Model Cars

While my father retired from driving racing cars before I really got into model building, racing cars were second only to airplanes as modeling subjects. Since I was well into modeling by the time the first plastic kits came out, my first model cars were, like my model airplanes, mostly wood. To this day most of my scratch building with model cars uses a lot of wood.

A particular favorite of mine was the Ace midget. This was the most accurate kit of a midget racing car at the time. My dad had driven midgets, and had himself, with a friend, built an Ace kit. None of these models survived to my adulthood. However, just recently the internet has helped me contact someone willing to part with an Ace kit. I am duplicating all the old parts with new balsa and new resin castings. That way I will build the model from the new materials and still have the original kit as a collector's item. I will post photos below when I am done with the kit.

Just finished the AMT '34 modified kit. I used a straight vintage Ford front axle from an old AMT T street rod kit. That kit had a hemi engine I decided to use, also, though with heavy modifications since the AMT kit engine was blown.

AMT '34 Modified

I still build both kits and scratch models. I feel the most accurate racing car kits are those from Etzel Speed Classics. Here are some completed Etzel kits.

This is, of course, the Kurtis Kraft midget kit.

This is the Kuzma Champ car.

I like to scratch model in larger scales, though I do occasionally scratch a 1:24 scale car. Here are a few shots of scratch projects.

This is a 1/8 scale sprint car. The engine block and heads are the Chev SB from the Monogram Big T kit. All else is scratch. The running gear and roll bars are brass tubing or rod, metal plated with a brush plating kit. The tail and hood are fiberglas.

This is a 1/4 scale model of an Offy 110 ci. midget engine. The model is primarily wood, with only a few details (injector stacks, small accessory drives) turned from aluminum. The cam covers are wood, but covered with a chrome self adhesive plastic film.

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