BIGTRUCK Posted February 28, 2020 Posted February 28, 2020 Has anyone ever attempted one and it worked? I found an article in an old model mag and thought about giving it a whirl. Its a 6 page article with pictures.
cobraman Posted February 28, 2020 Posted February 28, 2020 Seems to me I have seen one somewhere. Way beyond my talents.
Oldcarfan27 Posted February 28, 2020 Posted February 28, 2020 That'd be cool to see! Can you post pics of the entire article?
Mark Posted February 28, 2020 Posted February 28, 2020 I believe Brookfield Collectors Guild made a Chrysler Sebring convertible promo with an operational top. That might be worth a look.
SfanGoch Posted February 28, 2020 Posted February 28, 2020 2 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said: That'd be cool to see! Can you post pics of the entire article? I'll second that. Very interesting with numerous applications possible.
VW93 Posted February 28, 2020 Posted February 28, 2020 Memory is a little fuzzy but I believe Bill Geary had a build going on years ago with a working top.
MrObsessive Posted February 28, 2020 Posted February 28, 2020 I attempted this in the early '00's, but gave up on it as there was no way for me to make it look in scale as far as the top material and getting it to look neat and tidy. IMO, this works MUCH better in larger scales such as 1/12 and up as I have a few of those Danbury Mint cars with working tops and to my eyes look much better in scale than something smaller. I've seen those Chrysler Sebring convertibles with the working top, but those reinforce what my thoughts are about things appearing "in scale". Here are a few pics of the working frame I did on the '64 GTO......... I still have the model, but the top frame was taken out of it long ago. I'm not even sure where it is as it was packed up along with everything else with the move. To make the top, I had used a '64 GM assembly manual, which showed the top frame with all the major working hinges and such. I just tried to shrink things down a bit simpler for this scale. In fact, this model was in effect done sans the top, but the material I used for the windows has since warped pretty bad, so it's due perhaps someday for a makeover. I have no idea when if ever I'd get to it though!
BIGTRUCK Posted February 28, 2020 Author Posted February 28, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said: That'd be cool to see! Can you post pics of the entire article? Some how they are not in order? Edited February 28, 2020 by BIGTRUCK
BIGTRUCK Posted February 28, 2020 Author Posted February 28, 2020 44 minutes ago, MrObsessive said: I attempted this in the early '00's, but gave up on it as there was no way for me to make it look in scale as far as the top material and getting it to look neat and tidy. IMO, this works MUCH better in larger scales such as 1/12 and up as I have a few of those Danbury Mint cars with working tops and to my eyes look much better in scale than something smaller. I've seen those Chrysler Sebring convertibles with the working top, but those reinforce what my thoughts are about things appearing "in scale". If one was ever going to get completed, you would be that person to do that Bill ?
Motor City Posted February 29, 2020 Posted February 29, 2020 I have one of those Sebring convertibles with the operating top, but the mechanism doesn't work real well. I can't recall if I left the top up or down because it was too much of a hassle to mess around with. I put it back in the box. It's a great concept though.
Oldcarfan27 Posted February 29, 2020 Posted February 29, 2020 Here's some photos of real ones to use for reference. Probably would be best to use Brass channel for strength and the ability to solder pivot points. Maybe use umbrella material for the canvas.
Roadrunner Posted February 29, 2020 Posted February 29, 2020 On 2/28/2020 at 10:26 AM, cobraman said: Seems to me I have seen one somewhere. Way beyond my talents. Mine too. I wouldn't even consider it, actually.
MrObsessive Posted February 29, 2020 Posted February 29, 2020 16 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said: Probably would be best to use Brass channel for strength and the ability to solder pivot points. Maybe use umbrella material for the canvas. Some years ago Don Holthaus gave me some material that was quite in scale. It was similar to umbrella material, but it was very thinly rubber backed. The problem comes in as to how to attach the material to the brass frame (which I did most of mine in) and then fashioning a rear window. Getting the window to attach to the material would be another challenge on top of that. Again, it HAS to look neat and tidy and then it would need to hold up over time as no doubt the top would be raised up and down quite frequently at a show for instance. Even the 1/12 scale ones I have mostly have the tops folded and in their wells covered. The 1/12 '57 Chevy convertible I have for example already has wear spots in the top material from exposure. Perhaps it's mostly due to age though.........I've had it since 2005!
64Comet404 Posted March 2, 2020 Posted March 2, 2020 I remember reading about the convertible top article, but I can't remember if the model was one of the pieces which resides at the Model Car Museum. If you ever wish to read about a modeller overcoming adversity, look up the story of Dave Shuklis and prepare to be amazed.
ChrisBcritter Posted March 7, 2020 Posted March 7, 2020 Good info here - I want to do a lowered convertible top for a '50 Ford (no boot) to duplicate a movie car; all this helps.
GMP440 Posted March 7, 2020 Posted March 7, 2020 Interesting article. We should keep this as a sticky in the tips and tutorials section.
Mr Yogi Posted August 9, 2024 Posted August 9, 2024 On 2/28/2020 at 2:45 PM, MrObsessive said: I attempted this in the early '00's, but gave up on it as there was no way for me to make it look in scale as far as the top material and getting it to look neat and tidy. IMO, this works MUCH better in larger scales such as 1/12 and up as I have a few of those Danbury Mint cars with working tops and to my eyes look much better in scale than something smaller. I've seen those Chrysler Sebring convertibles with the working top, but those reinforce what my thoughts are about things appearing "in scale". Here are a few pics of the working frame I did on the '64 GTO......... I still have the model, but the top frame was taken out of it long ago. I'm not even sure where it is as it was packed up along with everything else with the move. To make the top, I had used a '64 GM assembly manual, which showed the top frame with all the major working hinges and such. I just tried to shrink things down a bit simpler for this scale. In fact, this model was in effect done sans the top, but the material I used for the windows has since warped pretty bad, so it's due perhaps someday for a makeover. I have no idea when if ever I'd get to it though! Hello how are .I was just looking at your convertible frame top . and wanted to know do you have a blue print for it/
MrObsessive Posted August 9, 2024 Posted August 9, 2024 5 hours ago, Mr Yogi said: Hello how are .I was just looking at your convertible frame top . and wanted to know do you have a blue print for it/ No, there were no blueprints. All that was done came out of the mind of yours truly, and what I could see in an assembly manual. 1
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now