56:06 GMT -5
Looking sharp there B! Perfect big'n'little stance and I like the Orange Crate wheels on it. Don't often see those used.
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Post by skip on Apr 1, 2020 8:44:25 GMT -5
B. Very Nice Trio you have going there! Looks like two themes here, Deuces & Black Deuces, I like it! Second the comment by Ron, I like those Orange Crate wheels, and you left them chrome too. Most I've seen lately are painted dull Magnesium or weathered magnesium, the chrome brings out the look though.
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Post by spex84 on Apr 1, 2020 12:12:58 GMT -5
Love that stance! The smooth hood sides are something I'd normally write off as boring and street-roddy, but paired with the smooth Orange Crate Halibrands they create a nice visual resonance. I'd love to see this same treatment on a chopped '32 Tudor...same polished wheels, smooth hood sides, quickchange...and maybe an injected engine.
The rear tires fill the wheel wells perfectly. I might have to get some someday, if they're still available. Herb Deeks right? Are they rubber? I ask because i tend to avoid matte rubber tires that collect lint and are impossible to clean!
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Post by Bernard Kron on Apr 3, 2020 20:28:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind comments, guys! 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.
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Post by Bernard Kron on Apr 6, 2020 20:16:35 GMT -5
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. Thanks to all who have followed along with this build. Thanx for lookin’, B.
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Post by Duane on Apr 6, 2020 20:41:05 GMT -5
B. i've been followin, and watchin; i just haven't said anything !
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