'29 Ford A-Bucket Rat Rod

[BERNARD "HOT ROD" KRON]

’29 Ford A-Bucket Rat Rod

This model was built as my contribution to the Rat Rod theme table at the 2016 NNL West held in Santa Clara, California. It’s a veritable feast of kit bashing and scratch building, Starting with the modified Ford Model A Roadster Pickup bucket (ex-Ala Kart) from an Ertl issue AMT ’29 Ford Roadster kit, I dove deep into my parts box and kit stash to get this thing done in time. Here are the details:

Scratch built parts: Chassis except for center and rear cross members. Fuel tank. Interior except for dashboard, shift lever and steering wheel. Steering system.
Kit bashed parts: Modified 1929 Model RPU bucket and firewall from Ertl-issued 1929 Model A Roadster kit. Center cross member, dashboard and windshield from same kit. Monogram 1937 Ford Van Delivery front spring and front axle, ends heated and bent for 3” drop and I-beam drilled. Rear taillight and license plate from same kit. Rear axle, drive shaft and rear brakes from AMT 1934 Ford 5-window coupe. Steering wheel, wire wheels and front tires from same kit. Rear tires from Revell ’40 Ford Standard coupe. Grill and radiator from AMT ’32 Ford Phantom Vicky kit, cut down by half.
Aftermarket and parts box sourced parts: Headers and skull-topped shift level are resin items sourced on eBay. Small block Chevrolet engine from my parts box, of unknown origin. Rear cross member and rear spring also from my parts box, possibly from Monogram ’30 Ford coupe or similar. Headlights are resin pieces from ThePartsBox.com.
Paints and finishes: Hippy Eye Chop Shop logo self designed, Genuine Stolen Parts courtesy of the late Ed Roth, all decals home made. Body and fuel tank basic color is Krylon Gumdrop purple. Undercoat throughout is Duplicolor Red Primer. Frame, firewall and wheels finished in Testors Gloss Custom Red Metalflake enamel. Upholstery finished in Testors Acryl British Crimson, then weathered to simulate distressed leather. Weathering powders courtesy of Bragdon Enterprises. Miscellaneous parts finished in various shades of Testors Metalizers and Krylon premium Chrome. All surfaces sealed in Testors DullCote or Tamiya Flat Clear Acrylic.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

[41CHEVY]

Came out excellent! Good Luck at the NNL West. . .have a ball there.

[KRAZY RICK]

Good job Bernard, it looks like a lot went into this one

[BERNARD "HOT ROD" KRON]

Thanks guys.

Rick, yeah a lot did go into it, as it turns out. Starting out I definitely wasn't in my comfort zone. I wasn't at all sure I could come up with a convincing Rat Rod. But I stuck to my Hot Rod roots - Rat Rods are, after all, part of the Hot Rod Tradition. I used techniques and approaches I've used before, like the chassis and interior for example, and I used a stance and proportions I understood. In the end I think I pulled it off. It helped to have done a dry run with my '41 Plymouth Gasser to learn the weathering side. And I have to admit, it was Big Fun for sure!

[JOE66]

Outstanding job Bernard, the weathering really looks good. You definitly pulled it off with this one.

[BERNARD "HOT ROD" KRON]

Thanks Joe.

Broken Photobucket links repaired. For now I'm only updating completed model pics. Updating w.i.p. links is just too huge a task! I'll update them on request...

[KRAZY RICK]

Rat Rods aren't my thing, but you did a good job on this one