customline

Only if the paint job makes it that way, Mike. Thanks for your interest and the kind words. I just finished painting the molded-in exhaust system. When I went to attach the sway bar/tie rod unit to the cross member I got a little surprise. I'll put some pix up later on that. It's just been like that the whole way.

Thanks, Bob, there's still plenty of work to do.

Thanks, David. When I realized I had another thing to fix, I became a little despondent. And then I had a EUREKA! moment with my right palm smacking me square on my forehead. You had to be there ?.

I have a thought, David! How about dark tinted glass for the quarter glass? I have a variety of colors that I use for the occasional gasser (and a customized T-Bird) I would be happy to drop a piece big enough to do all the glass in a legal size envelope and trust the USPS to get it to you hopefully before Labor Day.

Glad you made it, Bill, welcome to my mess. It's easier if you start with a decent kit. I didn't. More fun this way. ?

Thanks, Robert. It's pretty standard these days for a vehicle of this nature. I'm in so deep now a few more fixes like this one are inevitable. It never ends with this kit.

I think I would leave that tape removal mishap just the way it is. It's beautiful! I would try that elsewhere as well. It's a nice effect. ? . I would call it "perfectly peeling paint"

That little issue with the fan slicing through my top radiator hose was an easy one to fix. Monogram could have worked around it with an electric fan. That's okay, I did. And while I was at it, I figured a new aluminum radiator would be nice too. Here's the kit radiator ? Notice the molded-in horn and the half-a-pressure-cap. ? The electric fan I found in my "engine parts" drawer is a beauty. Not a clue where it came from but I'm sure glad I was able to find it. It fit the spot almost perfectly. The splash pan (?) had to be opened up a bit, enter Mr. Moto ? For the radiator, a little work with Mr. Moto and some scraps of Evergreen and I'm on my way to a nice new custom aluminum radiator! I removed the horn and air intake screen from the front side and veneered the support with .010 sheet to clean it up. I added a .040 x .040 strip across the top and some .060 angle for esthetics. Then I sliced off a piece of 7/32" tube and grafted it to a scrap of sheet that I cross-hatched with my #11. I glued some scrap strip pieces over the kit radiator tank and fashioned it to look like a custom aluminum item. I still have a can of MM Metalizer with a bit left in it so I'll hit it with that and buff up. An octagon cap will finish it off. oh... yeah.... and I cut the fan off the engine ? . Thanks for checking my work!

Thanks, Dave, I'm glad you're here now so welcome to the fun! The very first photo was not the trigger for the build. The idea of keeping the B pillar as the defining element was in my head before I found that photo. Seeing that 1:1 validated what I was thinking. Making it happen in 1/24 styrene didn't seem too difficult. But this kit has been fighting me at every turn. The lightweight Galaxy was a walk in the park compared to this one. The ride height is an important element and when a kit is an accurate representation in scale, the stance can usually be adjusted by the normal means. I know how to make that happen. The only way to get this puppy in the weeds was just way more than I wanted to do. But I now have a ride height and stance I can live with but the main thing is the overall impact of the phantom Nomad pick-up. All I need now is a good paint job and I'm going with non-metallic colors. I don't need another paint disaster, thank you very much. Paint is not my favorite thing. Stick around, Dave, I've got a ways to go and your attention and comments are appreciated.

IMHO, if that's a rare, valuable kit just leave it be and pick up the newer one to butcher.

Today was somewhat productive. I felt like I should make a more serious effort on the rear suspension. This was triggered by realizing it would be quite difficult to paint the pipes under the rear end. I grabbed my chisel blade and removed the rear end unit and gaffed up some new mountings for the rear of the springs. I would call it a deep fake. It's not great but it actually looks like the shackle mounts. I was able to keep the lowered stance by maintaining the spring angle I had. Now, at least, it doesn't look like a total hack job. Also the shocks needed new, more functional mountings so I cobbled up the lower mounts that would hold the kit's optional coil-augmented shocks. The kit floor was a horrible, weird thing where the upper ends of the shocks would go. That had to go so I grabbed my favorite cutting tool and removed the offending plastic. I covered the holes with .010 sheet and added a length of .060 thick strip, sanded all around on one side to look like a reinforced section of the floor for the upper ends of the shocks and drilled holes to accept them. I also added strengthening beads to be more convincing. I don't have many options for wheels/tires. I have a set of rally wheels from some kit from years ago that I detailed but ended up not using. And then there's the kit wheels. Still undecided. Then it was time to finish the hood hinge install. The new firewall needed more attention so I got that out of the way. While mocking up to check some things I noticed my upper radiator hose may be in peril. Such is the nature of this kit I may have actually improved the stance as a result of the mods I made to the rear suspension today. I keep wondering why the kit includes a roll bar, a dual-quad tunnel ram manifold but no slicks. ? Thanks for coming by and sharing my nightmare

Sam, I don't know if there's another '57 'Mad you can build but this one from Monogram is pure ??. Thanks.

Thanks, Jason, "fantastic" might be a bit strong but I do appreciate your interest.

You can see Buick portholes on a lot of cars in downtown Newport News ?

Save it for a '55 'Vette ?.

Vent windows were a necessity in the summer months if you didn't have A/C (or it didn't work ?) They were a deluxe feature in the early days that became a standard thing eventually. I think the manufacturers eliminated them to sell more A/C equipped vehicles. Can you still buy a vehicle without A/C? Greg, it looks like the it's a no-go on the T-Bird roof. I kinda liked it . ?

Yeah, ditto that. I spent a few ebay sessions trying to find one at a decent price but I'm glad I gave up ( I'm happy with my Edsel ?.) It takes a very methodical, patient, experienced....any way, that's why I gave up on it, the truth be known. I like the idea of adding filler to CA; I need to try that. Nice work, David!

Yessiree, this is shaping up to be a right proper worm can! ? (a cracked windshield is always nice, Rob. ?)

Wow, man, you have my attention! Let's see what else you've got going! ..... Now what did you do with the rest of that Fury? ?

One thing that reeeeeeeeeeeeeealy bothers me about this kit (and all of it's siblings) is the idiotic firewall which is no firewall at all. They put the emphasis on hinging the hood but that rendered the firewall as...well...observe? And it looks unfinished; there's a void between the thing that serves as a firewall and the interior tub. ? the bell housing and transmission, I guess, is supposed to hide the emptiness. Not to worry. I have plenty of Evergreen in my drawer. The floor/ toeboard/transmission tunnel is easy enough to close up with some sheet and CA. The firewall is a bit more complicated. I had decided to just go with the kit hinge and maybe try to cover the weird thing and to try closing the hinge openings....nah. It was time to make a wire hinge. That allowed much smaller slots and a smooth "custom" firewall. I added pieces of strip to build out the low sections and cut slots in some .015 sheet for a veneer. It's not perfect by any means but I can add a few details to a flat wall now and still have an opening, hinged hood. I cannot imagine building this kit straight out of the box. That's it for now, thanks for stopping by ?

I was looking to see if Buick had a version of the Nomad and I ran across this. https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1957-BUICK-CENTURY-CUSTOM-WAGON-138984 Pretty cool, huh? ?

Oh how true ?

I say add some Buick portholes (Roadmaster portholes ?) and keep the 'Bird lid. Then see if you can find a '57 Desoto front bumper and some '58 Edsel tail lights. Awesome! ?

Don't sweat the running boards, Len. They take a beating. The rubber dries out from sun exposure and cracks and then the salty winter roads rust the metal away and...well then you have a nicely weathered running board. ?.