Mild Kustom AMT '56 T-Bird

[Dave Darby]

Finally finished this one, after 41 days on the workbench.

Paint is Testors One Coat White Lightning Pearl.

 

Lucas "Flame Thrower" headlights from the AMT 55 Nomad kit. Custom Lenses from the 53 Studebaker kit.

 

 

Scratchbuilt steering column and turn signal lever. Shifter made from a straight pin. Bucket seats from the AMT 53 Corvette.

 

 

Vertex magneto from the 57 chevy kit, Plug wires have correct firing order. Scratch built fuel log and gas line.

 

 

License plate made in Photoshop that says "Cristi" - my wife's name. And yes, she is quite pleased with her belated Christmas present.

 

Off the bench and on the shelf!

Since I'm in here, a few new bonus photos...

 

Here is a link to the build process...

http://www.modelcars...o=new_post&f=18

Edited June 22, 2021 by Dave Darby
Broken image links

[W-409]

VERY cool Thunderbird Custom. That paintjob is great, and body modifications look good. Especially I like that grille. Engine is really nice too, and detailing is great all over. Thanks for sharing this one.

[Dr. Cranky]

I like this one a lot. Very classy in that white color. Goes to show what great results you can achieve with the early T-birds.

[Beavis]

a very classy bird indeed

[John Teresi]

Dave......beautiful show piece.

[Modlbldr]

Dave-

It turned out beautiful. I'm sure your wife will love it. (If I'm not mistaken you said you built it on her request). I really love the colors and the custom touches.

BTW- Did you still decide to mail that stock seat?

Later-

[Tom Kren]

great job!!!

[John Goschke]

Beautiful job, Dave!

[Lownslow]

nice i dig mild custom bird gonna have to look into one, is this the AMT?

[Erik Smith]

Really nice, clean build. Very attractive car. Nice job.

[Danno]

Nice.

[Joker]

Clean Build ! ! !

[Models by Bear]

Very nice Classy and clean.

[Sixties Sam]

An elegant looking custom - love it! Just enough customizing, not overdone. The white with red interior looks good!

Sam

[62rebel]

great work; i wish i'd snagged one or more of these kits when they were widely available, but i was unsure if they were like the '57 promo type kit.... lots of neat touches and very clean work. well done!

[surfjunke]

Very nice clean work. Beautiful mild custom.

[Guest]

That is a super nice looking Thunderbird Dave! I really like all of the subtle custom touches you've done and the paint suits it perfect. Great work!

[CaptainAhab]

nice job. Head lights look right at home.

[Dominik]

What a beautiful T-Bird! Clean and very nice built Dave.

[deathskull59]

a very nice t bird kustom.

[Darin Bastedo]

there is only one small detail I would change... it's location. This is a beautiful model. I love the engine, and the subtle re-styling. too often people go too far and lose the essence that makes the original car so cool. Your mods took the original styling one step further and made it your own. Bravo!

[Dave B]

That looks trick Dave, beautiful build

Dave B

[Qwit Pushin]

Awesome job!! Love that it's not an over-the-top custom, but rather has a very subtle, yet very different look. A bit of European styling as well. Nicely done!

[Dave Darby]

Thanks for all the great comments, guys. This is the first all new model I've done in quite a few years. It was a labor of love, and Cristi and I had fun exploring all the options as we were 'designing' it. Cristi wanted it pearl white, with a red interior, and she wanted a custom grille. In many ways, this build actually brought us closer together, and she got to see firsthand what it takes for us guys to do something like this.

[oldscool]

I keep going back and looking at this one again and again. It's perfect in concept and execution.

gus