OldNYJim Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 I picked up this Lindberg 40 Ford at a show last year year for $5…and it was probably not that good of a deal even at that price. But I never build one of these, and I wanted to practice some new skills so I guess here goes nothing… Spent an hour or so fixing the basics on the body - mold lines and flash and whatnot: As you can see, the frame has a molded-in exhaust which I’ll be ‘fixing’ and I’ll be using some variation on a Flathead but probably not the kit engine. That interior tub is probably ok-ish if you paint it a dark color, seeing as it’ll be hard to see unless you opened the doors, so obviously I’m going to make myself a bunch of work and open the doors and go with a white interior instead ? Actually, first, I opened the trunk, which was somewhat tricky cos there wasn’t much of a line to scribe and it kinda disappears at the bottom edge. Once I got it open, I added some material to the opening AND the trunk lid so I had some meat to work with in getting the fit decent: A bunch of sanding and hinge-making later…not finished but a decent start… Then, same deal with the doors…add some material back in to account for the kerf of the saw and the material I lost… Because the back of the doors is a straight edge I could save a little work by using that straight edge as-is and just work the top of the doors and the front edge - got them fairly close to a nice fit. The hinges are a little beefier than I really needed - but I haven’t done many of these and I weighed up having some extra strength to them versus being able to hide them a little better…hopefully they’ll be hidden pretty well by the time I’m done with the doorcards anyway: And that’s about where I got for my 6 hours of bench-time today…it’s a start! More soon, soon as I’ve done more! 5
Zippi Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 Man...that is looking purdy sharp Jim. I like how you made those hinges. What size wire did you use? 1
WGaree Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 nice work on that lump lindberg calls a 40 ford 1
Slotto Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 Wow, you got a lot done for only 6 hours of bench time. It's looking good. 1
TarheelRick Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 Going to be watching this one. I love those fat-fendered Fords, they can be built in a myriad of ways and none of them are wrong. Didn't Lindberg acquire this mold from AMT, there is very little variation if any between the kits. 1
dino246gt Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 Great start! Can't wait to see more, I love those '40s! 1
slusher Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 Great start Jim, always enjoy watching your builds! 1
Slotto Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 I was going to say there a lot of similarities between the Lindgerg and the AMT 1
espo Posted January 2, 2023 Posted January 2, 2023 Great job on opening up the body. I have to agree with everyone else, this sure looks like the original AMT '40 Ford. Thats not a bad thing in my mind. I think AMT had an optional OHV V8 engine in their kits. 1
OldNYJim Posted January 3, 2023 Author Posted January 3, 2023 14 hours ago, Zippi said: Man...that is looking purdy sharp Jim. I like how you made those hinges. What size wire did you use? I meant to measure it or find the packet when I was in the shop today but I forgot…but it’s about paperclip wire thickness, to give you an idea… ? 14 hours ago, WGaree said: nice work on that lump lindberg calls a 40 ford Thank you! It’s not the best…but good enough as a starting point! At least the body looks 40-Ford-ish… 14 hours ago, Slotto said: Wow, you got a lot done for only 6 hours of bench time. It's looking good. I would’ve done more but a 20 minute nap took me 4 hours somehow ? 14 hours ago, TarheelRick said: Going to be watching this one. I love those fat-fendered Fords, they can be built in a myriad of ways and none of them are wrong. Didn't Lindberg acquire this mold from AMT, there is very little variation if any between the kits. I’m not sure, but yeah, it’s near identical to the AMT one I have here… 14 hours ago, TarheelRick said: Going to be watching this one. I love those fat-fendered Fords, they can be built in a myriad of ways and none of them are wrong. Didn't Lindberg acquire this mold from AMT, there is very little variation if any between the kits. 13 hours ago, slusher said: Great start Jim, always enjoy watching your builds! Thanks fellas! 8 hours ago, espo said: Great job on opening up the body. I have to agree with everyone else, this sure looks like the original AMT '40 Ford. Thats not a bad thing in my mind. I think AMT had an optional OHV V8 engine in their kits. Did one of those kits have a Nailhead in too? I forget…I’ll have to look. The Flathead in this one is kinda blobular but I have a plan… First job today was rough-out a floor for the trunk and some doorcards. Not terribly difficult work, but I wanted to get some styrene cut to make sure I wasn’t going to have any fit issues what with the opening doors… I’m going to use some thinner material for the door-cards, but I know now everything fits how it should and the doors open and close ok… Next job was replacing the trim (actually, rubber) around the windshield…I removed the molded-in wipers and it was easier to remove this line altogether and recreate it rather than try fix it: Next up, figured out tire sizes. I was surprised I could only get a scale 7” tire on the rear before I ran out of room…I’m sure in real life there’s probably some more room back there, but I wasn’t planning on running anything wide anyway. Going for some big ‘n’ littles for some rubber rake…haven’t decided on wheels yet but I keep coming back to a reverse steel wheel. Need to find a good STL for one, or else design my own… I started some work on the interior too but nothing far enough along to show just yet…next thing to tackle is that frame: That’s gonna need some work to get it up to speed… I’m happy with where I’m at so far tho - but a long ways to go yet… More soon, soon as I’ve done more! 3
NOBLNG Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 Nice work so far.? I’ve done one ‘36 and started another so I’m gonna pull up a chair.? 1
Can-Con Posted January 3, 2023 Posted January 3, 2023 Back in the day, [early '70s] Palmer copied a few MPC kits [Challenger, Mustang and Corvette] Not 100% copies though, maybe 90%. They were released under the "PSM" brand. This '40 is supposedly from that group but never released originally by Palmer. Lindberg got it with the other Palmer stuff they got a hold of in the '90s and released it then. At least that was what was in the writeup in S.A. back when it was first released. I have one and it is very close to the AMT kit except for the lower quality of molding and wonkey roof. Jim, I'm sure you will build a fine looking model with it. 1 1
OldNYJim Posted January 4, 2023 Author Posted January 4, 2023 7 hours ago, Can-Con said: Back in the day, [early '70s] Palmer copied a few MPC kits [Challenger, Mustang and Corvette] Not 100% copies though, maybe 90%. They were released under the "PSM" brand. This '40 is supposedly from that group but never released originally by Palmer. Lindberg got it with the other Palmer stuff they got a hold of in the '90s and released it then. At least that was what was in the writeup in S.A. back when it was first released. I have one and it is very close to the AMT kit except for the lower quality of molding and wonkey roof. Jim, I'm sure you will build a fine looking model with it. That makes sense! I was actually meaning to research this kit’s history this week (I’d be AMAZED if @tim boyd hasn’t written about it at some point, and I have his books here) but that ties in with what I discovered this evening… I was going to make a start on the frame, and decided to pull out an AMT 40 Ford kit to compare. They’re REALLY close to being identical, but not quite. Most noticeable detail was the engine mounts and the notch for the driveshaft being different between the two. Oh, and the AMT is WAY crisper and nicer (relatively…). Looks like I‘ll be using the bright yellow frame (this build sure is colorful so far…) I’d like to improve on those axles - the front one seems particularly oversized and blocky but I didn’t research 40 Ford front axles yet so maybe I’m too used to seeing 32 and Model A axles…it’s back to the library for me! 2
customline Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 Yay! Another '40! ? . Nice door work, Jim. The fun has begun! 1
customline Posted January 4, 2023 Posted January 4, 2023 45 minutes ago, slusher said: The AMT chassis always looked toyish to me. I totally agree. The Revell is is good but the street rod version comes with only a coil-over rear suspension (mine did, anyway). The stock version has, well ?, stock suspension. AMT evidently was not concerned with accuracy when they tooled the '40,'36, '32, '34, etc. Those models were for a younger builder. It was important for cars to roll then. 1
OldNYJim Posted January 5, 2023 Author Posted January 5, 2023 20 hours ago, customline said: Yay! Another '40! ? . Nice door work, Jim. The fun has begun! There ARE a lot of 40s lately huh? It’s cool seeing what other people are doing too! 10 hours ago, slusher said: The AMT chassis always looked toyish to me. 9 hours ago, customline said: I totally agree. The Revell is is good but the street rod version comes with only a coil-over rear suspension (mine did, anyway). The stock version has, well ?, stock suspension. AMT evidently was not concerned with accuracy when they tooled the '40,'36, '32, '34, etc. Those models were for a younger builder. It was important for cars to roll then. Agree too! The USUALLY nicely done bodies in these AMT kits makes it worth the extra effort for me - but even without messing with them a bunch it seems like most of these kits still look great on the shelf. Tiny bit of progress, seeing as I’m replying anyway…started cleaning up that frame. Removed the exhaust and started patching up the couple of floorboards I had to remove in the process. Tomorrow I’ll go through and scrub the detail off the remaining floorboards so I can detail it back up and have it look consistent… On my lunchbreak today I found plans for a 1:1 40 front axle and used them to draw one up and made a file I could 3D print…it’s not perfect and I had to make some concessions to make sure it would have a chance of not bowing over time, but it’s a big improvement on the kit piece anyway… And finally, I did some hunting on Cults for the wheels I had in mind for this build. Went to buy the file, and discovered I bought it last year and forgot. Thanks past-Jim! I had to lighten the contrast in these pics so the detail would show properly - I’ll take some more pics when I’ve shot a little primer on them: Another evening at the bench, another tiny bit of progress…and some more rabbitholes of research to fall down so I can do the next steps (tomorrow’s subjects, 40 Ford firewalls and 40 Ford floorboards ?) More soon, soon as I’ve done more! 4
Slotto Posted January 5, 2023 Posted January 5, 2023 Good stuff! Like the 3D printing. Great wheels and suspension 1
OldNYJim Posted January 7, 2023 Author Posted January 7, 2023 On 1/5/2023 at 4:36 AM, Slotto said: Good stuff! Like the 3D printing. Great wheels and suspension Thank you!! Still got to figure out the frame, but I’m trying to get the body handled so I can at least get it in primer and start the REAL work of getting it all straight and nice… Speaking of which, more progress on the body was the last couple of evening’s projects. First up, adding some trim with half-round styrene bar: Once the glue has properly set up I’m going to sand it to shape and get it how I imagined…I figured I’m better off starting with something a little oversize so I’ve got some ‘meat’ to sand down and work with… Added some firewall detail too…same deal, this will be sanded down and blended in so it looks more like stamped metal: And whilst the glue was setting on those bits and pieces, I started adding some inner trunk-lid detail. I don’t intend to ever display this build with the trunk open as far as it is in these pics, so most of this won’t be super visible, but I wanted SOMETHING in there: This weekend’s projects will be getting that body in primer, hopefully, and then doing a little kitbashing of the kit engine and this 3D printed one…spoiler alert - I’m not using MUCH of the kit engine… Oh, and I need to figure out bumpers (or no bumpers…). More soon! 3
OldNYJim Posted January 8, 2023 Author Posted January 8, 2023 Another day at the bench… First project was figuring out how to attach the dash to everything else. It USED to attach to the interior tub, until I stupidly opened the doors and made that impossible ?. I ended up gluing some tapered plastic pins to the back of the dash, and some receivers inside the body - perfect push-fit every time! Everything clears… And the doors still close properly! Next thing I wanted to wrap up before primer was figuring out bumpers. 40s look completely different to me without bumpers; it changes the whole look of the car. I decided early on I’m going for a more traditional look, but I don’t like how far the rear bumper hangs out from the back of the body on a 40 (although I get why), so I removed the mounting brackets from the frame and tucked that thing in nice and tight: I couldn’t decide between designing some nerf bars for the front of the car, or modifying the stock bumper…I tried dropping it down low (looked ok, but too wide) narrowing it (looked better, but covered too much of the grille), removing the center section (looked like the center was missing), having no bumper at all (looked like the bumper was missing) before ending up with ‘nerf bars’ made out of the distinctive upright ‘teeth’ on the stock bumper: I haven’t seen this done before, but I like it, and I think they’ll look cool in chrome! Another step closer to that first coat of primer…thanks for looking, more soon! 4
customline Posted January 8, 2023 Posted January 8, 2023 Maybe if you fill the bumper bracket pass-throughs in the fenders the missing bumper won't look as missing ?. I dunno, Jim, I think bumpers are just extra weight and you're not supposed to bump into anything anyway so......the sweet curves of these fat fendered forties (that's called illiteration) is just too nice to clutter up with unnecessary hardware.? 2
OldNYJim Posted January 9, 2023 Author Posted January 9, 2023 11 hours ago, customline said: Maybe if you fill the bumper bracket pass-throughs in the fenders the missing bumper won't look as missing ?. I dunno, Jim, I think bumpers are just extra weight and you're not supposed to bump into anything anyway so......the sweet curves of these fat fendered forties (that's called illiteration) is just too nice to clutter up with unnecessary hardware.? That’s a fine looking build too! That’s the Revell kit, I assume? I want to build one of those too! Today’s progress…first up, I wanted to fill that hole that’s revealed by not running a hood (so I used a piece of the hood…) Next job before I could get to priming was a test fit of the 3D printed Flathead I’m using - I don’t want any surprises or to be cutting up the firewall after paint…I used the bellhousing from the kit engine to mate the Flathead and the toploader trans together: (Those motor mounts will be skimmed down some once the glue is good and dry…) Test fit in the frame - it fits! And, the moment I’ve been waiting for…first coat of primer to hide that fugly blue color: And a mock-up with those 3D printed wheels and tires: Considering how much I had to sand on this body to get it straight and how much I’ve hacked it up, that’s not a bad start! But now the REAL bodywork begins… Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more! 3
customline Posted January 9, 2023 Posted January 9, 2023 It looks much better in gray, Jim. Thank you ?. Seriously, I like the hoodless idea (that's bonnetless for you Brits) because it makes a bold statement. You don't see it much on a fat-fender car but the hoodlums in my town were prone to that sort of thing ?. Quit staring! 1
OldNYJim Posted January 9, 2023 Author Posted January 9, 2023 2 minutes ago, customline said: Quit staring! Can’t make me ? That car, in that color, isn’t too far off what I pictured this build looking like from the start! 40s look great in blue and white! It’s reassuring to see from the pic you posted that even in 1:1 getting that chrome trim nicely aligned on the doors can be tough… 1
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