'57 Thunderbird Re-imagined Custom

[Geno]

Oh I'm diggin' it Mike, it wasn't a dis at all, Those ol' 50's Studes were pretty cool in their own right. I can't wait to see how it turns out. ??

[misterNNL]

You Sir are a brave soul! Cutting anything up this much is one thing but finishing it is quite another. I'll be along for the ride for sure.

[Lunajammer]

The nose needs a little shaping to meet the hood so I used my favorite modeling product, QuikAluminum to putty it in and sand it down.

 

I glazed up the finer fill and this is where we sit tonight. I think I'll give it a first shot of primer tomorrow and see what tragedies that reveals.

[Lunajammer]

A little hocking here if I may...

I can't say enough about this product here. It's a two part putty similar to other epoxy putties but is so modeler friendly. It's malleable like clay, adheres well, and the big feature is it sands easily. It's not rock hard like other two part modeling clays (Verlinden anybody?) or JB products. I would compare its sanding ability to Bondo or other automotive body putties. It feathers decently. Has a shelf life of many years.

It's impervious to water so wetting your tools helps prevent sticking. A wet finger also helps smooth it after you've laid it down.

Wrap a thin wire around the stick and pull the ends to cut a piece off, the inner core is hardener.

The down side is I've only been able to find it online.

We used it extensively when I did modeling for a custom pewter miniatures company.

Edited December 6, 2020 by Lunajammer

[slusher]

Looking really nice and unique Mike...

[Lunajammer]

18 hours ago, misterNNL said:

 ...but finishing it is quite another.

1. Like my closet of other projects. ?

2. Like my jokes.  ?

3. Like my fiancé said last night. ?

 

Edited December 5, 2020 by Lunajammer

[Daxman]

Slap some turbines on this baby and let it soar! It looks like it was made to fly. Wedge shaped like the cross section of an airplane wing.

What are you planning on for the windshield, if not a bubble top?

Not to add pressure, but you've got lots of us interested. Don't let this go to the closet.

[Lunajammer]

8 hours ago, Daxman said:

Slap some turbines on this baby and let it soar! .....  Don't let this go to the closet.

Thanks Dax, this one's got momentum and a low parts count so it's got a good chance of finishing.

I've seen some pretty good jet cars come out of the Club de Mer and this one's got some similarities. But alas, it's time locked to the early 60's. Windshield right now will just be a moderate rake glass and a couple headache pods.

[Lunajammer]

Almost forgot my side trim. The T-Bird has louvers and a character line to help lighten the broad front fender. I took those out and am using a spear to help with the same problem. Looks like it's going to be a 2-tone.

 

First prime, I don't see any major issues. Still needs some clean up, touch up and smoothing but otherwise it's almost ready for paint and general assemblage.

[Jimmy Wilson]

Thanks for the tip on the "Quikaluminum". I found some online with free shipping. Seems vendors on Amazon were second party and all wanted around $8.00 shipping. This vendor accepts PayPal and has "guest" check out without setting up an account. (The photo is not a link to their web site)

https://www.quikwood.com/apps/webstore/products/show/6009685

Edited December 5, 2020 by Jimmy Wilson
added photo

[cobraman]

Great work !  Nobody will ever guess what you started with.

[Lunajammer]

1 hour ago, Jimmy Wilson said:

Thanks for the tip on the "Quikaluminum".

Thanks for the link Jimmy, hope it serves your needs. I added a line about how water can help you handle it..

"It's impervious to water so wetting your tools helps prevent sticking. If necessary, a wet finger also helps smooth it after you've laid it down."

[Dann Tier]

FANTASTIC work!!!!....looks very interesting!

[Jimmy Wilson]

On 12/5/2020 at 7:03 PM, Lunajammer said:

Thanks for the link Jimmy, hope it serves your needs. I added a line about how water can help you handle it..

"It's impervious to water so wetting your tools helps prevent sticking. If necessary, a wet finger also helps smooth it after you've laid it down."

I've used 91% Alcohol to smooth JB Weld after it starts to get real tacky. Thanks for the tip on the water. Looking forward to receiving mine. Your model is looking really great. Nice styling changes.

Edited December 7, 2020 by Jimmy Wilson

[Oldcarfan27]

Not sure what you're plans are, but to me - this car needs a bubble top.

[Lunajammer]

10 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

Not sure what you're plans are, but to me - this car needs a bubble top.

That was part of the original inspiration. But after exploring it, it felt out of place. For there to be realistic headroom in the available space it looked too blobular. It also reminded me too much of a finless Predicta. Thanks for your insights, I welcome all comments.

[Impalow]

14 minutes ago, Lunajammer said:

headroom

schmed-room

Seriously tho... fantastic work so far!  I'm loving it!

 

[Lunajammer]

12 minutes ago, Impalow said:

schmed-room

[Paul Payne]

Bubble top cars can get very hot inside, and can also be claustrophobic. Keep it open and enjoy the breeze! I'm enjoying this ride- you are doing things I would not have thought of.

[Tom Geiger]

On 12/4/2020 at 3:40 PM, Lunajammer said:

Thanks Eric, high praise from someone who gave us this.

A little chuckle for ya.. back in 2017 this car won The John Slivoski award, our highest award, at NNL East.  Per our normal operation, our team goes out onto the floor to get an eye on the winners, to make sure everything is on the up and up.

Eric had this listed on his registration as “Model A Speedster”   .  We couldn’t find it! Finally as a group of us did a table to table search reading the registration cards for numbers, we found it in the Misc table!  It’s so far from a Model A that we passed it but several times!

 

[Lowlife ! !]

 

Fantastic bodywork , I'm loving this ! 

Funny I noticed a vague 'predicta'  look to it too, you've nailed the look alright !

Have you considered vertical twin headlamps ?

[Lunajammer]

59 minutes ago, Lowlife ! ! said:

Have you considered vertical twin headlamps ?

Waaay ahead of you. Great minds think alike. Will try to get a mock up posted soon.

[mchook]

This is really cool! For some reason it reminds me of a custom Mercedes Gullwing. I can't wait to see the end result.

[Lunajammer]

1 hour ago, mchook said:

For some reason it reminds me of a custom Mercedes Gullwing.

Not my intention, but.... yup.

[Lunajammer]

I've had a little time to do some mockup assembly, keep in mind that many of the pieces are just set together and are mocked on only one side. It looks okay, but it's not the warm fuzzy I was hoping for. Need to think about this a little. Wheels and tires are custom parts from the '65 Riviera, I'll be adding spinners.

Tires might be a little big, need work on the front corners and a tick lower stance, headrest pods aren't as cool as I thought and the trunk lid is quite long. Might rethink the bubble top or an elongated dorsal divider of some sort.

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by Lunajammer