More fun with Pyro Table Top Classics

[FactoryStock54]

I'll be adding photos to this thread ever so often, so if you enjoy these, check back from time to time.

Two builds this evening; first is the 32 Chevy Cabriolet (3 views), the beautiful and aptly named "Baby Cadillac." This was among the earliest in the 1/32 Pyro Table Top Classics series (IIRC about 1962) and this kit was apparently from one of the first runs. The front suspension was broken and the poor little thing looked like it had a charly horse when built up, so I constructed a little scenic base for it out of styrofoam depicting an uneven roadside. Bare Metal Foil was used for the trim (a little tricky on the Landau irons and hood side vents!) I painted this Polly Scale ATSF (Santa Fe) Yellow with Steam Power Black fenders and Reefer White top and side walls. ATSF Silver was used for the wheels and rims. Used MicroMesh to polish the paint to a reasonably high sheen.

Next up is the so-called '34 Plymouth four-door sedan. The body is the same as Pyro's '32 Plymouth sedan with a '34 grill and clip added on almost as an after thought. The suspension height is wrong (way too low--this could actually be the basis for a pretty nifty little street rod), the bumpers are cartoonishly large, and the one-piece wheels/tires are abysmal. I decided to do this with black-walls as they seem to lend a more formal (or maybe "sinister") look to the car, and it's virtually impossible to paint the sidewalls by themselves. The Plymouth sedans are unusual for Pyro's 1/32 cars in that they include engines and removable hoods. I did a bit of detailing in the engine compartment, adding a fuel line (right side view), spark plugs, a scratch-built coil (from aluminum tube) and some rudimentary wiring along with a steering column. The kit was molded all in black, but I primed it and painted it Polly Scale Steam Power Black (since the original plastic was somewhat scuffed up and definitely showed its age). The engine block was painted Tamiya Flat Aluminum with Gunze Steel manifolds. Bare Metal Foil was used for the very-minimal trim.

Anyway, hope you like these. There's more where these came from, and I will post them depending on responses.

Enjoy!

Edited August 2, 2008 by FactoryStock54

[84vanagon]

Please show us more Jerry!

After seeing these I wish I had picked them up along time ago.

Prices on the 'bay are going to skyrocket now!

[Fisher61]

I think the Plymouth is cool! Keep 'em coming, they bring back memories from when I was a kid!

[Harry P.]

Those are SO cool! I especially like your Chevy...very nice color choices. We need more "classic" cars posted here.

Keep 'em coming!

[FactoryStock54]

Please show us more Jerry!

After seeing these I wish I had picked them up along time ago.

Prices on the 'bay are going to skyrocket now!

Ask and ye shall receive!

A couple 34 Fords this time. Pyro really got these right, with fairly accurate dimensions and contours. The interiors are especially good (considering how spartan most Pyro kits were) with very fine, authentic-looking dashboards and seats. The 34 Victoria Tudor is probably my all-time favorite of the series. I got this on Ebay for about $70 a few years ago; it had been started (or, at least, some kid had tried to glue the body together and abandoned the project decades ago). Fortunately it wasn't too far gone; I had to do some sanding and filling to repair the glue spots, but after that it went quite smoothly. Painted this one Polly Scale B&O Royal Blue with a gray interior. Polly Scale Reefer White for the sidewalls and my own custom cream mix for the wheels. As always, Bare Metal Foil was used for the grill and bumpers. I added side windows using clear plastic sheet.

The '34 3-window coupe is actually a 70s-era Lindberg re-issue of the Pyro kit. Pretty much the same techniques as with the Victoria. I foiled the grill and used The Detailer Black to highlight it. Paint is Polly Scale Chicago and Northwestern Green. The molds had definitely begun to deteriorate by this point, the sidewalls had lost a lot of definition and the wheels were kind of "mushy." (Lindberg re-issued this kit as late as 2006, but the molds are in even worse shape now; I'd recommend seeking out original Pyro issues or the late 70s/early 80s Lindberg re-pops. Other companies have also re-issued Pyro kits over the decades (Palmer, Life-like) and these may be of interest to builders, though more so to collectors).

Enjoy!

[Fisher61]

You have done a great job with these simple kits! I'll bet no kid back in the 60's had ever made them look this good!

[84vanagon]

Those 34's are great. I love the Victoria.

Thanks for showing them Jerry!

[Bernard Kron]

I just want to add my 2¢ about how great it is that you're posting these wonderful builds of these little models. The fact is that if someone doesn’t actually build these kits then they will never reveal themselves as they no doubt were intended by their creators. And these are wonderful builds. They not only capture some of the detail of the 1:1’s but they capture the flavor of the era in which the kits were created.

Thanx so much for offering these to us! If you have more, keep them coming.

B.

Edited August 3, 2008 by gbk1

[James Flowers]

I would have never thought those kits could look so nice. Wonderful work on them. Show all you have of them.

[lordairgtar]

Very nice little cars from the day. I got my hands on a Peirce Arrow build-up and now I want to work it over and restore it.

[Willy Survive]

Neat little cars ! Although I must admit that being one of the babies of the bunch I've never known these to exist. And I certainly have never heard of Pyro. I appreciate the history lesson and I can't wait to see some more.

[FactoryStock54]

Thanks for all the compliments, guys!

For those of you who are too young to remember Pyro, or who may have forgotten about them, I'm including a couple shots of an un-built kit so you can see what is (or, more like "what isn't") involved! First, three views of a completed 37 Chevy Coupe, done up with Polly Scale Conrail Blue and Bare Metal Foil. This one has always been among my sentimental favorites! (The "glass" in this kit had some serious bubbling and grain-ing issues)

Now here's what the same kit looks like right out of the box!

And here's a look at part of my vintage kit box collection (a few of these are still unbuilt):

More later!

[Harry P.]

Those would be perfect in a period diorama. Maybe a 1930's street scene, with the cars parked at the curb. An old style soda fountain or corner drug store, a bank, etc. It would make a really cool scene.

[84vanagon]

Jerry, thanks for sharing the 37. Along with the unbuilt kit.

Many of the "youngsters" here probably have not seen these.

Do you rember the cool hot rod Dave Shuklis made out of the 40 Ford coupe?

[FactoryStock54]

A few more;

First is the 1930 Ford Model A Woody, one of the best engineered kits in the series. It builds up quite easily into a half-way decent looking replica (definitely a lot easier than the Revell 1/25 kit!!!!!!!!!) Pyro would often design their molds in such a way as to get several versions of a subject out of one basic mold; along with the woody, they did a neat little pickup/roadster (which was the very first model car I ever built back around 1966!) The woody pictured here was done very quickly a month or so ago (I needed a fast and easy build to "come down" after working 3 months on my 1/24 factory stock '39 Chevy coupe project). Fenders and hood were airbrushed Tamiya TS 14 Gloss Black, the wood paneling was hand-brushed a combination of Polly Scale Sand and Reefer Yellow and the roof and tires were hand-brushed Polly Scale Engine Black. Bare Metal Foil was applied to the grill cover, head lamps and front bumper. The tires/wheels on this were something of a pain in the butt (as you can probably tell)!

Next is the 52 Chevy Fas-Back, the elegant companion to the 52 Custom Wagon (which I posted separately on this forum)

Exterior was airbrushed Polly Scale ATSF Yellow with a gray interior; I just like the look of these cars with lighter colored paint and using an airbrush makes doing lighter colors much more practical. I'd planned on doing another one of these in a period GM-dark gray equivalent, but don't know it I'll ever get to that now. BMF was used for the bumpers and trim, though I ended up painting the head lamp bezels and wheels Citadel Mithril Silver. This was a 70s-era Lindberg re-issue (still fairly plentiful on Ebay).

And finally, one quick view of the '36 Ford Cabriolet (another Lindberg re-pop, this one from 2006 (!)) The proportions on this model seem "off" but it's almost impossible to do it with the top down as it has no dashboard! Pyro also did a coupe version of this kit which looks somewhat better (I remember building a couple Palmer re-pops of the coupe back in the 70s).

The mold definition on the tires was surprisingly good on this one.

That's about it for now. I have a few more of these to build and will share them when they're done. Remaining in the stash are the 30 Model A Pickup, the 32 Ford Roadster, another copy of the 37 Chevy Coupe and the 40 Ford convertible. I'd love to get ahold of several others including the 36 Ford Coupe, the 32 Plymouth Sedan and Roadster, maybe another 34 Plymouth sedan, the 32 Chevy Pickup and 37 Chevy Cabriolet and the 49 Ford Tudor. (I don't much care for the 57 Chevy kits).

Thanks for looking, and for all your positive comments!

Edited August 12, 2008 by FactoryStock54

[84vanagon]

Thanks for showing the Woody and the Fleetline, Jerry.

With the prices on evilbay getting stupid, I hope Lindberg will blow the dust off of some of these molds again.

Great work as always!

[FactoryStock54]

Thanks for showing the Woody and the Fleetline, Jerry.

With the prices on evilbay getting stupid, I hope Lindberg will blow the dust off of some of these molds again.

Great work as always!

Hey thanks!

Don't know which molds Lindberg still has in their vaults; I was rather disappointed by their choice of re-issues in 2006; seemed like they went with the most conventional subjects in the series, I suppose the ones they figured would be "safe" in today's market. (Unfortunately, these were also the ones that showed the major weaknesses in the old molds).

Of course, as the owner of the molds, Lindberg is entitled to make those kinds of business decisions if they want to; all I know is I would've bought a half dozen each of the '52 Chevys and Plymouth sedans if they'd been bold enough to release those (and the prices on the original kits would have gone way down too!)

I also wonder if there'd be a viable market for new-tool 1/32 cars today? With the kind of technology availale today, they could do some amazing stuff; but I seriously doubt anybody would have the cajones to release the kind of odd-ball subjects Pyro did with such "reckless abandon" back in the day!

Again, thanks for your interest in these quirkly little cars!

[Harry P.]

Hey Jerry...you must have the nicest collection of these little kits I've ever seen! Too cool! You really outdid yourself on them...I'll bet even the manufacturer never thought they could look so good...

[84vanagon]

I also wonder if there'd be a viable market for new-tool 1/32 cars today? With the kind of technology availale today, they could do some amazing stuff; but I seriously doubt anybody would have the cajones to release the kind of odd-ball subjects Pyro did with such "reckless abandon" back in the day!

Again, thanks for your interest in these quirkly little cars!

[FactoryStock54]

Hey Jerry...you must have the nicest collection of these little kits I've ever seen! Too cool! You really outdid yourself on them...I'll bet even the manufacturer never thought they could look so good...

Thanks Harry! Appreciate it!

Vanagon; among the reasons current prices are so high on Ebay is that there's a lot of interest among 1/32 slot car people. One of the things that really got me excited about Pyro kits back in the late 60s was an article in an old model magazine about converting the Pyro Grand Prix racers (Aston Martin, Bently etc) to slot cars (I had a 1/32 figure-8 in my basement). Pyro was very aware of the slot-racing market and (IIRC) you could send away for instructions on how to convert the kits. The "regular" kits in the Table Top Classics series were marketed as stock cars and often came with decals for dirt track racers.

The 30 Ford Woody and 52 Chevy Custom Wagon are especially popular nowadays as they are among the easiest to modify for slot car racing.

It would be great to see some newly-tooled kits with one-piece bodies, crisper raised molding and a bit more add-on detail.

[unclescott58]

Fun to bump into threads on things like this. One doesn't see many of these once common kits built. They were always a pain to build and get to look good. So the ones built above, are very nice to see. I think these kits would have been much more popular if they had come with separate chrome parts. I remember purchasing the '52 Chevy Fastback years ago. And being very disappointed. Especially with the built in grille. 

Scott

 

Edited February 26, 2017 by unclescott58

[blunc]

with a little extra attention and some kit bashing, unique builds that are not available in larger scales can be achieved.

I have one of the '34 Plymouth sedans that I'm planning on building up as a tribute piece to the '34 Dodge sedan build at the Kindigit shop.

[stavanzer]

These are great builds. And even better are the stories that go with each build. Outstanding Work!

[unclescott58]

I just finished the '52 Chevy fastback recently. (I will be posting pictures in another thread soon.) and I've picked up two more of these kits. The '32 Lincoln KB Sport Phaeton and the '49 Ford Tudor. I've also got to say that these kits are much nicer than I remember them to be. I'm sure I'll be buying many more 1/32 scale Pyro/Lindberg kits in the future. I like them. A lot!

Scott