AMT 1971 Ford Thunderbird

[doorsovdoon]

ok, I tried freehand pin striping, didn't work! I got about two cm of line and saw how much of a mess I was making, so I wiped it off before it had a chance to set. I found these decals in my spares tin and the idea is to very carefully cut the thin outer lines away and use them instead.

[doorsovdoon]

This is the colour I'm going with, Moonstone Blue metallic. It looks silver in the pictures but the light isn't good enough to show the blue, needs to be out in the sun to show how nice this colour is, something we don't often get here in the UK.

[StevenGuthmiller]

26 minutes ago, doorsovdoon said:

ok, I tried freehand pin striping, didn't work! I got about two cm of line and saw how much of a mess I was making, so I wiped it off before it had a chance to set. I found these decals in my spares tin and the idea is to very carefully cut the thin outer lines away and use them instead.

You could try masking and spray painting the stripes.

It's really not as difficult as you might think.

As long as you have some good masking tape, like Tamiya or equivalent, it's not too terribly hard to do some pretty thin stripes.

 

I painted the pin stripe on this '63 Ford pickup with an air brush.

 

 

 

 

I also sprayed the stripes on my '68 Olds 442, this time with a rattle can.

It's really pretty easy to do with good tape and very light coats of paint.

 

I plan on spraying the bumble bee stripes on my current '68 Coronet R/T project as well

 

 

 

With the decals you're pretty much at the mercy of the current shape of the stripes.

With masking tape and paint, you can follow the contours of the body as you wish.

The tape will bend as needed if you cut thin strips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited October 4, 2020 by StevenGuthmiller

[doorsovdoon]

ooh, those are nice! Did the dog dish caps come with that 442? Looks amazing! The masking tape I have isn't good enough to do clean lines, it leaves fuzzy edges. The lines on the car aren't too curvy so should be ok, but if it fails, I'll pick up some Tamiya tape.

[doorsovdoon]

The cooling fan on this kit is tiny, so I've replaced it with something bigger. Not sure what kit it came from but looks far better. The detail under the hood is so lacking I might actually wire this one with telephone wire and see what other bits I can stuff under there. I've already found a washer bottle and some horns. This kit will be considered advanced by the time I'm done with it! xD

[StevenGuthmiller]

4 minutes ago, doorsovdoon said:

ooh, those are nice! Did the dog dish caps come with that 442? Looks amazing! The masking tape I have isn't good enough to do clean lines, it leaves fuzzy edges. The lines on the car aren't too curvy so should be ok, but if it fails, I'll pick up some Tamiya tape.

There are other tapes available if Tamiya is difficult for you to find.

Most automotive paint stores carry various tapes that are as good or better than Tamiya if you happen to have a store nearby.

 

I always make sure that I have plenty of Tamiya tape in my shop.

It's fantastic stuff for all sorts of applications.

 

 

By the way, the dog dish caps on the 442 are resin pieces from "Missing Link".

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

[doorsovdoon]

I keep hearing about Missing Link, sounds like a one stop shop for bits like that. Cool, I'll have to check that out. Yeah, Tamiya products seem to be readily available here, is this the tape I need?

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, doorsovdoon said:

I keep hearing about Missing Link, sounds like a one stop shop for bits like that. Cool, I'll have to check that out. Yeah, Tamiya products seem to be readily available here, is this the tape I need?

I believe that the white tape is more flexible and apparently designed for curves.

I can't comment on how well it works as I've never used it, but being a Tamiya product, I'm confident that it is as good as the regular tape.

The standard tape looks just like that, but it's yellow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

[doorsovdoon]

ok, cool. I just now bought a roll on ebay in case the decals don't work out.

[StevenGuthmiller]

3 hours ago, doorsovdoon said:

ok, cool. I just now bought a roll on ebay in case the decals don't work out.

I guarantee you, you'll never do without it again! 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Bucky]

I use the Tamiya tape on all the hard edges on my two-tone paint jobs, too.

[doorsovdoon]

Lots of two tone builds and pin striping coming then if it's as good as everyone says, haha!

[doorsovdoon]

Finished up the chassis and done the foiling today, I also gave the body a couple of coats of lacquer but it's so cold here now even the lacquer has a dull sheen. Not sure when or if we'll have a nice day again here until at least next year. My shed is way way down the end of the garden and no electric for a heater and the Mrs wouldn't be too happy if started spraying lacquer in the kitchen! so I'm not sure when I'm going to get this finished. aahh, so frustrating.

[randyc]

On 10/3/2020 at 11:41 AM, doorsovdoon said:

Thanks, Stephen. I don't know what it is about this car, whether it's the kit or the ugly design, there's nothing about this car that excites me, the build feels like a chore even though it's dead simple, Lol. Maybe I'm having an off week, who knows. Has anyone felt the same with a particular kit they've bought?

Hey, we've all been there probably.   My example was a past issue of the 66 Buick Wildcat.,   I was not inspired, but built it kinda nicely using kit parts.  Put a reasonable paint job on it.  Forgot all about it.   Years later, after a couple moves and divorce, I unpacked it and loved it.  Didn't really have anywhere much to display it, but enjoyed looking at it after all the years.  I put it on ebay for what I was thought an astronomical price just in case, and it actually sold for full price.  So yeah, it happens.   Build it as intersting as you can.   Or start it and when something better comes along, pu t it back in box.   You may find interest again someday.   I'm working on a 69 Cougar from that category right now.   Interior was complete and reasonably good.  I'll finish it up and display it for a while.  Then it can probably move along as well.  

[Spottedlaurel]

Looks like it's coming on well.

Will the lacquer dullness polish out?

I must admit with colder weather approaching I'm looking to get a few prepped and sprayed bodyshells done so I can fiddle away at the details in the winter.

[doorsovdoon]

I am starting to get a bit more into this build now as I go along, it's probably the weather here to be honest. It's been a proper stereotypical UK weather week. Grey, dull, wet, and colder than my ex girlfriend's embrace, but I digress, The chassis give me a bit of a boost and my foiling seems to get better with each build, so other than the weather holding me back I'm enjoying the build.

Yeah, the lacquer might polish up but I've only given it two light coats so can always give it another coat when warmer weather arrives.

[David G.]

Looks good so far. I think the silver will go well with a black vinyl top, if that's your plan.

David G.

[doorsovdoon]

26 minutes ago, David G. said:

Looks good so far. I think the silver will go well with a black vinyl top, if that's your plan.

David G.

Thanks, David. Yes, black vinyl roof. The car is actually blue but the light and my camera makes it look silver. 

[espo]

This T-Bird is looking much better with the paint and trim added. The last pictures you can start to see the blue cast to the color . 

[doorsovdoon]

5 hours ago, espo said:

This T-Bird is looking much better with the paint and trim added. The last pictures you can start to see the blue cast to the color . 

Yes, it's definitely brightened it up, and the lacquer seemed to bring out the black pin stripes. You could hardly see them before. 

[doorsovdoon]

I polished the Lacquer and the thing looks like glass! I thought I took a picture of it but it's not on my camera so I must have forgot, no matter, will be nice surprise when I remove the masking tape. Not to blow my own horn.. ok maybe a little, but it looks amazing! I can't wait to show you guys:) Now that the body is done, I've started on the roof. This is such a stressful part of the build, if I go too heavy or the can spits a snob the roof is ruined. Wish me luck!

Edited October 5, 2020 by doorsovdoon

[doorsovdoon]

Roof is done and the body polished up, it looks amazing and I haven't even done the gutter foiling or window frames yet! Looking through photos of this car on Google I see the front grill and headlight bezels are usually painted, either body colour or grey, seeing as I'm going the extra mile with this build I painted in the bezels instead of just leaving them chrome. I also done my first engine wiring job and now realise what I was missing out on on my previous builds, it looks so much better with plug wires! Not bad for my first attempt:D

Ohh yes, there's a very smug Welshman on the forum today, you better believe it! xD haha!

Edited October 7, 2020 by doorsovdoon

[RichCostello]

Your T-bird looks great, but your plug wires are just like me.......way too fat. Those would make good heater hoses.

[doorsovdoon]

42 minutes ago, RichCostello said:

Your T-bird looks great, but your plug wires are just like me.......way too fat. Those would make good heater hoses.

Thanks, Richard. Yeah, they do look like water hoses! xD It's old telephone wire I had hanging around, being I've never done it before I thought I'd try it and if I messed it up it's just old wire. Problem now is, I'll want to do this to every build now, haha!

[doorsovdoon]

Finished the body, just need to do some detailing of the name scripts and side markers.