'68 Pontiac Firebird 400 (resto) - NEW IMAGES showing modifications!

[Tommy124]

Hi folks,

some weeks ago I got this old model when I visited the ROG factory sale. It has been used as a showcase model in toy stores back in the day and I thought it might be worth to do a resto on it.

I have 2 new kits of that car so I limited the resto work to the body parts, wheels & tyres and interior. And... I wanted to do a vinyl top, for the first time.

I chose to go for Verdoro Green which looks pretty nice in combo with a black vinyl top.

Here we go:

A word or two on the vinyl roof: I used a trick by Marcos Cruz which is applying spray glue PRIOR to the primer coat. That will create a nice surface structure for the vinyl top. The seams and additional chrome parts were made using Evergreen profiles which were sanded down. After all, I was pretty pleased with the results:

 

EDIT:

I wasn't quite happy with the images above. For one, they have been taken outside rather in a rush and some appear to be overexposed. Second, and more importantly, I wasn't happy with the way the headlights turned out. As I mentioned, this is a resto and the original headlights were so full of glue that I could not save them and decided to go for aftermarket parts. However, these are smaller and somewhat darker or dull, so I kinda missed the "sparkle" in the Firedbird's "eyes". That's why  I decided to replace them with new headlights from a complete kit I own. I will have to find new ones for that kit, but for now I am much more satisfied with the result of this build.

Enough said, here are the new images:

Edited April 24, 2019 by Tommy124

[Anglia105E]

You have done a very nice job on the '68 Pontiac there Thomas...... and it does look very realistic in your photos, especially with your background setting. Excellent build all round ! The vinyl roof works really well and that is a technique worth noting for all of us.

David

[YBlock292]

Great job, Thomas! Sharp looking bird, ready to fly ...

Ludwig

[Modlbldr]

Amazing transformation! That Verdoro green is my favorite color for that year of Firebird. Great choice. The top looks very realistic. I'll have to remember that tip.

Later-

[Gramps46]

Very nicely done and the paint and roof are excellent.

[espo]

Beautiful looking redo. The paint is better than anything GM ever did. Very nice job on the Vinyl Top. That shade of green was one of the most popular colors on many GM cars at that time. 

[Dragonhawk1066]

Well done! Looks great.

[MININORTHFORDMAN]

awesome restoriation

[tkzwolf]

Great color and vinyl roof.  Looks sweet!

[Breezy]

That paint job looks so realistic! Great model. Well done.

[Tommy124]

Thanks to you all for your kind feedback - appreciated!

On 22.4.2019 at 11:14 AM, Anglia105E said:

You have done a very nice job on the '68 Pontiac there Thomas...... and it does look very realistic in your photos, especially with your background setting. Excellent build all round ! The vinyl roof works really well and that is a technique worth noting for all of us.

David

Thanks to you too, David. The inspiration came from the follwoing tutorial by Marcos Cruz and it worked great on the first time:

 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Tommy124

[Geno]

A beauty Tom, I agree with you on the color combo. This is my old GP in that color combo. I recently sold it back to the original owner. A decision I now regret.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Geno

[Super28]

Super job. Love the wheels, but then again, I'm older than dirt and still like mag wheels

[Tommy124]

On 23.4.2019 at 4:09 PM, Geno said:

A beauty Tom, I agree with you on the color combo. This is my old GP in that color combo. I recently sold it back to the original owner. A decision I now regret.

 

 

Hi Gene, I understand your regrets... That is one beautiful Grand Prix and the color looks perfect on that one, too!

On 23.4.2019 at 4:33 PM, Super28 said:

Super job. Love the wheels, but then again, I'm older than dirt and still like mag wheels

I hear you, Terry! Mag wheels are the classic ones to go for on this car. I tried these ones on and instantly liked what I saw. 

 

By the way, I have modified some things on the front of the car which I wasn't happy with in the first place (mainly the headlights) and took new photos of that.  I edited the initial post and added the new photos there!

Edited April 25, 2019 by Tommy124

[Tommy124]

As I have been asked about the color: as I mentioned this is Pontiac Verdoro Green by Gravity Colors. That is Gravity Colors Europe. Yes, there has been a lot of confusion about Gravity lately but I can confirm that the colors and customer service as as great as before!

[ewetwo]

Wow! Nice restore.

[PappyD340]

Very nice

[slusher]

Super nice!!

[vintagercr]

Looks great!

[Tommy124]

Thank you, David, Larry, Carl and Steve!