I've been building models continuously since 1964, and, actually, only built my FIRST model Squarebird recently, in an attempt to try to model the '58 Thunderbird "owned" by the late Ritchie Valens. 1st minor problem: it was PROMISED to Ritchie by his manager Bob Keane, who kept it for himself after Ritchie's death. 2nd,...and bigger,...problem: although the movie, "La Bamba" shows an aqua '59 Thunderbird convertible, other sources have indicated that the Thunderbird was "silver and black". I know of ONE (1) photo that shows Ritchie proudly showing a 1958 Thunderbird to Chuck Berry. However, the photo is in black & white, and THAT caption says that The 2 rock stars are "looking at Bob Keane's '58 Thunderbird". That T'bird appears to be a hardtop, and doesn't appear to be two-tone in color.
Do any of you know of any reference photos that may exist of Ritchie Valen's ACTUAL '58 Thunderbird ?
Many thanks
