Bernard Kron Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) I've been away from the bench for almost a month and a half, the holiday season having taken a heavy toll on my build time. With two quite intricate builds already on the bench, I decided I needed an ultra-quick, super straightforward project to get my rhythm going. This is it. The NNL West this year has as one of its themes "The 0's". that is cars from years ending in zeroes. Since I have yet to complete a car built any later than the 50's it's a pretty straightforward proposition for me. The 1930 and 1940 cars I'll be bringing with me are both Fords so I thought I'd build a 1950 Ford to round things out. Raul Perez had sent me an AMT '50 Ford convertible kit that, unfortunately, was the Millennium edition without any of the custom parts. But then I landed up trading parts with Dave Zinn and he was able to supply me with the chopped windshield and a delicious resin Carson top he had originally gotten from Geezerman. In addition I had an already completed lowered chassis with Caddy V8 from an as yet unfinished '49 Ford project. My plan is to do the absolute minimum of bodywork, keep the stock grill which I have always liked, and spend most of my build time on the interior. Color will probably be Metallic Cherry with a Cream Carson top and red and white interior. Here's the mockup (without bumpers which will be stock): Thanx for lookin'. B. Edited February 8, 2010 by gbk1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt LeBlanc Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) It must be that top, but this has the best 50 Ford proportions I've seen in some time. Think you have a looker in the works. and .. good to see ya back on the workbench, Bernard. Edited January 10, 2010 by Foxer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vizio93 Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Looking good !!! I like the idea of a Metallic Cherry with the Cream top. What color would you throw on the interior ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 Thanx guys. I'm thinking dark red and white tuck and roll on the interior. The chopped windshield and resin re-pop of the Carson top are parts that go all the way back to the original Trophy Series version of this kit. Until Dave sent me the Carson top I had intended to build a more rough and ready .hot rod version with bare steelies, kind of like the box art on the Millennium edition. But the moment that top went on I changed my vision of this thing. I agree, the proportions are awesome. So I'm gonna keep it simple and clean. Below is a pic of the side of the box from the Trophy Series showing some of the countless variations that could be built from this awesome kit (some more tasteful than others...). Also a link to the instruction sheet. (Both courtesy of Bob Black's incredible Drastic Plastic MCC instruction sheet archive. ) Now that's a re-issue Round2 should do! http://public.fotki....ford-convert-1/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 For a kit that started out life as a no-holds-barred full-on custom the AMT '50 Ford convertible sure has a bland interior, especially the later stock-only versions. The engraving on the door panels is extremely shallow and vague and the seats have absolutely no texture of pattern other than two buttons in the middle of the backs. In order to spice things up I decided to use some old-school AMT customizing parts. I cut out the back seat and door panels. For the front and rear seats I substituted the custom seats from the AMT 53 Studebaker Starliner with the center console from the AMT '49 Mercury. The side panels were made from styrene sheet. Here are some pics of the process and results. Can't decide to whether stick with my original intention of painting the car Cherry Metallic with a red and white interior or perhaps switch over to some shade of Lavender. The shades of grey, white and cream of the raw plastic are beginning to appeal to me, so maybe Lavender with a cream top, and white and grey for the interior might be an alternative. Opinions welcome! Thanx for lookin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Stone Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 (edited) I vote you stay with the cherry/cream and red/white tuck and roll interior. The interior work looks good, but it's bothering me that the pattern is vertical on the rear seats, but is horizontal on the fronts. Minor nit-picking... Otherwise, it looks good! Edited January 12, 2010 by Eric Stone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Bernard- I like your choice of interior upgrades. The door panels are such an easy replacement that really spices up the interior. I'd stick with the Cherry/Cream paint scheme if it were mine. Keep the photos coming. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 (edited) Thanx! I'm glad you all are enjoying the build. ...The interior work looks good, but it's bothering me that the pattern is vertical on the rear seats, but is horizontal on the fronts. Minor nit-picking... Regarding the seats, for some reason this has come up more than once. Ironically the seats I used are the official matching pair to the backseat, both are the "custom" seats from the AMT '53 Stude kit. I could have used the custom seats from the '50 Ford convertible kit, but they have horizontal pleats, too! And they are the "Jetsons" style buckets which can be found in countless AMT kits from the late 50's and early 60's. IMHO they really don't go well with the fairly conservative look of my build. Here's what I mean: I think the Stude custom seats will look OK once they're picked out in contrasting colors. If I can stumble on something else I might change them but the deal here is to keep this on the straight and narrow as a quick and relatively easy build so I can also work on a couple of other projects at the same time. Edited January 12, 2010 by gbk1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smart-Resins Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I love how this is coming out! That top looks great on there! Jody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Stone Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I wonder if at some point in the past when people were starting to do tuck and roll interiors that somebody figured out that perpendicular patterns on the front vs rear seats is the formula that works, and the model companies followed suit when designing the kits... I agree; the first pair of seats matches the rest of the interior better because the backs are more 'square'. The 'Jetsons' seats would look good in a 2-seat roadster or something, where they don't have to match another seat. I have one of these kits somewhere in the closet. I'll be keeping an eye on your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul_Perez Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 ...The interior work looks good, but it's bothering me that the pattern is vertical on the rear seats, but is horizontal on the fronts. Minor nit-picking... Otherwise, it looks good! I've got to agree with Eric on this one, but I also understand that these ARE the "matching" seats from another kit. I'll look around to see if I have any front seats in the "parts bin" that match the back ones... Later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlasticWagens Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Loving the build, but I am wondering with every cut if the "ultra quick" build objective is still the game plan? LOL Keep it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul_Perez Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I've got to agree with Eric on this one, but I also understand that these ARE the "matching" seats from another kit. I'll look around to see if I have any front seats in the "parts bin" that match the back ones... Later, Bernard, Sorry, but I've been too busy with "family stuff" to look through my stash for a better set of front seats for you. I may have time this Sunday, depending on how things go Saturday...that's after I get my home computer back from a replacement of the motherboard that took 6 weeks to complete... Later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 Loving the build, but I am wondering with every cut if the "ultra quick" build objective is still the game plan? LOL Keep it up! Thanx Matt. Actually I'm still trying to keep things simple on this one. Got the body mods such as they are done during this week. Mainly shaving the emblems of the nose and trunk lid and shortening the side trim to an area just behind the middle of the door. Final cleanup and paint should be within reach, weather permitting, this weekend. Bernard, Sorry, but I've been too busy with "family stuff" to look through my stash for a better set of front seats for you. I may have time this Sunday, depending on how things go Saturday...that's after I get my home computer back from a replacement of the motherboard that took 6 weeks to complete... Later, I've had my share of emergencies this past week and so I haven;t gotten as far along as I had hoped. I'm looking forward to what you come up with. If you draw a blank I'm sticking with the official seats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted February 5, 2010 Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 (edited) We have color! The Carson top is Duplicolor Wimbledon white over white primer with a top coat of Testors DullCote. The body is has a base of white primer, then Duplicolor Gold and finally two coats of Duplicolor Cherry Metallic. It'll get three coats of Krylon Acrylic Crystal Clear gloss before a final polishing. The interior and headliner will be white with red accents. Thanx for lookin, B. Edited February 5, 2010 by gbk1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixties Sam Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 Ooo, yeah! That is just the right color combo! Looks good! Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul_Perez Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 Agreed!! The colors look FANTASTIC!! Don't stop now!! Later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 Thanx guys! I’ve now gotten the clear down and polished the paint out with my 4000 to 12000 grit cloths. But I’ve always been a bit frustrated with polishing cloths because they tend to leave a slightly milky finish under the high gloss making the paint looking flat and lifeless. So a while back I decided to see if I could use even finer polishes to bring the finish all the way to back to an extreme deep and shiny gloss. Here’s what I found that really works: I first use the ScratchX which is designed to remove very fine scratches and swirls marks. The PlastX is meant to polish out plexiglass and lexxan surfaces to a true clear. So I figured it would make a great final polish. I was not disappointed. Here’s one side of the car completely finished out including the ScratchX and PlastX; I’m only just getting the hang of painting ultra high gloss finshes but ScratchX and PLastX are definitely what you want if your doing a show car finish. Thanx for lookin’, B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul_Perez Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Shine on, shine on!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 OOOOHH! Too pretty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 Thanx guys! I changed my mind on the interior colors. Red and white would have meant too much red given the intensity of the body color. Because of the gold base coat and the candy apple tones of the paint I decided on a very traditional custom interior color combo – white and pale gold. Thanx for lookin', B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul_Perez Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 OK...you've got 11 days to finish it before you have to catch a plane south!! Later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted February 9, 2010 Author Share Posted February 9, 2010 OK...you've got 11 days to finish it before you have to catch a plane south!! Later, I might even get it done tonight! But there's still Ed's Chopped & Sectioned '40 Ford Coupe to finish.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul_Perez Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 You're way ahead of me...with everything going on with my Grandfather, I haven't had the time nor the inclination to even look at a model in the past month. The good news is that things are starting to settle down. I should have time this weekend to get back tot he bench and do a bit of work on my '50 Chevy pickup... Later, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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