u/Bourbon-N-Coke

This is a car that I converted from a old Johan four door sedan promo. Details I added were a side view mirror, rear view mirror, column shifter, turn signal lever, gas pedal, brake pedal, emergency brake pedal, high beam foot button, antenna, door handles, sun visors, convertible boot, and 1965 Virginia license plates. The chrome strip that runs along the top of the rear quarter panels was lengthened about an inch. The rear interior side panels were made from scratch to match what a real convertible interior would look like.

This car started with a TKM resin kit of a 1947/1948 Buick convertible. If you are not familiar with TKM resin models, they are very unique but extremely rough in detail and finish. The body was completely reshaped. All of the trim, door handles, headlights, taillights, and emblems were shaved off and replaced with parts made from scratch. The original interior and sheet metal "chassis" were thrown in the trash. The bumpers were originally part of the one piece casting of the body. They were cut off and replaced with new ones made from scratch. The poorly shaped original grille was cut out and a new 1946 grille was made from scratch (it didn't turn out as good as I planned). The dashboard was originally part of the one piece body casting. It was cut away from the body, refined and lots of detail added. All of the interior trim, door handles, window cranks, power window switches, ashtrays, lines in the seats, grab handles on the back of the front seat, etc. were made from scratch. The steering wheel was created from several different steering wheels and reworked. The poorly cast one piece resin tires and rims have been heavily modified. The tire part was cut away leaving only the hub caps and white walls. The new tires had to have an extra large opening cut out of them for the resin white walls/hub caps to fit into. The hood ornament was made from scratch. A steel antenna in the folded down position was added in the center of the windshield. Hand made windshield wipers were added. The Buick hood and trunk emblems were hand made. A shifter arm and turn signal arm were added on steering column. The convertible boot was made from scratch. Additional scratch made parts were added such as a rear view mirror, outside door locks, gas pedal, brake pedal, clutch pedal, sun visors, and 1946 Virginia license plates. All of the chrome is finished using Bare Metal Foil. The last picture is what one of these kits look like when new. (the picture is one currently for sale on eBay)

This is a 1951 Kaiser Henry J in 1/25 scale I built back in 2013. It was made using the Revell Henry J Gasser kit as a starting point. This kit only comes as a hot rod gasser with a flip open front end.

Except for the rear view mirror and license plate post, all of the chrome is bare metal foil.

The front and rear bumpers, bumper guards, and the sheet metal behind the bumpers were made from scratch.

The original grille had clear parking light/turn signal lenses added to it.

The original headlights supplied with the Revell kit were replaced with better looking ones.

The hood ornament was made from scratch.

The entire front end of this kit was a multi-piece assembly that was originally a flip-open front end. It also had a large opening for a blower.

The styling lines around the front wheel wells were corrected.

An antenna was added.

Rain gutters were added.

The rear side windows were altered to give the shape for the black weatherstripping.

The rear wheel wells were originally a rounded cut out style to be able to accommodate large racing slicks. New wheel well shapes and styling lines were made from scratch.

Seam lines were sculptured into the body running from the bottom of the rear side windows all the way back to the bottom of the rear of the car.

A license plate and light post has been added just below the license plate.

A gas cap was added.

The chassis was made using a combination of the original floor and parts of a chassis from a 1/32 scale 1955 Chevy.

The tires and rims were from an early 1960's compact promo car.

The hub caps were originally from an old 1960's Corvair, modified to look like the Henry J style.

The entire dashboard has been heavily modified. The original dash had a glove box on it, which was not included with the 1951 Henry J's and was deleted. The correct number of control and heater/vent knobs have been added all across and below the dashboard, including one on top of the dashboard for the wipers. Additional details (the emergency brake handle, a radio, and an early style heating unit) were all made from scratch and added under the dash.

The steering wheel was made from scratch and has the Kaiser emblem in the center. A shifter lever and an optional turn signal unit were added too. The brace that holds the steering wheel to the dash board was made from scratch. It is the earliest version of this car as it does not have the covering over the brace.

Under the dashboard, a gas pedal, a brake pedal, a clutch pedal, and a high beam dimmer switch have been added.

The original tucked and rolled interior door panels and rear panels have been altered to be flat and smooth like the original car. New door and window handles were made from scratch and added to the door panels.

The front seat is an extensively modified 1956 Ford front seat.

The rear seat that was supplied with the kit was modified to remove the tucked and rolled pattern, and reshaped to resemble a fold down seat. A back plate was also added behind the rear seat.

A spare tire was added behind the rear seat.

All of the windows in this car were made from scratch.

This is a 1927 Bugatti 35B in 1/24 scale I built back in 2011. It was made from an old 1978 Monogram kit. It's been extensively modified to make it more accurate to the real car. Although most Bugatti 35B's were blue, there were some in other colors. I painted this one in a rare black color.

This is a 1/24 scale 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750cc Grand Sport I built from a very hard to find Heller kit. This kit did not come with very many chrome plated parts, so a lot a bare metal foil detailing had to be added.

This is a 1/16 scale 1913 Mercer Raceabout that I built a while back. I believe it was from a Bandai kit. The scale was big enough that I was able to use real automotive pin striping on it. The wood grain detail I added is from high quality printed wood grain samples I picked up for free from Lowes. This is a very well detailed kit, even the tires have the NON SKID text on them

Here's a 1911 International in approximately 1/32 scale. It's one of the many "Highway Pioneers" models from old Revell molds that were reissued by Minicraft. It's a pretty decent kit considering it was developed in the early 1950's.

Here's a finished 1/32 scale 1909 Rolls-Royce by Pyro that I built many years ago. I just wanted to post some pictures to show how some of these old kits look built. The hood, firewall, and running boards are finished with Bare Metal Foil.

I bought another old Pyro kit after recently finishing a 1914 Mercer. I've built several of these type of kits from Pyro/Life Like over the years (a 1910 Rolls Royce, 1911 Packard, 1912 Buick). All of them took a lot of work, but went together well. I wouldn't recommend this kit for anyone unless you are ready for a real challenge.