customline

Yeah, "Gunmetal Gray". A bit unusual but tasteful. I have something here that could approximate that color. I wonder if there's a Tamiya rattle can close to the coral. Also, Len, the white roof is (was) an intelligent choice if your ride back in '57 had no a/c, and down south white cars were pretty ubiquitous, for good reason. White goes with everything. It's like O-positive. But for something less common, the gunmetal gray will go extremely well with coral. "Thunderbird Bronze" is nice, too. With a black roof. There's too many choices, it's gonna drive me crazy. ?

Oh no....two of 'em gun shy and one oblivious. That's an amazing color chart, Len. I'm kinda partial to "coral sand" . It's soooooo '50s. Add that to my list. I like the "willow green" too. With a white roof. On both. Gotta check MCW. Edit: that chart is a keeper, Len. I saved it. ? thank you!

Yup. Same weather pattern. Lots of thunder here. At 2:30 it looked like 8:30.

Lenny, that's awesome. Frankenbird! My God, man, you have been busy! I love the body style of this era 'Bird. Originally, I wanted an LTD ll in a two door and the salesman couldn't find one in his inventory. ? I didn't know but he didn't ether. They only came in 4-doors ?. But the T-Bird was only 10 k so I figured "well, it's a two door and I love it. So I traded my '81 Mazda GLC Sport and bought it and then I surprised the old lady. She wasn't real happy. ? It's soggy here too, Lenny, I appreciate the pix. Where are you?

Yeah, I know, Dave. I want to make it a little bit special considering the ridiculous work I've had to endure just to get it in primer. You're probably right, though. Gotta look at factory colors yet. Then decide. I will put my choices up and put it to a vote. As far as I know, we still live in a "Democracy". ?

Your Mom has the good taste of a typical American woman of the 20th century and I cannot argue with it. I have considered a light yellow / white motif and it would be a very nice combination on the very feminine early 'Bird. These cars were suitable, in my demented mind, for late thirties women looking to attract men and 60+ men with fat bank accounts looking to attract younger women. Who really needs a two place vehicle? ? Oh... but there was a kid in my neighborhood that dropped a 390 in one of these. It was in gray primer and was the talk of the gear-heads in the area. He was a real rebel. Probably died in prison. ? I'm sorry....

I've done the clear-over-primer thing myself on a '51 Fleetline and it was a neat trick ?. I think you're right, though, white or black roof to keep it looking factory. I need to check the factory colors; I might want to go "authentic" on this one. I have a bid on a Monogram '56 right now. Any experience with that one?

Thank you, Greg, your opinions are highly valued ?. I'm a sucker for that shade of red. It may be a result of frequent and excessive partaking of inexpensive red wine.? I think the burgundy would look nice on the little 'Bird. (Maybe a gold roof ? ?)

Thanks, DW, it was a learning experience. Yeah.....soon. not another Galaxie, though. Too expensive. I have four cars waiting for batteries and radiator hoses and then there's five waiting for final assembly and.....oh yeah...the '57 T-Bird.....and a half-built '56 custom Chevy and the black '56 Chrysler and....you get the idea ? ...a yellow Mustang.....the Nomad....I won't live long enough. Thanks,Tom, it was kinda fun.

I tried. I really did. Till 2 AM. No dice. Ordered a resin top from Spotlight. Nuff said. After a number of attempts at painting the white band on the wheel covers, I just said "that will have to do". The black around the outside was much easier. Mostly for black-out work I like to use enamel thinned with reducer and after it dries, clean-up with the same. I don't like water-based paints for some jobs and this is one of them. I couldn't get the white craft paint thin enough. It would not "run around" like thinned enamel. But I was a thick-head and should have quit that and used enamel but no....nope.? That trusty Y-block now resides in its final resting place, held fast with 5 minute epoxy. The wheels are a done deal also. I located front and back in the lowering holes that I created myself with no help from AMT. I have not settled on a color scheme but I may use the MCW lacquer I bought for the Tasca Thunderbolt. "Vintage Burgundy" with a white roof. Same thing on the inside. That or Tamiya white pearl with a red/white interior. I dunno.?. As usual, your thoughts are needed and wanted ?

Calling it done. Just need another plate on the back. There's probably some other stuff that I can't remember but I'm done here and I thank you all for your help and encouragement. It's been.....uh.....OK, fun ?

Well, Len, I suppose doing that will occupy a lot of your time. Got pix?

And why have you not already done so? ?

Thanks, Don, I had fun doing it ?

Yes, I can see that but the pictures of the roof on line were not showing the side view, only top view and bottom view. It looked like it could have been cloned from the roof I have now. I would have spent the price of another great '41 Plymouth kit to get a roof ....well, you can finish this thought ?

I dig T-birds, Andy. I bought an '84 right off the showroom floor in the spring of '84. It was Charcoal metallic with red pinstripes. In '77, I rented one to drive up to Maine for a vacation with my bride. That one was dark blue with a tan vinyl roof and interior. Beautiful car. A friend had a '59 for a very short time....what a tank. I'm not looking to bash any kits to improve this one. It just isn't warranted. He'll, I already spoiled a perfectly good '41 Plymouth kit ?

I looked for that top and found it, and it was rea$onable enough, but the pictures of it didn't show me what I needed to see; I passed.

Thanks, Greg. It's actually something that closely resembles fun. I don't know about 100 times better. Maybe 69.3 times. I'm happy.

Oh. Andy, are any of those 1 :1s yours? Okay, your instructions are a bit different than mine. I would love to have your windshield, though. I am not going to do this again, Andy. I just don't love it enough. There are too many fish in the sea....... but pay attention, kids! Good info here! Thanks, Andy, I appreciate all your input. I just wish I had it a few weeks ago. Who am I kidding? I probably would have done it exactly the way I did anyway ?. BTW, count the squares in the grilles of the 1:1s at the center. I estimate 1/2 - 3/4" difference in height. I still don't know why the kit grille that I have needs to be upgraded. What did I miss? What is better about the '56 grille?

Well, who's Daniel, dam it? Ha ha ha....no, really, I'm LMFAO right now.....it's the booze.... Anyway... I returned to the house from the garage in a somewhat impaired state due to my iintimate relationship with vodka, I entered the "play room" and apparently dropped the roof and ....well, you can imagine my reaction when I retrieved it from the floor. ? Not to worry.... when I was in my working life waaaaay back in the '90s, I worked for a mechanical outfit. One day I was welding something in the shop and I wondered aloud what would happen if I got this thing wrong and another guy said " you can't f++k it up, you're in a welding shop" .....yeah. That's right! So....it's the same way here. It doesn't matter how much you f÷÷k it up, you can fix it easily because you have everything you need to do so! Jus' saying ? The tail light issue can be remedied with a set from the '57 Fairlane or Custom kits, im pretty sure. I wanted to keep it OOB ( ? ) so I added a couple of layers of sheet cookies to the "recepticles" and wanted to see if the kit lights would look "adequate" if they were out farther. They do. They are smaller in diameter but shimming them out gives them a more "factory" look rather than a "Frenched" look. I'm happy with it. I know, I know......? Last night I attempted to attach the T-Bird's windshield frame to the glass with the "GOLD" variety CA. Nope. Made a freaking mess of it. Had to start all over after a polish job on the glass. So I used 5 min. epoxy as a second attempt. So far, so good. You have got to have a back-up plan....full stop. this didn't work out for me; not because it was a bad idea...no....it could have worked. It just didn't................. and that's it for now, folks.....maybe later..... Thanks for spending your time with my brain ?

Oooooo.....I am holding my somewhat diminished COPD restricted breath.....cough, cough...? Anyway, yeah, that will probably be the solution to the "wheel-too-far-forward" issue. Hang in there, Lenny....I feel your pain ?. See my T-bird thread ?.

Steve, I'm beginning to see that building OOB isn't for me.

I think I'll wait for a freshly tooled version, Bob. And that windshield thing? You guessed it. My job today will be to rectify that little mishap. ?

?....who's Daniel? Wait till you see what I do for the glass ?

Dave, I still have two of those "fantastic $13 bargains" I got from Ollie's in the closet and when I finally recover from building the last one, (which is covered in a light coating of dust and still needs a battery and radiator hoses) I will approach the '41 Plymouth kits with a completely different attitude. ? Most of the front sheet metal will not be used.