Dave Darby

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.

Now that's some pretty cool news!

Superb build of a challenging kit. I still have the original Bob Johnston flathead version on my bucket list. But in the meantime I'm going to drool over yours.

Holy cow that's nice!

Really nice build. I found the graphics for the decal sheet for Ertl when they were getting ready to do that one. I also did the trade show/catalog photo build (in orange). I really like your build and your outdoor photography. It looks really close to real. Kudos and 2 thumbs up!

What a cool time capsule. Don't even think about restoring it. It's gold just like it is. I love it!

I'll join you. The bulk of some of my earliest models as a teen are just fragments now, but I still have a few that are intact. I built this AMT 57 T-Bird from the Modern Classics release back around 1973 at age 12. It's painted with Testors Sapphire Blue Metalflake spray. I followed that one up with this AMT 53 Ford F100 from the Street Rods series. I grafted the front frame clip and suspension from an AMT 50 Ford Convertible (probably from the Tournament of Thrills series - if young me knew what old me knows now!). Paint is Testors Candy Blue over Candy Grape. Grille is from the Sox & Martin prostock Duster (see above comment again, lol). Here it is with the box art (on the box) truck I built for AMT/Ertl back in 1994, and Max's 53 we collaborated on a few years ago when he was 5. This is my very first 1st place winner, my interpretation of a 76 Monza IMSA car (certainly they ran Corvette FI back then, right? Haha...) But I was 15 then, and it looked cool. Blackwashed valve covers and sewing thread plug wires a la Don Emmons. I still need to repaint the hood, along with the cowl induction scoop and number. This last one, an MPC Streaker Vette was, alas, partially restored. I stripped the paint off the body in 1989, and it sat for 22 years until I restored the bodywork, and repainted it using the exact same Plastikote Green Metalflake as the original. All of the other paint is original from 1977. I resisted any urges to clearcoat or foil it. I was 16 when I built it, and the flares are made from blue plastic record album dividers that I dumpster dived from the corner drug store. Thanks for the excuse to travel down Memory Lane! I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I did.

Got mine in SC yesterday.

No, that was the AMT 59 (really a 60) Corvette produced from the old SMP tool. It has also been reissued recently, correctly as a 1960 this time, in the old Street Rods series box art. It's a pretty crude kit, but it has its charms.

That was a very common problem with that era Mopar. The car (or truck) always acted like it was running cold. Fixing it entailed pulling the intake manifold, then removing the stamped steel plate on the underside of it so you could get rid of all the accumulated carbon buildup. Great engine otherwise. BTW, x2 on your Roadrunner. Very sharp.

Actually, this particular issue has a ton of changes. The interior door panels and seat have changed, along with new front and rear axles, and bumpers. I totally agree with you about those undersized wheels. Not at all sure what they were thinking there. This one in my pic was built from a mid 1980s issue. Steering wheel is AMT 50 Ford. Rolling stock from either Revell Skips Fiesta 59 Skyliner or Monogram 58 Thunderbird. Both have these same wheels.

Certainly one of the best of the original trio of 4-eyed Vettes. Lots of build options including a nice bumperless grille. I think in terms of body accuracy, and certainly the interior, the old Revell multi-piece body '60' Corvette has an edge. I really like your build. It has a nice 1970s cruiser vibe.

I'd say it's right on time, at leastbin terms of mailing date.

Spotlight Hobbies has theirs in as of yesterday.

That's a retouch of some vintage box art, the original had the car in red. That's a big block in the photo, with chromed valve covers. The kit actually has a small block in it with finned aluminum Corvette valve covers. It would be pretty cool to replicate the box art. It also would be pretty cool @Steve Goldman if they dug up the inserts to reissue the Malco Super Vett.

Neither the Black Widow, nor the Green Hornet originally came with plastic tires. They both originally came with rubber tires, but the manufacturer Monogram used went out of business decades ago. When the Green Hornet was reissued, they cribbed the tires from the Dragstrip Hot Rod (Deuce). I don't know whether they would interchange with the Black Widow, but as you noted, they tooled up new vinyl tires for it. I kinda prefer the originals, but that's just me.