# Beach-Bird



## boss9 (Apr 19, 2002)

This 70’s model Firebird was a gift from one of our well-respected board members whose been “runnin” around here for some time now, and shall remain topless. 

I’m not known as a big Firebird fan, but this casting is so nice, I thought it deserved the spotlight. 

The detail level is high on this model and the pre-paint prep is minimal. All I had to do was lightly sand the fender wells, and along the lower body edge, wash it, and it was ready for paint. Some of the inside trunk and front screw post was removed to lower the body as much as possible. Although it comes with molded in windows-- which look fine, I opted to go with clear and cut the resin ones out. The casting is sturdy so the window posts were left with a lot of meat on them and easy to work with.

The window moldings and grille were detailed with the grille getting a light touch of black wash on top. The rear bumper and taillights were foiled. I made the “455” decals for the Ram-Air scoop too, but buggered up the passenger side a bit. Also the detail can be picked out of the turn signal lenses, if so inclined. 

Usually I wouldn’t do this much work to this style model, but enough detail has been molded into this cast that it warranted the attention. The door handles, window trim, taillights, door/hood/and boot mold lines are all very prominent and hold up well under a few coats of paint. No detail is lost. This casting is as good as any supplier, and better than some.





























The caster? None other than our resident beach-bu….er, Gent…,Roger Corrie!

Oh, and Rog’—Are we planning a birthday party for that other piece? You know that time's coming up.
It’s said patience is a virtue, but this is getting ridiculous. Get off your duff! 

Ps- to well respected board member: Thank you so much for the wonderful gift(s)! A truly great surprise! I really like the results on this. 
And the planes are coming along ….
Thanks once again!

Cheers..


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## coach61 (Sep 6, 2004)

As always, great work Phil. You truely are a madman for detail. Plus I"m a thunderchicken fan ( Firebirds) so it gets double thumbs up from me...Keep em coming.. and happy Birthday?


Dave


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

wow, that looks GREAT! I'm especially impressed that you got the 455 on the shaker... and those wheels look right on that car. They're pullback wheels, right? Is there a trick to getting them to work on slots? What tires are you using?

--rick


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## jack0fall (Sep 8, 2004)

Very Nice!! Bossman, everything about this "screaming eagle" rocks... I like the stance, the color, the detail. Funny thing is like you I am not that fond of this car model either. Keep 'em coming.


Jeff


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## WesJY (Mar 4, 2004)

That blue paint looks awesome man! If you paint it brown/gold then you have a Rockford Files TV show car.. of course you ll have to get rid of the rear spoiler. :thumbsup:

Wes


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## boss9 (Apr 19, 2002)

Hey there, Gents—

Thanks so much for comps’- they are greatly appreciated!  

Dave-
The devil is in the details!


Rick-
You are right about the wheels, they are the pullbacks. 
The way I get them to work on track is I use 3 sizes of bits in my pin-vise. I start small (about the size of the axle hole) and work my way up. Also, I’ve tried chucking up the wheel to my Moto-tool vise and setting it on a bit, but the former seems to work a bit better. It took me a while to get it right—at first they were never concentric, but diligence paid off. It’s still a slow process, though. For the tires I just found some spongy spares I had. They grip the wheel well enough and the cars are usually too slow to sling them. For faster cars, I would again chuck them in the Moto, but with the axle on them (can check the roundness in this step, too), and grind away the riser on the wheel--taking care to leave about a 1/64th gap on the leading edge as to not scar the outside. If the car is fast, I’d recommend gluing them. They are great for cruising, either way.

Jeff-
I do like this body, but my fav’ is around the same year, but it’s the “Formula” model with the two long snorkel scoops.  


Thanks again, fellas'! This always makes the next one that much easier!


Cheers..


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## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

Now there is a cool slotcar! The finish surely sets it off, as with all your work, Boss.
Roger created a nice casting, but you brought it to life. Great wheel/tire combo too. The wheelwells are filled quite nicely!
I would love to learn the decal manufacturing side though. The cubes on the shaker is a nice touch!


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## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

Here is another Firebird from Corrie Motor Works. I just recently added the decal to the hood. I think it really brings the car to life. 
hojoe


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## 1scalevolvo (Feb 5, 2004)

Great Job Boss 9 ! Your work complements a great casting !

Neal


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## T-jetjim (Sep 12, 2005)

Nice Job Bossman!

Lot of work went into finishing it. Looks great!

Jim


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## boss9 (Apr 19, 2002)

That’s quite a nice piece too, Hojoe! :thumbsup: 
I never was a fan of the "Screamin' Chicken hood mat, but it doesn't look that bad on your Bird.
Since the hood decals were mentioned in a few replies, I'll offer this up—

These weren’t no high falootin’ computer generated graphics.
No Sirs- They’re old school, with the numbers being dry-transfer railroad stock.

I transferred them onto a regular model’s decal sheet, clear-coated them, and then cut them out as a regular water-slide decals. A great way to do plain block-type applications.  

Cheers..


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## DACSIGNS (Aug 18, 2004)

Hey Boss- I have always liked "pony cars" no matter the manufacturer. Its cool Roger is doin some that wasnt a standard Aurora. Very tastful job putting it all together, and thanks for the run down on how ya pulled it off! Detailing once again is excellent, man.
HoJoe- that red one seems like it needed that hood bird and it did liven that car up-nice!

Later---DAC


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

When I was doing the Tjets, I had picked up a couple of these from Roger and added the blue stripe decals that I'd picked up from Patto's. Sure looked good on that white bod. Another great casting, minimal modeling before the paint. Nice bods to both of you! HoJoe, where did that Chicken decal come from? :thumbsup: rr


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## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

I got the decal from Slot Pro Speedway, http://www.slotprospeedway.com/
hojoe


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## clausheupel (Jan 27, 2005)

*You´re the BOSS! ))*

Hi Boss,

you´re really worth calling yourself so!  That car turned out great!!!

I have one of Roger´s body kits at home and I was wondering myself what to do with the windows, so: What did you use for the "glass"? Clear PVC sheet material glued in place? Or did you make a little mold for pulling an "inlay" (that´s what I do for my own resin bodies and occasionally for finishing a single kit car, but I don´t really love that work for only ONE car...).

Greetings from Germany,

Claus

www.c-jet500.de.vu


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## boss9 (Apr 19, 2002)

Hi Claus-- 

Thank you for the comps'!

I haven't started any molding yet. These windows are sheet styrene that I heated and formed over a tool handle I used as a buck (a molding master). I try all types of methods to do things like this--basically anything lying around the house!  

Roger does some good castings....I think-

I'm still waiting on one from some time ago.  

I hope to get it and finish it before I retire.... 


Cheers..


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