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1/25 Revell '49 Mercury Wagon


Austin T

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What'd Revell do on the '48 Ford Woodie? Decals for the inserts?

I want to say the Dan Fink '32 Speedwagon had no decals at all.

Yes, the '48 has decals.

Artists oils work well for wood graining, takes a little practice but its not terribly difficult. The long dry time makes the oils very user friendly, very easy to wipe it down and try again if you don't like the result.

Here is a tutorial showing wood graining technique on a 1/32 ww1 airplane.

http://www.clubhyper...odgrainel_1.htm

The stock engine would be a flathead correct? Shouldn't be that hard to scrounge up one of those.

What's the Caddy engine that comes in the kit?

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No, but it wouldn't be difficult to rework it to stock specs. Namely raise the suspension a couple of scale inches. The present exhaust system could be adapted into a stock version.

Just so I understand correctly, it's a stock chassis (framerails, suspension, etc), but there are lowering blocks between the axle tubes and leaf springs in the rear and raised "spindles" up front, correct?

daveGabourysRevell49Mercury5-vi.jpg

daveGabourysRevell49Mercury38-vi.jpg

Is the Revell body channeled? Looks like it in the image above, and if true, I could see that being an issue on the Woody version.

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A suggestion or "tip" re doing woodgrain panels on a Woody..... (Note to Moderators: Sorry if this is in the "wrong place" but since the subject of woodgraining detail on a Woody was brought up) I thought I'd post this "suggestion" here:

If you, or any of your friends, smoke cigars (Dr. Cranky), there are some cigars that come in an aluminum tube with a screw on top. Inside the tube, wrapped around the cigar is a small sheet of wood veneer "paper". It is curled around the cigar to keep the cigar "fresh" for a period of time... If you can get some of this wood veneer paper, wet it and put it between the pages of a thick phone book or something similar so when it dries it will lay flat. Then, take the woodgrain decals that come with the Woody model, and cut them out without leaving much of the clear carrier "edge" around the decal... in other words, try to trim the woodgrain decal to fit into the panel it is supposed to go into on the Woody sides as perfectly as possible. Then lay, or tape the decal on top of the dried, flattened woodgrain paper veneer and cut around the decal with a pair of scissors or a VERY SHARP XActo knife so you have a piece of woodgrain veneer paper the exact size as the decal to fit into the panel on the Woody model (at this point the woodgrain paper is very brittle so be careful that it doesn't start falling apart on you.).

Then, after painting the wood framing around the insert panels and letting it dry, "paint" a thin layer of diluted white glue in the recessed panel and insert the piece of woodgrain veneer paper and gently press it down so the white glue will hold it in place. Let it dry completely, then you can either coat it with clear enamel or just spray a clearcoat over the whole model, and the woodgrain will "pop" like it has a coat of varnish.

Here are some pictures of a "48 Ford Woody that I built about 10 years ago using this method. The wood veneer paper is great to use for dashboards, consoles, door panels, floors, etc....

48FORDWOODYINTERIOR.jpg

48FORDWOODYREARVIEW.jpg

48FORDWOODYSIDEVIEW.jpg

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Thanks for the info. I never knew that. I seen some pictures somewhere on the net, but I guess they were custom. There's a topic on HAMB about it, including pics of a model.

http://www.jalopyjou...ad.php?t=194300

Anythings posible with a Sawzall and a MIG welder, I guess I should have stated all factory produced 1:1 1949 Mercury wagons were woodies!

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hey rich thanks for that tip, not only is it ideal for this new merc woodie, i have another thing going right now where the woodgrain trick is going to work out great.

do you have any specifics about which cigars to buy to find this stuff inside?

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do you have any specifics about which cigars to buy to find this stuff inside?

I don't smoke but my dad will have a cigar every so often. Most tube cigars, from what I've seen, will have those thin slivers of wood. Generally, the more expensive it is (usually around $5-7 each,) the more likely you are to find it.

Charlie Larkin

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Just so I understand correctly, it's a stock chassis (framerails, suspension, etc), but there are lowering blocks between the axle tubes and leaf springs in the rear and raised "spindles" up front, correct?

Is the Revell body channeled? Looks like it in the image above, and if true, I could see that being an issue on the Woody version.

First question- yes, raised spindles and lowering blocks- but a little cutting and fiddling could revert those to stock height.

Second question... again, yes- I forgot that the Revell Merc is channeled. That would be a serious problem if you wanted to build it totally stock!

But here's the thing- If I recall correctly, Mercury's Woody Wagon was based on the shorter Ford body- it was just the Ford with a Merc nose bolted on, different doors, and Mercury interior bits. So if that is true, they'd need to do up a new floor as well, because the length would be different. In any case you could probably adapt an AMT '49 Ford or Merc chassis to this body if you wanted to go totally stock. I'll experiment a bit once I get one on the workbench... :rolleyes:

Edited by Michigan Madman
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Charlie, I realize that what I called wood "paper" IS actually wood... like a small sheet of a wood veneer...... It's just that it's so thin that I called it wood paper. JB, my cousin smokes cigars and gave me a whole cigar box full of these wood sheets about 4 years ago... he saves them for me. I don't actually know which cigars he smokes, but I know some of them are a little pricey.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Yes, the '48 has decals.

Looking at the test shots on page one, it appears the insert areas are smooth, leading me to believe Revell will include decals for the inserts. I guess those who want to build the '49 Merc Woody stock should pick up an AMT '49 Mercury kit right about now, too. ^_^

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tbh, the only questions I have are which engine Peter Cochran had in his splinter box, when someone is going to offer resin repops of the Aurora Mod Squad figures and how much he wants for those including postage to England, please.

Edited by Junkman
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Tbh, the only questions I have are which engine Peter Cochran had in his splinter box, when someone is going to offer resin repops of the Aurora Mod Squad figures and how much he wants for those including postage to England, please.

They are on ebay all of the time, but make no mention of their mod squad past in the listing. Just resin figures in 1/25.

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Uschi Van Der Rosten has woodgrain decals. Gonna buy this one plus his decals and see how it turns out.

http://www.uschivdr.com/shop/

Those decals are excellent. I used it on my Modelhaus Merc Woody http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=55196&hl=%2B50+%2Bmerc+%2Bwoody#entry646240 or http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54195&hl=%2B50+%2Bmerc+%2Bwoody

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One DIY suggestion -- If you download wood pattern samples from wood supplier websites, you can use them as is, or put them into a graphics program and adjust the color, sharpness, size, etc. any way you want and print out on paper or decal paper.

Here's how I find what I'm looking for:

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&q=wood+grain+samples&gbv=2&oq=wood+grain+samples&gs_l=img.12..0.1703.5916.0.8714.18.10.0.8.8.0.155.600.9j1.10.0...0.0...1ac.1.3pd-T4OUaRE

Just a few examples.

bubinga_jpgcopy_zps1550e762.jpg

walnut_stumpcopy_zpsb119c977.jpg

walnutwoodcopy_zpsdce962ae.jpg

Edited by sjordan2
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  • 1 month later...

Aside from the exhaust and Caddy V8, this thing looks stock. Even the ride height looks about right to me, as the Mercs I've seen do sit low-ish. Not Hudson or Nash low, but they're not sky-high, either. Worst case, I'll just build a load for the back and fold the seat down. It is a station wagon after all, and I use mine!

The glass-packs are something I have no objection to, and I can scare up a Flathead somewhere, although I hope they'll simply include one to make life simpler.

Charlie Larkin

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