'29 Ford Highboy Roadster in As-Found Patina - Outdoor Pics

[Bernard Kron]

’29 Ford Highboy Roadster With Original “As-Found” Patina

A popular trend among today’s Traditional hot rod enthusiasts is to find a genuine 40’s or 50’s hot rod and restore it to a safe and roadworthy condition while leaving intact as much of the old oxidized paint, road wear and surface corrosion as safety and good sense will allow. This is quite different than the “rat rod” movement where additional rust, perforation and decrepitude is added to the car or in fact invented where none existed. Modeling in scale to create a believable “as-found” patina shares much with military modelers who use many of the same techniques to do this. In this case I stumbled on some cheap black spray paint at my local auto supply store (Brite Touch Gloss Black in the aerosol can). I’m a sucker for cheap paints and was hoping to find a bargain-basement high quality lacquer. Such was not the case, and the paint dried with a subtle but noticeable light orange peel. Sanding it smooth still left a slight dull surface variation. It failed as a proper color coat but formed the basis for a truly believable old, worn, paint job.

I decided to build a model around this happy accident using the recent (and now just re-issued) Revell ’29 Ford Roadster kit as the basis. The style is that of a classic mid-50’s street rod. The kit was extensively modified to correct its sky-high stance and modern rear suspension. I also swapped out the very-nice, but far too deluxe, multi-carb Buick Nailhead for a stock appearing and mildly warmed over Oldsmobile Rocket V8. The details are listed below.

Base kit: Revell ’29 Ford Roadster kit, highboy version. Stock body and interior.
Suspension modifications: Kit front suspension lowered by shaving the front spring and reversing the front cross member. Kit coil-spring suspension removed rear crossmember and transverse leaf spring from Revellogram ’37 Ford truck installed. Kit Ford 9” rear axle retained with scratch built lever shocks and scratch built location arms.
Motor and transmission: Stock Oldsmobile Rocket V8 from Revell 1950 stock 2-door coupe kit with high performance exhaust manifolds from the Custom variant of that kit. 4-barrel carb from Revell 1/25th scale Deuce kits. Resin Oldsmobile “batwing” oil-bath air cleaner courtesy of Action Modeler (eBay vendor: action-shopper).
Wheels and tires: 15” Front wheels from AMT ’40 For with Modelhaus 120A tires. 16” Wheels and Lincoln rear tires courtesy of Ed Fluck at Drag City casting, mastered by Dennis Lacy.
Miscellaneous modifications: Revellogram ’30 Ford steering wheel. ‘32 Ford grill from Revell 1/25th scale Deuce kits.
Paint and finishing: Brite Touch gloss black lacquer over Brite Touch red oxide primer and Duplicolor gray primer sealer. Black lacquer wet sanded with 1000 grit, then 2000 grit, sandpapers. Then detailed with rust red and light gray weathering powders. Interior finished in Testors Acryl British Crimson and Light Tan brush paints.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

[jeff]

B. What a great end result. No decrepitude here.

[flatout]

Cool old Hot Rod Bernard😎! The changes you made to the suspension really improved the stance and overall look of the model. Love the weathering and photography, makes it all very believable.

[krassandbernie]

Very nicely done Bernard! I typically don't care for the artistically altered photos that make it look like there's a spot light on the model; but that first photo below your list of alterations looks frig'n cool! You did a great job with the weathering of the paint job. It doesn't look exaggerated like some guys who try too hard! LOL! Did you have an issue seating the rear wheels into the tires all the way or did you not glue them in? That was one thing I checked over carefully with each set of those Lincoln wheels and tires I produced.

[Mr. Metallic]

May 21, 2020 18:16:43 GMT -5 Bernard Kron said:

This pic says it all. Perfect stance, and great patina work on the body. Some young guy would have been very proud to drive this in 1954. Well done

[skip]

Swell Job on a "Preservation Class Hot Rod". This one has just the right level of original type patina, it doesn't look like the enhanced faux patina so often seen in many (of the now defunct) magazines. Thanks for the detailed build reports. Your photography for both the finished model and build reports is top notch stuff!

You may have to do one of those tutorial thangs and teach the rest of us how to use self control when adding patina to a project! LoL!

[lo51merc]

The model is superb, as are the photos. Well done B. Very well done!

[froghawk]

Love it!

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks everyone! I'm so glad you all think I pulled it off. I have so badly wanted to do a rough 'n' ready hot rod for the longest time. And while I've attempted several this is the first time I think I've approached some sort of credible realism. It's the sum of many parts.

Obviously the patina technique is part of it. Most of that technique was already in place with earlier projects (wet sanding to the right degree of dullness, sparing use of weathering powders, sanding down to "supporting colors" in the right places, etc.), but the Brite Touch paint's light peel and its refusal to entirely disappear (and even lightly pit a little) was the final detail I needed. I'll have to experiment with other colors and paints to see if I can duplicate it.

I think, too, that the '29 Ford style, itself, is an important part of the effect. Once the stance got dialed in, the taut, compact proportions of this relatively small car gave it the impact I needed. The "Lincoln" rear tire and wheel setup that Ed and Dennis created was critical, too, since it filled those Revell wheel arches just the right amount. And I landed up fiddling with the motor placement to quite a degree. Without dialing that in and using the Deuce grill (as opposed to the Model A grill), I don't think it quite would have worked.

I still want to succeed in getting this effect with a postwar full-fendered car, a Shoebox or early Merc at the very least. And in lighter colors if it's possible. But the flawless, shiny build is still the holy grail for me. I may have a flair for weathering but the skill and discipline it takes to pull off what I still hold as the elusive Clean Build remains my goal as a modeler. IMHO once you've got that then you can modulate it to whatever degree you meed to achieve your vision.

[acres]

Nice job on the weathering, really dig that batwing cleaner and olds valvecovers.

[Plowboy]

Very cool little hot rod Bernard! Weathering a model is a skill that escapes me. I don't know if I have the wrong eye for it or the wrong mindset. I'd like to see some photos of it in natural light.

[Dennis]

I don’t think the weathered appearance could have turned out better. This car looks like it was pulled out of a 50 year storage, dusted off and put back on the road. Maybe the original Olds motor was too far gone to be a runner so a stock newer rebuild was swapped in with the original headers used on it. You’ve also corrected 2 of my biggest gripes, the stance and the need for a ‘32 grill!

Also, this particular version of the Lincoln rear wheel was mastered by Craig Stansfield, not me. These have the center hub area from a Ford wheel grafted into the rest of the Lincoln wheel. My version has an entire Ford wheel set into the Lincoln rim hoop.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks again guys! Dennis, I was surprised how easily the Revell Deuce grill went in. It required only the most minor filing and adjustment, and that mostly related to the relatively low cowl line of the '29 body. I must admit to having an inherent prejudice against the stock A-grill on an open wheeled hot rod like this.

It's cool and gray outside today so the natural light is perfectly even. If it doesn't rain I'll try and do some neutral outdoor shots.

May 23, 2020 7:00:52 GMT -5 Plowboy said:

...Weathering a model is a skill that escapes me. I don't know if I have the wrong eye for it or the wrong mindset...

I think you're describing it right. In my view skills like weathering are extremely subjective. The technical side is pretty simple. What's required is a preconception of the result so that you know when enough of each step is reached and the likely outcome. Some of it is practice, but, really, it's that "minds eye" view that makes the difference. But also, as you imply, it has to be something that is part of your personal vision of the completed model. When I see an immaculately turned out "Clean Build" that also resonates with the final look, and isn't just mechanically perfectly executed, I know the modeler had the ultimate result in mind throughout the whole process, even if only intuitively or subconsciously. It's the only way to successfully deal with a complex process with so many decision points. Weathering is the same way - if it's not consonant with your goal it won't work out. At least that's how I view it.

[Bernard Kron]

Here are some outdoor shots in natural light.