EZ 2021 Ford Bronco project:

Very nice ! It looks excellent and was straightforward to do. One of my nieces and her husband have a real 1:1 of the current Ford Bronco and I used to have an older 1:1 1985 V-8 Bronco.

VERY cool Chris! For years, Maisto has offered a great 'bang for your buck' model. The Bronco looks terrific!

First of all, it always amazes me over the projects you choose, and I must say again,"Well done, sir". I'm not sure what I feel about this new generation of Broncos. I owned 2 generations of Broncos and everything I loved about them, this gen ignored. The last gen Bronco I gave to my daughter who now resides in Hermosa Beach, Ca. She plans to restomod it in the future. This Greenlight model is virtually identical to it.

PS: I never removed the top.

Thanks for sharing the tip and pictures Chris. Looks like I have a project.

@rich-sufficool Truth be told, I fell in love with first-gen Broncos because of this AFX  slot car (one of my childhood favorites ). 

I've never owned a 1:1, but am seriously considering a new 2-dr.  The problem I'm struggling with  is that cumbersome convertible top....hard or fabric.  I'm used to flipping a switch or removing 2 smaller size T-Tops.... not spending 25-35 minutes undoing bolts, having helpers, securing a 40lb T-Top bag etc....

Your daughter's hand-me-down Bronco is great; I hope her plans come to fruition.   I have that GL Bronco too (Police ) .... and YOU know one day I'll be cutting that sealed hood; it MUST open!  😀 😀 

Posted by: @bob-jackman

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Looks like I have a project.

No problem, Bob.  This project shouldn't take more than an hour.  Maistos come apart in minutes, this Bronco is no exception. Two screws secure the top, once removed, it then becomes just a matter making two very narrow but straight cuts and adding a tiny "shelf."     😉 😉 

@chris Living at the Jersey Shore, seeing the last two prior gens with their tops off was not uncommon. I was afraid if I removed to top for a fun day. I couldn't guarantee that minor distortion while the top was off would mean the damned would leak forever. Last thing I heard from my daughter was that she was having a helluva time trying to score a Coyote. She wants to do everything herself with help from friends, but my fear is being a Jersey car, she's going to need so much sheet medal that the restoration will run her twice what she could buy in a pristine SoCal restomod. I've seen some beauties auction for $30K and I'm figuring about $60K would have to go into the old Bronco. I've told her that a million times, but she's determined. So, she's making some big bucks so let her indulge herself.

Rich you did your job of giving her excellent advice now it's her turn to make her own decisions. We both know the outcome because we've been there done that. I don't know about you, but I knew everything when I was her age....in retrospect, I wasn't as smart as I thought.

@bob-jackman When put in that age old postulate, "If you could go back in time...." and you hear "21" or "29", I'd only do that if I could take my 55 yr old brain for the ride. You'd love to have the body and the looks, but I wouldn't want to be that stupid again. LOL

@chris Cutting the hood is one thing. Making and filling the engine bay would be quite the project.

Posted by: @chris

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I've never owned a 1:1, but am seriously considering a new 2-dr.  The problem I'm struggling with  is that cumbersome convertible top....hard or fabric.  I'm used to flipping a switch or removing 2 smaller size T-Tops.... not spending 25-35 minutes undoing bolts, having helpers, securing a 40lb T-Top bag etc....

@chris...I've owned a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited since new.  The solution (if you live somewhere with a real winter) is to have both a hard top for the winter & soft top for the summers.  During the summer, I have a hoist in my garage that stores my hard top & front panels above my parked vehicles.  Flipping the soft top over the back seats is a 1 minute job & flipping the whole thing back (which requires removing the back windows) is less than a 5 minute job.  From what I've read, the Broncos & newer generation Wranglers are even easier.

Twice a year, I do the full swap & that takes about 20 minutes.  I'm about to swap to the hard top this week.

by the way...nice job on the Maisto!  Looks so much better with the roof removed.

Posted by: @rich-sufficool

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Making and filling the engine bay would be quite the project.

Meh, piece of cake...  😏 😏   Anything can be fabricated or pirated, my real obstacle is "enthusiasm."   I'm inherently very lazy. 😔 😔 

Posted by: @gavin

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From what I've read, the Broncos & newer generation Wranglers are even easier.

Thanks for the tips, Gavin.  I have zero insight regarding new Wranglers, however, every Bronco tutorial I've watched reveals a "Kabuki dance"  level of involvement that can take up to 30 minutes regardless of tops (hard or soft ).   

Winters are not an issue, but I favor the hard top for their aesthetics & decreased interior wind noise.  All Bronco soft tops have wavy windows, and the material looks like it needs ironing.  🙄   Hard tops do a better job with wind noise reduction, but reportedly not by much.

I've had T-Top cars, and I'm aware of "garage mounted suspension pulleys"  such as yours.... but my concern there is that, if it rains, my top is "35 miles away, hanging in my garage."  😫 

I have seen aftermarket Bronco soft tops, that stay with the vehicle and can be operated quickly WITHOUT having to leave the car.    The jury's still out... I may just say, "**** it"  and buy a convertible Mustang.    Thanks again, stay tuned.....  🤔 🤨 🤔