1958 Thunderbird Convertible Custom
Acquired 2021

I found this '58 Thunderbird Convertible in 2021 on eBay. When it arrived, I realized that I had gotten a mystery model. It looked like a mildly customized '58 Thunderbird. But...

1958 was the year AMT first introduced their series of 3-in1 kits based on their promo/friction tooling, for some reason they didn't include the Thunderbird. Consequently, other than the original promo/friction versions, the '58 T-Bird has never been available in 1/25th scale. And those original editions are subject to the usual warping seen in most promotional models made prior to 1961 or so.

After carefully examining the underside of the model, I was able to see that the front and rear grille / bumpers, as well as the wheel / hubcap components appeared to be resin reproductions that most likely came from The Modelhaus.

The body appeared to be original styrene, most likely a 3-in-1 kit from AMT. So I concluded that what I had scored was a very nicely built mild custom 1959 Thunderbird convertible, with emblems and trim removed, and converted to a 1958. At some point I may do a little minor detailing on it, but for now I'll keep as is.