1959 Ford Skyliner

[wrenchr]

Nothing I can say can put into words on your build. I to attempted one when I was a kid. I did not even get past gluing the body together, the tube glue would not setup quick enough and I got sick of holding the parts together and just gave up. I now have another in the stash and maybe one day.....................   

[slusher]

Gorgeous model so cleanly built. 

[BeakDoc]

On 1/5/2021 at 8:06 PM, bogger44 said:

This has to be one of the best builds of this kit I've seen.  Very well done.  I remember building one when I was in my early teens and had a heck of a time with it but did get it cobbled together.  Haven't attempted another one since LOL.

 

On 1/5/2021 at 9:57 PM, Bills72sj said:

Very nice result. I remember building an unpainted bright yellow plastic one in the mid 70's. I was impressed that the folding top worked (at least by my then teenage standards)

 

On 1/6/2021 at 12:05 PM, Steve Geer said:

That is one spectacular model! Great colors and detailing, especially making the roof work. Most impressive build of the Skyliner I've ever seen. I've tried it twice; once as an adolescent and once as an adult and both attempts were dismal failures -- it's a toughie and you did it magnificently!

 

On 1/6/2021 at 2:24 PM, Bainford said:

Excellent build of this notoriously difficult kit. Probably the best I've seen. Kudos for sticking with it and seeing it through. Beautiful job.

As a 16 yr old in high school in the early 80s I had a shop teacher who was a 59 Ford fanatic. He owned over a dozen of them, including two Skyliners. He also had a case of the Revell kits, and knowing I was a model builder he asked if I would put one together for him. I was excited to have a go, but eventuality threw in the towel. That kit owned me. Not wanting to be bested by a kit, in the 90s I purchased another one to give it another try. It's still sitting in my stash, sneering at me from time to time. One day I'll take another crack at it.

Thank you for the kind comments, gentlemen. I can safely declare with 99% certainty, that if I had attempted this kit as a teenager, it would have met it’s end in a spectacularly explosive fashion. There’s something to be said for mellowing with age..

[ChrisR]

Looks great!!

[BeakDoc]

On 1/5/2021 at 11:31 PM, Bucky said:

Very sharp Skyliner! I really like the color combination. A tutorial for all those new hinges might help those of us who are skeered to tackle the kits in our stashes! LoL

 

On 1/6/2021 at 4:37 AM, doorsovdoon said:

I've always wondered about this kit with it's complex roof and how much of a nightmare it would be to build. You'd never know to look at it the fit issues it has. You done a sterling job on it mate, very nice looking build.

 

On 1/6/2021 at 12:52 PM, Dave Darby said:

Looks great. I built one out of the box about 30 years ago, and used another one to create a 57 Skyliner, using the parts on the AMT 57. One thing I did with my 59 is to drill out the headlight openings to the size of the lenses. I then flush fit the custom quad headlight lenses from the AMT 50 Convertible, with reflectors made from the baby moon hubcaps from the AMT 56 Ford behind them. Looks a ton better that way, eliminating those "eyeballs". Just out of curiosity, what glue did you use on the body?  I've found lately that the ModelMaster cement doesn't dig into the plastic very well, and have since started using the Revell glue, and the Tamiya liquid. 

 

On 1/6/2021 at 5:30 PM, Classicgas said:

Beautiful.  I did the same thing with the deck hinges.

Thank you for the kind words, gentlemen. In hindsight, I wish I had started a WIP thread. Honestly, I wasn’t sure it would see completion.

Dave, that’s a loaded question concerning the glue. LOL. The first step was stripping the chrome from the decorative rear quarter pieces. On the pins and divots of the body panels I applied Tamiya liquid. Then I measured from left-front to right-rear and from right-front to left-rear to ensure it was square and used a jerry-rigged jig to hold it in place. Once that was dry, I carefully ran Plastruct Bondene along all of the horizontal seams, rechecked the squareness and rejigged it until it dried again. Finally, in the inner four corner joints I applied Gorilla 5 minute epoxy.

[BeakDoc]

@Plowboy @cobraman @ModelcarJR @charger74 @Lunajammer @StevenGuthmiller @89AKurt @Tom Geiger @bisc63 @grodudulle77 @donb @Geno @PappyD340 @crazyjim @espo @ewetwo @slusher @wrenchr @ChrisR

Thanks a million for the kind comments, one and all. It’s humbling to have a build recognized by fellow builders who stick together some of the finest examples of scale models I’ve ever seen. You guys, and many, many more on this forum set a lofty standard. 

Edited January 8, 2021 by BeakDoc

[Rockford]

Beautiful job. Like most people here I have one of these but not enough courage to build it. Mine was some sort of anniversary addition and came with a band around the box. The kit is cast in green. Your build prompted me to get it down for a look. Then put it back just as quickly! It's a beast, so strangely engineered, even the little plastic driver is pointing one way as if to say "get out of here while you still can!" I've got about 150 other kits I can try before I get to this one.

Edited January 8, 2021 by Rockford
Spelllling

[TransAmMike]

I missed this one when it was first posted. Great job on that unique Ford.  Well done.

[John Goschke]

Outstanding build of a challenging kit!  I really like your color combo!  Built one myself when it was first reissued in the seventies using liberals applications of superglue and marijuana (it was the '70s!)  These days, since I've gone straight, I use them for parts to restore AMT '59s.

[Sixties Sam]

Excellent build of a tough kit! I built one (poorly) in my teen years in the 1960's, and built another one in 2014. It came out much better. I had trouble with the fit of the top and its mechanism, and had to redo it twice. Yours is really nice!

Sam

[ATHU]

Wow!! Looks absolutely phenomenal Chris, love the color combo!!

[carrucha]

Nice build!

[ChrisBcritter]

A tough kit but a very rewarding one when it's done; as complicated as it is, Revell managed to capture the car's lines and details very well - and you went the extra mile with it! I built one when I was a teenager; best I can say is when I was done, the top did work. 

I have two in the stash - one's a donor for a PMC Ranchero, the other will be a donor for a PMC Country Sedan.