Breaking News! Bill Coulter, Len Carsner and Sean Svendson present…The 1953 Hudson Hornet!

[Len Carsner]

Something is about to happen that totally defies all logic! After sixty plus years many of us car-obsessed, model car builders had pretty much crossed a 1/25th scale plastic kit of a step-down 1950s Hudson Hornet off our bucket list. I mean…who was going to spend thousands of dollars to tool-up a nearly forgotten, orphan make that’s been in the automotive graveyard since 1957?

Well, the “breaking news” is that finally our prayers have been answered big-time as Moebius, known around the globe for their high-quality space, fantasy and science fiction plastic model kits, has gone and done the impossible! No more rumors. No more speculation. No more production delays. No more harping, crabbing or complaining. Naysayers, rumor mongers, and trash talkers can take a breather! As we can all see here, the new Moebius 1953 Hudson Hornet two-door coupe is real, relevant and righteous! And this eye candy is just the beginning!

A bit of history

Hudson was an independent American automobile company from its beginnings in 1909 until the end of the 1954 model production year. At that point the legendary street sleeper, perennial NASCAR champ and those Fabulous Hudson Hornets, quietly became part of Nash-Kelvinator, builder of refrigerators and Rambler cars. What passed as a Hudson for the next three years was nothing more than a legendary name attached to a heavily disguised Nash Ambassador.

Over those nearly five decades the company’s name was associated with terms like Essex, Terraplane, Twin-H-Power, 7X, Hornet, Hollywood, Wasp, Super Wasp, Commodore, step-down, Jet and Italia.

Hudson Hornets dominated NASCAR’s Grand National series for four seasons, 1951 through 1954. Hudsons also showed the way in drag racing both IHRA and NHRA. Jack Clifford’s 54 Hornet literally toyed with many a factory-back competitor in the 1960s. Hudsons continued to compete at places like Bonneville late into that decade. And all of this was accomplished on the back of an old, outdated flathead inline 5.0 liter six cylinder engine.

Hudsons were built in both Detroit, Michigan and South Africa.

Follow along with us now as we take a closer look at the Moebius miracle, a 1953 Hudson Hornet plastic kit!

This is the very handsome box art executed by Sean Svendson for the new Moebius 1953 Hudson Hornet kit. The vintage service station scene creates much nostalgia for many from an earlier time.

Hands down, this has got to be the sharpest instruction sheet we’ve seen in years. Here are the three four-color outside panels with close-ups of a partially assembled built model, tips about interior/interior colors and a breakdown of small parts and pieces with recommended paint colors.

The backside three panels of the Hornet instruction sheet features seven steps with a series of exploded illustrations that cover in great detail the complete assembly process.

continued....

[Len Carsner]

Display of kit parts as bagged

Every part and piece of the new Moebius 53 Hornet kit is presented in sealed clear plastic bags, including the windows, chrome and even the decal sheet. First up, are the two-door coupe body shell and the floor pan.

Here you we see the sub-frame portion of the unibody chassis, full engine and under hood accessory parts/pieces and suspension, interior accessories including a separate gas filler door.

In this bagged set we find the exhaust system, more of the basic platform interior parts and additional driveline and pieces down to the rear shocks, rear axle, dashboard and the hood , etc.

Next up is the chrome tree with a generous amount of essential bright work for a classic 50’s land cruiser.

Period correct white side wall tires, a rear metal axle and the extensive waterslide decal sheet features everything from the gauge faces to the Hudson emblem prominently centered in the top grill bar.

continued....

[Len Carsner]

The Build:

The legendary Hornet Twin-H-Power 308 cid inline six engine built out-of-the-box is impressive but…it just begs for some additional attention to detail. Shown here is the driver’s side view.

From the passenger’s side view of the THP 308 Hornet engine we can clearly see the level of detail including the dual carbs, intake/exhaust manifolds, the fuel pump and the manifold to tail pipe connector.

Here the unibody sub-frame components have been assembled and painted semi-gloss black while the floor pan was coated with Testors Panzer Gray. There has been some discussion that the rear axle has locator pins to fasten it directly to the rear sub-frame rails. Once the assembly and painting has been accomplished, whatever the issue was is difficult to see. The 308 engine is taking shape here and the toothpick inserted in the rear transmission shaft was left in place to avoid handling mishaps.

Here we see Len's partially completed chassis.

continued...

[Len Carsner]

The instructions state to lay the exhaust and driveshaft into the chassis before installing the crossmember. This close up shows how the drive shaft and exhaust are "captured" by that cross member. If you install the crossmember first you'll have quite a chore snaking them though it.

The instruction sheet info identifies a number of interior colors and treatments. In this case a light/dark leather look was selected. A base coat of Testors Leather was first applied to all the interior pieces as shown here, Once thoroughly dry, a combination of BMF and painter’s tape was used to mask for the second color.

Once Testors Light Tan was applied to the exposed areas after masking off, additional detail painting was done and BMF was applied to the interior bright work as shown here.

Here, interior decals such as dashboard detail and center steering wheel crest were applied before the dash, seats and side door panels were positioned in place as shown here. At this point Bill's interior is complete.

continued....

[Len Carsner]

Here we see the tasteful two-tone interior from Sean Svendson's box art Hornet build. Note that Sean has picked up on the interior two tone colors to create a theme.

Len chose burgundy with gray inserts for his interior which mimics the exterior colors.

Looking for something over-the-counter that somewhat represented the factory Surf Green color, Testors Fifties Aqua was a close match. There's a reason the one spray can has a distorted label. I warm all spray cans in hot water before spraying each model. While you're at it why not line up all the parts getting a common color and shoot them at the same time? And don't forget the gas filler flap.

Here the body's been masked and a second color applies to the top. Using Testors Light Yellow, I was shooting for something again over-the-counter resembling Honey Cream another Hudson factory color.

BMF was applied to the wide/tall rocker molding on both side. It's a combination of bright chrome and brushed aluminum. To get that brushed look, I applied Polly S flat clear bottle paint with a brush. Any excess is easily removed by simply wiping it away before it's completely dry.

continued....

Edited September 1, 2011 by Len Carsner

[Rob Z]

Thanks Len for this exploded view of the kit contents, my mouth is watering just looking at this layout... Thank you too, Sean for the beautiful box art reminiscent of days gone by...

[Len Carsner]

Now is a good time for a quick test-fit. I'm happy at this point with panel alignment, how the interior snuggles up inside the body and the initial stance.

Once the thoroughly dry exterior has been rubbed and polished, BMF was applied far and wide. With the amount of bright work on this 50’s chrome cruiser, take you time, be patient and don’t be too proud to repeat the process until you get the look you’re after. Once you done, I recommend using Fantastic to remove and grim and follow that up with a few generous coats of Pledge household wax.

Don’t forget to paint the headliner even though it’s not that visible on the finished model. Any light to medium color that works well with your interior color choice will work. Remember to do this chore before inserting the window glass.

continued....

Beauty shots

Final assembly went pretty much by the book as they say. Take you time. Make sure you have all the interior and driveline chores buttoned up before setting the finished body down over the interior/chassis assembly.

Look closely at the left rear corner of the Hornet body. Moebius added a nice touch by engineering the gas filler door as a separate piece. This was necessary for another upcoming Hornet release and it allows the door to be displayed in the partially open position as shown here.

Displayed hood up or hood down, we think the Moebius 1953 Hudson Hornet coupe captures the grace, style, spirit and overall looks of this iconic automobile.

continued....

[Len Carsner]

As is often the case, real life can get in the way of our hobby life. Such is the case with Lens car. While it was not ready for "prime time" at the time this was posted it will be finished soon. Watch for it to be posted at a later date.

We are very pleased to include Sean Svendson’s box art model in our internet presentation. Sean had the distinction of building the very first Moebius Hudson Hornet as seen here. According to Sean, “I painted mine to match a set of factory colors from '53. The blue was called "Bombay Blue" and was custom mixed using Tamiya acrylics. The top was matched to a factory ivory color and I used a Testors lacquer spray called Ford "Phoenician Yellow."

This shot of the engine compartment was taken of Sean Svendson’s Hornet just before all the engine and under hood factory decals were applied in their proper locations as noted in the instructions.

continued....

[Len Carsner]

Earlier we said this Moebius 1953 Hudson Hornet coupe kit is only the beginning…and how! Again, Sean Svendson shares his box art and first build of the new Model King release of the Tim Flock NASCAR Grand National championship 52 Hornet coupe. We also have it on good authority that Moebius isn’t quite finished just yet with Hudson Hornets. Patience brother…patience!

You will not miss seeing this striking artwork on the shelves of your local hobby shop or model kit retailer. Sean in one image has captured the raw and gutsy action from back in the day.

We understand that Dave Curry developed the waterslide decals for this Tim Flock 52 Hornet. Sean says he custom-mixed from model paints to match the factory Hornet colors of Boston Ivory (top) and Southern Blue (lower body). Everything needed to replica a period-correct NASCAR Hudson Hornet is in the Moebius kit box.

If you’d like to see more of Sean’s Hudson Hornet modes you can do so by visiting his website at:

http://homepage.mac.com/ssven5/Sites/Svensworldofwheels/images/worldofwheels.html

Final comments

There is little to fault to find with this new Moebius 1953 Hudson Hornet 1/25 scale plastic kit. One thing might be…it’s been nearly 62 years. What took ‘em so long? We would point out that this is a well-engineered and rendered kit and as such wouldn’t be something we’d recommend for beginners or as the subject of a first build.

Pros:

Great nostalgic box art

Great four-color instruction sheet

Great paint colors chart

High-level detail/accuracy

Very good fit and alignment

Individually bagged components, tires, decal sheet, clear parts, etc.

Tampo-printed WSW tires

Separate floor pan/unibody sub-frame

Cons:

Twin-H-Power air cleaner decals (no white background)

Some enlargement of mounting hole diameters necessary

Cannot close hood with hinges and braces installed

Things we might like to have seen:

Separate door handles

Separate bumper guards

Side door glass

Two hoods (one with hardware-one without)

We'd like to thank Gregg for allowing us a place to share this with you, and to everyone at Moebius Models for their co-operation with this project. Watch for a more in-depth build and review coming soon!

Thanks to all,

Bill, Sean, and Len

[Jantrix]

Edited August 31, 2011 by Jantrix

[Len Carsner]

...and...."two outa three ain't bad!"

Don't understand this comment, explain please.

LC

[Sixx]

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!! When will this bad-boy be released?? Man I can't wait!!!

[Tonioseven]

I may actually get one of these!

[Danno]

WOW!!

[Dr. Cranky]

FABULOUS. I can't wait for this thing to be out. I'm getting rid of all my models, and buying up 50 of these!

I'm going to do one in every color, and I am going to do one gunky, rusty, and blue

I'm going to do a diorama with these . . . .

Well, the list can go on . . . but yes, every time I see this, my salivary glads expand!

[Nitro Neil]

I see a Kustom Hudson in my future...

[MikeMc]

Have to admit I cannot stand this car. NOT THE KIT !!!

That said after seeing the instructions, parts , and the fit and finish....I may just pick a couple up

The Tim Flock version is past kool!!!

[MarkJ]

I wonder if Hobby Lobby will sell it? If so i will definitely get me one.

[philo426]

I'll get one for sure!Gunmetal gray with a red interior will look awesome!

[Tom Kren]

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[62rebel]

it's a true beauty, and if it's any relief for the interminable wait, it looks worth every minute.

so.... who has the Chrysler kit on their workbench and is keeping quiet about it..... hmmmm?

[Harry P.]

Have to admit I cannot stand this car.

How can any red-blooded American dislike a Hudson???

That's like saying you can't stand Thanksgiving or the flag!

Hey, wait a minute... you're not secretly a commie, are you???

[1320wayne]

it's a true beauty, and if it's any relief for the interminable wait, it looks worth every minute.

so.... who has the Chrysler kit on their workbench and is keeping quiet about it..... hmmmm?

Yeah, this is quite a good looking kit but I'm waiting for the 55 Chrysler. When could we expect to see something on that one?

[cargostar]

Looks like a nice kit!!! i'll have to add a couple to my stash.....

Just a question.....

The drive shaft has three u-joints in it, and no carrier bearing visable. Was it not installed when the pic was taken, or did I miss it?

There has to be some sort of support for the drive shaft ahead of the mid u-joint or else it will bounce around!

It also looks like the slip yoke for the rear section of the driveshaft is missing. This would allow the driveshaft to lenghten, and shorten as the suspension moves up and down.

Edited August 31, 2011 by cargostar

[Funkster]

Let not forget about the Chrysler Hemi of the early 50's Lee Petty Drove to a Championship in 54, also was a big winner in 52 & 53.

Love the model of the Hudson wish they would do the early Chrysler also. Don't forget that Indy racing band the early Hemi because of it power in a Curtis?