Built by: Fred Mellini of Seneca Falls, New York

Here is a built Rommel's Rod that I just completed from an original 1969 unbuilt kit.

Although I have built two previous Rommel's Rods from ebay-purchased glue bombs, I have never built the Rommel's Rod from a clean unbuilt kit. Recently, I was able to purchase one mint/unbuilt complete with original decals from a friend of mine. I wanted to build this one completely box stock with just a little light weathering on some pieces, but not weather the whole thing.

The exterior of the vehicle was painted with Tamiya Dark Yellow military paint and the interior was done with Tamiya German Gray.

Kit decals were first coated with Microscale Liquid Decal Film. The decals were then placed in water and to my surprise held up just fine and went on the vehicle with no problems! Decals and paint were then sealed with Testor's Dull Coat.

The engine was painted German Gray and then detailed with various shades of silver and gunmetal to bring out the details.

The fabric of the seats and folded canvas top were treated with various shades of brown paints followed by several coats of dry-brushed tans, grays, and blacks to bring out the details. the same was done to the tool box and the wooden table.

The bogie wheels and track system of this kit is probably the most time consuming part as all the molded "holes" have to be hand painted black. The bogie wheels are dark yellow with a brown/rust colored outer rubber wheels. The tracks were painted flat black and then dry-brushed with rust, brown, and a hint of silver.

The skeletons were fist based coated with flat black and then dry-brushed with tans, yellows, grays, and white to give them a more sun-bleached realistic look.

I must say, that although not really a flashy showrod, to build this from a kit (not a rebuild) was quite enjoyable and even made me appreciate the kit even more.