56 Ford / Speedboat combo

[alan barton]

O.K., got sidetracked a bit this week as I had to submit  my hot rod for its annual inspection  and even though I didn't leave it til the last minute, I still found a worn tie rod end at the last minute that started a domino effect all its own! Any how, she finally passed, 37 years on the road, and we are good to go for the next 12 months.

I did get some work done at night though and the boat got its second coat of bog and its first coat of primer. I like where it is going but there is still some finessing required, especially on the bow. I have also started on the 56 Crown Wagon ( "Squire of the Crown"?) I don't want the Crown trim to protrude from the roof as much as the kit parts do so first job was to file a recess across the roof, without breaking anything!  I then decided to keep going and reduce the thickness  of the next 5mm or so to help provide a mating surface for the new roof extension. I also sawed off the trunk area and then glued a strip of styrene across the beaver panel to ensure it didn't break during surgery.

At this stage I am trying to graft a roof from the unbuildable Revell 57 Nomad. I know, I know, everything is buildable but I still have nightmares from my teenage attempts to build my first one.  50 something years at this hobby and it is the ONLY model I never finished and actually parted out so it would never happen ( some of the "sheetmetal" wound up in my Bel Aqua). What a shocker.  The body was so warped when it came out of the box that I couldn't imagine how I would ever straighten it.' I did upholster the seats in velvet and I did detail paint the chassis.  I also brush painted the entire body, fairly smoothly, in Humbrol yellow.  On the other hand, they hadn't invented superglue yet!

The first step was to trim it down to size, followed by a section of 2 mm down the middle. I glued the two halves back together and once they were dry and I removed the fins.  This is where we are today.

 

[beeRS]

What a cool project. 

[cobraman]

I love where this is headed.

[misterNNL]

This progressing very nicely. Your new body proportions are excellent and well planned. I will be watching closely as it continues to develop .Thanks for continuing to post your progress.

[espo]

I like your take on the '56 Crown Victoria Wagon. Ford did offer what they called a Parklane two door wagon with a B pillar that would have worked perfectly with the Crown Roof treatment. Looking at this makes one wonder why they didn't do what you are creating here. 

[slusher]

 Very cool project.

[blunc]

On 1/9/2021 at 12:47 PM, magicmustang said:

What a great project. I'll be watching.

 I always wanted to do one like the '63 Corvette conversion shown below, but do not have the skills to attempt. 

I think John Teresi was inspired by this concept to build this a few years ago:

 

[misterNNL]

John's boat is outrageously Kool!

[alan barton]

You're not wrong Tom, that is off the scale!

Cheers

Alan

 

[Russell C]

Took me a while to remember what your combo sorta reminded me of -- the much less racy Kom-Pak 1:1 camping trailer with the upside down boat on the roof. Fun link about these here. Yours is much more nifty looking!

[alan barton]

Thanks for that photo, Russell, I had forgotten about that trailer.  I saw a turquoise combo at Hot August Nights in 2010 and photographed it from all angles. It would make a great model!

Just a small update for today.  I have been massaging the yellow bits to match up with the grey bits.  Revell's revolutionary no-impact styrene makes that challenging! It looks like when the waist line matchup is aligned, the roof made a millimetre or two high so there might be a gentle chop in the near future. Very happy with the tailgate area and I have come up with an interesting alternative to the Nomad ribs. Stay tuned!

Cheers

Alan

[espo]

I'm watching this with great interest and like everything you're doing. You mention the Yellow Roof section and as you are finding out that has always been a draw back in my mind as the Roof section is out of proportion in the rear most part of the Roof on the original model kit. Should you want to try something else other than chopping the roof maybe just lower the rear body section and tail gate bottom edge a little lower on the Ford body. From the side pillar on the yellow plastic to the back edge of the roof you can see it moving up hill in the side view. 

[alan barton]

I think you're right there, David.  I will check it when I get home from work. So far, the fit at the waistline is far better than the fit on the roofline but it is do-able! I have already filed down the original trunk opening line at least three mm but may take more off tonight.  I want to get the waistline locked in first then consider what needs to be done to the roof.

Thanks for your input, it is appreciated.

Cheers

Alan

[tim boyd]

On 1/11/2021 at 1:00 PM, foghorn62 said:

Alan, I really like what you’ve done with this so far.  I started a similar project probably about the same time you started yours, using an AMT 62 Tbird, on an AMT 3 in 1 Boat Kit hull.  Like yours, it’s been an on and off, (more off than on) project ever since.  I really like that you extended the bow further and set the cockpit further back.  It gives it more of an offshore racer look, while mine is more of a runabout.  I’ll be following your build intently.  Maybe it’ll inspire me to finish mine. 

Go go go TIM!!!!    TB

[kermn8r]

Rather than a chop to get the roofs to line up have you thought about going the other way for an Olds Vista Cruiser sort of look?  I thought that when I saw your initial roof photos.

[OneTrickPony]

This popped up in my FB feed today. I thought it fit with the cool work you are doing in this thread. I don't have any info, just the picture.

 

[espo]

This 1959 Chevrolet themed boat reminds me of others that were marketed by Glastron and others in the 1950's. Most were not as model specific as this, but most had automotive type fins a big styling Q of the time. 

[Bullybeef]

That boat is really cool @alan barton 

[misterNNL]

On 1/17/2021 at 5:01 PM, alan barton said:

You're not wrong Tom, that is off the scale!

Cheers

Alan

 

Absolutely,  he has both the vision and the skills to create amazing things.

[alan barton]

Thanks everyone for the replies, this thread has turned out to have revealed lots of interesting information that I could never have anticipated.  I had seen the 59 boat before and I love how the shape of the boat suits the outboard mount perfectly.  When I first built my 57 Bel Aqua boat, there was a huge website called, of all things, Finny Boats and it was a goldmine of information about boats from the fifties and sixties.  Last time I checked some years ago it seemed to have vanished.  Might have to search again.

Walt, you are dead right.  I absolutely did consider a Vista Cruiser style and it is not off the table yet.  I took the project to our model club on Wednesday night and a group of about five of us studied the thing in every detail.  We have arrived at the conclusion that the drip rail line of the 56 roof has already started to drop, something I thought I had avoided but turns out not, and that the side profile of the Nomad roof is wedge shaped and might need to be pancaked to get a more natural line.  None of this is simple work but it is all doable and I do have a second Nomad roof if things turn bad.  Hopefully I will make some progress this weekend.

Thanks again everyone for all your support.  I am really enjoying this one and it is great to have so many people along for the ride.

Cheers

Alan

[espo]

17 hours ago, alan barton said:

Thanks everyone for the replies, this thread has turned out to have revealed lots of interesting information that I could never have anticipated.  I had seen the 59 boat before and I love how the shape of the boat suits the outboard mount perfectly.  When I first built my 57 Bel Aqua boat, there was a huge website called, of all things, Finny Boats and it was a goldmine of information about boats from the fifties and sixties.  Last time I checked some years ago it seemed to have vanished.  Might have to search again.

Walt, you are dead right.  I absolutely did consider a Vista Cruiser style and it is not off the table yet.  I took the project to our model club on Wednesday night and a group of about five of us studied the thing in every detail.  We have arrived at the conclusion that the drip rail line of the 56 roof has already started to drop, something I thought I had avoided but turns out not, and that the side profile of the Nomad roof is wedge shaped and might need to be pancaked to get a more natural line.  None of this is simple work but it is all doable and I do have a second Nomad roof if things turn bad.  Hopefully I will make some progress this weekend.

Thanks again everyone for all your support.  I am really enjoying this one and it is great to have so many people along for the ride.

Cheers

Alan

Try looking under "Finned Fiberglass Boats" I found a lot of great looking photos. 

[alan barton]

Here's tonight's update.  No dramatic changes but we are moving forward.  After our extensive chat with my fellow club members last Wednesday I wedge sectioned the roof.  Turns out you cant pull a stiff section of plastic down to a thin section - the thin bit goes up instead.  Doh!?!?!  How did I not think of that?  Anyhow, apart from kinda messing up the drip rail line, it actually fit a lot better so I reached that point where I just glued the thing together and then I'll deal with it when it is dry. 

As espo suggested, I lowered the rear tailgate line and this definitely helped.  The big surprise was when I retired the Crown Vick trim.  Looks like we've got just a hint of Vista cruiser there as the trim manages the slight difference in crown of the two roof profiles.

Next step will be to file off the existing drip rails and fabricate new ones from Evergreen.  Then we'll be cooking with gas!

Meanwhile, got a cot of primer on the boat tonight - bodywork is very close to final primer.  I'll see in the morning.

Wishing all the Aussies here a happy Australia Day for the 26th!

Cheers

Alan

Edited January 25, 2021 by alan barton

[espo]

Your roof looks so much better now and I like how your rear fenders are meeting up with the tail gate surround . At some point after all the major body work is done, think about removing the "Nomad" words on the top of the tailgate and maybe some sort of Ford script in stead. Since this is a high end type of trim I would keep the chrome strips on the tailgate. This build has me thinking about a use for an old Revell '56 Nomad roof from a failed project from long ago.  

[alan barton]

I'm ahead of you this time!  The grooves are going to disappear from the roof, possibly replaced by longitudinal ribs instead and the Nomad ribs on the tailgate will be replaced by something really sneaky.  I hope you will like it.  Should have it up in the next post.

Thanks for the input.

Cheers

Alan

[alan barton]

Here it is.  It was almost impossible to mockup for the photo so please be mindful of the lack of finesse here.  I'm thinking to use the custom Mercury taillights and the custom Meteor grille to put a high end treatment with a Ford flavour on the back of the car. I have already sanded off most of the ribs but am not sure how I will deal with the handle so for now the centre rib is staying til I make that decision.  I also have the Vicky trunk emblem but they may be overdoing it.  I am aiming for a Ford factory look here and the car is destined for a factory style two tone paint job, lowered, maybe on stock caps, maybe on chromies and white walls.

I have thoroughly enjoyed everyone's inputs so far  and could really use a few now. This thing has taken on a life of its own ( it was originally just about the boat!) and I am getting close but not quite there yet. 

Fire away!!!!

Cheers

Alan