Badman C/Altered (ca. 1975)

[Straightliner59]

A little over 50 years ago, I built Monogram's iconic Badman kit. While it's not known for its high level of accuracy, it more than makes up for that, in "cool"! I still run across parts from that old build, from time-to-time. Its monofilament fishing line plug wires (I never appreciated the look of thread, although I think I tried it, once), and its ironic carpet-thread attempt at a braided fuel line, reminders, each time I did run into them over the last forty-odd years that I wanted to give that old hoss another spin. I honestly believe that anyone who calls themselves a drag race modeler should build this kit, at least once. For me, given the love I've developed for old Monogram kits over the decades, now seemed like as good a time as any, to do it!

When I originally got the vision for this car, about eight years ago, there were two things I felt essential to maintaining the Badman bloodline, so to speak: First, it had to have the distinctive fender slashes, and those had to reflect the proper engine/displacement combination. Second, I always liked the spoiler on the Badman, so I was going to keep that. There were a couple of other things I also decided, early-on that were inspirational in getting this going, as well: The car was going to be purple, and called "Plum Nutz". I wanted to experiment with some techniques for making decals, one involving gold leaf, one, paint. Lastly, I've long wanted to do something like Bruce Larson's bent-stack Chevelle-That worked out, perfectly, here, because straight stacks wouldn't have cleared the cowl. 

Some highlights include: Aluminum interior panels, heat-formed windshield and backlight, engine-turned spoiler, aluminum stacks, anodized purple and gold, machined timing cover, fuel pump, fuel tank, breather cap, harmonic balancer, and the dash-mounted tachometer. The dash and roll cage are scratchbuilt, as well, as are the Hurst vertical-gate shifter, pedals, steering box and column. There's much more than I can describe, here, but, it's probably all covered in the WIP thread, here:

As it ended, it pretty much became what I'd envisioned. I am very happy with it! Your comments, questions and critiques are always welcomed. Thanks for looking!

 

Edited March 18 by Straightliner59

[Mike 1017]

KOOL !!!!

[Pierre Rivard]

The underclass photos are so beautiful and take it up another notch (as if this was possible...). The dark purple color, tarnished bronze wheels, the shin kicker, the inlet stacks sticking over the hood line... and the little smiley headlamps add up to such a bad ass sinister look that is impossible to resist. It's like the big bad wolf smiling at the red riding hood. Glorious!

[eran_k]

Magnificent! 👌

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Sharp!

[Droptop 66]

Nice. Really nice! Ever since Hank Borger's "Fantasia" graced the cover of of the July, 1970 issue of Car Model magazine, I have loved this kit. I have two built many years ago that are in desperate need of a day at the spa. Now seeing yours and since the kit was recently re-released, it may be time to re-visit this great old kit once again. Cheers!

[PappyD340]

Looks great!

[Charger Funny Car]

Awesome build!! Definite cool factor. Hard to beat a tri 5 with a straight axle!!

[BK9300]

Daniel, you must be very pleased to have this beauty finally Under Glass - you've put a lot of heart and soul into it!  Great pics - it is good to see the car photographed against a light background - really makes the visible details stand out better!  Excellent job!

[Straightliner59]

22 hours ago, Mike 1017 said:

KOOL !!!!

Thanks, Mike!

21 hours ago, Pierre Rivard said:

The underclass photos are so beautiful and take it up another notch (as if this was possible...). The dark purple color, tarnished bronze wheels, the shin kicker, the inlet stacks sticking over the hood line... and the little smiley headlamps add up to such a bad ass sinister look that is impossible to resist. It's like the big bad wolf smiling at the red riding hood. Glorious!

Thank you, my friend! It's interesting you mentioned the smiley faces. When I decided to use them,  it was with the idea that it was 1975, and those things were everywhere. Last night, as I was looking over the finished model, I thought exactly that--it's smiling, as it chases down its next "victim"!. 

[Straightliner59]

15 hours ago, eran_k said:

Magnificent! 👌

Thanks, Eran!

15 hours ago, Modelbuilder Mark said:

Sharp!

Appreciate that!

14 hours ago, Droptop 66 said:

Nice. Really nice! Ever since Hank Borger's "Fantasia" graced the cover of of the July, 1970 issue of Car Model magazine, I have loved this kit. I have two built many years ago that are in desperate need of a day at the spa. Now seeing yours and since the kit was recently re-released, it may be time to re-visit this great old kit once again. Cheers!

Hank Borger was one of my early influences. I always enjoyed his work. You should go for another one! There are a lot of interesting things that can be done with it. Thanks, Jim!

12 hours ago, Charger Funny Car said:

Awesome build!! Definite cool factor. Hard to beat a tri 5 with a straight axle!!

I appreciate your kind words! You're right about that!

14 hours ago, PappyD340 said:

Looks great!

Thank you, Larry.

11 hours ago, BK9300 said:

Daniel, you must be very pleased to have this beauty finally Under Glass - you've put a lot of heart and soul into it!  Great pics - it is good to see the car photographed against a light background - really makes the visible details stand out better!  Excellent job!

Thanks, Brian! For sure happy to see it completed! It really was an enjoyable project.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

You can be proud Daniel this is a gorgeous build, you put so much love, care and dedication into this build, it's certainly one of you best achievements!  I think you could have added a few more pictures of the engine bay view as you worked so hard and the engine looks absolutely beautiful.  We all know that photos can't do justice to all this work, but the WIP thread will remain a reference for anyone who wants to see all the elbow grease you put into this project. Hats off to you, my friend! 🎩

[bogger44]

The more I look at this, the more I like!  Love those stacks, and the hood locks.  Great take on this kit, and many well deserved congrats!  What's the bronze color on the wheels?

[Straightliner59]

18 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

You can be proud Daniel this is a gorgeous build, you put so much love, care and dedication into this build, it's certainly one of you best achievements!  I think you could have added a few more pictures of the engine bay view as you worked so hard and the engine looks absolutely beautiful.  We all know that photos can't do justice to all this work, but the WIP thread will remain a reference for anyone who wants to see all the elbow grease you put into this project. Hats off to you, my friend! 🎩

I greatly appreciate your comments, my friend! I'll see if I can get a few more shots of the engine room. I do think it's pretty! 

16 hours ago, bogger44 said:

The more I look at this, the more I like!  Love those stacks, and the hood locks.  Great take on this kit, and many well deserved congrats!  What's the bronze color on the wheels?

Hey, Tony. Thanks! I had to get creative, with the front hood hold-downs, for sure. They worked out, pretty well, and would probably work in 1:1. The wheels are an old spray can of Plasti-Cote Iced Coffee or Topaz, I think. It's one of those two colors, but I don't remember which. I wish they were still being made!

[Belugawrx]

Really nice work on that Chevy Daniel !

More pics of the eye candy engine bay please..lol

Cheers

[rv1963]

Awesome work on your build, you put a staggering amount of detail and work into this model, you should be very proud of what you have done. I will be interested to see what you do next.

[Zippi]

That's a Bad looking 55 Chevy Daniel.   

[Straightliner59]

5 hours ago, Zippi said:

That's a Bad looking 55 Chevy Daniel.   

Thanks, Bob!

[slusher]

Fantastic build!

[Straightliner59]

15 hours ago, slusher said:

Fantastic build!

Thanks, Carl! I appreciate it!

[Straightliner59]

On 3/20/2025 at 5:05 AM, Belugawrx said:

Really nice work on that Chevy Daniel !

More pics of the eye candy engine bay please..lol

Cheers

Thank you, Bruce! Sorry for the delay in replying. I wanted to get a few shots of the engine room, since there have been a couple of requests.😃

On 3/20/2025 at 8:40 AM, rv1963 said:

Awesome work on your build, you put a staggering amount of detail and work into this model, you should be very proud of what you have done. I will be interested to see what you do next.

Thanks, very much, Robert! My next project is in the background, below the engine shots. I'm working on a backdrop, to shoot my models against. It's just going to be a two-sided false-front building on a 10"X10" base. I have some thin pieces of flagstone I'm going to use for the ground/driveway surface. It looks like it may work out, okay.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

There you go Daniel, the photos of the engine are superb, you had to highlight this jewel, you put so much effort into it!

[Pierre Rivard]

Even better now with these beautiful engine photos. The amount of details built into the fuel pump & lines + throttle linkage blows my mind. So little space between the inlet tubes...

[W-409]

This turned out really nice, but coming from your bench that's no surprise at all! I built the same kit as a mid '60s Gasser a few years ago and did plenty of upgrades to make it more realistic, but my build was not nearly as good as yours. With that said, my hat is off for the amount of work you put into this one, making a cool but not really that great kit into a masterpiece.

This simply looks "right" in all areas, but if I had to pick a favorite, the engine bay is a work of art. Very nice job on this model, interesting to see what's next.

[Straightliner59]

On 3/25/2025 at 6:52 PM, AmericanMuscleFan said:

There you go Daniel, the photos of the engine are superb, you had to highlight this jewel, you put so much effort into it!

Thank you, Francis! I really am proud of it, and am happy that it satisfied my vision for it. It will be making its public debut, Saturday, at a contest!

On 3/26/2025 at 7:11 AM, Pierre Rivard said:

Even better now with these beautiful engine photos. The amount of details built into the fuel pump & lines + throttle linkage blows my mind. So little space between the inlet tubes...

Thank you, my friend! Frustrating as that stuff can be, I really do enjoy doing it. You're no stranger to it, yourself!

18 hours ago, W-409 said:

This turned out really nice, but coming from your bench that's no surprise at all! I built the same kit as a mid '60s Gasser a few years ago and did plenty of upgrades to make it more realistic, but my build was not nearly as good as yours. With that said, my hat is off for the amount of work you put into this one, making a cool but not really that great kit into a masterpiece.

This simply looks "right" in all areas, but if I had to pick a favorite, the engine bay is a work of art. Very nice job on this model, interesting to see what's next.

Thank you for your kind words, Niko! Do you have a thread for your, on here? I'm a fan of your work! As you stated, it's not a great kit, but it's iconic, and a lot of fun, to build! 

I'm already working on something to shoot my models against. I'll try to get something posted in the Dioramas Forum, in a few days, although it's not really a diorama, so much as a vignette.