AMT ‘50 Shoebox Ford NNL East build

[Mr. Metallic]

On 1/2/2020 at 1:50 PM, CabDriver said:

That’s really useful to know - thanks Alan!  I already figured that part was going to give me trouble - there’s about a scale 1” gap all around it where it attaches to the body and another 1” gap at the top where it meets the roof.  That’s definitely going to need some attention

 

There's a gap at the top where it meets the roof because it wasn't designed to be used with the convertible up-top. That chopped top piece was designed to be used with the Victoria style top that was only included in the first issue of the kit. i think it also works with the Carson style top that was dropped after the first issue as well (I believe) The Carson top was modified into the half roof

I'll be following along. The improvements you're making will make a big difference in the end

[CabDriver]

3 hours ago, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi!

Interesting progress on you project! 

To your point about Bondo "shrinkage", allow me to expose my personnal experience. If you are using CATALIZED bondo (with hardener), the shrinkage phenomenon is almost non-existent, provided you use a "serious" pro stuff. I do, and I also experienced some "after-effect" on a severely mashed-up car, namely the blue 49 Ford featured prior on your thread. I too felt it was BONDO shrinkage. But upon making the repair, I could verify that it was actually the styrene substrate, in the "joint", that was still soft. Obviously, the plastic glue was not fully evaporated. Lesson learned!

Now, when I conduct extensive bodywork/mashing/cutting and joining of parts... I use exclusively "Super Glue Gel", with an accellerant. Even on severely cut-up cars, with extensively rubbed paints, never a trace of the joint telegraphing tru the finish. Same substrate (styrene), same putty, primer & paints. but NO styrene (acetone based) glue anymore. 

I'm no chemistry expert... but I sure solved that damning problem that plagued some of my projects. 

My two cents, for what it's worth... 

CT 

That’s really helpful, thanks Claude!  I’m cautious enough with the non-catalized Bondo that I’m using here to try and only use it to fill the tiniest of gaps and holes and do anything I CAN do with styrene with styrene.  I really should pick up some of the ‘pro’ stuff though - and yes, I like Superglue as an alternative too!  
 

Very helpful, thank you!

[CabDriver]

3 hours ago, espo said:

"Shenanigans" ? This remark brought a smile to my face remembering all of the times in my misspent youth being asked what type of "Shenanigans" I had been up to. As for the front bumper mounting area, that isn't pretty but it was the way Ford did it at the time and part of the function was to force incoming air toward the radiator. In some cases I have used the styling option from the '49 Ford kit. This was designed to eliminate the center hump in the grill and the hood. This was a popular custom touch of the time on 1:1 cars. The lower part was designed to eliminate the front bumper but with a little modification you can still use the front bumper if desired. One of the kits I think offered a grill option of a floating bar ala '50's Plymouth style. Of course one of the more popular ideas was either a '54 Pontiac or a Chevrolet grill bar. What are you considering for the rear trunk and bumper portion ? 

Haha, a friend of mine asked me what ‘shenanigans’ I’ve been up to and I’ve been using it all week ?

You're right of course, the stock front bumper arrangement is perfectly functional and I’m sure did it’s job just great - but it was a bit too lumpy and bumpy for what I was thinking for this one...

I’ll check out those grill bars you recommended - thank you! I don’t know exactly how it WILL look yet but I’ll try my best to come up with something fitting and cool.

I haven’t even THOUGHT about the rear end too much yet - too much to do on the front ?. Something clean and elegant though, I think, maybe roll the panel beneath the trunk somehow that looks nice so it disappears under the car without an obvious end point.  Guess we’ll see when I’ve worked back that far ?

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi Jim!

When I returned to the hobby in 2014, I built a car using Tamiya putty, non-catalized. Since it hardens by evaporation, I was not on top of the curing and waiting game that ensued. Since I built real hot-rods for customers for a living, I immediately switched to catalized putty. In my great Wisdom (!), I was convinced that I was in the clear. Alas, as described above, it was without accounting for the glue drying (or more truthfully "evaporation"). Now, I've got my lesson!

CT

 

[Claude Thibodeau]

2 minutes ago, CabDriver said:

Haha, a friend of mine asked me what ‘shenanigans’ I’ve been up to and I’ve been using it all week ?

You're right of course, the stock front bumper arrangement is perfectly functional and I’m sure did it’s job just great - but it was a bit too lumpy and bumpy for what I was thinking for this one...

I’ll check out those grill bars you recommended - thank you! I don’t know exactly how it WILL look yet but I’ll try my best to come up with something fitting and cool.

I haven’t even THOUGHT about the rear end too much yet - too much to do on the front ?. Something clean and elegant though, I think, maybe roll the panel beneath the trunk somehow that looks nice so it disappears under the car without an obvious end point.  Guess we’ll see when I’ve worked back that far ?

Hi again!

The iteration of your kit issued in the "Street Rod" themed series has a roll-pan (with licence indentation) in the list of "custom options". It also features chromed bumberettes, or abbreviated split bumpers. Might interest you.

I just used it, and it fit the body surprisingly well...

CT

[CabDriver]

2 hours ago, Mr. Metallic said:

There's a gap at the top where it meets the roof because it wasn't designed to be used with the convertible up-top. That chopped top piece was designed to be used with the Victoria style top that was only included in the first issue of the kit. i think it also works with the Carson style top that was dropped after the first issue as well (I believe) The Carson top was modified into the half roof

I'll be following along. The improvements you're making will make a big difference in the end

That makes perfect sense!  I had the idea of narrowing the posts to match the width of the hood anyway, so it wasn’t the end of the world for me regardless, but interesting to know!  Thanks! 

[CabDriver]

3 minutes ago, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi again!

The iteration of your kit issued in the "Street Rod" themed series has a roll-pan (with licence indentation) in the list of "custom options". It also features chromed bumberettes, or abbreviated split bumpers. Might interest you.

I just used it, and it fit the body surprisingly well...

CT

Ohh, excellent tip!  Thank you, I’ll take a look!  Sounds like the kind of thing I’m thinking of!

[CabDriver]

Apologies for all the single replies - I get the dreaded 404 error if I do more than one at a time...

As I’m replying anyway, a little progress from today’s time at the bench.  First up, I didn’t like how the underside of the body met the frame...

...so I shortened those frame horns and added some little bulges...I think they’re actually custom body pieces from the kit:

They won’t be super visible but it’s a little detail to spot if you looked underneath.  Whilst I was under there I didn’t like the appearance of the inner arches in the front there, so that’s this weekend’s can of worms...

More soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[espo]

18 hours ago, CabDriver said:

Haha, a friend of mine asked me what ‘shenanigans’ I’ve been up to and I’ve been using it all week ?

You're right of course, the stock front bumper arrangement is perfectly functional and I’m sure did it’s job just great - but it was a bit too lumpy and bumpy for what I was thinking for this one...

I’ll check out those grill bars you recommended - thank you! I don’t know exactly how it WILL look yet but I’ll try my best to come up with something fitting and cool.

I haven’t even THOUGHT about the rear end too much yet - too much to do on the front ?. Something clean and elegant though, I think, maybe roll the panel beneath the trunk somehow that looks nice so it disappears under the car without an obvious end point.  Guess we’ll see when I’ve worked back that far ?

The "Shenanigans" reference, at least in the family I grew up in was a term that came from my Grandmother. The term wasn't implying that you were doing anything completely wrong, but you might be up to some sort of mischief, another very old term.      Anyway you mentioned some ideas for the rear including a roll pan.  Look no further than the '49 Ford kit and it may even be in this one also, I just don't remember if it was included in the convertible kit. The roll pan in these kits would completely eliminate the rear bumper since that is the main reason for such an item.  This has provisions for the rear license plate and it flows perfectly to the rear quarter panels. This will leave you with a completely blank trunk lid. A pinstriping decal may in order based on the era styling, or a cartoon type picture, think of a WWII Bomber Nose Art type thing. It was pretty common for some to name their cars or reference a piece of music they liked. Many just left it blank so there're many options there. Since your smoothing the appearance of the body you might consider removing the trunk lid hinges. The '49 & '50 Fords had the exposed hinges which were eliminated on the '51 models. This was another popular body mod. that was often used since you could go to the junk yard and get the parts off of a wrecked '51 or even the whole trunk lid and the parts that would be mounted under the area behind the rear window.  

[CabDriver]

On 1/11/2020 at 10:42 AM, espo said:

The "Shenanigans" reference, at least in the family I grew up in was a term that came from my Grandmother. The term wasn't implying that you were doing anything completely wrong, but you might be up to some sort of mischief, another very old term.      Anyway you mentioned some ideas for the rear including a roll pan.  Look no further than the '49 Ford kit and it may even be in this one also, I just don't remember if it was included in the convertible kit. The roll pan in these kits would completely eliminate the rear bumper since that is the main reason for such an item.  This has provisions for the rear license plate and it flows perfectly to the rear quarter panels. This will leave you with a completely blank trunk lid. A pinstriping decal may in order based on the era styling, or a cartoon type picture, think of a WWII Bomber Nose Art type thing. It was pretty common for some to name their cars or reference a piece of music they liked. Many just left it blank so there're many options there. Since your smoothing the appearance of the body you might consider removing the trunk lid hinges. The '49 & '50 Fords had the exposed hinges which were eliminated on the '51 models. This was another popular body mod. that was often used since you could go to the junk yard and get the parts off of a wrecked '51 or even the whole trunk lid and the parts that would be mounted under the area behind the rear window.  

That all sounds exactly like what I’m looking for!  Thank you sir!  I don’t recall seeing that rolled rear end part in this kit but I’ll take a closer look...and yes, those hinges will be saying adios!

[CabDriver]

A little update, and a not-super-exciting one...I wanted to improve on the moulded-in detail on the underside of the hood as it comes out of the box:

Most of this is hidden anyway, even with the hood open - it’s pretty hard to see under there, but I added some bracing and stamped panels to (somewhat) replicate what you’d find under the hood of a 1:1:

Once the glue dries I’ll sand it all smooth and blend it in nicely ready for paint (if I ever get that far ??).  
 

Whilst I was messing with the hood I cut a little strip to fill a gap that was visible from underneath - it’s actually a fraction oversized but I’d like to use that to my advantage and shape the new piece to have the hood sit nicely:

I think I finally have an idea, after a couple of weeks of thinking, of what to do about a front grille...more on that next!

[espo]

Additional grill options can be found in the Revell Merc chopped top custom.  

[Russell C]

On 1/6/2020 at 9:45 PM, Lordmodelbuilder said:

I built a 50 Ford back in 2009.  ...  I went a different way with mine.:) ...

That was for the GSL "Group 09" category. Brad went a different way (quite nicely done, I must add), but using his own photograph of my entry, I just lost my mind on direction.

[CabDriver]

22 hours ago, espo said:

Additional grill options can be found in the Revell Merc chopped top custom.  

Good tip!  Thank you!  I actually had an idea on how to modify the stock one...removed the top and bottom bars and attached it to the radiator support with some hidden locating pins to make it look like it’s floating (kinda)...just messing with it now - I’ll post pics in a sec here!

 

[CabDriver]

14 hours ago, Russell C said:

That was for the GSL "Group 09" category. Brad went a different way (quite nicely done, I must add), but using his own photograph of my entry, I just lost my mind on direction.

Wow!  That’s really different!  Very imaginative!

[CabDriver]

Speaking of the grill, I removed the top and bottom bars and recessed it inside the opening - I wanted to keep that big center bullet but simplify the design to fit the theme I’m doing with here:

Ive really gotta put some primer on this thing, it’s driving me nuts seeing all those different colors ?

Continuing backwards, I wanted to clean up these inner arches:

I wanted to retain the general shape of them but have them extend to meet the firewall and cover some of those lumps and bumps and whatever that hose is on the drivers side there (fresh air intake?), so I used some K & S aluminum sheet to make some pieces to level all that out:

I’m not sure if they’ll be painted or polished yet...can’t quite decide!  I think the next thing to tackle is a matching firewall too, and then I can get the radiator in there and blend THAT into these arches.  More soon!

[Russell C]

8 hours ago, CabDriver said:

Wow!  That’s really different!  Very imaginative!

Thanks! Borrowing from another pair of Fotki accounts, more of the front / back / top with my fake story of how it was variant of an Edsel prototype. Used those same quad headlights that Brad used, but stood the grilles from a Studebaker Starliner vertical, and partially recessed the Ford caps into Stude wheelcovers. I should dig it out of storage and fix the roof. Ran out of time to do it right before flying up to GSL.

[Modelbuilder Mark]

great work

[stitchdup]

I was sure there was a rear rolled pan in the original issue too, but after looking at my pics of the contents I'm not so sure now. I seem to remember the part being there

[CabDriver]

1 hour ago, stitchdup said:

I was sure there was a rear rolled pan in the original issue too, but after looking at my pics of the contents I'm not so sure now. I seem to remember the part being there

I really should have a look in the box - I’ve been working on these few little bits for a couple of weeks and haven’t even opened the box since new year ?

I’m pleased with how the engine bay is going to look though - I won’t be using the kit radiator but it’ll look roughly like this, all together:

Super clean! ?

[Modlbldr]

You're doing some amazing work on this. I like what I see so far.

Later-

[CabDriver]

On 1/16/2020 at 8:35 AM, Modlbldr said:

You're doing some amazing work on this. I like what I see so far.

Later-

Thanks buddy! 

[CabDriver]

A little more progress this morning - I wanted to use the stock radiator, but the support didn’t line up nicely with the new inner wings that I had made - I wanted it all to be level and even and nice and clean looking. 
 

I sliced the edges of the stock support off, leaving just the rad itself, and make a new support assembly from styrene strip and square bar:

I spotted these little split-pins (intended for scrapbooking, I think) in the clearance rack in Michael’s last weekend, and for a quarter I figured I’d find a use for them - I think if I strip the anodizing off they’ll make a nice looking metal cap for radiators, oil tanks, gas tanks etc.

Not sure what will strip the coating off just yet - tried some industrial bleach which doesn’t seem to be touching them, and the Purple Pond didn’t make an impact either...any ideas anyone?

Anyhoo, bright red radiator cap aside I’m pleased with how this looks in the newly cleaned-up engine bay:

Next job is to tackle the windshield, seeing as I chopped that frame up and messed with it ??.  More soon!

[Sixties Sam]

Lookin' good, Jim! Nice woek on the top/windshield frame mods. I recently built that same kit, and used a custom top,  custom front end, and extended hood from an original kit. My paint job isn't so great, but it will have to do.

[CabDriver]

21 hours ago, Sixties Sam said:

Lookin' good, Jim! Nice woek on the top/windshield frame mods. I recently built that same kit, and used a custom top,  custom front end, and extended hood from an original kit. My paint job isn't so great, but it will have to do.

Nice kustom Sam!  I like the color scheme - pretty close-ish to what I’m thinking!