customline Posted July 14, 2023 Author Share Posted July 14, 2023 16 hours ago, Calb56 said: Those look great. Thanks, Charlie, but now I'm looking at the photo and it looks like I need another shim under that one on the right 🤔 and it needs more clean-up. Grrrrrr...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calb56 Posted July 14, 2023 Share Posted July 14, 2023 21 minutes ago, customline said: Thanks, Charlie, but now I'm looking at the photo and it looks like I need another shim under that one on the right 🤔 and it needs more clean-up. Grrrrrr...... Laughing... I need to get back to my own build, life's gotten in the way but every time I return to it, I see more that I need to do. Though my skills are nowhere near yours, I definitely need to learn when enough is enough... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted July 14, 2023 Author Share Posted July 14, 2023 2 hours ago, Calb56 said: Laughing... I need to get back to my own build, life's gotten in the way but every time I return to it, I see more that I need to do. Though my skills are nowhere near yours, I definitely need to learn when enough is enough... My big problem is the weather. I paint in the great outdoors. When I get bogged down waiting for paint I will, habitually start another project. This will cause confusion, especially now; I have, in various phases of construction, a full custom '56 Chevy Del Rey, a '56 Chrysler 300, 2 Impalas- a '63 and a '65, 2 T-Birds- the '62 and a full custom '66, a '69 Mustang Boss 302, and a pair of '40 Ford coupes. I can't remember what I was doing on this one, or what color I was going to paint that one and on and on....😩 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 Today I got the wheels on with a little difficulty. The kit provides a means of attachment that allows the wheels to turn using donut retainers that fit over dowels and are glued in place, capturing the wheel back/backing plate. This also allows the wheels to wobble a bit. We can't have that so the inner wheels have been glued to the spindles to eliminate the wobble. I wanted to glue the wheel halves together to keep them from falling off the car (I had to get the wheels on in order to do a mock-up.) The donut retainers (yellow arrow) had to be ground down and the outer wheel needed a little tweeking as well (purple arrow) in order for the halves to mate cleanly. There was something interfering with the front chassis locating pins (blue arrow) entering the holes in the body. I shaved the bottom of the contact areas just ahead of the firewall (red line) and removed the pins from the coils (blue circle) just because. It seemed to work but I think I may enlarge the holes a bit. One of the motor mounts let go while I was dealing with all this 😖 I wanted to check the stance and found the nose a bit high. We can't have that either. Luckily, it was easy enough to flip the spindles (which, so far, have been allowed to pivot) but I don't think this will do. Now there's too much rake for a car like the Thunderbird. I will look for an easy way to fix this (lowering blocks at the rear axle?) These cars sat pretty low so lowering the rear rather than raising the front would make sense. This is still a great kit, in my opinion, but there are issues that must be addressed. Wish me luck 😔. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slotto Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Mine ended up with a reverse rake. I'm ok with that. Onward and upward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 (edited) 4 hours ago, Slotto said: Mine ended up with a reverse rake. I'm ok with that. Onward and upward ...like the engine is out of it. Yeah, I can dig that. Maybe some oil on the ground under it and a tool box sitting next to it. Edited July 17, 2023 by customline 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernurd Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Don't forget the chrome spindles in the center of each guage and you've nailed it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted July 17, 2023 Author Share Posted July 17, 2023 (edited) 4 hours ago, Supernurd said: Don't forget the chrome spindles in the center of each guage and you've nailed it! Oh, that. Yeah. Um....I'm still thinking about that. I would need something so small it would be almost impossible for my 70+ year old hands and eyes to deal with but I'm thinking about it. Thanks for reminding me 😕 Edited July 17, 2023 by customline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted August 21, 2023 Author Share Posted August 21, 2023 (edited) Welcome back, friends.....I had a good painting day and got several projects moved along. The '58 Plymouth, the '63 Impala, and the '66 'Bird got some primer and this one got color. It's Tamiya Coral Blue, as previously discussed. I'm giving it at least a week before I do any polishing. Coincidentally, an email from Hemmings gave me some great photos of a '62 and I am passing them on in case any of you are thinking about doing a full detail job on this ever-popular kit. If you want the 1:1, it's going on the auction block in Owl's Head Maine on August 25th and 26th. I thought maybe someone might want to do a fully articulated soft top/opening trunk lid in 1:25 😅 Edited August 21, 2023 by customline 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 Update: Not enough paint on her. Tried to smooth out the paint but the sharp edges got me. Gotta wait for another good day but that's just around the corner (I hope). A light coat of the color followed by some clear this time. But the interior is done now and I just had to see what that would look like all together. After the first fit-up I found there was a fit issue with the roadster fairing so I adjusted the left side interior panel tighter to the back seat but it still won't play well. There's something interfering with it that I can't see. Also the windshield looks too tall and the up-top does too. I checked the fit by trying to see if the vent windowwould tell me something... it did.. it seems like the dash may be pushing on the bottom of the windshield frame, affecting the angle. Anyone run into this? Maybe after everything's glued down it will be obvious and my guess is the dash will need some Dremel work. Or the windshield frame. 😕. It's a common problem, I'm finding out. Anyway, thanks for your anticipated approval ! 🥴 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollySipper Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Coming along right nicely...... Nice color! I wonder if there's any way Round2 could "fix" this kit and it's fitment issues, kinda like Lindberg correcting the cowl on the '61 Impala? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeRS Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 This is looking very nice indeed. The chrome around the windshield looks particularly good. Is that the kit chrome or foil? With regards to the windshield fit, wouldn’t it be great if one of the aftermarket companies made a vac-formed replacement. Would that eliminate the fit issue with the dash top? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 51 minutes ago, JollySipper said: Coming along right nicely...... Nice color! I wonder if there's any way Round2 could "fix" this kit and it's fitment issues, kinda like Lindberg correcting the cowl on the '61 Impala? Thanks, TJ, I don't think it's a real fit issue but rather something I may have done or not done. I trial-fit most things but I may have missed something. I know about windshield/dash problems with a whole bunch of kits and I'm OK with fixing those. The fairing is probably something I did. I wanted a "baby" blue but my local Hobby Town had a fairly run-down selection and this color seemed pretty good for this car. It kinda Florida-ish. You can almost smell the sun screen 😎. Where can I get a 1:25 scale driver figure that looks like an 85 year old golfer? The dash was painted black first but I switched it to white and I don't like it now but it's a done deal. Everything is an experiment. Never forget that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 (edited) 32 minutes ago, beeRS said: This is looking very nice indeed. The chrome around the windshield looks particularly good. Is that the kit chrome or foil? With regards to the windshield fit, wouldn’t it be great if one of the aftermarket companies made a vac-formed replacement. Would that eliminate the fit issue with the dash top? It's a plated kit part, Sonny. And it fits very tightly and must be lightly forced into place. Mocking up is an awkward affair with this windshield. The "glass" is pretty thin and fits the frame perfectly on a dry fit. I used the "gold" thin CA and held the glass in the frame and used the capillary action to cement the parts together. I suspect it may have moved a little during the operation. When I install it on final assembly, I will be adding the vent window assemblies, which will establish the angle. In this mock-up, the windshield looks too high. A lower angle should make it look right. 🤞 Thanks for your interest! Edited August 30, 2023 by customline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugatti Fan Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Lovely model taking shape here. Reminds me of a British made car the Ford Corsair that must have taken some of the front end styling cues from the T bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slotto Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Beautiful build Jim. Truthfully I don't remember having any trouble with the fitment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 13 hours ago, Slotto said: Beautiful build Jim. Truthfully I don't remember having any trouble with the fitment Well, I'm not getting any younger, Steve. That may be a factor. When assembling for a mock-up, things move around and that's probably what's going on here. Once I start gluing, it will work out, I'm sure. Gotta put more paint on it and shine it up first. Foiling that full length ridge trim should be fun. It really is a nice kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted September 16, 2023 Author Share Posted September 16, 2023 To move my excessive amount of projects forward a few inches, I decided to not re-coat the body, polish it, and do a very minor touch-up. The hood was a bit worse so I did re-coat that. So now it's time for my favorite operation, next to using a razor saw; applying BMF. I spent all last night foiling the Nova wagon so I just did a little joy-pop on this one. And then ......the voices..... Cool? Not cool?....OK, just kidding 🙃 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brockc Posted September 16, 2023 Share Posted September 16, 2023 1 hour ago, customline said: To move my excessive amount of projects forward a few inches, I decided to not re-coat the body, polish it, and do a very minor touch-up. The hood was a bit worse so I did re-coat that. So now it's time for my favorite operation, next to using a razor saw; applying BMF. I spent all last night foiling the Nova wagon so I just did a little joy-pop on this one. And then ......the voices..... Cool? Not cool?....OK, just kidding 🙃 That is the most unique car to be a gasser but it suits it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted September 16, 2023 Author Share Posted September 16, 2023 All foiled up. This one is headed for final assembly and all the little things like radiator hoses and mirrors and the like. I can't decide how this one will sit in the display case. Lots of options. Oh, and the hood needs some time for gas-out and then polishing. Thanks for tuning in 😎. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollySipper Posted September 16, 2023 Share Posted September 16, 2023 This is going to be really nice! The overhead shot with just the tonneau cover looks the best to me...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted September 16, 2023 Author Share Posted September 16, 2023 4 minutes ago, JollySipper said: This is going to be really nice! The overhead shot with just the tonneau cover looks the best to me...... Yeah, TJ, I think it's the right thing to do. It seems like nearly every photo of one of these 'birds has the tonneau in place. It's why it's such a stand-out classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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