AMT's 1956 Ford Victoria 'La Sombrera'

[The Creative Explorer]

I cleaned out quite some old projects and wanted to start something new and something I can work dedicated on. I got this kit earlier this year for 5 bucks at a local meeting. It was started, but relatively easy to tear it apart.

When purchased

The painted and disassembled parts

And start! The idea is to go for a bit of leadsled idea, combined with some oldskool custom detailling

The hood is going to be cleaned

Just like the doors, the scripts, handles and locks are removed.

[The Creative Explorer]

So far I worked mostly on the changes in the rough, the more delicate work will come later in the build

I added some more putty on the sides

I wanted to french the lights, so I used the original mouldings and make them part of the body

Slightly sanded

I think these might be the winners for this build; Sombrero's

I put some Tamiya putty for smoothness on the hood

The front will be customised as well, I added the kit custom grille and glued it in, so I can integrate it in the body

[The Creative Explorer]

I started carefully with the next step; the more I looked at the car, the more I got the idea something was off. I decided it was the roof, so a chop is in order. It wasn't a very high roof, but I think it adds some style to the car. The problem was, I didn't want a conventional chop. So I tried something different, I kept the rear window the same size, but the angle was sloped quite a bit. It gives some problems and I want to keep the huge moonroof.

This is the standard hight

I started to make a inch cut in the roof

At the windshield I cut the pillars, so it worked a bit more easier and I was able to lower the roof.

I removed a triangle at the rear-pillar, so I could angle the roof in the back

Roughly how it is going to look

A bit more clear

One thing that happens is the the roof comes forward when sloping the roof in the back

[The Creative Explorer]

I solved it by removing 1.8mm length from the roof and this is where the moonroof came in handy, I only had to remove to small pieces on the side of the moonroof, stick them together and done

Removed the front part

The finished hood

Everything is basically back into it's place and rebuild can start.

To improve the strenght of the rood and prevent that the putty will crack, I added a few pieces of Evergreen and used welding glue. This way the plastic will harden and stick a lot better than putty.

I also added Evergreen on the lower part of the roof for strength at the moonroof cut

And the putty-frenzy starts!

[diymirage]

ziet er goed uit

ik heb dezelfde kit al jaren in de verfstripper liggen

op het dak en de achterlichten na heb ik zon beetje dezelfde custom veranderingen gemaakt als jij (gladde motorkap, aangebouwde custom voor en achterbumpers)

ik heb hem toen gespoten en daar was ik niet blij mee dus toen is ie in de verfstripper gegaan en daar heeft ie al die tijd ingezeten

de mijne heeft trouwens een 427 vierkante duims motor met een blazer derop

[The Creative Explorer]

And now progress is slow, lots of puttying, sanding, looking and add more putty. small steps at a time

I cleaned the frame, but it is not the most advanced one, lots of detail is molded in and doesn't look very nice. Especially the exhaust is very cheesy, but also very hard to get rid off. I started with removing the last part

And I couldn't do the other halve. So I invented the multi-beam. A nice excuse haha. The idea is that all the plumbing and wiring will be used by the Multi-Beam, therefore gives me a clean look on the lower halve.

More parts from the oven cleaner.

Also the rear-lights are going to be frenched.

I had to put a hole in the original mouldings.

The roof slowly get's it shaped, slowly.

[The Creative Explorer]

ziet er goed uit

ik heb dezelfde kit al jaren in de verfstripper liggen

op het dak en de achterlichten na heb ik zon beetje dezelfde custom veranderingen gemaakt als jij (gladde motorkap, aangebouwde custom voor en achterbumpers)

ik heb hem toen gespoten en daar was ik niet blij mee dus toen is ie in de verfstripper gegaan en daar heeft ie al die tijd ingezeten

de mijne heeft trouwens een 427 vierkante duims motor met een blazer derop

Goedemorgen

Why not start again that kit? It is not a very good kit, but it is a nice canvas and it it buildable for a more experienced modeller. But it is a very nice object and not very well known. It gives you something different than the 'ol '57 for example.

I am not all that happy with my paintjob, but I tried new techniques and I guess I have some learning to do.

(I answerred in English, so the fellow members can read it as well ;-) )

The mouldings are now in putty

And the front end is sanded smooth.

[The Creative Explorer]

I have to say that I find it hard to build customs like this. I am not the best builder and I have a lot to learn, but this one took a lot of time and patience. No matter how good my tools are, I keep having problems with having a seamless joint.

But I do make progress if I compare it to 'El Modificato'. This is just my 2nd full-custom build where I reworked the body, but I think i start to learn.

El Modifcato

It can't be that I work for hours and hours to modify the body and stick with the molded in windshield wipers, no way.

The frame is cleaned and primered. When I decided which colours to use for the paintjob, I can paint it.

All the parts that I've worked on have received a primer coat to see where I stand at the moment.

And obviously I need to work some more on it.

The windshield is at a lower angle as well, to make it look halfway decent, the pillars had to be modified/smoothened to make it ook nice. I made a new tric; I put some tamiya tape on the windshield and used some petroleum jelly on it. Then I installed it and put the putty on it, let it dry overnight and removed the windshield. And because of the Jelly, it didn't stick to the windshield.

[The Creative Explorer]

I used the same trick for the moonroof, since I made a boo-boo while cutting

Because the body started to look completed, I used Alclad sandable primer for a nice smooth finish

A few modifcations needs to be done, before I can polish the primer

Because the body is getting somewhere, I found some time to work on the engine and parts.

[The Creative Explorer]

I airbrushed the last coat of primer and everything looked okay, So I painted in the morning it's first white coat and in the afternoon it's second. White is a very good start for candy paint in bright colors.

I did find a few more places to fix

And back in the primer

The hood showed it needed some refinement as well

And fortunately I discoverd on time that my hood-hinges were gone missing, so I placed some tubing

And on the hood, but this set-up didn't work

I made brackets from copperwire

and slided the tubing over it

Glued it with powerglue for instant bond at the right place.

[The Creative Explorer]

Adding some more detail; I made from wire a hood-stick and when not in use, it will lay flat on the radiator

Fixed a ugly spot

The body in virginiuous white

The paintjob took me a long time to figure out. I had idea's but wasn't sure. But I decided to try something new. and wanted to add a Mural on the lower halve. I made a concept with photoshop and printed this on white decalpaper, then I clearcoated it.

Before

And after a long hour of patience, cursing and so forth

After another hour the other part was done too

[The Creative Explorer]

I painted the lower halve candy apple red. I also added a clearcoat on it, this for maybe getting in trouble when I want to mask the car for the top halve. I have the feeling with a clearcoat the paintjob is stronger and able to withstand some more.I

Without tape

And a oopsy

So, back to the paintbooth

[The Creative Explorer]

More color! Unfortunately I am far from happy with the lower halve, After I added the candy coat, the decal started with airbubbles underneath and there was nothing I could do. It sucks, sincs there is nothing I can do. I guess part of my learning curve.

All the colours are on its place. I started out with a white coat and added a yellow base coat. This for the next colour.

After the yellow base-coat, I added a yellow iridiscidating layer for a nice pearl effect.

And to bring the oldskool style from the 50's back, I added a little bit of orange.

And without the tape.

[darquewanderer]

Outstanding. Those decals are fantastic.

[knucklehead]

That is one fine lookin' crown vic. Love the lines on the roof chop. And the paint is just kick butt. Give us more.....PLEASE.

[DumpyDan]

WOW! This is over the top, the detail you are showing us is most impressive. Sanding that roof must have been a pain in the neck, having weak points. I am looking forward to seeing this one complete, I love it!

DumpyDan

[Foxer]

This is wonderful seeing all the work along the way going into this build. The body has a real leadsled look and that mural is WAY over the top! Please keep going!

[W-409]

Wow, that looks awesome so far. That paintjob is so amazing that I almost fall down to floor when I saw it. Awesome job with it. Bodywork is made very nicely also. This is great project, I'll be watching it for sure...!

[oldscool]

I love the paint work. This is just my personal opinion but I think you chopped the top too much which to my eye causes the rest of the body to appear too slab sided.

[crazyjim]

That's some fancy paint. I like where this build is going.

[Peter Lombardo]

Pretty difficult to find a fault with this one. I really love the imagination you put into the decals and paint job....very different and striking. I'm loving it.

[Draggon]

Great decal work. And that is a pretty unique way of getting the winshield to fit the chopped top.

[Guest JamesDE]

WOW!!!! That is an excellent job you have performed with this.... That chop top came out perfect and I really dig the decals for the lower half of the body....

[Dr. Cranky]

Oh man, this one is marvelous. Please keep it going. I can't wait to see it finished!

[txdieseldog]

Erik, I just finished this kit, box stock. Yours makes mine look like childs play. However, I must warn you that I did have some fit issues with the front suspension and the frame to the body. I had to place a 1/16 in. disc around the mount pin on one side to pull the twist out of the frame. Here's some pics tho. They don't show the issues, but we got it to turn out ok. Ended up gluing the tires turned solid. No more steerable front end. Hope I haven't burst any bubbles. Yours is looking great. Good luck.

Barry

PS: tape is holding on the door while the glue cures to repair the door hinge, AFTER it was all assembled!!!!