Dave Darby

Well, how ancient are 49 Ford gassers? My 8 year old can't get enough of this stuff. And he has video games competing for his attention. The idea is, while spending time with your kids, you have to make it fun. Show them Youtube videos of those funny cars in action. There aren't many snap together models out there these days. We look for that stuff. Sure, they are on the crude side for an adult, but they are a simple build for short attention spans. If you have an enthusiam for the subject matter, it'll rub off on them. Believe me, they won't be put off by lack of extra detail. The idea is to have fun and light the flame.

OK, old thread comment, but I have an 8 year old, and apparently some of my culture has rubbed off on him, because he just finished a 49 Ford Gasser and is now working on a 66 Mustang and a 77 Pinto. These were all his choices, not mine. Heck his favorite band is The Ventures! If kids aren't seeing anything besides Disney and Star Wars, that's on the parents.

Regarding the 65 GTO, why wait? The many times reissued annual kit has everything you need to make the new tool 65 complete.

Non porthole hardtops were available all three years.

I nominate the 65 Barracuda, 67 Cougar, and 59 Buick. And the 68 Charger. Yeah. Those would work. What say you?

The first issue 3 in 1 kit uses the ecact same font as well. The parting lines are also the same. The pink promo has different parting lines and the fender skirts differ as well. It also lacks a full interior floor. The bumpers appear to be the same, minus the license plate engraving. Im fairly certain the pink one used a different body and interior tool.

Looking at my two Round2 reissues, I see spots on the chrome tree that look like they were clipped after plating. One of the parts that may have slipped through would have been the SOHC 427 Timing cover. The Here Comes The Judge parts account for many of the empty spots, although the wheelie and traction bars were obliterated during the Modern Classics (for some Corvette style side pipes) and the Vega$ issues (Continental kit). Some border structuring on the bottom right cut off one end of the tube front axle. I believe there is some interest in retooling the missing parts, and good sales of this release could provide a business case for that to happen.

To the best of my knowledge, it does not share any tooling with the 3 in 1 kit. The roof is different (and more accurate) the wheel covers have the Ford lettering, while the glue kit does not, and it has the nice exhaust port detail in the rear bumper. That said, most parts look to be a direct interchange. I don't remember where I read it, but supposedly there were at least 2 promo tools, and perhaps both were converted. Or maybe they had different sets of inserts. The two promos below seem to be from different tools.

You'd be surprized what you can do with a dremel, a pin drill, a skinny screwdriver, and some patience.

X 2

I could save that.

Here's a kit 57 with an original promo.

You have one in the skinny boxes like Trophy Series kits came in? Those are very rare. I've only seen photos by (I believe) Dennis Doty. Can you share some pics here?

Round2 has brought back the 57 Thunderbird after a 17 year absence. In true Round 2 fashion, this isn't just a straight re-issue. Many parts from previous incarnations as far back as 1962 have found their way back into the box. These include parts from the 1962 3 in 1 kit, and the Here Comes The Judge Drag version. These photos are just an appetizer. Click the link at the bottom of the post to see what's in the box. Let's take a look. BTW, My build features a resin porthole hardtop by Drag City Casting, and Kelsey Hayes Wire Wheels courtesy of Round 2. Click here to see what's in the box, with a detailed description of what's new! https://public.fotki.com/DWDarby/model_cars/kit-reviews/amt-round2-57-thund/?view=roll

It does indeed have the 427 block and headers. I'll be posting the complete review tomorrow (Friday).

Stay tuned for a detailed review of the AMT 57 T-Bird on this forum, as I have a current Round2 issue on hand, and photographed. The write-up is nearly complete, and I'll be dropping it in the next couple of days. It will include a full description of the newly recovered past parts, and a bit of history. (A future edition of the Vintage Workbench will dive deeper into that.) This build features the AMT Parts Pack Wire Wheels, and the excellent Drag City Casting porthole top.

The AMT 53 bed and fenders might be even better. I think the AMT fenders are more accurate.

Man, that hits all the right buttons!

Super sano. All look contest quality. I'd be proud to have any of those on my shelf.

First up is this Monogram Early Iron / Woody Wagon mash-up, using parts from the Blue Bandito and grill shell from the Yellow Deuce Roadster. Yellow parts are polished plastic. Next up, is this also polished plastic Monogram 36 Ford Coupe. I started it in a 24 hour build challenge on Facebook, but it ended up taking more like 2 weeks. Another kit-bash, using the custom rolling stock from the 58 Thunderbird, and steering wheel from an AMT 50 Ford. This one was a lot of work, because it had a lot of sink marks around the wheel openings that had to be leveled out and then polished. Everything not red is painted or corduroy. Look Ma, no seams. Regular readers of Model Cars Magazine might recognize this one from the Vintage Workbench column. I've always been inspired by vintage box art, and this one replicates the 1964 edition of the AMT 25 T double kit. In typical Dave fashion, I did tweak a few things, including raising the bed, trimming the interior to allow the top to sit directly on the body, guitar wire windshield braces, and smaller tires on the front, complete with whiteswalls from a gel pen. The last one for the year is not quite finished, but getting close. This AMT 57 T-Bird features the new parts pack Kelsey Hayes Wire wheels, and a choice of hardtops by Drag City Casting. It's mostly kit stock, except I decided to make it a Day 2 E-code, using the intake from the 56 Ford, and Carter WCFB carbs from the 65 El Camino. (Presumably better performance than the updraft Holleys on the Stock birds.) The Vintage Workbench will be covering the history of this kit, along with tricks to get the full potential of this kit in a future installment. Happy New Year everyone!

Looks great. Really nice execution, and man that Testors Colors by Boyd line had some great colors!

Looking good, Jeff. You definitely nailed the blue.

Looking good! All of the Ertl reissues (1989-up) have newly tooled clear parts. Another larger issue with the newer (1979 Vega$ and up) reissues is the relocated bumper mounting tabs to accommodate the Continental kit bumper extension. It sits the bumper around 3/32" too low on the body. One workaround around is to shorten the mounting posts on the body, then put spacers between the bumper mounts and the chassis to keep the body height correct. Unmodified below. Note gap. Post 1979 bumper on left. Older bumper on the right. Original issue bumper on car, current issue center, Craftsman version in foreground. You can see the fit is much better. Current bumper with modifications to fit. Your Bird is pretty cool. The mods are very tasteful. Stance is great. If that gap bothers you, the fix is easy.

Not to mention the original issue isn't too bad of a kit. Even the most recent issue is pretty decent. Not like the 69 Charger or the GTO kits.

That's a beauty Tim. With regard to a reissue, from what I've been told, that tool is MIA.