My most satisfying vehicle kitbash so far. It's the 1923 Ford Model TT one ton truck kit and I saw some photos of them being used as wreckers. I had to have one! I scratchbuilt the tow truck boom using photos as a guide. Here it's towing a 1914 Model T. I know the chain is too large. Leave me alone.
I'm getting in on this thread a bit late, but better late than never. AcpTulsa, their '40 Ford would be one that would fit into your era just fine, especially out there in Santa Fe country where things don't rust out like they do here in Michigan. I've got several of their kits sitting unbuilt, so maybe I need to get moving on something to post here.
To tell you the truth, I never heard of JHM's until you posed this thread. I'm very impressed with them ... and your work, and I'm thinking about trying to locate a kit or two just for the fun of it.
Yes. I have it, but you wouldn't recognize it. My brother decided I needed a modified car, so he redid it in a period style of hot rod called a 'lead sled', so named because they were modified to look sleek and bulbous, and a lot of molten lead was used to cover the body seams. If the guys who did it weren't crazy when they started, they sure were after breathing all that lead! I'll post a pic one of these days, I promise.
Jim, Your just a Master at these Jordan kits, and your imagination at modifying them are just a joy to see. As Dale says I got a few pics and promise to upload them soon. Just gotta get a day of once in a while. My LHS has a good stock of these Jordan Kits, any particular kits you need?
My fire truck: The Ahrens Fox. It's about 25 years old on my pike, but Ahrens reguarly had thirty year careers--not bad at all for the era! This is no kit for beginners. These are good kits, though. Some of the parts are extremely delicate and hard to remove from the tree in one piece. But everything is well detailed and fits are good. Careful painting of the details really makes them pop. I should do some gold leaf scrollwork, I suppose, but I figure a 25 year old engine is likely to have had a repaint. The siren is not part of the kit. The Model A wagon is 22-23 years old on my pike, so I didn't go out of my way to make it pretty. It even shed its front bumper over the years. Note the windshield is the only piece of glass on the car. This is correct. Wagons used snap-on side curtains like touring cars and roadsters. Roll up windows did not become common on cabriolets, convertible sedans and woody wagons until the mid-1930s. Sorry the focus is off a little. This is the 1940 Ford Tudor sedan. My brother made a period custom out of it, in the style they called the 'Lead sled'. He used putty, not lead. The spotlight is a little big, but I'm not complaining. The side pipes are aluminum tubing. Yes, he did use a mighty tiny paintbrush on those flames.
Nice. I like the fire truck and the '40 Ford correctly includes several custom features used back in the day. The dropped front axle. spotlight and the chopped top are cool. Also noted the frenched headlights and radical changes to the rear end.
Thanks! I'll pass that along to the artist. When he said what he wanted to do, I offered him an Alloy Forms '50 Mercury. As you probably know, more lead sleds have been made from '49-'51 Mercurys than any other sort of car. But I wondered aloud if a two year old car was likely to get the treatment; most customizers work with something older and more ready for rebuilding than that. He agreed; I don't know if he wanted to do the Jordan '40 two door sedan more, or if he just wanted to work with the plastic model instead of the metal model. I suspect both. He has always liked '40 Fords. I like it. I think it came out looking a lot like a Lincoln Zephyr, only better.
