AMT Retro Deluxe '53 Studebaker Customizing Kit

[Mike999]

I always wanted to build a '53 Studebaker post coupe, instead of a hardtop.  But I didn't feel like hacking apart a Revell "Miss Deal" and Frankensteining it with the AMT kit.  Or building those roof posts from scratch, being old and lazy.

Luckily, at a kit swap meet I found a resin post coupe body.  In whatever century I get around to building it, I'd like to do it as a Studebaker NASCAR racer.  I think it would look great in a cream color with a red top, maybe.  And some vintage racing numbers/decals, including those neat "Studebaker" decals in the AMT kit.

This won't exactly be a fictional build.  '53 Studebakers did race in NASCAR, they just didn't do very well.

http://www.studebakerracing.com/1953.html 

[Ace-Garageguy]

7 minutes ago, Mike999 said:

...In whatever century I get around to building it, I'd like to do it as a Studebaker NASCAR racer. 

Pretty cool. I've never seen a Loewy Stude raced anywhere but Bonneville, but after you mentioned it, I did some digging. Lotsa racing Studes out there for inspiration...

[Chuck Kourouklis]

On 9/2/2020 at 11:38 AM, Bugatti Fan said:

The 53 Studebaker Starliner. What a lovely looking motor car, and very European in styling compared with other Americana of the day. I think that I would be tempted to build the kit stock as it is such a beautifully styled car.

X2, emphatically.

Uncommonly low-slung and beautiful, especially for America circa 1953.

[Richard Bartrop]

Easily the best looking American car of the decade.

[Motor City]

36 minutes ago, Richard Bartrop said:

Easily the best looking American car of the decade.

except for the '55 Nomad, '56 Corvette, Chrysler 300, ... 

[Richard Bartrop]

The Corvette, maybe, but the Starliner makes the '55 Chevy look like a potato.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Yup.  Not that the others are ugly mind, but the Starliner doesn't scream "FIFTIES" like they do.  Its purity and absence of gimmicks give it an agelessness unmatched by nearly any other of the era, and the Exner cars only began to approach its sleekness closer to the end of the decade.  But for the Corvette - and only thru '57 at that - GM wouldn't even be in the hunt till Mitchell took over.

[Motor City]

the Starliner doesn't scream 1950s because it's a 1960-1961 model ?

[Can-Con]

7 minutes ago, Motor City said:

the Starliner doesn't scream 1950s because it's a 1960-1961 model ?

No, it's a 1953 model.

"Starliner" was Studebaker's name for their hardtop cars.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

*oof*

?

[RichCostello]

16 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

No, it's a 1953 model.

"Starliner" was Studebaker's name for their hardtop cars.

And the Stude still had a more modern look than the Fords.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

^^THAT right there.^^

I mean, it's not as if "1953" was mentioned anywhere in this thread...

repeatedly...

but I'ma stop right there, 'cause it took three passes thru the '71 Mustang thread before my penny even dropped on the honest-to-Henry new Revell tool they was talkin' 'bout.

?

[Motor City]

“Easily the best looking American car of the decade.”

We don’t all have to agree with that statement since it’s rather subjective.  I forgot about the Studebaker Starliner since that wasn’t a real popular make around the Detroit area when I was growing up.  The Starliner name was used on the hardtops for ’53 and ’54. 

I thought Richard was referring to the Ford Starliner for some strange reason when he then referred to a Nomad as a potato.  Compared to the Nomad, the ’60 and ‘61 Starliner had very sleek styling, similar to the ’61 Thunderbird, at least with the side profile.    

There is no doubt that the 1953 Studebaker styling was unlike anything Detroit had at the time - or since - and is noted as being a milestone in American styling.  It’s nice to have a kit instead of just the warped promos.  I would still take a Nomad over a Studebaker Starliner!

[JohnU]

I’ve got an older release of this kit and I’d love to make a convertible out of it. But I’m struggling with finding a boot that will fit without too much hacking! It would be nice to have this option in the reissue!

[Mike999]

12 hours ago, JohnU said:

I’ve got an older release of this kit and I’d love to make a convertible out of it. But I’m struggling with finding a boot that will fit without too much hacking! It would be nice to have this option in the reissue!

Make your own boot to fit exactly, using 2-part epoxy putty.  Tamiya makes some good putties, intended for model builders and not plumbers.  I just used their "Quick Type" epoxy putty to make a ratty blanket draped over a worn-out car seat. 

For a convertible boot, you probably want a longer working time.  So the regular "Basic Type" epoxy putty might be better. It takes longer to dry.

Once you've made the boot and it's dry, you can drill holes for the snaps and make them using miniature pins or something similar.

A lot of us accidentally made the '53 Stude a convertible, trying to build the Bonneville version. ?   But I don't think Round 2 will ever tool up a convertible option in the box.

Here's one thread about using epoxy putty, you can find others in here:

  

[thatz4u]

33 minutes ago, Mike999 said:

Make your own boot to fit exactly, using 2-part epoxy putty.  Tamiya makes some good putties, intended for model builders and not plumbers.  I just used their "Quick Type" epoxy putty to make a ratty blanket draped over a worn-out car seat. 

For a convertible boot, you probably want a longer working time.  So the regular "Basic Type" epoxy putty might be better. It takes longer to dry.

Once you've made the boot and it's dry, you can drill holes for the snaps and make them using miniature pins or something similar.

A lot of us accidentally made the '53 Stude a convertible, trying to build the Bonneville version. ?   But I don't think Round 2 will ever tool up a convertible option in the box.

Here's one thread about using epoxy putty, you can find others in here:

  

something like this, maybe???

[Mark]

There won't be a convertible option because Studebaker didn't build one.  They didn't build any convertibles from 1953 until about 1960, when they added one to the Lark lineup.  The Hawks based on the '53 coupe never did get a convertible.  Studebaker started their downslide around 1955, and weren't selling enough of those cars to justify a convertible.

[Mike999]

We're modelers, we can do whatever we want.  Al's convertible Stude looks so good, now I want to build one.  Its swoopy lines remind me a little of the topless Citroen DS19.

 

[JohnU]

Thanks for the info guys. I figured I would have to make my own. Been scouring my stash of limited convertibles kits and was coming up with nothing that would fit or modify close enough. I didn’t realize Studebaker actually didn’t have a convertible. My inspiration was from a car calendar photo we have at work. It has red body paint,  white interior, a black folded down top. It’s got a lowered stance with wire rims and wide white wall tires. The grill bars have been removed for a more open look. I suppose it’s obviously a custom job but boy, I can’t stop wanting to build one just like it! It looks so classic cool!

[Brian Austin]

FWIW, one guy used a '64 Dodge Dart top to build his.

https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/rolling-classic-1953-studebaker-convertible-stunning/

 

[JohnU]

Wow Brian, thanks for the link! Gonna book mark it. That looks like a match for the calendar picture car I’m talking about! Got a much better view of the drop top boot and it looks like it might be much easier to fabricate myself than to source it from a different kit. 

[Junkman]

On 9/3/2020 at 1:17 AM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Pretty cool. I've never seen a Loewy Stude raced anywhere but Bonneville...

Ahem...

[Luc Janssens]

Anyone here who built one, cuz I remember gluing the front suspension, and the assembly sat far to low vs the rest of the chassis.

[Tom Geiger]

On 7/10/2020 at 1:17 PM, keyser said:

Mark, forgot about the Fitz stamps. Never saw the Stude.

Still, stamp collecting isn't growing I'd think since many have never mailed a letter. Maybe a rent check. Hopefully license was cheap.

I could easily see the tandem semi-trailers, a C600, but a stretch for anything else. Maybe a Whole Foods or Starbucks van, Blackberry and Zune licenses cheap. Hertz licenses dirt cheap.  

PS: Thanks Casey for usual thread necromancy. Some fun builds in here. Cool

Stamp collecting may not be growing but is still a thousand times larger than model cars.  In fact one stamp company mails out a monthly magazine for free that puts any model car magazine to shame.

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 9/5/2020 at 7:41 PM, JohnU said:

...I didn’t realize Studebaker actually didn’t have a convertible...

Supposedly two '53's were built for evaluation by the factory. I saw a ratty, rusty one decades ago that had exceptionally well-made top frame and hardware bits, with the line of the top fabric very well integrated with the body lines...much higher quality craftsmanship, design, and engineering than the typical non-factory custom would have exhibited. The story was that the car was in fact one of the two...and judging from the professionalism of the conversion, I'd be well inclined to believe it.