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MODELING THE THUNDERBIRDS

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  • #1

    MODELING THE THUNDERBIRDS

    Ok, as no one else will pick up the hint, hint, I'll start a new thread for all the Thunderbird scale models, their variations, customizations, detailing, etc.

    To begin -- just received an eBay auction (found with a pile of other mags) four 1:18 chrome 21 spoke wheels. It seems to be a Maisto wheel; diameter is 21mm, 25/32". Tire is 31mm, 1 7/32".
    WAIT A SECOND, that's only a ~14" scale wheel. My 21 spoke wheels measure 18.5" diameter edge to edge. That means a 1:18 wheel should be 1.03", not 25/32". We've been running on undersize scale wheels all this time? The "1/18" wheel should be on a 1/25 car!

    Coming up, detailing the 1:18 Maisto undercarriage.

    **Attempts to remove 3 previous "Attached Files" has failed. Trying to save "Thumbnail" image isn't allowed because it's perceived 4th image. I'm working on it.
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Bobnoir1; May 13, 2020, 08:00 AM.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    A member on here has the biggest collection of T-Birds I have ever seen. He won TOTM this month. Paul Thomas./ 2K2Bird
    They are Here. Scotty, beam me up!
    IT'S 5 O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE
    Visit the TBN Store

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    • #3
      Those wrong size wheels must play havoc with your odometer.

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      • #4
        The 21 spoke chrome rims are from a Beanstalk retrobird diecast, either the 2002 movie 007, the 2003 production 007, Desert Sky Blue or Mountain Shadow Grey or the 2004 Merlot or Vintage Mint Green.

        Maisto rims are all 24 spoke (silver or chrome) as featured on the concept cars, no matter if they are on a model labeled as a show car, a 2002 or a 2003 (technically their Mountain Shadow Grey model was not labeled as a 2003, but we know it was).

        Bob, I think you are the first person to measure them for scale accuracy.
        21 years, 174K miles, 48 States X 2 & DC, 9 Canadian provinces, 8 European countries, 3 Caribbean Islands, 3 Hawaiian Islands, 100+ National Park locations, 150+ T-bird events, 190+ retrobird diecasts/models, 13 TOTM pics & some very special friends...THANKS TBN !

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        • #5
          A closer look will also indicate that them thar rims are from a CANADIAN car me thinks, identical to my '02's rims, but just a LOT smaller.....

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          • #6
            Originally posted by 007Cruiser View Post
            Those wrong size wheels must play havoc with your odometer.
            Yeah, exactly my thought about the odometer reading. Maisto or Beanstalk wheels, by scale, are 14", not 17". I'm looking for a 1"+ for my
            M's and B's.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by sumoscooter View Post
              A closer look will also indicate that them thar rims are from a CANADIAN car me thinks, identical to my '02's rims, but just a LOT smaller.....
              Canadian (Deluxe in the US) are painted silver not chrome. Also, while the overall look is similar, the Deluxe 21 spoke wheels are different from the chrome 21 spoke wheels on the Neiman Marcus and 007 cars.
              21 years, 174K miles, 48 States X 2 & DC, 9 Canadian provinces, 8 European countries, 3 Caribbean Islands, 3 Hawaiian Islands, 100+ National Park locations, 150+ T-bird events, 190+ retrobird diecasts/models, 13 TOTM pics & some very special friends...THANKS TBN !

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              • #8
                Originally posted by 2K2BIRD View Post

                Canadian (Deluxe in the US) are painted silver not chrome. Also, while the overall look is similar, the Deluxe 21 spoke wheels are different from the chrome 21 spoke wheels on the Neiman Marcus and 007 cars.
                Now, I need to dig my 1:18 Neiman Marcus out of storage to compare wheels. Wasn't the only 1:18 007 issued by Beanstalk, not Maisto?

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Bobnoir1 View Post

                  Now, I need to dig my 1:18 Neiman Marcus out of storage to compare wheels. Wasn't the only 1:18 007 issued by Beanstalk, not Maisto?
                  I should have been more clear when I was talking about 1:1 (which I was in the case you quoted) versus 1:18 models. The 1:18 Maisto NM models have chrome 24 spoke wheels (obviously incorrect) and no 3rd brake light (also incorrect). Both of which I have corrected with one of my models. Beanstalk made the only 1:18 007s (movie & production), both of which have the correct 21 spoke chrome wheels.
                  21 years, 174K miles, 48 States X 2 & DC, 9 Canadian provinces, 8 European countries, 3 Caribbean Islands, 3 Hawaiian Islands, 100+ National Park locations, 150+ T-bird events, 190+ retrobird diecasts/models, 13 TOTM pics & some very special friends...THANKS TBN !

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by 2K2BIRD View Post

                    . Beanstalk made the only 1:18 007s (movie & production), both of which have the correct 21 spoke chrome wheels.
                    What about the Vintage Mint Greens and the Merlots?

                    02 Nieman Marcus-SS htp-f/sil. #165 - 21 states-DC
                    02 TB-TB htp-p/blue acc.-Nancy Gioia-28 states-DC
                    03 007-Coral htp-f/white acc. #468 7 states
                    03 WW-WW htp-p/red 8 states
                    04 VMG-VMG htp-p/white - 20 states-DC
                    04 Merlot- Merlot htp-sand- B. Grassnig-48 states-DC
                    04 TR-TR htp-blk 20 states-DC
                    04 LIB-LIB htp-p/white 16 states-DC
                    05 Cashmere htp-stone #408 21 states-DC
                    05 Dusk Rose-DR htp-cashmere seats - 48&DC
                    05 IG-IG htp-p/white #82                     - 48&DC

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by 4LOWBIRDS+8 View Post
                      What about the Vintage Mint Greens and the Merlots?
                      They were covered in post #4 along with the 03 MSG and DSB. While I love the chrome 21 spokes the best of all wheels on retrobirds (1:1 or 1:18), we all know that they were not OEM on the 1:1 VMG, Merlot, DSB and MSG.

                      Bob asked if Beanstalk was the only manufacturer to make the 1:18 007. I was confirming that indeed they were.

                      I'm looking forward to pictures of Bob's detailing of the undercarriage.

                      Oops, looks like part of my post #4 is missing - my apologies, Ron. I'll add what I wrote originally.

                      Wow, that was weird. Part of post #4 was missing from view. When I went to edit it, the stuff that I had written about Beanstalk wheels was there without me retyping it. When I hit Save it stayed correct. Strange …..
                      Last edited by 2K2BIRD; May 12, 2020, 02:15 PM.
                      21 years, 174K miles, 48 States X 2 & DC, 9 Canadian provinces, 8 European countries, 3 Caribbean Islands, 3 Hawaiian Islands, 100+ National Park locations, 150+ T-bird events, 190+ retrobird diecasts/models, 13 TOTM pics & some very special friends...THANKS TBN !

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Originally posted by 2K2BIRD View Post

                        I should have been more clear when I was talking about 1:1 (which I was in the case you quoted) versus 1:18 models. The 1:18 Maisto NM models have chrome 24 spoke wheels (obviously incorrect) and no 3rd brake light (also incorrect). Both of which I have corrected with one of my models. Beanstalk made the only 1:18 007s (movie & production), both of which have the correct 21 spoke chrome wheels.
                        Ah yes, I now see what you meant by the differences in the wheels. It seems from what I have in my diminutive collection of 1:18 cars, the Maistos all have 24 spoke wheels, 8 sets of three spokes. The Beanstalk (I have the 007 version and Frits' custom) supplied the correct 21 spoke wheels, seven sets of three spokes.
                        And that answers my question about the 1:18 chrome wheels I found on eBay -- they are Beanstalk.

                        Interesting that the Neiman Marcus has chrome 24 spoke wheels (Maisto origin), but the picture on the box has 21 spoke wheels.

                        Meanwhile, working on the undercarriage detailing. First to figure out what is represented on the plastic vs. the full scale car. The first thing I can see is the cross member is missing on the 1:18s. HOWEVER, in adding that must not interfere with mounting the car on the original stand.
                        Here is the full size cross member to use as a guide:
                        CrossMember lite.jpg
                        Stay tuned.
                        Attached Files
                        Last edited by Bobnoir1; May 13, 2020, 07:54 AM.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Bobnoir1 View Post

                          Interesting that the Neiman Marcus has chrome 24 spoke wheels (Maisto origin), but the picture on the box has 21 spoke wheels.
                          Maisto never corrected the wheels on their production cars. The 1:1 show cars had 24 spoke "wheels" (actually they were plastic wheel covers that looked like they were wheels). Maisto brought out the 1:18 scale show car in January 1999 at the same time the 1:1 car was shown to the world for the first time at the Detroit Auto Show, so the wheels would have naturally matched the 1:1.

                          Since Maisto was primarily in the toy business not the super accurate scale model business, likely they didn't see any reason to spend the money on making a change to a correct production wheel. Maisto 1:18 retrobirds only retailed for $10 - $15, so paying for retooling would have cut into their profit.

                          They used a picture of the actual 1:1 car on the cool NM box - so the picture shows the correct 21 spoke wheels.

                          Here's a picture of my Maisto Neiman Marcus that has been modified with the correct 21 spoke chrome wheels and has the 3rd brake light.

                          DSCN3467 (2).JPG


                          By the way, Bob, our TBN owner has requested that we post pictures in thumbnail format to save server space.
                          Last edited by 2K2BIRD; May 13, 2020, 09:45 AM.
                          21 years, 174K miles, 48 States X 2 & DC, 9 Canadian provinces, 8 European countries, 3 Caribbean Islands, 3 Hawaiian Islands, 100+ National Park locations, 150+ T-bird events, 190+ retrobird diecasts/models, 13 TOTM pics & some very special friends...THANKS TBN !

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                          • #14
                            For anyone interested in fine details of a 2003 Thunderbird for 1:1 or 1:X restorations, here's an excellent site with lots of photos:
                            https://leftcoastclassics.com/2003-f...rbird-001.html

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                            • #15
                              I think this may be a more direct link to the detailed pictures Bob is referring to:

                              https://www.leftcoastclassics.com/20...rbird/gallery/

                              Not sure how long they'll leave the pictures up since the car has been sold.
                              21 years, 174K miles, 48 States X 2 & DC, 9 Canadian provinces, 8 European countries, 3 Caribbean Islands, 3 Hawaiian Islands, 100+ National Park locations, 150+ T-bird events, 190+ retrobird diecasts/models, 13 TOTM pics & some very special friends...THANKS TBN !

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