Marshman's Pure Firebird Special

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This is an easy conversion to do if you have too many AMT/Lotus 29's laying around...Just another use for them.

[geralds]

Excellent Job!!!

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Hey Ziggy....

I always thought so as well, until I compared the kit to Bob Clindinst's excellent scale drawings and something he pointed out to me once......If you get the proper size tires, do a little work around the nose to get it correct. the Lotus 29 is more accurate than the Watson Roadster kit from the same era. I really like the old Watson Roadster kit and it's flawed as well. Anythign worth having is worth working on.

They have never had the correct size tires for this kit. Norm Vebber of Replicas & Minatures of Baltimore has what you neeed to dress this sucker up. Also, Fred Cady's decals are a HUGE improvemnet. You can see for yourself you can dress this pig up to look good!

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Calhoun, did you get the tires from Replicas & Minatures, and do they have a website? Also, did the oil tank on the side come from a Watson Kit? I started one of those last year, its time to get it back out and finish it. Yours has inspired me.

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The oil tank on the said is two (2) Watson oil tanks grafted together...It takes two. I don't think Replica & Miniatures has a web site.....I'm not sure. That's a great question though... I'll have to look it up! The rest is a fairly easy build.



Best to you

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I just checked...Replicas & Miniatures doesn't have a web-site. I'll try to find some information about them....Like if they are still in business.

I called Norm Vebber...His number is [phone] and he is still in business....The tires for this build are part No# T-12 and they are $7.50 for a set of four 1/25-24 Firestone Indy tires. His address is 317 Roosevelt Ave. S.W. Glen Berine, Maryland 21061. Norm is a great guy and he has an answering machine and promises to get back to you ASAP if you want a catalog or make an order. His stuff is great! He had a conversion kit that makes the Gurney Olsonite Eagle into the Reslone Eagle....Engine and all.....Well worth the price!

[slidinsideways]

Russ...I have admired your work on this car for a few years now. I always wanted to know what technique or parts you used to build the engine cover. It looks like 3 separate overlapping pieces on photos I have of the real car. This is the one project I have gotten quite a bit underway. I have the RMoM tires and the Cady decal sheet. I used the tub and body from the IMC kit and grafted the AMT suspension onto it. It looked more in scale to me. I have used the DOHC motor from the Olsonite Eagle for the same reason. The IMC and AMT versions of that part both seemed small. Am I incorrect? This car is dear to me as Bobby was my childhood idol and I got to meet him and obtain his autograph at PIR just a few days before he died. I was but 10 years old. Thank you for any advice you may have for me.
Bill H

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Hello and Welcome Bill H! Glad to have you aboard!

Okay, let me jog my memory here. It's been a few years and many miles since I did that kit!

First of all, I used the AMT kit only for the body. After checking Bob Clidinest's excellent drawings of the car,(If you need one, e-mail me here and I'll mail one to you), it was the most accurate to use the old AMT kit and add a bid to the nose. I also reshaped the nose opening to be more accurate. I then pre-fit the cover over the engine and trim it down a bit. I then took, the engine cover from a AMT/McLaren and trimmed it down to match the from of the engine opening, because the Ford-Four Cam sits out a bit further than the first year Ford Engine. I then, added a piece of sheet plastic and reshaped it into a curved piece that you now see the decals on. When you use the engine from the old Olsonite kit, cut off the transmission from the old AMT Lotus kit so the rear suspension fits onto it properly. All I did then was to cut off the struts for the outside suspension braces for they always break and are flimsy anyway, and replaced them with thin metal rods and attached them to the fittings outside the body and to the rear suspension. You also need to strip off the "chrome plating" on all the parts and repaint them. That plating is useless anyway.

I hope that answers your questions. Oh, The side oil tank was made from grafting two oil tanks from the old AMT Watson kit. The kit windscreen was vac-formed and I used the exhaust from the Olsonite kit. If you have anymore questions, just contact me here. Best of luck to you...This is easy compared to somethings!

Best to you

Russ