SkyPainter303's Monogram 1/24 1958 Ford Thunderbird Convertible

[SkyPainter303]

I am continuing on my car building binge with another Warring Weather entry. This time it is a re-release of an old 1964 Monogram issue of a 1958 Ford Thunderbird.

Please let me know if my images don't come through.



HISTORY

Ford Motor Company created the Thunderbird in response to Chevrolet's Corvette. While the Corvette was designed as a sports car, the Thunderbird was different. It was billed as a personal luxury car. From the outset,
the Thunderbird was equipped with a V8 engine while before 1955, the Corvette was only available with a six cylinder engine.

Louis D. Crusoe and George Walker are credited for the creation of the Thunderbird. Mr. Crusoe was charged with finding a way to create a young Ford Division that had prestige. Walker was a very creative stylist with the heart of an artist (1)

Design of the Thunderbird began in February of 1953, just after the Corvette made its debut(2). There were 11 generations of Thunderbirds. The first generation of Thunderbird (1955 to 1957) were two-seaters. The car was built on a shortened, standard, Ford frame and was powered by the coporate, 292 cu. in. OHV V8 from Mercury. This personal luxury car was designed to appeal to a wider audience, than the Corvette which was designed as a pure sports car. As such, Thunderbird sales numbers were through the roof, selling 16,155 in the first year. This number was five times the number of Corvettes built that year.

The second generation (which my model represents) lasted from 1958 to 1960. With their four seats, they were known as the "Square Birds." A first for Ford, was that this Thunderbird was designed as a uni-body. The accommodate the rear seats, the car was stretched from a 102-inch wheelbase to a 133-inch wheelbase. As with many American cars of the period, the Thunderbird was loaded with flashy design elements like tailfins, a fake hood scoop and a huge chrome, front bumper.

The 1958 Thunderbird received a larger, 352 cu. in. V8 engine that made 300 hp. Buyers had a choice of 3-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission. The suspension was also revised in 1958 with coil springs now in the front and rear. In 1958, 37,892 Thunderbirds were built.

55_her_tbird_08_HR by Michael Keogh, on Flickr
1955 Ford Thunderbird (3)

ford_thunderbird_convertible_3 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr
1958 Ford Thunderbird



1. "Ford Thunderbird History." Ford Thunderbird History | Ford Media Center. Ford Motor Company, 5 Aug. 2012. Web. 11 July 2017.

2. "Ford Thunderbird History." Edmunds. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2017.

3. 1955 Ford Thunderbird. N.d. The Ford Motor Company Media Center, Dearborn. Ford Thunderbird History | Ford Media Center. Web. 11 July 2017.




THE KIT

This kit is a 2010 release of an original 1964 mold.

Click to see my Flickr albumllery.
https://flic.kr/s/aHskZghQB8

See the below video for the preview.

[youtube]gVwh5sFVQso[/youtube]

[DrSprue]

Yikes... ....photobucket

[SkyPainter303]

Yikes... ....photobucket

Does the photo of the '55 T-Bird show on your end? That is hosted on my free Photobucket account.

[Tomcat64]

I'm seeing two T-Bird photos - a pale green 55 and a white 58 going by the captions.

[DrSprue]

I see the 55 Tbird, but the 58 Tbird is blank with image icon on my screen.
The PB link when I click on it, goes to an advertising nightmare and even rebooted my PC.

Went back and looked at the Youtube and thats fine and really well done too!

Looking forward to your build, good luck Mike!

[SkyPainter303]

I see the 55 Tbird, but the 58 Tbird is blank with image icon on my screen.
The PB link when I click on it, goes to an advertising nightmare and even rebooted my PC.

Went back and looked at the Youtube and thats fine and really well done too!

Looking forward to your build, good luck Mike!

I guess I'll switch back to Flickr. The '58 was a direct link to the owner's image (whoops).

[DrSprue]

I see the 55 Tbird, but the 58 Tbird is blank with image icon on my screen.
The PB link when I click on it, goes to an advertising nightmare and even rebooted my PC.

Went back and looked at the Youtube and thats fine and really well done too!

Looking forward to your build, good luck Mike!

I guess I'll switch back to Flickr. The '58 was a direct link to the owner's image (whoops).

Ive been on flickr since I started this model website and have never had any issues. (really been using flickr for years) Yahoo owns it and there not that bad with ads, OK developers working on it for so many years, maybe thats why.

[SkyPainter303]

With this build thread I am doing something different than what I usually do; I am making video updates.

Here is video one. Critiques are welcome.

[youtube]SoMDmZJ_E4Q[/youtube]

[Lysus]

Been so busy I haven't checked newer build threads lately. Tossing your vid into my "to watch" queue for after the kiddo's bedtime. Great, classic car to build!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Me too!!
I missed this one. Great idea for a build

[SkyPainter303]

I attempted a second video update, but for some reason, my camera stopped recording. I'll post a photo update later.

Thanks for the encouragement!

-Michael

[SkyPainter303]

In my first video update, I showed the engine parts being cleaned up and primed in Gray Stynylrez. I was going to show a second update of the engine assembly, but I had some video problems. Below is the final engine assembly painted in Model Master Acrylic Ford/GM engine blue. I went with the custom engine pieces because I thought they looked nicer. It has chrome triple carbs and chrome valve covers along with custom exhaust headers. I painted the headers in Vallejo Model Color Natural Steel.

I intended to paint the intake manifold with aluminum, but I didn't realized I had a tiny bit of blue paint left in my airbrush. The result was a very slight blue tint I decided to keep.


P1040168 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


P1040169 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



The photo below shows the beginning assembly of the front suspension. Painting the springs ahead of time turned out to be unnecessary. In fact, once the front suspension is put together, the springs are hardly visible at all.


P1040170 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



These two photos show the completed front suspension.


P1040171 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


P1040172 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



The rear suspension was kind of tricky to put together. The trailing arms were added to the rear end first. They needed to be glued to the axle and the chassis at once to insure the proper alignment of the pieces. Then the shocks were added which too were tricky to place because of the tight quarters. Finally, the panhard bar was added (which the instructions incorrectly call the sway bar).


P1040173 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



After everything was assembled and dried, the whole chassis was primed in Black Stynylrez. When I finished priming, I realized that I will need to brush paint the rear portion of the exhaust system which is now underneath the rear axle. This will present a challenge.


P1040174 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



At this time, I also primed the four wheel backs.


P1040175 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[DrSprue]

Oh the engine and the chassis looks nice Mike!

[SkyPainter303]

I got a little bit more done on the Thunderbird.

I assembled the outside halves of the wheels and tires using the stock wheel covers and whitewall inserts.


P1040176 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



I sprayed the chassis with Vallejo Model Color Gloss black. I then hand painted the exhaust pipes with Vallejo Model Color Natural Steel and the mufflers with Model Master Acrylic Aluminum. I'm going to tone down the gloss with chalk pastels and a matte coat.


P1040178 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

P1040179 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr



The 1964 engineering of this old Monogram re-pop has reared its ugly head. The chassis is a tad warped. I used some toothpicks to wedge the engine level until the glue dries.


P1040177 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[DrSprue]

Yup seems Monogram re-pop = warped is common for that company. I know it all too well.

So far tho, its looking really nice!

[Lysus]

Nice solution. Simplest is the best

[SkyPainter303]

I've been working on the car body today. I sanded all the seams and did some filling. Then I turned to the hood. I didn't like the look of the fake scoop with the solid front. I tried opening up the front of the scoop, and in the process I cut my finger. The opening I made was not worthy of my model so I decided to cut it out all together. I filled the hole with sheet styrene. With a few applications of Tamiya putty (first Basic type, then white putty), I had a beautiful looking hood for the 58 T-bird without a hood scoop. All was great until I put it on the model. The hood would not close because of the triple carb setup. Now I need to find a replacement hood with the ugly scoop.

[DrSprue]

I've been working on the car body today. I sanded all the seams and did some filling. Then I turned to the hood. I didn't like the look of the fake scoop with the solid front. I tried opening up the front of the scoop, and in the process I cut my finger. The opening I made was not worthy of my model so I decided to cut it out all together. I filled the hole with sheet styrene. With a few applications of Tamiya putty (first Basic type, then white putty), I had a beautiful looking hood for the 58 T-bird without a hood scoop. All was great until I put it on the model. The hood would not close because of the triple carb setup. Now I need to find a replacement hood with the ugly scoop.

Yea, its kindof a pain to need to get out all the cutting tools just to make that model look like the one that company sold us. Good luck Mike, we both seem to have that issue with that company even though they are different genres.

[SkyPainter303]

Today, I put in a request for a replacement. If the last time I ordered replacement part for a Revell kit is any indication of the time frame, this Thunderbird may not be finished on time.

The last Monogram kit I built was a 70s issue of the F-4 Phantom. For the most part, that went together well. I've got an half-finised, original issue Do17Z from Monogram on my workbench now. If you don't mind having little interior detail, it isn't all that bad looking.

It is the re-pops I have the most problems with. Speaking of re-pops, I love the box art on the Round2Models AMT and MPC reissues. The art really draws you in making you want to buy, but when you get it home you're confronted with 1960s, flash-covered, garbage, injected moldings.

-Michael

[DrSprue]

Today, I put in a request for a replacement. If the last time I ordered replacement part for a Revell kit is any indication of the time frame, this Thunderbird may not be finished on time.

The last Monogram kit I built was a 70s issue of the F-4 Phantom. For the most part, that went together well. I've got an half-finised, original issue Do17Z from Monogram on my workbench now. If you don't mind having little interior detail, it isn't all that bad looking.

It is the re-pops I have the most problems with. Speaking of re-pops, I love the box art on the Round2Models AMT and MPC reissues. The art really draws you in making you want to buy, but when you get it home you're confronted with 1960s, flash-covered, garbage, injected moldings.

-Michael

So tru Mike and with this website, many years buying stuff and seeing so many reviews, Takom, Dragon, Eduard, HobbyBoss, Ming, Hasegawa and even Bandai and Airfix are going to take over, if not already done so and leave these old favs to just children.

[SkyPainter303]

Yesterday, I finally received my replacement hood. I've been working on the primer coat, sanding, and filling scratches. Very soon, I'll be laying down the color coat. I've found the turquoise color I'd like to use, but it is a Testors enamel. I really want to stick with acrylic, but I can't find a good color locally.


P1040217 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[SkyPainter303]

I sanded down the putty and recoated those areas with primer. There are still some flaws in the bodywork, and despite my perfectionist tendencies, I've moved on to paint.

Here I painted the front underbody with Model Master acrylic gloss black which makes a nice semi-gloss effect.


P1040218 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


Here are the body parts painted in a few mist coasts of Testors quare bottle enamel Gloss Turquoise 1107. There is plenty of orange peel, but after a 48 hour cure time, I'll spray a wet coat. Then I'll see where to go from there.


P1040222 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[snowman819]

I have never built a car in my life so I'm going to follow this one. I like the engine block.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Love the body colour, it looks sharp on that shape

[SkyPainter303]

After sufficient curing time, I wet-sanded the body with 1000 grit sanding film. This sanding broke through the color coat in some places. It is an interesting look for a weather beaten car, but not what I was going for. I then sprayed on a wet-coat of turquoise quickly followed by a coat of clear, enamel thinner. Despite a few flaws in the paint, I am pretty pleased with the way this car body has turned out. After it cures again, I'll apply the gloss clear coat.


P1040223 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


P1040224 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr


P1040225 by Michael Keogh, on Flickr

[Lysus]

Look at that blue!