Hi guys,
The year was 1961 and my friend Jerry and I had just bicycled 5 miles to the home of my cousins Dan and Dennis, who were model builders, the same as we were. Dennis (the younger one) asked us if we would like to see his latest creation, so down to their basement workroom we went. What he showed us was a really nice looking AMT '39/'40 Ford Sedan which had only recently been released. It was "Baby Blue" with a White interior, whitewall tires and the kits full "Moon" disc wheel covers. The paint was smooth and shiny (these two guys BRUSH painted their cars and honestly they looked as good as most of todays spray jobs) and the car sat just right. I thought it was one of the "coolest" models I had ever seen and I vowed that one day I would build one like it.
Well it took me about 45 years but I finally got around to doing just that. It's not exact of course and I hope a bit more detailed, but it captures the "look" of the car as I remembered it and I am quite pleased with the results. Here"s how I got there:
The body, fender unit and hood all all straight from the AMT '39/'40 Ford Sedan kit. The "ribbed" bumpers front and rear are from a recent release (not the "Rides" version) of the AMT '40 Ford Sedan Delivery kit. Since this kit actually builds into a more accurate '40 Ford Standard Sedan, I've called it as such.
The chassis is from the "39 kit as are the suspension pieces, but I sent them to Chrome Tech USA for plating just to add a little sparkle underneath. The exhaust system is scratch built using styrene rod, fabricated hangers, parts box mufflers and polished aluminum tubing for the exhaust tips. Photo-etched bolt heads from Replicas and Miniatures are used throughout and the chassis has full brake and fuel line plumbing.
The engine is a "nailhead" Buick (replacing the kit Olds) and was "stolen" from the above mentioned '40 Ford Sedan delivery kit. It uses parts box carbs and headers along with air cleaners from an AMT '27 Ford "T" Touring. The valve covers from the AMT '49 Mercury Chrysler were used as well. Generator wiring, carb linkage (scratched) have been added as well as fuel and brake line plumbing.
The interior is where this car differs greatly from the original. It was constructed using the kit interior tub with the door panels cut out and replaced with simulated "tuck and roll" made from the tonneau covers of two Revell Willys Pick-up kits. The front bucket seats are parts box items with the rear seat "borrowed" from an AMT '53 Studebaker kit. The dashboard is a resin piece from Replicas as are the door handles, window cranks and "Lucite" teardrop style dash knobs. The steering wheel, mirror and pedals are from the parts box and the carpeting is "flocking" from Kens Fuzzy Fur. Bare-metal foil is used for the "chrome" trim on the door panels and the "fuzzy dice" are scratch built by ME. It was painted using Tamiya Pearl White.
The tires used on the front are from the parts box with hand painted whitewalls, and the rears are resin pieces from the Modelhaus. The wheels are "mags" from an old '70's Corvette kit, stripped of their plating and painted Red. The "Moon" discs are from an original release of the AMT '32 Ford Roadster and were re-plated by Chrome-Tech USA.
The finish was accomplished using Testors brand spray can paint consisting of #2948 White primer and #1208 Blue. No clrearcoat was used (to prevent "Yellowing") and the finish was polished using an LMG polishing kit and waxed with The Treatment model car wax.
Hope you like it and comments, pro and con, are always welcome.
Barry Fadden
No comments:
Post a Comment