AMT's 1957 Ford Hardtop: WIP

[David G.]

On 3/26/2024 at 6:01 AM, customline said:

I'm lovin' it!  

Thanks Jim!

22 hours ago, Steve H said:

Great paint, and very period correct looking colours David. Nice work on the interior so far, it will look even better once you get the details done. 

Thanks Steve, I appreciate that.

8 hours ago, Bainford said:

Nice colours. That's going to be a good looking Ford. 

Thank you Trevor, it's kind of you to say so.

5 hours ago, beeRS said:

Loving that colour combo. IIRC that is the box art colours from AMT?

Thank you Sonny. No the box art is different, at least on this edition.

 

 

47 minutes ago, bobss396 said:

I had a 2-tone paint phobia for a long time. I got bleed-thru on almost everything. FINALLY I splurged on a 6MM roll of Tamiya masking tape that comes in a dispenser. Which keeps it clean and the edge sharp. I need to go for a roll of the wider one next.

I did an under-hood mask on my GMC tow truck recently. It was 30 minutes to mask and 2 minutes to paint, but worth it. I had to do the black under the hood. I used Tamiya TS-63.

It just takes a bit of courage and a bit more practice. And you have to be comfortable with screwing one up now and again because that will happen.

There's a quote in my signature line to keep in mind:  "Each kit I build is really only practice for the next one!" 

 

2 minutes ago, slusher said:

Great color combo David!

Thank you Carl, I'm glad you like it.

 

Thank you all for your kind and insightful comments, I hope to have more progress updates soon.

David G.

 

[beeRS]

I think I may have been thinking of this version of AMT’s release. I always liked this colour combo. 

[David G.]

5 hours ago, beeRS said:

I think I may have been thinking of this version of AMT’s release. I always liked this colour combo. 

 

Holy cow! 😮 

That is close to the color combination I'm using for my build. 

It also looks like there is a tint band across the top of the windshield. I've been thinking about doing that to this one too. From the photo it looks like the builder chose a black and white interior, I had considered this for mine as well.

Thanks for posting this Sonny.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

The interior is now completed!

 

 

I like the combination of colors, I think they will work well with the colors on the body.

 

Thanks for looking,

David G.

[FLHCAHZ]

Looks great David!

[Sledsel]

She is looking really good. I also like the hint of masking the trim to create a kerf for foiling. I may try this as I usually try to scribe along trim before primer to do the same thing.

Hint on the doors, use a piece of tube between the hinges, fit in tightly between them and glue the tube to the body. The doors will fit tighter. I have also cut the nubs off the hinge at times,  drilled them and installed short paper clip pieces as nubs. 

[beeRS]

20 hours ago, David G. said:

 

Holy cow! 😮 

That is close to the color combination I'm using for my build. 

It also looks like there is a tint band across the top of the windshield. I've been thinking about doing that to this one too. From the photo it looks like the builder chose a black and white interior, I had considered this for mine as well.

Thanks for posting this Sonny.

David G.

But your choice of interior colour is much nicer!

[NOBLNG]

This is really looking great David!👍 I’m really liking the colors too.😎

[David G.]

On 3/28/2024 at 5:20 AM, FLHCAHZ said:

Looks great David!

Thank you Chaz!

On 3/28/2024 at 6:10 AM, Sledsel said:

She is looking really good. I also like the hint of masking the trim to create a kerf for foiling. I may try this as I usually try to scribe along trim before primer to do the same thing.

Hint on the doors, use a piece of tube between the hinges, fit in tightly between them and glue the tube to the body. The doors will fit tighter. I have also cut the nubs off the hinge at times,  drilled them and installed short paper clip pieces as nubs. 

Thank you Andy.

I usually only mask the trim like this when I have multi-tone paint jobs. I found that painting several colors with each color and having two to three coats, the paint tends to pile up rather quickly where the overlap is. Add to that the paint accumulation that piles up on the masking lines and it just makes a mess of things when it comes to applying foil to the trim.

I figured it was easier just to try to keep the paint off the trim as much as possible, creating a kerf was an unintended side-benefit.

Thanks also for the tip regarding the doors. I'm currently in the process of fitting them and it seems to be going well so far but I'll certainly keep your pointers in mind if the need arises.

5 hours ago, beeRS said:

But your choice of interior colour is much nicer!

Thank most kindly you Sonny. They probably weren't as focused on the interior colors as those wouldn't show as readily in the box photos.

1 hour ago, NOBLNG said:

This is really looking great David!👍 I’m really liking the colors too.😎

Thanks Greg, I'm glad you like it.

 

Thanks for all your kind comments and encouragements.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

It's time for a quick update on the '57 Ford.

I've installed the micro magnets in the body and doors.

 

 

Now it's time to check the alignment and adjust as needed.

 

This is just a crude test fit to check basic alignment and function. Assembly is just a mockup at this point.

As always, thanks for following along and always feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and insights.

David G.

[customline]

Using those little magnets to keep your doors aligned is worth the extra effort. Good work, Dave.

[David G.]

9 hours ago, customline said:

Using those little magnets to keep your doors aligned is worth the extra effort. Good work, Dave.

Thanks Jim. I do like the way that they are working out so far. I think I'll be using them a lot more often in my future builds.

I mean I do have 300 of the little buggers! ...well, 296 now.

But at the rate I build that should still be more than a life-time supply.

David G.

[slusher]

Nice work Dave with those magnets ! 🧲 

[David G.]

9 minutes ago, slusher said:

Nice work Dave with those magnets ! 🧲 

Thanks Carl!

David G.

[W-409]

Those magnets are a great idea to keep the doors aligned properly. I think I need to try that on something in the future.

Overall I really like how the Ford is coming along. Especially the color choices on body and interior are spot on. This will be a very cool model when finished.

[David G.]

4 hours ago, W-409 said:

Those magnets are a great idea to keep the doors aligned properly. I think I need to try that on something in the future.

Overall I really like how the Ford is coming along. Especially the color choices on body and interior are spot on. This will be a very cool model when finished.

Thanks for your kind comment Niko. Color schemes are a big factor for any build but more so for a Fifties era car when paint options were one of the main selling points.

I'm very pleased with the magnets so far. I've already started mentally planning uses for them in my next three or four builds.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Progress has been slow on this one lately as I've been focusing most of my attention on my Disney Love Bug build. (link) 

It's a Polar Lights snap together kit and I've allowed myself to be distracted ease of the build and the quick results. Working on Polar Lights snap kits is rather like the model building version of eating popcorn. Once you start, it's hard to stop as long as there's still something left in the box.

Anyway, on with the update.

Color sanding revealed some additional paint issues. The paint was kind of thin in some places and I was down to the primer by the time I got it smoothed out.

 

 

Which is okay as I planned on spraying another coat anyway.

No, that's not a shiny spot... that's primer.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

 

Edited April 6 by David G.
typo

[customline]

Or....or you could add rust to the rocker panels and above the headlights, foil it and you're done! 😉

[slusher]

sanding is an easy fix Dave…

[Mike Slapattack]

Nice door jamb work on this, very clean! My next build will be my first with opening doors and I'm looking at this for inspiration.

[StevenGuthmiller]

On 3/31/2024 at 8:21 AM, David G. said:

Hello Everybody!

It's time for a quick update on the '57 Ford.

I've installed the micro magnets in the body and doors.

 

 

Now it's time to check the alignment and adjust as needed.

 

This is just a crude test fit to check basic alignment and function. Assembly is just a mockup at this point.

As always, thanks for following along and always feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and insights.

David G.

Just for future reference, you can install those magnets before paint, fill them with a little putty, sand and paint.

That way, they'll still do their job, but they'll be almost entirely invisible.

 

I use these magnets for creating removable hood hinges, installing them in the body and hinges prior to painting, and adding metal strips to the hood.

You can see in these photos where the magnets have been circled in blue, and then the finished pieces and model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[David G.]

22 hours ago, customline said:

Or....or you could add rust to the rocker panels and above the headlights, foil it and you're done! 😉

Believe me Jim, I had considered that. I'm always considering that.

I do have another of these kits in a slightly less complete state. I'm thinking of building it the same way but as a barn find forty years in the future.

I think that would make a cool set of builds.

 

21 hours ago, slusher said:

sanding is an easy fix Dave…

Indeed it is Carl and I certainly do my share!  

 

18 hours ago, Mike Slapattack said:

Nice door jamb work on this, very clean! My next build will be my first with opening doors and I'm looking at this for inspiration.

Thanks Mike. This kit comes with opening doors so it's easy to keep the build clean.

 

17 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Just for future reference, you can install those magnets before paint, fill them with a little putty, sand and paint.

That way, they'll still do their job, but they'll be almost entirely invisible.

 

I use these magnets for creating removable hood hinges, installing them in the body and hinges prior to painting, and adding metal strips to the hood.

You can see in these photos where the magnets have been circled in blue, and then the finished pieces and model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

Thanks for the pointer Steve. 

I ordered the magnets right about the same time I started the build and didn't receive delivery on them until after I sprayed the first coat of paint. And I wasn't exactly sure how to use them so I had to spend some time experimenting to find the best use for this application. 

I figured I could address any appearance issues once I had all that sorted out and got them installed.

I did go ahead and paint the body mounted units and they're rather flush so I didn't feel the need to complicate the build by back-filling them.

 

This is also a proof-of-concept build too so I'd like to retain some visual evidence of the technique... if only for myself.

Thanks for taking the time to offer your advice and post the supporting examples Steve. You're one of the best builders I know of and I truly value your opinion.

 

Thanks to all of you who follow along and offer your comments, critiques and encouragements.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Even through the distraction of my other builds, the progress continues.

The second coat of green came out as well as I could have hoped.

 

 

As always, there is a bit of cleanup to do. That will be a part of the polishing process. This time that is a shiny spot!

 

More to come soon.

Thanks to all of you who follow along and thanks to those who offer their comments and advice. I always enjoy reading your comments.

David G.

[customline]

7 hours ago, David G. said:

Hello Everybody!

Even through the distraction of my other builds, the progress continues.

The second coat of green came out as well as I could have hoped.

 

 

As always, there is a bit of cleanup to do. That will be a part of the polishing process. This time that is a shiny spot!

 

More to come soon.

Thanks to all of you who follow along and thanks to those who offer their comments and advice. I always enjoy reading your comments.

David G.

David, this project is progressing beautifully and I know it's gonna be awesome when it is finally finished. It really looks good and you are in a state! It's a blessing when you get into that  "state". 

[David G.]

17 hours ago, customline said:

David, this project is progressing beautifully and I know it's gonna be awesome when it is finally finished. It really looks good and you are in a state! It's a blessing when you get into that  "state". 

Thank you Jim. You have some impressive building skills yourself. I really enjoyed watching you knock that Plymouth into shape.

David G.