Eric Macleod Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 I have hit a milestone. I have now had to strip and repaint every single panel of this model. Either i have buggered them up or I have gotten dust in the paint or have found a defect. Maybe...just maybe I am now done. We'll see.
Slotto Posted January 14, 2018 Posted January 14, 2018 Those front fenders look great! Nice and shiny
Eric Macleod Posted January 15, 2018 Author Posted January 15, 2018 Thanks Slotto! I have another dilemma. I have started on the interior and wanted to replicate the mohair fabric upholstery. I tried flocking it but I am not at all satisfied with the results (though I do like the look of the carpeted areas). I still have to apply flocking to the area around the shifter but the photo shows where I am so far. Another area I worked on is the rumble seat. It is upholstered in a mottled leather. That I am happy with. I know I have seen some of the open cars with leather through the entire interior, not just the rumble seat area, but for an upscale car like a cabriolet I think the seats and door panels should be fabric. That is also what the reference photos show, when the car is a high point restoration. Have a look and opinions are most welcome.
Art Anderson Posted January 16, 2018 Posted January 16, 2018 Eric, just yesterday morning, while looking up reference pics online for my 34 Coupe project, I found a couple of pics of a Cabriolet, with leather upholstery. I believe I'm correct in stating that Ford, from Model A forward, used leather or vinyl (yes, vinyl was around in the 30's--actually invented in the 1990's!) for all open car interiors, cabriolet's and convertible sedans included. Art
Art Anderson Posted January 16, 2018 Posted January 16, 2018 BTW, I'd love to know just how you painted that "mottled leather" upholstery--that just looks SO fine! Art
Eric Macleod Posted January 16, 2018 Author Posted January 16, 2018 Thanks for the compliment Art. I have seen cars both ways. It was not uncommon for Cabriolets to be upholstered in mohair in the early 30's, though this was more common in more expensive cars (last August I saw a totally original interior in a '33 Nash Ambassador Convertible Sedan, tattered but definitely wool broadcloth). Todays preferences certainly favor leather in open cars. For ease of building I very well may go ahead and use leather as the look of mohair is proving, uh, challenging...to say the least. So, how did I make the leather? I used a red primer base with various colors of tan, brown, orange, dark red and black very rapidly spackled in a random pattern. While all of that was still wet I sprayed Model Master Dullcoat over the top which created the effect of smearing the still wet paints together. It was pure dumb luck but it worked. In the mean time, here is an improved wiring loom I made for the engine. I used aluminum tubing for this. The spark wires will come out of the ports.
Eric Macleod Posted January 18, 2018 Author Posted January 18, 2018 Meanwhile...in the world of the '34 Ford Cabriolet I have nearly completed the engine wiring. I made looms (which were surprisingly difficult to make) for the wiring and installed them. I discovered I must have gotten a bad batch of cement as nothing...and I do mean NOTHING would stick. Here is the photo of the progress.
Eric Macleod Posted January 18, 2018 Author Posted January 18, 2018 I have been a bit of a holding pattern waiting on some research. My answer is clear based upon information from the AACA, the Early Ford V-8 club and finally a trip to the Benson Ford Library, the correct way these cars were upholstered was with Bedford cord in the front seat then leather in the rumble srat. Now..how to make plastic liok like cloth?
Eric Macleod Posted January 22, 2018 Author Posted January 22, 2018 Frustrated does not even come close to describing how I feel. I got a bit more together and noticed a little dust in the rumble seat cover. Well...Ive come this far. So i sanded it smooth only to have the paint come back up . Back to the purple pond...again.
Eric Macleod Posted January 24, 2018 Author Posted January 24, 2018 I am continuing slowly on this one. I have done some detail painting and assembly slowly continues. I find the paint I chose seems very fragile (Rustoleum plastic paint/primer) so I am being extra careful. That being said, I like the stance of this car and it is coming together well. There probably was some filling and sanding I could have done on the upper door extension but candidly, this was supposed to be a fairly quick build in between bigger projects and stripping the body again is simply not in the cards.
Eric Macleod Posted January 25, 2018 Author Posted January 25, 2018 I finally got nearly all the body panels installed without a paint blemish. Interior is in it and things are getting glued down. Likely, I will have this wrapped up tonight.
Eric Macleod Posted January 29, 2018 Author Posted January 29, 2018 I thought I would be posting "under glass" by now and really I am within about 1-2 hours of being there. That being said, here is my progress. I find the front clip assembly-grill, hood and fender alignment to be very "fiddly" on this model. Giving credit where credit is due, it is about 55 years old so I will cut the kit some slack.
retriever Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 After all your "trials and tribulations" with this kit. the finished result was well worth all the effort you had to put into it. Congratulations on perseverance! Tony
Eric Macleod Posted January 29, 2018 Author Posted January 29, 2018 50 minutes ago, retriever said: After all your "trials and tribulations" with this kit. the finished result was well worth all the effort you had to put into it. Congratulations on perseverance! Tony Thanks Tony, thoigh I'm not quite there yet. Maybe tomorrow!
Eric Macleod Posted January 31, 2018 Author Posted January 31, 2018 All done at last. See it under glass.
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