Rat Rod Rescue – 1931 Ford Rat Rod 1:25 Scale Monogram 85-4259 Kit Review

RoR SnapShot Review 20130206* – Rat Rod Rescue
1931 Ford Rat Rod 1:25 Scale Monogram 85-4932 Kit Review

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SnapShot Review & Photos by Mike Krueger

Rescued from the depths of the dumpster this Monogram 3-in1 Rat Rod kit features 159 pieces in a Skill level 3 kit. This crazy custom has a choice of two cab styles, working doors, chromed parts, soft vinyl tires and three different styles of wheels. Also included are easy to follow instructions and custom Rat Rod decals.

For the Modeler: This kit had previously been started and was a good base to start with, but the kit needed some TLC. In order to build the 31 Ford Sedan, I will say that you need to have a lot of patience and need to be a seasoned modeler.  After looking over the 31 Ford, I noticed that it was a lot like the 29 Ford pick-up model I reviewed previously. You can see that review here.  As a matter of fact, it is the same frame and motor as the ‘29 Ford model. I found out by comparing both the ‘29 and the ‘31 Ford kits they share the first half of the instructions.

 0a] Because I just built a 29 Ford pick-up for review a few months ago it made life a little easier to bring the 31 Ford back to life. My first order of business was to interpret what the previous reviewer had done and find out what still needed to be done.  I’ve found that the best place for me to start was the chassis.  I began by re-building both the front and rear suspensions. I removed a section from the rear spring just like I did on my ‘29 review.  By doing this, it lowers the car and gives it a more realistic look. I didn’t use the metal axle either that was supplied for the rear suspension.

I disassembled and re-built the front suspension.  For the front suspension, I recommend removing the axle pins that are supplied. By removing both axle pins and the metal axle from the rear suspension, it allows the modeler to adjust the height of the model.  The rims and tires were already painted and assembled, so when I finished re-building the chassis all I needed to do was glue them in place.  The rims were painted red and already had the baby moons glued to them and I liked the look so I left them as is.

Now back to the chassis height adjustment.  By removing the front axle pins and not using the rear suspension axle, it allows you glue the rims and tires at any height that you want the chassis to sit.  I always glue the tires and rims into place so the tops of the tires touch the bottom of the models fenders.  Doing this, your build will always have a nice lowered stance.

01] Upon further inspection I found that the motor was about 90 percent complete, so I finished the motor assembly and re-painted it red to match the rims and glued it into place in the chassis.  After gluing the motor into place I just needed to glue the exhaust system into place.  I grabbed a battery box a few other parts that I noticed were missing from the kit from a friend’s parts stash.

My next step was preparing the body for assembly. All I needed to do was glue the door hinges into place on the doors.  After that, I decided on a color that would make it easier to produce a cool looking Model A.  I sealed the body with red primer and followed it up with a couple of coats of flat black paint.  I added some bare metal foil to the front and rear trim of the vinyl top.  By doing this, it really made things pop. After allowing drying time, I took some 600 and 800 grit sand paper and sanded the black paint until the red primer appeared to give the 31 Ford a weathered Rat Rod look then sealed in the paint with flat clear coat. I also made sure to give the dash some detail and color, so I painted it red and black for some pop and matched the rims, chassis, and motor colors.

02] With the painting out of the way, final assembly was next.  I glued the fenders and cowl together before assembling them onto the chassis.  The seats were painted black, so I changed the color to red so to add more color to the interior.  After painting the seats, I glued them to the fender assembly and got ready to assemble the body to the kit.

I noticed that the window templates were missing from the instructions along with the window material, so I needed to make new window templates and got lucky because I still had some of the window material left over from the 29 Ford build to make windows for the 31 Ford. After making new windows, I glued them into place in preparation for body assembly.  Next step, I glued the body into place and then assembled the doors into place.  Found out by building a lot of these model kits that you need to glue door hinges into place that the doors rarely fit correctly, so I glue them in an open position.  By doing this, it also allows people to view the interior easier.

 03] During final assembly I also noticed that a few more items were missing, like the taillights so I used 39 Ford taillights from my parts box.  It also needed some more color to make things to pop so I painted the radiator rods and cowl trim flat red to help set things off.  I also used some neat custom pin stripe, license plate, and gunshot decals. 

99] So, between two builders, TLC, patience, and my parts boxes, the 31 Ford model kit was brought to life.  And like stated at the before in order to build the 31 Ford Sedan, you need to have a lot of patience and need to be a seasoned modeler.  Without having either one of these, you will be lost because there are a lot of little details that can’t be over looked.

 

 

Until next time, happy modeling,
Mike Krueger

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