Newest Acquisition, '59 Bonneville

[StevenGuthmiller]

As usual, I continue to acquire new projects much faster than I can possibly build them. Here's another restoration project I picked up very recently. An AMT 1959 Pontiac Bonneville hardtop. Looks like it should be a relatively easy resto. All of the stock parts are there & in pretty good shape. The body has had no "extra" parts glued to it & the paint is the usual "period" brush paint, which usually is not too difficult to remove. I already have another batch of parts slated for rechroming, so I guess these will probably be added on. Gonna try & get it in the "soup" within the next couple of days & we'll see how well the paint strips. Looks good on the outside, hopefully it's not a "glue bomb" on the inside! Wish me luck! Steve

[Ramfins59]

I'm sure that you will do your usual bang up job on this Steven. I got one of these in a trade with Forum member Disabled Modeler and it is in my To Do pile.

[StevenGuthmiller]

This is the result of about an hour and a half in "Castrol Super Clean". Obviously, I'm quite happy! I might soak it a bit more as I see there is still a little residue of silver paint around the window trim. Steve

[High octane]

That Bonneville looks really nice!

[slusher]

Great looking body and strip Steve...

[charlie8575]

Nice score!

That two-tone green is really nice, Steve. Are you considering recreating that?

I also remember a '59 Safari you'd see around here every so often that was a two-tone beige/copper that was a nice looking car.

Charlie Larkin

[TFchronos]

Nice car, can't wait to see what you do with it.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Thanks guys! Charlie, I think I'm heading in this direction. Steve

[John Goschke]

Nice project, Steve! The original build actually looked unusually well done, at least in the photos.

I have an original '59 Pontiac color & upholstery selection guide if you need any reference info.

[khier]

Trumpeter 60' thing is a waste of time to build. Did you consider butchering it to donate parts to this project? Bad as it is, but the Trumpeter interior will be certainly better than the promo tub. However, I cannot recall right now how different the 60' seat trims from the 1959 model.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Trumpeter 60' thing is a waste of time to build. Did you consider butchering it to donate parts to this project? Bad as it is, but the Trumpeter interior will be certainly better than the promo tub. However, I cannot recall right now how different the 60' seat trims from the 1959 model.

I never "butcher" these old annuals. I don't have the heart! I lust work with what AMT gave me. I try to show that with a little love these annuals can build into a very nice display piece. Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

Nice project, Steve! The original build actually looked unusually well done, at least in the photos.

I have an original '59 Pontiac color & upholstery selection guide if you need any reference info.

Thanks Froghawk. I appreciate the offer, but I'll just use whatever info I can find online. I don't worry too much about 100% accuracy. Steve

[1 bad55 stan]

Thats a cool car Steven,I done a resto rod rebuild on 1 last year,it sat in the bath for six months.A total glue bomb.Your 1 looks like its in top shape..

[Ron Hamilton]

Trumpeter 60' thing is a waste of time to build. Did you consider butchering it to donate parts to this project? Bad as it is, but the Trumpeter interior will be certainly better than the promo tub. However, I cannot recall right now how different the 60' seat trims from the 1959 model.

I do not agree with you Walid concerning the Trumpeter '60. It did take a bit of work to get it there, and it was not a waste of time to me. I have one of their hardtops to work over, along with an original AMT, which I am restoring.

[Ron Hamilton]

Steve, sorry to Hijack your thread. That '59 is going to be a beauty.

[disabled modeler]

I am the same way...just cant get myself to modify or butcher any old annual kits.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Steve, sorry to Hijack your thread. That '59 is going to be a beauty.

No problem Ron. I have one of the Trumpeter hardtops that I never built. A few things soured me on it as soon as I opened it up. First of all, the body proprtions are obviously way off. The roof is all wrong. I also thought it was just plain laziness to plate things like the exhaust while not plating parts like the mirrors & dash parts. I've seen nice built up examples, (yours is one of them) & I'm sure that with some patience, it could build into a very nice kit. Don't know if I'll ever attempt mine. I have a '60 AMT annual that is a much more likely candidate for me. Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

I am the same way...just cant get myself to modify or butcher any old annual kits.

Agreed Mark. I'll save the "slicing & dicing" for more easily replaceable kits. I just have this thing in the back of my mind that tells me that these old annuals are a tiny piece of history & should be concerved rather than "bashed". They're far too rare as is. Besides, maybe some day when I've moved on to that great hobby shop in the sky, some other fanatical hobbiest will acquire my old kits & re-do them to his liking. So in a way, I become immortal! Steve

[Ron Hamilton]

No problem Ron. I have one of the Trumpeter hardtops that I never built. A few things soured me on it as soon as I opened it up. First of all, the body proprtions are obviously way off. The roof is all wrong. I also thought it was just plain laziness to plate things like the exhaust while not plating parts like the mirrors & dash parts. I've seen nice built up examples, (yours is one of them) & I'm sure that with some patience, it could build into a very nice kit. Don't know if I'll ever attempt mine. I have a '60 AMT annual that is a much more likely candidate for me. Steve

I'll probably have my AMT '60 done before the Trumpeter just because it is a little farther along. It's in primer, but I have not decided on a color yet.