Peter Lombardo Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 1962 Custom Ford Thunderbird Coupe here is the link to the previous "on the workbench" post on this build...http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=82280&hl= Normally, I would be out on the road selling my new web site to car dealers (more on this at a later date) but with this ridiculous snow storm ( I hate snow with every fiber of my being ) I am forced to work from home today….and with the residual issues this storm is bringing the car dealers in the Northern New Jersey, I don’t know how long before I can get a dealer to sit down and watch my demo with a clear head. P.S. there is a ton of snow to shovel later…….did I mention that I hate snow???? Anyway, I took the free time this morning to finish up a few details on my rather ambitious build of the Thunderbird I started back in December 2013. I am not wasting a lot of time setting up the photography ( not that I ever really do ) so the pictures are not “glamour” shots by any stretch but you will get the idea. I am very pleased with the final product here….it followed my early design sketches very closely with the obvious exception of the wheel and tire choice. The design originally called for wide white walls with a Cadillac Sombrero wheel cover, both coming from the most recently released version of the AMT Thunderbird, but the other night while looking for something else in one of my parts draws I stumbled upon these forgotten wheels and tires I had from a garage sale Tamiya Mercedes and it just hit me that they would work on the Thunderbird exactly as they were….not even painted….the rears were wider and bigger than the fronts and I think the “turbo spoke” look worked better on this build as it is not really a 1960’s style custom in the real sense. I think it has more of a factory performance concept look to it so these wheels work better for my eye. This build presented a whole host of engineering challenges that I had to over-come, and quite frankly, that is why I wanted to do it….I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it and have the result be “acceptable”…….could the execution of the door opening system be better?….sure…..but considering this was my first attempt, I am reasonably happy with it. Because I incorporated a unique door opening system in this car, final assemble was more like building a “ship in a bottle” then building a traditional model car kit. One of the major points that literally saved my bacon on this build was the choice of the roof and therefore the windows. In most vehicles the windows must be installed from the inside before the chassis and interior are in place. But the choice of the Firebird roof meant that I could install the front and rear windshields from the outside after the interior was in place. The chassis has the door opening “slides” built into them so I was forced to attached the completed and painted doors to the chassis and then install the chassis with the engine in place into the body. Once the chassis and body were mated, I could then fabricate the rear package shelf behind the rear seat to “fit” the space….then the dashboard and console followed by the front seats were installed all through the rather large window openings. Once all of the interior components were in place the windows were installed and glued into place….it was very different and I admit a little “scary” to do all of this in a strange almost backwards order. Anyway, here is the completed Thunderbird. The car was painted with a base coat of refrigerator white, which is how almost all of my paint jobs start. This was lightly sanded smooth and then the top center and the sides were airbrushed with clear lacquer mixed with pearl white pigment powder to get a pearl white effect. Next I mixed a custom blend of clear lacquer with yellow, green, blue and turquoise pigment powders to make a greenish turquoise color similar to the color of my original sketch from a few months ago. I airbrushed the turquoise mixture onto the body leaving the center of the top and the sides free of this color to allow the pearl white to show through. Once this was dry, I hit the white area with a little bit more pearl white to help even out the balance of the blended areas. Once I was happy with that I added a thin highlight of Tamiya white down the center of the top and sides with the number one needle in my airbrush closed down to the thinnest spray possible. Once dry, this was clear coated with 4 coats of clear lacquer, once that was dry, it was sanded a few times with the polishing sandpapers, compounded and waxed to a nice shine. Obviously, I am pretty happy with the result. I have one more custom in the works that will have a nice little “color” twist to it and a few race cars….I just started a Studio 27 multimedia 1/20 scale kit of the Brabham BT-44B which I built as a 1/12 Tamiya back in the mid 1970’s….this is a car I have always loved the look of and finally “bit the bullet” and paid the rather high price for the Multimedia version of it but I wanted a 1/20 scale version…… more on that later too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTalmage Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 That thing looks awesome!! The Camaro top almost fooled me! but once I saw a top shot I realized what it was! Only thing that looks out of place is the point window frame on the top rear of each side. Other than that, I'm completely fooled!! great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davewilly Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Pretty Slick T-bird! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Wow, that is just stunning. Great work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunajammer Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Gutsy! A bold project but you pulled it off. How can ya not love a concept custom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixties Sam Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Wow, what a great piece of design and engineering! Really well thought out and executed. Beautiful! Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Goschke Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Very impressive model engineering! I'm amazed that you were able to get such nice narrow shut lines on those doors and still have them operate; well done! Good call on the wheel tire choice; WWs and Caddy caps would've been inappropriate for this car. BTW, I hear you on the snow... just came in from five hours shoveling! With an inch-and-a-half of slush on the bottom this time it is HEAVY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Excellent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Fantastic looking bird ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan 191 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I really love it! There are Fujimi wheels that look exactly like that too - I've always liked them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 OUTSTANDING job Peter!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the goon Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Excellent! +1 Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o-man Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 That's it, I'm done. How the heck did you come up with this awesome T-Bird?! And the freaking doors? The wheels go well with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris White Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 outstanding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 wow .... those doors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Great job, Peter. Superb SHINY :) paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Killer custom build..WOW... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan_m Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 those doors are just wild! very cool build, excellent body work and engineering. cheers bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helix Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Belongs on the set of "The Thunderbirds", nice work indeed Peter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZTony8 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 You did this in only 2 months?!!! Amazing and nicely done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Peter, that Bird is just awesome. Great job and great imagination. Hats off to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Very impressive. The amount of thought and work you have put into this model is amazing. I have a few issues with your design (but of course, design is purely subjective), but aside from personal opinions on aesthetics, man, I am impressed big time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumpyDan Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 T-Bird soooooooooooo cool, man oh man love toughs doors, paint........WOW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lombardo Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) Guys, thanks for the kind words, I really appreciate it........I am happy to see that you guys understood the intent of this build....I was looking to capture the look and feel of the late 50's...early 60's factory concepts with their jet fighter themed look and feel...thanks again. Edited February 15, 2014 by Peter Lombardo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 It's like the '60s all over again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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