'77 Firebird Formula tribute build. Update (12-25-14) Finished w Pictures

[Tonioseven]

Nice work on this project so far and the wheels turned out AWESOME!!!

[microwheel]

Looking good so far, I think your decal work turned out pretty good.

[Rdkingjay]

Beautiful work Jonathan!! I built a tribute '59 Impala convertible for a very close friend about a year ago. It was one of the most rewarding model building experiences I have ever had. I see him every so often and he always comments about how much time he spends looking at it and how he never should have sold that car! Hats off to you sir.

[TFchronos]

Man, you don't see people take T/As and make Formulas of them very often! Well, at least not in the 1:1 world!

I love what you've done! Those wheels are amazing, and your attention to detail (like the steering wheel center) is amazing!

Great work all around!

Thanks Adam! I agree it is very rare in the 1:1 world, I don't think I can recall anyone converting one over. The only Formula Revel made, I think, was a '79 convertible snap tip kit and those seem to be super rare. I've only ever seen two in the past 3 years. I would really like to get one someday and detail it up as one of those nice unusual cars.

Amaizing job!

Thank you José!

[TFchronos]

Cool! I'm so happy that the stripes worked out for you!

You will have to let us all know his reaction! This is one of those gifts that confirms that it's better to give than to receive!

Thanks Tom, so am I and I agree whole heartedly with your last sentence. I'll be sure to let you all know his reaction to it.

So glad to see you got the stripes on Jonathan, decals can be a nightmare. Really looking good...

Thanks Carl!

[TFchronos]

Beautiful work Jonathan!! I built a tribute '59 Impala convertible for a very close friend about a year ago. It was one of the most rewarding model building experiences I have ever had. I see him every so often and he always comments about how much time he spends looking at it and how he never should have sold that car! Hats off to you sir.

Thanks and I agree with you Jay.

[TFchronos]

Here's another series of updates. The front part of the hood scoops ended up being alot more difficult to make than I first anticipated, I don't know how many I made before I made two that looked good lol.

I also thought I would take some time to detail the engine bay a little better so I smoothed out all the molded wiring on the fire wall and engine bay and will start running new latter today.

Another update inbound shortly, thanks for looking!

[TFchronos]

Second update showing the rest of my progress so far.

I'm in the process of making a little something for a mounting bracket for the A/C unit so it's not just floating in the breeze.

And the last and more notable part of this update is in the grill. Originally on the model the turn signals mounted flush with the body. On the 1:1 I'm replicating they are recessed just a little so I cut these off and made new mounts so the model will look more like the 1:1.

That's about it for now, with T - 3 usable days and counting I gotta get back to work on it. Thank you again everyone, for looking and commenting.

[TFchronos]

Quick update, was up till 3am getting the final polishing done, tonight I'll see about getting the bmf, and various extras on. I'll also have to see about making adapters of the wheels (the one thing I haven't done but probibly should have a while back) Anyway here's a photo to show the engine bay off.

This will likely be the last visual update for the car, I want him to be the first to see it complete. I'll do another text only post when it's finished and after the big day get final pics up.

Thanks again everyone!

[kruleworld]

Looks good, i quite like how you managed to pull off those pinstripes.

They say to use these settings Plain Paper - Normal Quality - Portrait Mode. I'm sure results will vary between printers but for my printer (HP 6500A) I got better results changing the type of paper from Plain Paper to Matte Semi Gloss Photo Paper. The sharpness and color turned out a lot better.

That's an odd suggested settings. Micro Mark's suggestion is high-quality+gloss-paper. I print it as high quality as possible, and also my photos i use 400 dpi (screen is 75 dpi by comparison), so I don't loose detail when scaling various photos (also good for vector shapes)

[slusher]

Nice progress Jonathan. Fine work and progress.. I looking forward to the finished build...

[mustang1989]

That detail on the engine looks great! Can't wait to see the finished product outta this.

[TFchronos]

Thank you Walter, Carl, & Joe.

The plates were just put on a few minutes ago, it's now fully complete, pictures will go up after the 25th. Thank you so much everyone, for your support throughout this build. For me this is and will likely be the most importent model I will ever do, it means alot to me that you guys followed along.

I don't think I'll be on again until or after the 25th so I want to wish you all a very happy and Merry Christmas.

[dbiggied]

Totally off topic...what's the car in your profile pic?

[Model Brain]

Great job Jonathan, great story, I miss my 77 Bird sooo much.

[slusher]

Thank you Walter, Carl, & Joe.

The plates were just put on a few minutes ago, it's now fully complete, pictures will go up after the 25th. Thank you so much everyone, for your support throughout this build. For me this is and will likely be the most importent model I will ever do, it means alot to me that you guys followed along.

I don't think I'll be on again until or after the 25th so I want to wish you all a very happy and Merry Christmas.

Jonathan, I have enjoyed following your build. You tackled some problems on this build. Looking forward to your finished pictures after Christmas. I am sure he is going to love it...

[TFchronos]

Totally off topic...what's the car in your profile pic?

It's a '56 Dodge Coronet, I found it on the "great" auction site a few years back. My dad owned one up till 2000-01ish and at one point in it's life it was blue a while like the one in the picture. It's my all time favorite car and I miss it very much it's also a very rare car now (only ever seen 1 other in person in my 24 years of living). When I found this one it reminded me of it and so I use it as the profile pic.

Great job Jonathan, great story, I miss my 77 Bird sooo much.

Thanks Jonathan! I can see why, they are a beautiful car, the boys at Pontiac did an outstanding job designing them.

[TFchronos]

Jonathan, I have enjoyed following your build. You tackled some problems on this build. Looking forward to your finished pictures after Christmas. I am sure he is going to love it...

Thank you for the kind words throughout out the build Carl, I really appreciate it, the same goes to everyone else that followed and commented too.

[TFchronos]

Alright folks, here it is, the finished product. More pictures under glass.

[TFchronos]

He was speechless for a few seconds and his face was priceless, it was like seeing an old friend or family member you thought for sure would never see again. I could tell he was blown away when he saw it, it's currently sitting just below the TV for everyone to see.

Thanks again for following along folks, Merry Christmas to you all and see in later in 2015.

Edited December 26, 2014 by TFchronos

[o-man]

Awesome!

[berr13]

Outstanding work!

[dbiggied]

It's a '56 Dodge Coronet, I found it on the "great" auction site a few years back. My dad owned one up till 2000-01ish and at one point in it's life it was blue a while like the one in the picture. It's my all time favorite car and I miss it very much it's also a very rare car now (only ever seen 1 other in person in my 24 years of living). When I found this one it reminded me of it and so I use it as the profile pic.

I, literally less than a year ago, sold a '55 Coronet that was a virtual twin to the one in your profile pic, except mine was the reverse colors (blue with a white hood)...beautiful car, but couldn't keep it because of family situations.

Also, fantastic work on the Firebird.

[mustang1989]

Excellent replication Jonathan!

[Tom Geiger]

I, literally less than a year ago, sold a '55 Coronet that was a virtual twin to the one in your profile pic, except mine was the reverse colors (blue with a white hood)...beautiful car, but couldn't keep it because of family situations.

Lyle Willets from the Maryland Area Modelers Association (MAMA) has a green Dodge very similar.