little BIG DEUCE

[Mr. Metallic]

What if... when Monogram was designing the tooling for the Little Deuce they actually stuck closer to options and features of the Big Deuce?

There are quite a few differences between the 1/8 Big Deuce and it's 1/24 brother, the Little Deuce. Most people probably don't even realize there are differences. The most obvious one is the wheels, but the rear suspension, and air cleaners are different as well. Plus there are several features of the BIG kit that were left off the smaller counterpart (probably due to cost, ease of assembly, etc) that in my opinion should have been included. The biggest of which is the molded plastic color. The other 3 kits in this series (Little T, Woody Wagon and Blue Beetle) all came molded in a primary color for the body and white for the rest of the parts (except the Woody which actually had the wood body parts molded in a third color). However, the Little Deuce (LD) got stuck with being molded in all white. A blank canvas for sure, but kind of boring for a kid who didn't have painting skills yet.

I have been planning this project in various forms for about 18 years now. It started out as my attempt to clone an LD because at the time I didn't have the money for a true LD kit. So I was going to scrounge the LD specific parts and throw them at a Revell 32 Roadster kit. It has evolved through several forms over the years, the biggest step being overcome when I mastered the correct LeMans wheels and Drag City Casting offered them in their product line. What finally pushed it onto the bench was all the fun I've been having the last 18 months with building models featuring polished plastic as opposed to painting. I had an 80's issue of the Monogram 32 Ford roadster (saw tooling as the LD, but has been modified into a street rod configuration over the years) that is molded in yellow. I thought this would fit the bill perfectly for my little Big Deuce. And so it began in earnest.

The body and fender unit itself is untouched other than getting polished with The Treatment polish. I deleted the wing windows from the windshield, added bumper brackets from a Revell deuce and hit them with Molotow to match the items in the BD. I used a set of copies of the LD taillights that were cast in clear red resin by Replicas and Miniatures of Md, a horn from a Blue Beetle and other LD specific parts from my stash of LD glue bombs. To match the optional part in the BD I took the covered spare tire and bracket from an AMT 32 Ford Vicky and painted it white to make it look like it was molded plastic.

Moving on to the engine, I used an original issue LD Pontiac block, valve covers, fan belt, exhaust manifolds and intake. I hit the exhaust manifolds with Molotow to match the BD. I took the air cleaners from the Revell 29 Ford Model A kits because they are an exact match for the BD items, mounted to carbs from an AMT 40 Ford kit. Since the Big Deuce offered engine wiring when it was released i took a little artistic license and installed a Morgan Automotive Details wired magneto to finish things off (I know, I need to add the radiator hoses)

I also improved the firewall, partially out of necessity. I didn't have any viable LD firewalls to use, so I traced the shape onto Evergreen sheet, clipped off the upper portion with the molded in gages and then used Evergreen 1/2 round to add the pleats to the lower portion. I then wrapped the piece with .020 strip to simulate the prototypical flange on the 1:1 part. I kept the insert as a separate piece so I could apply Molotow and reinstall later, matching the BD feature.

The interior was a more straightforward affair since it hasn't been modified since the LD issues. I added parts box seat belts since the original BD offered seat belt material as a feature, and a big FOOT gas pedal. The biggest change was making the recessed chrome gauge cluster like the BD. I did this by removing the molded in cluster from the yellow dash and taking the cluster from another dash and mounting it from behind after I hit it with Molotow.

Here's a look at the LeMans wheel which matches what came in the BD. it has been paint detailed a bit. I have addressed the fit issue since this pic was taken. Also note that at the rear the tires are now treaded like the BD as opposed to the slicks that were offered in the LD. Two blade knock offs are from the parts box to match the BD option. Wheels are "chromed" with Molotow

The frame features a few subtle changes that may not be readily apparent. The big change is the swapping in of the Quick Change rear end as opposed to the stock item in the LD to match the BD. This required removing a portion of the gas tank to accommodate the QC, and swapping in a different rear crossmember. Since this was a "no-paint" project I had to get creative with the rear crossmember but cutting it from a molded in yellow 29 Ford pickup and grafting it into the LD chassis so it it wouldn't be noticeable. To finish off the rear I added arms from a Revell 37 Ford pickup and a scratchbuilt torque tube from Evergreen. 

The front suspension was left mostly box stock, and I added a brake reservoir from a Revell 40 Ford since the LD didn't offer one. I did replace the molded in mufflers with Evergreen tube since the molded in items had huge recesses molded into them.

Glad to finally get this one out of my brain and on the shelf. I think I will go ahead and add the Little Deuce decals to the cowl, and I think I'd like to create my own license plates for all these Monogram builds I'm doing. Have to figure out how to get some vintage California plates made up, possibly with MN0G4M as the letters?

Thank you everyone for your comments and questions are always welcomed.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Really really really REALLY cool, and an inspiration.    

The 1/24 Monogram Deuce is the best proportioned of all the 1/24-1/25 offerings, but its lack of a separate frame always put me off.

Seeing your work here, I think it's time to reconsider this little kit's possibilities.

Edited July 7, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy

[Phildaupho]

Gorgeous Deuce. I agree with Bill that this kit has great proportions from which very attractive full fendered roadsters can be built.

[happy grumpy]

Very fine build and comprehensive description. Always nice to see an old kit done in such details. Great work.

[bill-e-boy]

Excellent job of representing an iconic model car. I remember seeing a big Deuce for the first time. What a revelation and it was not even painted. I wanted one but still haven't got round to getting one yet and that was in the late 70's?

[Bruce Scully]

A top class build , really nice .

[Zippi]

Nice Deuce.  They dont get much better than this.  Love that yellow.

[TooOld]

I've always loved the yellow version of the Big Deuce and you did an excellent job recreating it as the Little Deuce !  Your attention to detail by adding the correct parts that Monogram left out of the kit really puts your Little Deuce above all of the others . 

Awesome work Craig and the perfect addition to your collection !  PM sent .

Edited July 8, 2022 by TooOld

[oldscool]

Beautiful model and a great idea.

[unclescott58]

Your model looks good. It brings up a question. I wonder who has the tooling for both the Big and Little Deuce kits? Revell of Germany, or Atlantis? And what does that mean for reissues of these kits in the future? 

[Mr. Metallic]

50 minutes ago, unclescott58 said:

Your model looks good. It brings up a question. I wonder who has the tooling for both the Big and Little Deuce kits? Revell of Germany, or Atlantis? And what does that mean for reissues of these kits in the future? 

Pretty sure RoG has the tooling for both. I'll have to look when I get home, but they have both been released in the last 15 years so they were probably produced in China, which would mean they will forever be there.

[bisc63]

Very cool build, and I'm super impressed with the yellow finish of the plastic. Most colored plastics seem to be too translucent, and so look like...plastic. This looks quite opaque, which is even more impressive considering that yellow pigments in general can be sort of weak. This looks just fine. Great work, and just a fun concept.

[PappyD340]

Super nice!

[ChrisR]

Looks great!

[slusher]

Absolutely beautiful!