Volume VIII, Number 7

Fly me to the moon - 1961-63 Thunderbirds in Miniature
by Doug Breithaupt
In 1958, Ford replaced the 2-seater Thunderbird with a four-seater model and sales increased dramatically. For the 1961 model year, Ford introduced a sleek new Lincoln Continental and it shared a front grill with an equally stylish new Thunderbird. With Americans now obsessed with the race in space and the use of jet and rocket power, it is not surprising that the new T-Bird carried the same style from it's aero-nose to the jet-pod tail-lights.

The success of the new Thunderbird was immediately seen in sales and in the selection of the '61 T-Bird as the Indy 500 Pace Car. Through 1963, changes were modest. In 1962, a sculpted cover was offered for the rear seats, creating the impression of a roadster with a long rear deck.

Only one toy car maker produced a small-scale '61-'63 T-Bird. Husky did the 1962 model (right) and in orange-pink with a yellow interior no less! A second version was in yellow with a purple hard-top. For many years this was the only 1:64 scale example of the third generation Thunderbird. While a bit crude by today's standards, it still offers plenty of detail.


1961 Ford Thunderbird Indy 500 Pace Car - Johnny Lightning

1961 Ford Thunderbird - Johnny Lightning

1962 Ford Thunderbird roadster - Johnny Lightning

1962 Ford Thunderbird Roadster Custom - Johnny Lightning

 In the last few years, the '61-'63 Thunderbird has suddenly become a small-scale favorite. Five more companies have now produced models. Johnny Lightning has clearly done the most examples, beginning with the 1961 Indy 500 Pace Car. This is an excellent model of the actual car with correct colors and white-wall tires. The hood opens to show the big T-Bird V8. JL offered a series of T-Bird models that included both the 1961 and 1962 models. They were offered in a variety of colors and the 1962 model came with the roadster cover. Some had red-line tires which looked a bit odd on cars of this vintage. Others had black-walls with mags, producing a hot-rod look. The red '62 looks quite good with white-walls and wires. A custom T-Bird had proceeded this series from Johnny Lightning, complete with an aero-windshield and roadster cover. The tail has been shortened and the front bumper has been removed with a custom grill replacing the stock unit. Unfortunately, JL's T-Bird series was not a success and additional models are not likely any time soon.

The 1963 T-Bird with it's distinctive scallop reaching from the nose to mid-door has only recently been offered in small-scale. Hot Wheels produced a roadster version that is quite close to the production version of the car. Only the variety of wheels offered on the model are custom. In addition to the regular line versions, both with and without silly tampos, a collector version was done in turquoise (shown here). High Speed did a very nice '63 Coupe as part of their Reader's Digest series. Looking quite stylish in black and red, it features excellent detail and wire-like wheels. A promotional model of the '63 Convertible was produced by Johnson-Grossfield to mark the release of the remake of the 'Flubber' movie, staring Robin Williams. The casting is quite good.

The most recent model comes from Jada and represents a custom version of the '63 T-Bird. The grill detail is especially nice and the two-tone paint version looks quite good. The top is customized with different curves for the rear and side windows. The overall effect is very good and even the over-sized, urban wheels seem to fit with the car. The doors do not open but look as though they could, a nice touch.

Considering all the '61-'63 T-Bird models now available, it is very curious that the '64-'66 models that followed have no examples in small-scale. These cars sold just as well and are very popular with collectors. The '67-'69 and '70-'73 models are represented so perhaps this gap will be filled as well by some enterprising toy car company.


1963 Ford Thunderbird 'Flubbber' - Johnson-Grossfield

1963 Ford Thunderbird Coupe - High Speed

1963 Ford Thunderbird Roadster - Hot Wheels

1963 Ford Thunderbird Coupe custom - Jada


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