Rockford Files / James Garner Matchbox Pontiac Firebird Tribute Build
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- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- G’Day Viewers! This week is my tribute to James Garner, who passed away this day in 2014. I’m going to turn this Matchbox Pontiac Firebird into his Rockford Files Esprit. I hope you enjoy the video!
I have a new video at least every second Friday at 9:15am ESPBT and I’d love to see you back again! I can’t always promise gold standard restorations, but I’ll always try to make it interesting!
You can email me at pbsretrorestorations@gmail.com
If you do the Facebook I’m @pbsretrorestorations
I’m on Instagram too. Sometimes. @pbsretrorestorations
If you enjoyed this video, I’d love for you to consider sharing it with friends, maybe even subscribe and I always like getting your comments, feedback and tips. Thank you for your support, I REALLY do appreciate it.
Nicely done PB. Car looks great and is one of my favourites. Remember the Rockford Files fondly.
Thank you Scott, I made a proper intro for this video, but youtube pinged me, even after I took the music out, I love that show so much.
I think Jim Garner and Jim Rockford would be proud of this wonderful tribute, mate 👍
Thank you for saying so.
Jim Rockford, reluctant hero.
One of the good guys, thank you for watching.
Terrific custom! Really looks the part of a mini version of the real Rockford Filed vehicle.
Thank you, I think it does have the feel of the original, if not the complete accuracy.
Nice Tribute build, details and paint job 👌 👍
Thank you Joe 😊
I think it came out great
The detailing made the car look better than it did originally.
Good job as always
Thank you Robert, much appreciated.
PB you legend, That was a treat to see come together. Rockford files a classic TV show. Loved it and you did Jim Justice. Now build the mobile home!!!!!. Loved the Raleigh wheels too Hmmmmm! I see a Holden Ute with those on it. And all for less than $200.00 a day less expenses. Cheers JV
I made the Rallye rims a bit too deep by accident when I was resizing the wheels. I'd love to build his mobile home, I've seen others that look really good. Thank you JV.
THAT'S MY FAVORITE SHOW & CAR LOOKS AWESOME
Thank you Giovanni, I see Amazon Prime show it in the US, but not in Australia which is a bummer. Thank you for watching.
@@PBsRetroRestorations U WELCOME
Turned out Brilliant, was one of my favourite MB cars back in the day, still got it thanks to my mum, and another 1 in mint condition, have a great weekend Mrs PB & Mr PB 🍻🍻🇦🇺🤝🇦🇺🦘🦘🏔🌧
Thanks KC, it was a shame they 'updated' it to the quad headlight 79 model, as it didn't work and still had the 74 rear with the flat rear screen. But you know all that lol, slap CC a high five from us and have one for yourself as well.
@PBsRetroRestorations your welcome 🙏 🤗 and understand, appreciate the slap 🫣🤫🤣👋🍻🍻🇦🇺🤝🇦🇺🌧🏔🦘🦘
Now you have to do the trailer! Have a great weekend PB!!
I would love to do the trailer and Rocky's truck, I've seen a few on the internet, maybe a 3d print is the answer.
Great video, PB, and an excellent conversion on the casting. .......she looks a treat 👌🏻👏🏻👍🏻
James Garner always seemed a good bloke and was no slouch.....he got a couple of 💜💜 in Korea, I think...... and he always came across well on screen. Rockford was a highlight of my misspent youth and I remember it being on later in the week and gave an extra feelgood boost cos you were over the hump and the weekend was on its way!
He'd have been a shoe in for the blockbuster they never made, Support Your Local Diecast Modeller, though, over there, it probably would've been Mel Gibson which would have been forgiven eventually, I suppose 😉
Great stuff, guv'nor........
Thank you. He really did, I can't ever recall reading anything negative about him, unlike Mel Gibson, he's not Australian anyway lol.
P.B the professional, the model looks amazing lots of detail for such a small car well done 👏🏻
Thank you Ben, that's very kind of you.
and so we Garnered around to watch you do a lovely tribute, and no disappointment was had that day. :)
I enjoyed the show as well, I remember each episode starting with that pesky answering machine. there also was one episode where he had to accept an Opel Manta as a temp, maybe it was a 1.6 or 1.9. swift enough for european streets, but no match for a street dinosaur where 1.9 was the displacement of one of the eight pistons... XD
aside that, nice work. some things were experiments, so I guess nobody minds. I had the thought of making the actual rims "hubcaps", might be easier to paint, and you could use one file to rule them all, I mean to roll them all. you just need different "hubcaps".
the gold looks good enough, though the later cars had a kind of bronce gold methinks.
and yeh, we all need to start doing vacuum moulded glass inserts to replace those tinted abominations. not original? as if bright orange or neon yellow or black as y'know-what is any more original. ;)
Thank you Lothar. I have purchased some 3d files for wheels that come as a seperate tyre and rim that push together, but when I combine two separate files I can never get them to match so I just combine the two but yeah it does make them a pain to paint. Yeah gold is too bright and one day I'll make my own glass. Possibly.
@@PBsRetroRestorations ooh, I haven't tried 3D printing myself yet, so I didn't know that could happen. have to remember that this is a thing that could occur, so thanks for the heads-up.
Great looking tribute build PB!
Thank you Ron.
Great looking restomod! I like it far better with the hood/bonnet closed and not with the open holes with engine sticking up. I was just born a decade late to remember the The Rockford Files show when it was aired in the 70s. But it was aired back in the 80s or early 90s on premium cable tv here in Denmark. I believe I watched the show when I came home from school or so. And I also watched The A Team show in the afternoon after school
I'm the same, I really got in to it on Pay TV in the early nineties. I got to watch the A Team first time around, but only at my grandparents house. That and Magnum P.I., all great shows. Thank you for your kind words.
@@PBsRetroRestorations you’re welcome. Looking forward to your next project. Uh yeah I forgot Magnum P.I. with Tom Selleck. That was a great show too😁. Oh I
do miss the 80s and early nineties
New subscriber, I enjoyed this . 10/10 for box . 7/10 for car. -1 for rear bumper no being fixed . -1 for wheels yes too deep dish and not bright enough silver, -1 for not making your own glass.
Let’s see how you go next time
@@ClintonOLeaery lol thank you for the honest feedback Clinton, I always prefer an honest opinion. When I resized the Stl file, I missed how much it changed the depth. I got so hung up on getting it out for the actual day of the 10th Anniversary, I let some things go I shouldn’t have. When I do another, I think I’ll revisit the things I missed on this one too. Thanks for the sub, and the feedback.
Excellent work PB. Very realistic. The wheels would have been painted the same as the body, in the negative areas and then highlighted in silver. My buddy had a 78' Esprit. It had a 350 CID engine and a 4 speed, manual transmission.
Thank you Gerry. I'll try and remember that when I do another one, which I will because it's such a cool car.
Oho Man this is so cool! I have not being able to get good White walls like that those are awesome. I have found that using epoxy metal with clear tape gives quite nice results when I fill the holes In bodies and I put the tape tightly outside and fill from inside where it's not seen, when it's dry it will leave shiny and smooth finish and I don't have to sand so much. Have a nice weekend and take care, both of you😎👍🏻
Hi Asko! Thank you for the tip on taping the outside and filling from behind, it seems so obvious now but I would never have thought of it.
Great job Peter 👍🏻
Thank you as always Mark.
@PBsRetroRestorations you're welcome my friend ☺️
Great restoration pb well done 👍
Thank you very much.
You know how I posted the '79 on Facebook saying it was the wrong era car for this? Straight after I had a cunning thought - I have a blue one like this and I thought about cutting out the engine bits and filling the bonnet 😮
We must be linked at the brain Andrew, which is sad for you lol. Thank You!
@@PBsRetroRestorations I'm not sure who is getting the rawest deal to be fair 😀
Didn't take you for an Apple Watch kinda guy, thought you'd definitely be sporting a mechanical or automatic. But hey, gotta keep an eye on the vitals during these stressful builds.
Oh and great job on the build, Rockford was on our weekly TV rotation!
Yeah, but I've at least got Burt Reynolds on it's watch face. Thank you!
@@PBsRetroRestorations I smell a Stroker Ace build!
Great job Peter, would not be one of Ur video without doing something to make us laugh. The old chair on the hose trick, lol. Box came out really good too. I said I b in for video on the decals, but we still waiting for box video. Cheers Graham
Thank you Graham, I've had all the footage for the box video for a while, but I underestimated how hard it would be to edit it, but it is coming I promise. When I do the cartons I just do them, and trying to transcribe my muscle memory on it is a challenge, but it's coming, promise.
@@PBsRetroRestorations take ur time Peter, we all appreciate your videos and the hard work U put into them cheers Graham
Awesome,Im a big fan of Rockford,I did similar a long time ago,if you can find a yatming 77 Pontiac Trans Am,that makes a awesome Rockford mobile 😊
Hi Mark, thank you. I've actually got a Yatming 77 on my project shelf in the shed, It's black of course and I don't need anymore black ones, so I might just do that. I need to have another crack at the wheels.
Very smart custom Peter, looks brilliant
Thank you Martin!
May have been reruns by the time I was watching it but enjoyed the show
Me too Neil, I'm not quite old enough to have caught it the first time around.
@@PBsRetroRestorations me neither being a 77 baby
Lots of interesting ideas, didn't think 3d printing offered that sort of detail smoothness. Shame about the window fit, I've PVA glued in clear acetate before which looked better.
Hi Anton, Thank you. I'm constantly surprised how much detail Resin printing can give, a world away from PLA type. I think the clear acetate would have been a much better option.
The Matchbox one looks to be based on a Firebird Formula 400,as you say.Not all the real ones had the hood 'scoops' 90% did however. Cool resto,PB.
Thank you Terry. I read somewhere the cars on the show were Formulas either made to look like Esprits, or Esprits with Formula running gear, I always learn a lot of new stuff researching for videos.