'61 Tempest: Fixed the biggest problem first...

[ChrisBcritter]

For many years I've wanted to do a '61 Pontiac Tempest; finally I got a reasonably-priced and near-mint builtup on eBay:

Managed to get it apart without much trouble - almost no glue was used.

To me, the biggest problem with this kit is the overly-thick and crooked window pillars. To wit:

(eBay and Hemmings images; real car has baseline trim)

So I made the following modifications:

I also thinned down the window frames considerably. Note that only on the driver's side the B-pillar is crooked; the one on the passenger side is correct.

Here's where I am now:

Some more little things have to be finessed, like the windshield and rear window trim, body seams and the wavy areas of the hood (where AMT put cutaway lines for louvers), but I'm getting there. Plans so far are to keep it curbside, and maybe add an underdash A/C unit. Hope this is of some help to anyone else tackling one of these little Ponchos - one idea: NASCAR had a compact class in which a few of these sedans raced alongside Falcons and Corvairs (while the Valiants mopped the floor with them!). Happy modeling!

[StevenGuthmiller]

Looks WAY better Chris!

 

Steve

[BIGTRUCK]

Door frames look much thinner

[espo]

Great job on the door jams. That really made a difference in how the roof lo0ks. I got to drive one of these when they first came out, the little 4 cylinder engine, it  was the right bank of a 389 Pont. V8, was a very torquey engine with a manual transmission.   

[Modlbldr]

I bid on one of these recently and lost out. Sure would like to get one. Yours looks miles better. I will be watching.

Later-

[peekay]

Way to go, so much better.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Looks good, definite improvement. Surprising that AMT, who usually got most of the lines and proportions pretty close to spot-on on many of the old promo-era models would have missed the mark on the angle and positioning of the pillars and window frames.

Vary nice piece of re-work, sir...but don't forget that the side-window frames went all the way around the glass in the doors, including the tops, and open with the doors. I can't see the tops of the frames in the 'after' photos (though they're clearly visible in the real-car shots), but maybe that's just the angle we're looking at.

[ChrisBcritter]

Oh, yeah - it's the angle - shadow from the drip rail hides it. (Amateur photographer with a 15-year-old point-shoot-view-curse-delete-repeat camera.)

Thanks to all for the encouragement!

Edited September 6, 2017 by ChrisBcritter