MrObsessive

I attempted this in the early '00's, but gave up on it as there was no way for me to make it look in scale as far as the top material and getting it to look neat and tidy. IMO, this works MUCH better in larger scales such as 1/12 and up as I have a few of those Danbury Mint cars with working tops and to my eyes look much better in scale than something smaller. I've seen those Chrysler Sebring convertibles with the working top, but those reinforce what my thoughts are about things appearing "in scale". Here are a few pics of the working frame I did on the '64 GTO......... I still have the model, but the top frame was taken out of it long ago. I'm not even sure where it is as it was packed up along with everything else with the move. To make the top, I had used a '64 GM assembly manual, which showed the top frame with all the major working hinges and such. I just tried to shrink things down a bit simpler for this scale. In fact, this model was in effect done sans the top, but the material I used for the windows has since warped pretty bad, so it's due perhaps someday for a makeover. I have no idea when if ever I'd get to it though!

Frank try this...... info@bestmodelcarparts.com A while back I ordered some gauge decals from him and happened to still have the business card. I can't guarantee his email address will work as he also has his website on there, but that's since been axed. Hope this helps!

Oh yeah! Pretty much the same except for some unique Super Snake details. It'll set you back $130 bucks a month for the year subscription. Mine was about half that per month as I did the two year deal. Very nice kit, but you might want to add some more engine bay details. At least that's what I want to do with mine as I located a VERY good thread where someone built one of these and put in some fantastic detail! I'm gonna steal some of his ideas as to me the model looks a bit "spartan" for that scale.

Haven't forgotten about this fellas! Finally able to get back to this! As usual, the hangups about how to approach the glass were daunting to me, especially for a '50's car because there's so much of it. I had used clear stencil sheet for the glass before, but I really did not feel like fighting that to keep its shape as both front and rear glass have compound curves. I had recently bought some clay to try and "mold" the shape using some very low shrinkage stuff called "Critter Clay". Problem is it has at least a week's curing time, and it is VERY messy to work with. I don't have a pic of it here as it's still curing, but in the meantime I figure why not try to make a basic pattern using plastic? So that's what you see here. Like the '59 Chevy and the '74 Corvette, I'll "box these in" and fill the cavity with Plaster of Paris. The clay will come in handy in this case as I can use it to make some sort of base for the bucks to lay on, so it'll form properly in the vacuform machine. I'll get the glass to fit just a teeny bit more flush with the trim. Cars of this vintage did not have flush glass as that was many years away, but they also didn't have a huge offset such as what can be seen of certain kits of the '60's and '70s when built. Here are the patterns I've made using simple sheet plastic heat formed and bent to my liking. As I mentioned, I'll make some sort of flange around the perimeter of the buck, box it in with more plastic, and then fill the inside with the plaster for strength. Before it's all said and done, I'll polish up the surface a bit to make the glass as smooth as possible once it's vacuformed. I'd like to get the glass molded and test fitted in the next week or two. After that, I'll need to tackle the dash as that got damaged when I had to dissassemble the car to redo it. The edge that goes against the windshield base snapped and I'll have to figure out a way to rebuild that. Finally, it's the last teeny bit of bodywork and it's on to the paint booth! Same colors as before, but with extra safeguards this time around that should ward off any surprises such as cracking/crazing bodywork. Thanks to all of you following along!

Oooh! Super nice and clean! The black insert is a nice contrast instead of the usual white.

Bruce, will this be a 24 month subscription like ModelSpace? Looks VERY interesting and I'll be watching!

DeAgostini is REALLY killing me as I keep seeing the ads for this model on the board here. I've yet to keep going on the 1/8 '67 Shelby since I moved, and then there's the Eaglemoss 1/8 Mercedes 300SL which I'm just drooling over! My biggest issue right now is space. My new place has a basement, but ever since my last place got flooded years ago, I worry about flooding now as I'm literally right against the river. So I put nothing of value down there just in case. I have a third floor, but the ceiling up there is VERY low which can be a dangerous thing for tall guys like myself. For those of you who've gotten their kits before, over time there will end up being a LOT of boxes before it's all said and done. If you're a slow builder like I am, those boxes can stack up mighty fast! AAAAAH!!! ANOTHER one of my favorites!! WHEN?? Is this the '67 car or the new one?? Looks like this year the bank account is gonna be mighty empty!

Oooh! How'd I miss this one?? I'll definitely be following along! So far this is looking good and I too thought that all of these kits had engines. I have a couple of the ESCI kits, but the one kit the body has wider wheel well flares than the other. I think the wider flared car might be a later issue? They both have the same box art. Been there done that with moving! Took me a couple months or so to get back in the swing of things with building and it's still taking a bit of getting used to. I haven't attempted airbrushing anything yet as I need to hook up the accordion dryer hose to vent the fumes for the booth and then make some sort of outlet for the paint spray to be vented outside.

Thanks Dominick for the shoutout! Yes, one can't just plop a notchback roof onto a fastback body. As Roger mentioned, the rear quarters are quite different. I do know that the notchbacks and convertibles share quarters. That's pretty much the case for all Mustang years through '73.

WOW! For that to be 3D printed, the resolution on that is VERY good! Looks like it should start up and run, wiring missing notwithstanding! ?

Don't know if this is an accomplishment or just a new discovery. While working on the '55 Ford, I took a break and was surfing the 'net. Came across something called "Critter Clay" which I had heard about years ago, but now my interest was piqued. I figured that since this is touted as having "very low shrinkage", I decided to order some and give it a try. This would be a good way of making bucks for the front and rear windows for the Ford since they are of the wraparound type and I don't have to fight with straight stencil sheet to get it to take shape. I'll post results when it comes in and I can see how it'll take the force of the vacuform. I'm told this is some pretty tough stuff so here's hoping!

PAUL!! That is GORGEOUS!! You're killing me with all these very nice subjects of late!

I can remember when these were all over the roads back in the '70's when I was a teen. They (all divisions) were just as prolific then as the CUV's and SUV's are now. I can bet one in decent shape with very little rust can be worth some good money now.

Beautiful, Gorgeous Ford Mark! The colors certainly say "1957", and this is another one of those "first seen" cars when I first knew what a car was in the early '60's. We had a neighbor a few doors from us that had one, but it was sort of a baby blue and white two tone. I can remember it was always parked in the alley way with the tires up on the sidewalk. I guess the neighbor didn't want the car hit as folks drove by so that's why they parked it that way. I wouldn't know what kind of car it was then, but I remembered the styling as '57 Fords always seemed to have a "looking up at you" appearance!

David, that is soooo nice! This is one of the nicer 250 GT SWB kits that's been done. MFH's kit is very nice as well, but can cost a small fortune.......if you can find one now. I built one of these (hard to believe over 20 years ago now!) and IMO Italeri captured the lines very well as this I believe depicts a '61 car. Very nice color and I agree with the others that said it's nice to see one of these in another color besides red.

Man I sure hope so! I'd LOVE to have one and the eBay prices can be outta sight! I do hope if this is in the works, they use a MUCH sturdier box than the ones in the past. A number of times I've seen these on the 'Bay, the model is damaged due to the weak box.

Yes..........I got a started project off eBay where someone did that very thing. I don't remember seeing where the roof may have been lengthened and unfortunately I'd take a pic of it, but like much of my other model stuff, it's buried in a box somewhere. I don't think the roof was modded other than simply transplanting one from another. Of course some changes to the rear deck would be needed. That should be a pretty straightforward swap as far as I can see.

David, maybe the Corvair was better at cooling with it's fan shroud setup than the VW's? I had an Uncle that passed away years ago, and he could tell you everything about Corvairs and then some. I believe he owned just about every model Chevrolet made at some point over the years, and when he died in '09, he still had a Corvair. A 1966 Monza two door hardtop. I betcha he could describe the engine to a T as he did most of his own work. I don't remember him ever complaining about overheating troubles with his cars and he had a bunch of 'em including the Greenbriar van.

Yeah, as soon as I saw the shape of the body, I knew it was an AMT model. I hadn't paid attention to the scale until I read the description. 11½" long is one heck of a size 1/24 scale Coronet! Not a bad model at all, but the overall shape just doesn't look right to me.

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I'm not so sure the fellow on the vid would have bothered mentioning it if this was just going to be a run-of-the-mill reissue with a few new decals and such. I'm of the mind it's more than that........we'll just have to wait and see. I keep thinking about that Supernatural '67 Impala four door hardtop. NO ONE saw that coming and it's soon on our shelves. The way he spoke, I'm thinking this was in the planning stages for some time and I guess they felt it's time for a "tease".

Scott, that is VERY, VERY impressive! I've got two of those 1/12 MFH Ferraris........the '63 GTO and the Daytona Spyder. I got the Spyder not long after I found out that they would not make any more new Ferrari kits.......just sell what they had left. So I broke the bank and took the plunge on one. Your GTO is sooooo nice and clean! I especially like the way if you'd like you can show the engine actually working with pistons and all. That detail right there made me spring for one. Don't know when it'll be built, but I know of no other company that does one in this scale with that amount of insane detail. And yes, you must have been building for awhile as those MFH kits are NOT for the faint of heart or the lack of skills.

Aaah! I like that Chris! I'm hedging my bets that's what's in the works from Round 2. My reason for this is the basic "bones" are already there....just a matter of tooling up a new body and some interior bits and pieces. Ya think they could throw in a nice straight six for good measure??

Ok, my eyes are playing tricks on me! At first glance I was thinking this was the '63 which I do have a very nice and clean builtup. Of course, it's the '66 Nova which would make this a very pleasant surprise indeed! Now............could it be that the wagon in question is the old '63 which was later modified ('65?) into the drag wagon and restored back?? Time will tell!

They say you learn something new every day! All these years of seeing '67 Chevy's I've never noticed the differences in the fender end slots. Yup...........that's how I intend to build mine........stock as stone. Got the stock wheel covers and all to use on it already.