John Goschke

Great work!

Ditto! I don't care how small the flaw, be it the tiniest wrinkle or wavy edge in the foil, dust in the paint or scratch in the chrome, fixing it in Photoshop is not acceptable. It's a slippery slope, and if you start doing it and rationalizing it as "nothing to get upset over," then you're lying to yourself. Like Harry, I do a lot of magazine work with P'shop, and I do adjust exposure, contrast and color in my model photography just like in the photos that are supplied for my "real job," to make it truer to the subject and for a more pleasing image, and clarity and sharpness to bring out detail but unlike in the magazine photos for work, I WILL NOT fix flaws in the model, so if there's a booger under the foil or dust or a sloppy brush touch-up in the paint or, sadly more often now, shaky detail painting or foilwork, you're going to see it and I'm going to live with it. I do clean up in Photoshop, any dust on the lens (or that seems to be in the camera), that falls on the model and on the backdrop during the photo session.

Right, Steve. If we go back to '57 when the new Forward Look cars debuted, only the Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth convertibles featured that high-crowned, compound curved windshield. The four-door and two-door hardtops for all three makes had a lower crowned windshield with a "hooded" upper molding. In '58 all Chrysler and Dodge hardtops got the compound curved windshield that was used in the ragtops. '58 Plymouth's, being the low-priced make, carried on with the simple wrap-around windshield with the hooded header. Then, in '59 the Plymouths got the fancy windshield like their pricey brethren. In '60, with the re-engineered unit body cars all body styles in Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth used it. In '61 it was eliminated across the board, perhaps as a cost-cutting measure, or as part of a corporate turn away from Exner's "Forward Look" that would continue to a greater degree in '62. Enough trivia... Now, back to Peekay's gorgeous Adventurer!

Best build by far I've ever seen of this kit! Just a note on the windshields on the '60 and '61 Mopars. In '61 Chrysler Corp. stopped using the compound curved windshield with the "domed" upper section, so the Johan '61 Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth models reflect this change. The way to deal with the somewhat exaggerated projection of the upper windshield on the '60 kits is to rotate the top of the windshield inward a bit during installation so it doesn't stick out so far. This assumes that you cut out the straps joining the windshield and rear window. That's what I did when I built this Dodge, though it may not be real obvious from this angle...

Really beautiful work! The color on the Desoto is just stunning.

Ding, ding, ding! You are correct, sir! However, I would love to see a '57 BelAir ragtop with that pretty yellow and white E-400 361c.i. FE under the hood. Oh, just one little correction, the color is Chartreuse. Julie London was a Chanteuse. Click to fully understand the distinction..http://youtu.be/lYfSStf_njw

Fine, fine, work on this one, John!

Outstanding! Very nice use of the washes to bring out the details and add to the realism.

If it's anything like the one I was in in South Jersey off Route 55, it won't have any model kit section! Just aisle after aisle of some of the tackiest craft and gift items ever seen with a background of the smarmiest muzak-style hymns ever heard. Very weird... 20 minutes of life I'll never get back. Best to call first to ask if they carry what you want to save your time, your eyes, and your ears.

Scott, the AMT '57 I was referring to was the old tool "Trophy Series" kit and all its reissues. The problem isn't with the beltline dip, it's with the side molding that doesn't curve down enough as it travels across the door, then curves down abruptly below the beltline dip, creating the appearance of a "kink" in the side molding at that point. Ideally the molding should have a nice smooth curve downward from headlight to rear bumper. Also, if one looks at the proportion of space above and below the molding, it's arguably too high on this kit. And of course there are a few other nits we could pick, but this kit isn't really the subject of this thread. That said, I much prefer this kit over AMT's later rendition, which appears overscale to me, particularly when compared to this kit and all the recent Monogram/Revell tri-five series. I also like the roof on this kit more than that on the later '57 or Revell's '55.

Translucent milky white plastic whitewall inserts! Just because they're molded in white doesn't mean they look realistic. Hit 'em with a few coats of Tamiya white surface primer, or something, for crying out loud!

Well, Bill, at least it looks repairable with some file and finish work on the top of the door and into the dip. Then the stainless beltline molding that'll get removed will need to be replaced with styrene strip. As for getting it symmetrical, that appears to be something some kit manufacturers haven't even mastered yet! Quite annoying, while being completely unsurprising to the cynical modeler, that a subtle detail that is so important to the essential character of the car's design is missed in a such a cringe-inducing manner. Can we hope that the plated winshield frame will fit better than those on the '59 Impala and Cadillac, or that on the '55 BelAir convertible? Anyway, regarding the beltline, here's a nice shot of a real '57 ragtop. Note how the downward curve of the doortop seems to follow exactly the curve of the side molding below it, then immediately after the door it curves more dramatically into the dip. This contributes greatly to the sportier, slimmer look of the convertible and the hardtop. Kind of interesting that the problem is almost exactly the opposite, though much more repairable, than that on AMT's old tool hardtop!

Well, I s'pose in my case, when I actually followed through and completed the purchase of the AMT's humpbacked '58 Plymouth kit in spite of how bizarre it looked on the box, I can only chalk it up to the admittedly futile hope that after all the months of anticipation the contents wouldn't prove as awful as what was on the box cover. Fool me once, as they say. Continuing with the example of the '58 Plymouth, though, the kit is apparently buildable, but whether it's useful as supplied in the box for building an accurate replica (or even one that simply captures the essential character) of the original, without a zillion hours of work, is another matter, (though the rear view mirrors did prove useful on another model). If nothing else, perhaps AMT should be credited for their staggering honesty, or their testicular fortitude, for showing the completed model ("See, it IS buildable!") on the packaging, and luckily it did prepare me to be disappointed on seeing the actual product. Or maybe it was simply apathy, rather than honesty, among the powers that were in charge of the company at the time, in which case I guess they deserve no credit at all. As a fan of unintended irony I like that the most recent release of the kit carries prominent horror movie branding.

Coming along nicely! Very attractive color combo.

Yeah, Palmer kits as gifts when I was a kid. Oy. "Uh. Gee. Uh. Thanks, Gramma..." But in recent years the biggest disappointment was this nightmare, AMT's ridiculous '58 Plymouth. Was really excited when it was announced. When I picked one up I bought it in spite of the box "art" photo, hoping maybe it showed camera distortion. Fortunately the photo did, in part, prepare me to clench my sphincter for the disappointment to come on opening the box and realizing the distortion was in the eye of the pattern maker, who may have never actually looked at a real '58 Plymouth. "Uh. Gee. Uh. Thanks, AMT..." Second worst disappointment was Trumpeter's absurd '60 Pontiac Bonneville hardtop. Again a case where the patternmaker may never have actually looked at a real car and seemingly mislaid all their photo reference. Third was undoubtedly Revell's chopped '49 Merc, where the main reference for the roof chop was apparently the goofy Merc from Sly Stallone's equally goofy movie, "Cobra." Note how the B pillar "props up" and appears to interrupt the flow of the roofline just like on the kit!

Pete, that was the "Wonder Bird" I used for this comparo. It was a version of the old Trophy Series kit. Here's a scan of the box art. New to this version of this kit were the tunneled taillights.

Thanks, Tim! While it's obvious that the Trophy Series "full detail" kit and the Custom Jr./Craftsman kit have much in common, I thought the differences that gave the cheaper kit it's own particular virtues were worth noting. And, for some strange reason when I try to share this kind of fascinating model kit trivia with my wife her eyes seem to glaze over just before she goes catatonic. So I hafta share it here!

Great work, Bill! Love the moldings around the wheel openings and the rocker panel moldings.

In Christopher's photos the Craftsman kit is the one on the left, which has molded on fender skirts.

Thanks for the additional pix, Christopher. With those wire wheels that likely is an original issue Trophy kit. In that first shot you can also see the better headlight rim on the blue Trophy series car.

A few more shots of the assembled kit. Two advantages this kit and the other '57 have over AMT's later '56 are the more accurate shaped wheel openings and the lack of under body bracketry that's visible hanging below the rocker panels on almost every build I've seen of the '56. The '56 kit also seems too angular and slab-sided and overscale, as if it might be 1/24th and a half scale. This kit does need some better headlights and headlight rims, along with some fine tuning of the bumper fit, front and rear. The kit was built for these shots with very little clean up other than that required to get it together. I did, however, do some preliminary filing and sanding on the windshield frame and front edge of the roof for a little better fit. I think you can see that this simple kit has "pretty good bones" and a lot of potential, particularly if it were kit bashed with its Trophy Series brother, Revell's new '57 Custom and AMT's old '57 Fairlane 500!

Since I don't have the more common ex-Trophy/Wonder Bird/Vegas T-bird built here's a boxtop shot of one that illustrates why the windshield frame and top in this kit leave a lot to be desired. The windshield frame seems to angle too far forward at the top and the roof looks way too narrow along the front edge... Here's a profile shot of a real '57 T-bird with a hardtop... Here's a couple profile shots of the Custom Jr. 'Bird with its top on. Not too shabby, particularly if you're used to the top in AMT's other kit! Also notice the somewhat better (though not perfect) windshield frame angle. One problem that needs some work is the driver's side front wheel that seems a bit far to the rear in the wheelwell here, and when viewed from other angles. But I'll probably not use this chassis anyway, opting for an original Trophy Series piece.

The big difference is in the optional hardtop, which appears to be unique to this kit. It's shown here compared with a top from a later 1960s "Wonder Bird" issue of the Trophy Series 'Bird, which was also molded in red. The Wonder Bird top is an identical molding as that in the "Vegas" issue kit (the most recent one I have) and, I believe, most, if not all, reissues of the old Trophy kit since the '60s. Here you can see the difference across the front edges of the roof. Note how narrow the Wonder Bird top (left) is at the front vs. the Jr. kit top (right). Here's a comparison of the rear of each top, with the WB top on the left and Jr. on the right. The Jr. top's window shape is better compared to photo of the real car, with the sides tapering in at the top, though the distance between the bottom edge of the window and the bottom edge of the roof is more correct on the WB top. The WB's window has an inaccurate "tunneled" appearance. Inside the WB roof (left) has no detail, while the Jr. roof has a headliner (plus pin marks and a rather large tab at the front!) The critical difference is the profile of each roof. Here the WB roof is on the right, with the Jr. roof on the left. Note how the Jr. roof has more "crown" toward the front and curves down toward the header, and the upper edge of the side window opening is nearly parallel to the ground. This much more closely resembles to real Thunderbird roof than does the WB roof, which has a high crown in the rear and slopes down to the windshield header while the edge of the side window slopes up.

While I fondly remember building AMT's Trophy Series '57 T-bird "Advanced Customizing Kit" with all those cool parts and the all-chrome engine when I was a kid, since I've grown up (using the term loosely) it's a kit that has bugged me with its clunky and oddly raked chrome windshield frame. Later issues, with increasing amounts of flash and a decidedly strange-looking optional hardtop haven't helped. I've looked into adapting the better windshield from AMT's later '56 T-bird but it seems a bit too large (as does the kit overall, except for the engine, which seems too small.) So, with an increasing desire to build a '57 T-bird, I started considering ways to improve the windshield frame and the top in the former Trophy Series kit. Searching for a good example of the kit on ebay occasionally turned up another '57 'Bird by AMT in the Craftsman series or the "Custom Jr." series. Looking at these kits closer it appeared that their molded-on windshield frame was more accurate in appearance in these simpler kits than that in the other kit. Not only that, but the top looked different as well. After seeing a listing with better than average photos I decided to buy one and see if it might be a better way to go for the build I'd been thinking about. After receiving it and taking a look, I thought the differences were at least interesting enough to share with you guys. I bought the earlier Customizing Jr. kit, which has an unusually clean box design which appeals to those of us in the graphic arts! This model was also released as a Craftsman kit, molded in pale blue. The Custom Jr. kit is molded in bright red. Included in the "highly detailed basic parts" is the stuffed hound dog seen in a couple other early '60s AMT kits! One feature I like, having foiled a few horn rings, is the cleanly molded, chrome plated steering wheel! Note that the screws common in most AMT kits of the period have been replaced by pins molded onto the chassis. Axles are the thicker splined variety seen in other Junior and Craftsman series kits. In this case they're too long, needing about 1/8" cut off to achieve a sensible track width. One important detail difference for stock '57 T-bird and '57 Ford fans is that the center of the wheel covers (left) have "FORD" lettering, unlike those in the original Trophy Series kit (right).

In addition to the Customizing Kit shown in Glenn's post above, in 1965 the Monogram '36 Ford was re-released as a stock-only kit to build either the 3W Coupe or the Cabriolet.