Neddy Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 I was going to have a short break after completing the Isetta but I'm already suffering withdrawal symptoms, so herewith the start of another project. As the more observant of you will have already gathered I'm a great admirer of late 1950s to late 1960s automotive design, when each car had it's own distinctive style as opposed to the amorphous blobs built since. One car in particular has always drawn me like a magnet - the Mk II 1958-60 Ford Thunderbird, accurately nicknamed the Squarebird. For years I've hankered after a kit of this piece of automotive art but until recently I was unaware of the existence of one in 1:24 scale. Finding one on Fleabay a few weeks ago at sensible money was a real delight and after a suitable exchange of beer-tokens it arrived intact. It's been sitting on a shelf tempting me all through the Isetta build and I've finally weakened. I'm going to have to be a bit more careful even than usual with this one as it's smaller scale than I prefer to build and I want to do it justice, so I'm hoping my eyesight and manual dexterity are up to the job! It'll be a straight OOB build I'm afraid as I don't think anyone can improve on such a beautiful design. It's a Monogram kit (but apparently distributed by Revell Germany) circa 1987 but appears to be the second or third evolution of the kit that originally emerged in 1958, the year the car itself was launched. I'll be interested to see how the quality stacks up against other recent builds. Despite being well second-hand the kit appears to be complete and in excellent condition although several parts have become separated from the sprues, the only problem so far found being a scratch on the rear window which looks like it'll polish out with an hour or two's attention and some toothpaste. That's it for now, more when I get started. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 Nice choice. I'll keep an eye on this one, they were a good looking car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 Love the colour of the shell! I've got the ready! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesa Jussila Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 Good choice. I really like this car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six97s Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 The body might look a bit wonky, but it's a good kit, especially for its age. It will be a piece of cake after that AMT Mustang. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neddy Posted April 3, 2023 Author Share Posted April 3, 2023 The obvious place to start would be the bodyshell prep but I'm waiting for a Tamiya painting cradle/stand set to support it properly, so meantime I hit the conventional route and started the engine assembly. Stealing shamelessly ideas and methods from other members here, plus the odd Youtube video to give me encouragement I decided to attempt wiring the engine, something I've never attempted before in 1:24 scale. I ordered some 0.4mm black coated copper wire which arrived this morning and appears to be perfect for the job. Utilising my trusty old mini-drill I carefully bored eight 0.4mm holes in the cylinder heads to take the plug wires, then removed the coil lead protrusion from the centre of the distributor cap and bored a somewhat larger (2mm) hole in it's place. The idea being to drop the ends of all eight plug leads into this centre hole and at this small scale they'll look as if they're in their correct places on the dist cap by the time they're fanned out towards the spark plug locations. It looked pretty convincing in the video, anyway! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neddy Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 ...and so it turned out to be. Having the right wire and tools make it a lot easier than my previous ham-fisted attempts at wiring in 24th scale... 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 The wiring looks convincing from here 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesa Jussila Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Looks good also in my screen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Many years ago I did actually build one with the plug wiring in the correct order. Nowadays, who has the time? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neddy Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 But...but...the firing order IS correct. Of course it is. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neddy Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 ...and that completes the engine assembly. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Nice work Neddy! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six97s Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 3 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said: Many years ago I did actually build one with the plug wiring in the correct order. Nowadays, who has the time? I think I did that once. Once. 😶 Wiring looks good Neddy. What's the plan for paint - Larry Watson style? 😬 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neddy Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 Nah. As there isn't a single example around that hasn't been restored I'm going with a personal choice. There's a lovely metallic blue/green in the Mr Hobby Aqueous range that I think will suit it well, with an interior comprising light blue/green and white. Nothing lairy about it, a fairly subtle (I hope) treatment. Thanks for your comments people. The spraybooth cradle has arrived so I'll be starting on the bodyshell prep & paint soon. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
von Race Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Nice choice Neddy. My dad had the restyled 1960 version. Very similar mechanically. And a nice riding car at the time. He made the mistake of letting the 16 year old me drive it to school one day, with predictable results. He forbade me to drive again until I fixed it. Such was my introduction to panel beating! Looking forward to your build. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neddy Posted April 10, 2023 Author Share Posted April 10, 2023 Just a short update:- I've prepped the bodywork for spraying but need to wait for a suitably long period of time - at the moment I can only work on the model in relatively short burst due to domestic commitments. The engine/gearbox assembly is now mounted in the chassis which has also been painted where necessary. Researching the required colours from images on the 'Net (the Monogram colour guide in the instructions must have been written by someone either totally colour-blind or high on something!) shows everything underneath apart from the transmission, exhausts and fuel tank as being...black. Nothing else, just unrelieved black. OK that makes life a lot easier. I've also assembled the wheels and scuffed the shine (and moulding marks!) off the tyres with an emery board. They look pretty good and the whitewalls (which are rigid plastic inserts) surprisingly effective. More anon... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted April 10, 2023 Share Posted April 10, 2023 One of Monograms finest. The shape seems to be spot on. If I could fault Monogram on one bit, I think the car sits slightly too high. Mind you, I don't think many cars look worse for a bit of lowering, so that might just be me at fault rather than Monogram.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted April 12, 2023 Share Posted April 12, 2023 This looks a nice project, do love T Bird. Great start, engine is looking good. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neddy Posted April 16, 2023 Author Share Posted April 16, 2023 Further progress this weekend, slow but steady... Front suspension and steering completed, wheels assembled and mounted. Dead straightforward, fairly basic, parts fit is good:- Rear ditto, however this bit drove me mad. The back axle/diff assembly effectively "floats" in mid-air while the coil springs, trailing arms, sway bar and shocks are all fitted at one end only, then attached to the axle casing while the glue is still wet enough for there to be sufficient wiggle-room to mate everything up and properly align it. Honestly, it's like herding cats! After that, mounting the twin exhaust system was a doddle, everything lining up pretty well. ...and that completes the chassis assembly. Meanwhile I've finally been able to grab sufficient time in one block to airbrush primer onto the bodyshell, doors, dash, seats and interior tub which are now drying off preparatory to spraying. More when I can get stuck into spraying some interesting colours onto them! Thanks as always for your interest so far. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neddy Posted April 16, 2023 Author Share Posted April 16, 2023 On 10/04/2023 at 19:10, TonyW said: If I could fault Monogram on one bit, I think the car sits slightly too high. Mind you, I don't think many cars look worse for a bit of lowering, so that might just be me at fault rather than Monogram.. Heeding your warning I test-fitted the 'shell to the completed chassis and checked for ground clearance and stance. In fact I was pleasantly surprised to find that it sits pretty low so no modification needed there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 That all looks very neat and tidy, nice work! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neddy Posted April 18, 2023 Author Share Posted April 18, 2023 Finally had an opportunity to get some "airbrushing" done (let's be honest, it's a Humbrol "airbrush" which is little more than a small spraygun) and the results are shown below... Bodyshell (in case you hadn't guessed!)... ...and interior... ..which will be panelled in white. Stay tuned for the next (un)exciting instalment. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted April 18, 2023 Share Posted April 18, 2023 I like the colour and the finish looks good too. I also have one of those airbrushes. If you get the mix right they can give great results. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neddy Posted April 18, 2023 Author Share Posted April 18, 2023 That's true, but I have to confess to over-thinning on occasion and the results are horrific! I'm over halfway down the old air canister I've had for years and when that's gone I think I'll go for a "real" airbrush and compressor - just a basic one as I'm still learning. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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