53 Ford Hardtop Kustom

[geetee66]

Don't worry about the photos. I'm looking at this on my phone and I can see the pearl in the paint.

Lovely colour combo. Very stylish kustom. I dig it from every angle.

I can't really find enough superlatives for this! It's really good! You nailed it.

[donb]

I really like this custom. Your paint scheme is excellent, and the body work and mods you did are outstanding!

I agree!

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Very nice.  Great looking model. 

[Ferbz]

Some masterful tricks involved with making a car with a continental spare tire look "normal"!

Thanks for pointing it out; I was engrossed in trying to figure out how you'd extended the fenders, and probably never would have noticed the shortened trunk because I wasn't expecting to see it...

The way the skirts peak to mimic the curve of the hardtop is also SO nice.

Beautiful and tasteful work

 

Thanks! 

To be honest, there was a little bit of trickery involved with the rear fenders: I separated the rear vertical portion under the taillights and pushed them in at the top, making the taillight housings appear lengthened. This area was then peaked using plastic rod and filler. This gave me the angle that matches the continental kit/trunk. This also might add to the illusion that the fenders are extended rearward, but they're not.  

[slusher]

Super nice Custom..

[om617]

Great custom job on this one,low and sleek.

[RestoModGuy]

Excellent work on this custom. Just right...

[Mr. Metallic]

Smooth kustom. Very nicely executed

Love the name too.

[Starliner Kustoms]

Sweet!

 

[carrucha]

Cool custom.  The green and white pearl combo looks good.

[Ferbz]

I've posted my progress on this build in On The Workbench, and it was pretty much close to complete. Since I've finally gotten around to adding the last pieces of detail(spotlights, exhaust tips, license plate)I'm officially calling it finished!  These shots were taken outside, but it was cloudy and overcast and I had to use the flashlight on my phone to get these pics. As a result, the effect of the white pearl and metallic green isn't very obvious. At least the pics are clear and in focus

Anybody else think that the spotlights I used from the Revell 48 Ford are made at weird angle? They were difficult to pose in the right position as a result. I do like how the arms add that little extra bit of detail, but don't they also seem a tad long? Just wondering what you all think.... 

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Overall looking great.  While they are at a different angle than we might be accustomed to seeing,  they look good at that angle

[Ferbz]

Overall looking great.  While they are at a different angle than we might be accustomed to seeing,  they look good at that angle

Thanks! I just wondered why Revell made them that way. I tried mounting them on different models and they looked awkward on all of them due to their weird angle as well as the arms being a little long. 

[exesivefire]

fantastic build!! so much work goes into making it look like you didn't do anything at all. love the colors too.

[Ferbz]

fantastic build!! so much work goes into making it look like you didn't do anything at all. love the colors too.

Thanks! Very true. This build has alot of customizing but nothing too radical(other than the chop). Most of it was restyling ques that combined all add up to the visual impression it makes. I enjoy seeing people posting pics of their custom builds sitting next to a factory stocker. That really shows the difference! If I had a spare 53 I would have done the same  

Well I do have my build thread in On The Workbench if you're interested in seeing how it was all accomplished.

[Ferbz]

Smooth kustom. Very nicely executed

Love the name too.

Thanks! Funny thing: the idea for the name struck me after I finished it. I stared at it for some time then realized the color scheme reminded me of one my favorite drinks  Maybe it was subliminal while I was putting together a game plan for the color scheme. Goes to show sometimes you never know where inspiration can come from.....intentional or accidental! 

[misterNNL]

Absolutely outstanding work.You have managed to massage the original Ford design by using the classic tech used by restylers for decades to transform real cars into stunning works of rolling art.The realignment of fore,central and aft panel angles pulls the whole concept togeather nicely.The overall effect gels into something that flows so smoothly the observer almost doesn't realize what is different but looks really beautiful.Very impressive!

[Ferbz]

Absolutely outstanding work.You have managed to massage the original Ford design by using the classic tech used by restylers for decades to transform real cars into stunning works of rolling art.The realignment of fore,central and aft panel angles pulls the whole concept togeather nicely.The overall effect gels into something that flows so smoothly the observer almost doesn't realize what is different but looks really beautiful.Very impressive!

Thanks so much! You have a good eye for noticing. I purposely wanted to try my hand at putting some serious thought into 'redesigning' this body style but keep it in the tradition of the car's era. My basic thought was to 'fix' the things I didn't like about the original design, keep it cohesive, and add a continental kit in a way that doesn't appear as an afterthought. 

Get this: I was going to do a tri-tone panel paint job on it, but as fate would have it, that idea blew up on me and I had to come up with another solution. It turns out I like the simpler white/green paint job as it sells my design ideas better by not highlighting them but letting the viewer discover them on their own, basically what you said   

And while I do like the 'change for the sake of change' type of customizing, I've been thinking a lot more lately about the purposeful 'restyling' idea of customizing in my builds. In fact, this idea is currently driving my chopped/sectioned 39 Ford project.