Finished - 1931 Cadillac by CDW - JoHan - 1:25 Scale

[CDW]

Removed some old kits from my garage, this 1:25 JoHan 1931 Cadillac was one of them.

This kit has been around for a very long time. As seen in the photo, it was still sealed in plastic before I opened it. You will see it in it's original state once it's opened for the first time in more than 50 years. Johan kits were made in the USA, Detroit Michigan to be specific. This one is from the 1960's. Johan made some great classic car models.

 

Edited April 26, 2020 by CDW

[Egilman]

I built one of these as a gift for my father-in-law about 30 years ago.... If memory serves they built into wonderful representations with few real defects...

 

A real blast from the past.....

 

Sitting in on this one....

[Jack12477]

Me too

[CDW]

Fiddlesticks!

I was just going through the kit contents and realized the whitewall inserts are missing. Will have to rob them from another kit because you can't get by without them. This really hacks me off right now.

 

[lmagna]

Hope you are able to find the whitewalls. I think I built some of those kits as a kid as well. Weren't the whitewalls just white plastic inserts that snapped into a groove in the tire? If so you think you could make new ones from Plastistrut sheet using a compass.

 

Another somewhat more expensive option is:

 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Jo-Han-1-25-Scale-1931-Classic-Cadillac-V-16-Model-Kit-OPEN/264587698000?hash=item3d9aa7df50:g:ptIAAOSw~8leECgD

Or

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Jo-Han-1-25-scale-1931-Cadillac-V16-Cabriolet-model-car-kit-Orig-Issue/114156565646?hash=item1a9442f48e:g:5~4AAOSwndFd1ysr

But you could also try to make an offer.

 

At any rate I can hardly wait until I see what you are able to make from this 

Edited March 25, 2020 by lmagna

[Edwardkenway]

I'm in!! Hope you can get around the little problem. Looking forward to this!!

[Egilman]

6 hours ago, CDW said:

Fiddlesticks!

I was just going through the kit contents and realized the whitewall inserts are missing. Will have to rob them from another kit because you can't get by without them. This really hacks me off right now.

 

You can easily make them with a bit of trial and error, it is just a flat ring of plastic with a slot taken out of it so they will cone shape to fit the tire.... might take a couple of tries to get it right but it's not hard...

Edited March 25, 2020 by Egilman

[CDW]

59 minutes ago, Egilman said:

You can easily make them with a bit of trial and error, it is just a flat ring of plastic with a slot taken out of it so they will cone shape to fit the tire.... might take a couple of tries to get it right but it's not hard...

Negative. They are not a flat ring of plastic. I have another JoHan kit of a classic Mercedes and assuming the inserts are the same for both kits, they are definitely not a simple flat ring. I should be able to use the Mercedes insert to cast a mold then make a new set of four, so that is some consolation.

[CDW]

3 hours ago, lmagna said:

Hope you are able to find the whitewalls. I think I built some of those kits as a kid as well. Weren't the whitewalls just white plastic inserts that snapped into a groove in the tire? If so you think you could make new ones from Plastistrut sheet using a compass.

 

Another somewhat more expensive option is:

 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Jo-Han-1-25-Scale-1931-Classic-Cadillac-V-16-Model-Kit-OPEN/264587698000?hash=item3d9aa7df50:g:ptIAAOSw~8leECgD

Or

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Jo-Han-1-25-scale-1931-Cadillac-V16-Cabriolet-model-car-kit-Orig-Issue/114156565646?hash=item1a9442f48e:g:5~4AAOSwndFd1ysr

But you could also try to make an offer.

 

At any rate I can hardly wait until I see what you are able to make from this 

Thanks for those links, Lou. Look closely at the photos and you will see the rings are not a flat ring. Price is not too bad on either of those kits.

[Canute]

I'm in, too. Yep, the ole Cadillacs had wide whitewalls. One of my neighbors growing up had a '53 with the whitewalls and rudimentary tail fins.

[popeye the sailor]

I remember a few kits like that.......in fact I started to play with one last night....1960 Chevy Belair Impala.........has those white wall inserts.  you know.......there are aftermarket tires {AMT} sold as a accessory pack.  perhaps you can look into this and find a suitable set.

 

my dad had a '63 { I think}  caddy fleetwood four door.  it had a button on the floor that one could change the radio station  great when you wanted to play a prank on someone 

Edited March 25, 2020 by popeye the sailor

[CDW]

53 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

I remember a few kits like that.......in fact I started to play with one last night....1960 Chevy Belair Impala.........has those white wall inserts.  you know.......there are aftermarket tires {AMT} sold as a accessory pack.  perhaps you can look into this and find a suitable set.

 

my dad had a '63 { I think}  caddy fleetwood four door.  it had a button on the floor that one could change the radio station  great when you wanted to play a prank on someone 

I have some packs of the white wall tires. Those are scaled to 15" tire size, whereas the '31 Caddy had taller skinny tires. The wire wheels are way too big to fit those tires. 

I will borrow a set of whitewalls from another JoHan kit I've got until I can replace them.

[Egilman]

5 hours ago, CDW said:

Negative. They are not a flat ring of plastic. I have another JoHan kit of a classic Mercedes and assuming the inserts are the same for both kits, they are definitely not a simple flat ring. I should be able to use the Mercedes insert to cast a mold then make a new set of four, so that is some consolation.

I forgot, we can cast our own parts now, that definitely a better option....

[CDW]

I looked through my stash and found another '31 Caddy, this one is a phaeton but has the same wheels as the cabriolet I'm building. So I borrowed the whitewalls from that kit. As you can see, the Caddy tires are much taller than the more modern AMT 15" tires. The whitewalls also have the Firestone brand molded on.

 

The wire wheels...I might break these down, remove the plastic spokes, then lace the wheels/hub with wire (actually monofilament) as they should be. It would look so much better, I just need to convince myself to build the jig and do it. 

 

Here are the parts to build the big V-16 engine. Lots of cleanup, flash removal, and chrome stripping to do first.

 

[Egilman]

Yep nothing about that engine was chrome....... I wonder why the model companies always chose to chrome the darn engines?

[CDW]

Not sure, but I doubt they came like this from the factory. These sites/photos show the engines having chrome. One has black chrome. Going to do more research. 

Interesting, the one article says the spark plugs and wiring was all neatly tucked away out of sight. The Cadillac way.

 

https://heacockclassic.com/articles/when-v-16-cadillacs-roamed-the-earth/

 

https://hymanltd.com/vehicles/5790-1931-cadillac-v-16-all-weather-phaeton/

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_V16_engine#/media/File:Cadillac452engine.jpg

Edited March 25, 2020 by CDW

[Egilman]

17 minutes ago, CDW said:

Not sure, but I doubt they came like this from the factory. These sites/photos show the engines having chrome. One has black chrome. Going to do more research. 

Interesting, the one article says the spark plugs and wiring was all neatly tucked away out of sight. The Cadillac way.

 

https://heacockclassic.com/articles/when-v-16-cadillacs-roamed-the-earth/

 

https://hymanltd.com/vehicles/5790-1931-cadillac-v-16-all-weather-phaeton/

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_V16_engine#/media/File:Cadillac452engine.jpg

Yes they were marvels of engineering, and Caddie's engine color was black in those days.... (packard's was green) but the original finish is hard to discern from a polished lacquered museum display piece. I know they were not that shiney during production.... That is black lacquer on those engines...... Polished aluminium on the rocker covers and chromed accessories. Standard restoration finish on a collectors piece.

 

I'm sure you will do it justice..... 

Edited March 25, 2020 by Egilman

[CDW]

Thanks. Beautiful paint on those cars/engine.

When I was a young teen, my dad gave me my grandpa's car after he passed away, a '51 Chevy. My grandpa was a very big man, about 400 pounds or maybe more. The Chevy leaned to the driver's side from grandpa's weight that had affected the springs. And the car needed new paint. One day my dad took me to a friend who painted cars to see about repainting my '51 Chevy. To my dismay, noticed the old man had no compressor or spray guns at his shop so asked how he was going to paint the car. The old fella spoke in a heavy German accent and told me he would paint it with a brush. He came from the old country and had been painting cars from WAY back in Germany. Dad told me don't worry about a thing, the man would do a beautiful job. He did. He brush painted it with lacquer, wet sanding between coats until the last coat where he polished and buffed it. It was the most amazing beautiful paint I had seen. Totally shocked. Apparently, this is the way they did it in the old days. Taught me a valuable lesson about trusting my dad. No doubt, the Fisher body company probably painted these old Cadillacs that way too, but I had no idea.

[CDW]

Just a PSA on Vallejo Putty. Well worth your time to watch.

 

 

[yvesvidal]

That Putty is amazing. Thanks for posting that video CDW. 

I am currently using Squadron Petroleum based Putty, but I do not like it: dries too fast, smells and a pain in the neck to clean the tools.

 

Yves

[bruce d]

Great subject, and a brave choice by Jo-han in the sixties when hot-rods and dragsters were what modellers wanted.

I built one 'way back then' and painted it black with red seats. I loved the look but really wished the wheels looked better. Then I saw a masterpiece in a local model competition.

It was finished in pearl white, had a cream tan simulated leather interior and oh-my-how-did-he-do-that wire wheels and brake cables: I was amazed. Also amazing was that this piece of art placed 4th to (1) a T-bucket, (2) an AA Altered and (3) another AA Altered. The winning T-bucket had full scale metalflake paint. On one of the altereds the exposed inside parts of the body were unpainted. 

This was the beginning of my lifelong scepticism about all judges being impartial.

I will watch your Caddie with a smile.

Edited March 26, 2020 by bruce d

[CDW]

5 hours ago, bruce d said:

Great subject, and a brave choice by Jo-han in the sixties when hot-rods and dragsters were what modellers wanted.

I built one 'way back then' and painted it black with red seats. I loved the look but really wished the wheels looked better. Then I saw a masterpiece in a local model competition.

It was finished in pearl white, had a cream tan simulated leather interior and oh-my-how-did-he-do-that wire wheels and brake cables: I was amazed. Also amazing was that this piece of art placed 4th to (1) a T-bucket, (2) an AA Altered and (3) another AA Altered. The winning T-bucket had full scale metalflake paint. On one of the altereds the exposed inside parts of the body were unpainted. 

This was the beginning of my lifelong scepticism about all judges being impartial.

I will watch your Caddie with a smile.

In the mid sixties, I was an elementary school student when the JoHan Chrysler Turbine car model came out. It had a lot of working features and of course, the incredible turbine engine. It's still a vivid memory taking the finished model to class to discuss modern ideas and inventions for our science session one day. 

Drag racing was a big part of my childhood, too, so I loved those models as well.

[CDW]

This is the best article/photos I could find on the original Cadillac V-16. A very good article.

 

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/06/11/sweet-sixteen-cadillac-v-16-engine

[Egilman]

1 hour ago, CDW said:

A very good article.

Absolutely, and like previously said Black in color but polished enamel production paint instead of restoration Lacquer.... And black porcelain coated exhausts, now that I didn't know....

 

Great find, Thank you...

Edited March 27, 2020 by Egilman

[Landlubber Mike]

Awesome, I'm in for this one. I have the blue Jo-Han cadillac in the stash, been waiting to find the green one for a decent price.

 

You probably already saw it, but Plasmo has a fantastic youtube tutorial on replacing the wire wheels with monofilament.  Seems easier than drilling out and cutting steel wire.

[CDW]

Just now, Landlubber Mike said:

Awesome, I'm in for this one. I have the blue Jo-Han cadillac in the stash, been waiting to find the green one for a decent price.

 

You probably already saw it, but Plasmo has a fantastic youtube tutorial on replacing the wire wheels with monofilament.  Seems easier than drilling out and cutting steel wire.

Hi Mike

No, I have not seen the video by Plasmo, but I will search for it now. It's always fun to see how others are doing it and learn from it.

Thanks for looking in.

[Landlubber Mike]

Here you go - had it bookmarked:

 

 

[Egilman]

Ya beat me to it! I use that technique for doing Motorcycle rims.......

[Landlubber Mike]

Here’s another approach using steel wire for wheels on a 1/12 Bentley Blower:

 

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/95098-airfix-blower-bentley-112-scale/

[Landlubber Mike]

Craig, sorry to clutter your log, but here is another discussion on wire wheels - this time used in the context of the old Hubley metal kits (I have a few kits in the stash and was browsing the web in them this morning).

 

Having wire wheels true to scale seems well worth the effort to make a beautiful car model as the plastic wheels are way out of scale:

 

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/86613-118-duesenberg-wire-wheels/