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Topic starter
02/07/2020 8:42 am
1915 Ford Model "T" Center Door Sedan
A little background first....
Gowland & Gowland (England) was one of the early plastic scale modeling companies. Gowland & Gowland designed 30 kits which Revell issued as the Highway Pioneers series from 1951 thru 1953.
Highway Pioneers Series Two, 1/32 scale, featured these five cars molded in ( ):
1910 Cadillac Limousine (light blue)- 2 copies
1915 Model "T" Ford Center Door Sedan (black)
1908 Buick "10" Rumble (red)
1914 Stutz Bearcat (yellow)
1910 Studebaker Electric Coupe (green)
These models had been built in the late 50s and put away in the hot attic in 1961. They remained there until 2007. All those years(46!) in the attic had totally warped and deformed the models. The Studebaker's smaller parts had literally crumbled into powder, and its mangled body shed countless slivers of decayed plastic. The Studebaker's so-called "body" might be a subject of a future diorama as it is absolute junk, with no possibility of ever restoring.
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After completing the redo of one of the two 1910 Cadillac Limousines recently, I opted to finish working on this 1915 Model "T" Ford Center Door Sedan. Seven clamps were used for about two months to attempt to get the two main body parts aligned; seven clamps were also used for the same time period as well to possibly straighten up the chassis/fenders part. The two main body parts were Gorilla glued together requiring seven clamps.
Then the now single unit main body needed further straightening under heat to match up correctly with the chassis/fenders part in an assembly process. This work took six clamps and four or five heating sessions. To join the chassis/fenders to the main body was a royal pain as various clamps were needed to finally bring the parts snugly together utilizing Gorilla Glue Clear. photo no longer availableThe glue is quite strong, fills gaps and is paintable. But it takes 24 hours to reach its full strength. I wait at least 36 to 48 to be sure, as parts under stress possibly separating when the clamps are removed would necessitate starting the job all over again, which indeed, happened. The second attempt bore fruit as the glue held completely tight under the stress when the clamps were removed and the joint fit snugly.
Luckily, all the remaining smaller parts, two side lanterns, wheels, seats and the front radiator/axle unit were all intact and complete and only needed proper coloring. These parts were not deformed in any way.
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Finally, it all came together out of the "fog" looking like this:
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02/07/2020 10:28 am
Many thanks for your post, Bob. Your success in revitalizing this old Highway Pioneer is amazing!
I confess I've never tried anything that difficult, but I do enjoy these oldies. Here's my version of the T sedan:
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And here's an oddity: (see below) It seems there was disagreement between Revell and the Gowlands, or maybe just slack copyright laws. Anyhow, other companies quickly started making copies or bought from Gowlands more of the originals. Here's one by Premier, a Brooklin, NY, company, still in its orignial packaging. It's not dated but seems to be a contemporary of the Revell models.
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I especially like the directions for keep the wheels on their axles. Imagine the furor if modern directions said something like this! (I wonder if the Ford sedan was the first Highway Pioneer to have hubcaps.)
Keep up the good work, Bob, and keep 'em coming!
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02/07/2020 11:27 am
Nice work. Thanks for posting.
02/07/2020 1:52 pm
Good going!
John Bono
North Jersey
02/07/2020 3:33 pm
Bob, you're a good man. I would've scrapped everything!
Topic starter
03/07/2020 2:07 am
Thanks everyone for the kind remarks.
It something about these old models and what they represent that I just cannot let them go without a fight.
Now it's on to the remaining 1908 Buick "10" Rumble and another 1910 Cadillac Limousine!