1956 Ford Fairlane Victoria

[espo]

Great looking color combination. Back when these were new a family friend had an all white convertible with this interior and it was beautiful. One thing I have learned to accept building a lot of  '50's and '60's models is that you will go thru a lot of foil. 

[mrmike]

Thanks David!  This Ford didn't take me a long to foil as the Monogram '59 Cadillac did.  I spent two days foiling that behemoth!

[mrmike]

The 56 Vicky is coming together!  Yesterday, I got the body interior, and chassis together after I installed the glass.  I ran into an issue with the front windshield not fitting correctly.  I had to trim the mount on the side panel top lower the dash and as I was packing things up for the night, the windshield popped out.  I didn't lower the dash enough.  I'll have to figure a way to reinstall the windshield without have to resort to taking everything apart.  The windshield was cleaned up and the taillights have been detailed.

More to come...

[Lovefordgalaxie]

Looking great!!

With the opening doors, it shouldn't be difficult to reinstall the windshield. 

A curiosity about this kit is the inside mirror, that one may think is absent, as it's not a chrome part, nor it's mentioned on the instructions, but the part is there Nº42.

[mrmike]

Thank you Tulio!  Unfortunately, the dash still sits a little too high, but I will try again to get the windshield installed.  As for the inside rear view mirror, my kit didn't seem to have one and I couldn't check my empty parts sprues to see if there was one at all since I throw them out when the are empty.  I can go into my parts box and find one if I really need to.

[slusher]

Looking very sharp Mike!

[Lovefordgalaxie]

1 hour ago, mrmike said:

Thank you Tulio!  Unfortunately, the dash still sits a little too high, but I will try again to get the windshield installed.  As for the inside rear view mirror, my kit didn't seem to have one and I couldn't check my empty parts sprues to see if there was one at all since I throw them out when the are empty.  I can go into my parts box and find one if I really need to.

The dash has no positive location marking on the interior tub, and where one thinks it's the right spot, usually is too high. That causes all the problems. What I do is first install the glass to the body, then glue the dash to the body, making sure the doors can open and close, and just then I place the interior tube on the body. The only hard part is having the steering column in a good position before installing the interior or it will interfere with the fit. 

Learned this trick with the AMT '57 Ford kit. 

[Modlbldr]

I'm loving the work you're doing on this. It is looking great although it sounds like it is fighting you a bit. I have one of these to build pretty soon. Thanks for all the info.

Later-

[mrmike]

Thank you guys!  

Well, I went and did it...I disassembled the '56 Fairlane to modify the mounts for the dash and to reinstall the dash again.  Everything looks like a better fit this time.

More to come...

 

[espo]

While this is a great kit, AMT was trying to put so many details and opening doors and all it make for a fiddly build. My compliments to you for the proper routing of the spark plug wires. As a builder you put the details like plug wires and they're routed in such a way that they are hardly seen, but they are there and where they belong. It's a personal thing with me as a closet rivet counter. 

[mrmike]

Well David, I am finding that, at my great age, little things mean a lot.  I add details that stand out and the other details can be done by those who are well enough to do them.  Adding plug wires is one thing, but when you have them routed like they are on a 1:1, then it just looks better.  Now, if I can figure a way to get rid of all the dog hair this model attracts, I'll be golden! 

BTW, I have two dogs.  A Terrier mix and a Golden Retriever and they both shed like crazy!

[RichCostello]

4 hours ago, mrmike said:

BTW, I have two dogs.  A Terrier mix and a Golden Retriever and they both shed like crazy!

But, I bet you couldn't finish a build without their help.

[mrmike]

4 hours ago, RichCostello said:

But, I bet you couldn't finish a build without their help.

Have you ever tried to wire an engine with a Golden Retriever nudging your arm to get your attention?  It doesn't work too well...

[RichCostello]

35 minutes ago, mrmike said:

Have you ever tried to wire an engine with a Golden Retriever nudging your arm to get your attention?  It doesn't work too well...

No, I just have to do it with a big fat cat jumping on my lap.

[mrmike]

13 hours ago, RichCostello said:

No, I just have to do it with a big fat cat jumping on my lap.

Works the same way!  Some things cannot be accomplished when a family pet is around.

[espo]

I sure miss the big yellow Lab that used to like to make his presents known. He's been gone now much longer than he was here, but he's still missed. 

[mrmike]

I miss all the dogs I have had over the years, but there is one that I truly miss the most and his name was Dakota.  I have a photograph of him lying on the front lawn looking like a lion with a massive amount of chest fur and his total weight of 105 Lbs.  He was a big boy!

[mrmike]

I am nearing the finish line with my '56 Fairlane!  I noticed that there is no master cylinder on this car, so back into the parts box and I found a power brake booster and master cylinder.  I drilled a hole in the firewall and added the brake assembly.  Another thing I noticed was no pipes to the rear bumper exhaust tips.  I made a set painted and installed them.  I added the trunk lid crest and rear plate holder.  I need to detail the crest.

More to come...