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I recently received the Fujimi Lamborghini Aventador kit from HLJ. I just had to get into it right a way…..what a great looking super car……sleek, sharp, angular, muscular and sensual all at the same time……this thing just screams at you “get back…I will hurt you”…..anyway, I jumped right into the kit.
First, the kit comes with two sets of wheels, the same wheels, but one set is plated and the other is molded in a nice satin black that really needs nothing more than the center hub decals. The chrome set look great, and I could see paying up to $18.00 for these if they were offered as an aftermarket wheel, so it was a great deal if just for the free wheel set.
The other point to mention is the doors are open, but do not operate. You have two choices….opened or closed. The area inside the door opening looks great, it looks like the real thing, so it would be a shame to glue the doors closed. The other option given is to permanently mount the doors on non-moving open position, which looks good, but you can never close the doors to see how sleek and down-right mean the car looks. Well, neither solution was acceptable to me so I made, what turned out to be a very simple hinge, the doors now open and close, as they should.
The biggest mistake with the car, I think, is the fact that Fujimi really blew the rear hatch area on this kit. I did not realize how bad it was until it was too late for me to change it (my mistake) but in hindsight it would be easy to correct. This car does not come with a fully molded motor, but with a motor “plate” that has the top of the engine molded in very nice detail. This seems to be the new normal with the Japanese kits now and when detailed with paint, photo-etched screens and decals make a very convincing engine bay. The real problem is that the top outer cover is way too thick, so it requires careful sanding to get it to snuggle down, and the cover does not open in the correct place. In other words, the hatch is not seamed in the correct place. The upper side “wing” area of the hatch should be cut from the hatch piece and they should be permanently mounted to the body. Then only the correct hatch area would open. I secured my hatch to the car, mainly because I noticed the error after everything was painted and since it is just the engine plate, it looks fine through the three level rear window. If I were to do a second car, I would correct the opening area of the hatch and hinge the hatch so it opened just as the real car does…..but too late for that on this one.
This is one of the rare times I built a car completely stock…as intended from the factory…the only change to the kit is working doors and a unique color for the car. Other than a few items here and there, it goes together very well…..the windows fit is just perfect…..they snap in flush and tight, really sweet. Same with the wheels and brakes, fit tight, work perfectly and look great.
Being the fast creature that it is, I thought it needs a fast color too. I primed the car, lightly sanded it, painted it pure white, sanded it, painted it HOK Sunrise Pearl (Looks too much like school bus yellow for me) so I covered it with Tamiya clear yellow which gave it a more orangish hue and then covered it with clear lacquer mixed with HOK ultra fine gold metal-flake to give it a more golden glow. Once dry, it was cleared with future.
The interior is all flat black and the seat centers, console trim and door trim was painted flat yellow and later topped with a light spray of Tamiya clear orange to match the exterior color relatively closely.
If you are into exotic sports car models, this is a must have. Period.
See for yourself. (include here is a little pictorial on the door hinges…..you should be able to follow along, but if there are questions just ask.)
Topics I've Started
1953 Ford Victoria Custom Coupe.........A Mild streetible custom
18 February 2012 - 08:12 AM
This is my just finished (well, almost, needs a few little details like a license plate and the inner door latches) 1953 Ford Victoria Custom Coupe. This is the Lindberg hardtop coupe kit. It has a mild roof chop and completely new side moldings like a 1954 version. The single side molding makes the car look longer, I think. The doors were opened and hinged. The vehicle was lowered and a dual exhaust with twin tips was added. The seats and inner door panels are covered with paint and real cloth for the center inserts. Car is painted in Mopar Satin While Pearl with a custom mix Cinnamon Pearl roof and interior trim. The Cinnamon is a combination of a few Jacquard Pearl pigment powders mixed with clear lacquer topped with Future.
1953 Ford Victoria Mild Custom..... Updated February 4, 2012.
28 January 2012 - 07:06 AM
As we all know, inspiration for a build can come from many places and at any time. Back in 2007, I purchased a current issue of the Rodders Journal. I looked at that issue many times over the past four and a half years always drooling over the cover car, a spectacular 1953 Buick Skylark roadster in lavender pearl. The other morning while flipping through it, a different feature car caught my eye.
This is a 1954 Ford Victoria Coupe.
I apologize for the poor quality photo, but I wanted the picture from the magazine so you can see exactly the shot that caught my eye. This car is a rather mild custom that has nothing of any consequence done to the body. I think it has a nice clean look to it. It is pure white with a silver roof and a black and white interior…..simple enough.
I have a Lindberg 1953 Ford Victoria Coupe that has been in my stash for a number of years now and I could never decide what I wanted to do to it. I know I would not build it stock, but exactly how I never really knew. As with most cars I build, I buy the kit and throw it on the pile and wait for the inspiration to hit me. Even though I am working on a scratch built 1956 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket body, I got the irresistible urge to start this car.
My plan on this car is a little different than the car in the magazine. I want the same kind of clean smooth look without any tricks or design gimmicks. For starters, I opened the doors and then I chopped out about 6 scale inches out of the roof. Basically, I dropped the roof “V” in the back pillar down to the top rear fender line, than removed the same amount from the front “A” pillars. This gives the car a nice subtle chop that does not look too noticeable. You it looks different, but it does not look like it was manipulated very much.
As you can see, I need to adjust the front vent window height yet, but that should be easy. Next you can see some putty around the headlights, from where I am filling in the headlight surrounds so they have a clean frenched look.
(Sorry, this image is a little fuzzy….I must have moved a little) 
As you can see from the real car, a major difference in the 1953 (model) and the 1954 (real) is the side molding. I like the clean long flowing lines of the one piece molding of the 1954, so the model’s two piece moldings will filled in and a new one piece molding will be substituted to help make the car look longer to the eye.
I am planning the same style wide whitewall tire with most like the sombrero style wheel cover (from the new release of the ’62 T-Bird kit) I will install the half rear fender “mini” skirts from the kit and most likely remove the bumper over riders that the kit has, just to lighten up the look of the car. And, obviously, the car will be lowered down. I am also planning to radius the lower edges of the hood opening to match the curves on the trunk lid.
As for color, I like the two tone look, but will most likely go with a pearl white lower color, rather than the pure white like the ’54 has, and do the top in a cinnamon pearl rather than silver….it will be similar, but different than the real ’54 in the picture. A nice clean flathead under the hood and a tan and white interior with some nice tuck’n roll, and it should be good to go.
This is a 1954 Ford Victoria Coupe.
I apologize for the poor quality photo, but I wanted the picture from the magazine so you can see exactly the shot that caught my eye. This car is a rather mild custom that has nothing of any consequence done to the body. I think it has a nice clean look to it. It is pure white with a silver roof and a black and white interior…..simple enough. I have a Lindberg 1953 Ford Victoria Coupe that has been in my stash for a number of years now and I could never decide what I wanted to do to it. I know I would not build it stock, but exactly how I never really knew. As with most cars I build, I buy the kit and throw it on the pile and wait for the inspiration to hit me. Even though I am working on a scratch built 1956 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket body, I got the irresistible urge to start this car.
My plan on this car is a little different than the car in the magazine. I want the same kind of clean smooth look without any tricks or design gimmicks. For starters, I opened the doors and then I chopped out about 6 scale inches out of the roof. Basically, I dropped the roof “V” in the back pillar down to the top rear fender line, than removed the same amount from the front “A” pillars. This gives the car a nice subtle chop that does not look too noticeable. You it looks different, but it does not look like it was manipulated very much.
As you can see, I need to adjust the front vent window height yet, but that should be easy. Next you can see some putty around the headlights, from where I am filling in the headlight surrounds so they have a clean frenched look.
(Sorry, this image is a little fuzzy….I must have moved a little) As you can see from the real car, a major difference in the 1953 (model) and the 1954 (real) is the side molding. I like the clean long flowing lines of the one piece molding of the 1954, so the model’s two piece moldings will filled in and a new one piece molding will be substituted to help make the car look longer to the eye.
I am planning the same style wide whitewall tire with most like the sombrero style wheel cover (from the new release of the ’62 T-Bird kit) I will install the half rear fender “mini” skirts from the kit and most likely remove the bumper over riders that the kit has, just to lighten up the look of the car. And, obviously, the car will be lowered down. I am also planning to radius the lower edges of the hood opening to match the curves on the trunk lid.
As for color, I like the two tone look, but will most likely go with a pearl white lower color, rather than the pure white like the ’54 has, and do the top in a cinnamon pearl rather than silver….it will be similar, but different than the real ’54 in the picture. A nice clean flathead under the hood and a tan and white interior with some nice tuck’n roll, and it should be good to go.
1949 Mercury Convertible There is still life in that old AMT kit
27 January 2012 - 02:07 PM
1949 AMT Mercury Coupe kit
Exterior : Top Removed…..windshield chopped, acetate “glass” installed……parts box sun visors…..custom “Carson” style convertible top made from two 1950 Ford convertible tops spliced together all covered with Suede texture paint and then topped with camouflage gray top coat……..convertible boot from Franklin Mint Chrysler convertible……photo-etched windshield wipers.....doors opened and hinged…..headlights frenched and peeked and headlight lenses are M.V. Products jewels……front turn signals recessed and M.V. Products amber jewels set….Desoto resin grille…..custom front roll pan……front bumper from Revell ’49 Mercury….. twin custom “S” air scoops crafted on hood…..hood hinges fabricated……Rear view mirrors from Dodge Copperhead roadster…..twin recessed antenna’s on left side rear quarter panel, midships…..resin bubble skirts’….. custom extended rear quarter panel with custom rear taillights….custom license plate housing recessed into trunk panel…..new hinges made for trunk panel…..rear roll pan with rear bumper from Revell ’49 Mercury….two tone paint scheme with HOK Snowflake pearl white over gloss pure white, HOK Tangelo Pearl, modified custom mix with a charcoal vinyl pinstripe at color break…..topped with a clear pearl highlight coat and clear followed by a coat of Future.
Engine/drivetrain : 2005 Chrysler 300 Hemi engine….custom engine bay engine faring…… tires from Revell 1959 Ford…….wheels from 1949 Mercury……1949 Mercury suspension lowered….front wheels pose-able.
Interior : front buckets from 2005 Chrysler 300…..rear seats, narrowed from Chrysler 300…..custom door panels with half round “tuck’n roll” upholstery……Tamiya Orange and Camouflage Gray color scheme…..dash decals from Revell 1949 Mercury (white face set).
Exterior : Top Removed…..windshield chopped, acetate “glass” installed……parts box sun visors…..custom “Carson” style convertible top made from two 1950 Ford convertible tops spliced together all covered with Suede texture paint and then topped with camouflage gray top coat……..convertible boot from Franklin Mint Chrysler convertible……photo-etched windshield wipers.....doors opened and hinged…..headlights frenched and peeked and headlight lenses are M.V. Products jewels……front turn signals recessed and M.V. Products amber jewels set….Desoto resin grille…..custom front roll pan……front bumper from Revell ’49 Mercury….. twin custom “S” air scoops crafted on hood…..hood hinges fabricated……Rear view mirrors from Dodge Copperhead roadster…..twin recessed antenna’s on left side rear quarter panel, midships…..resin bubble skirts’….. custom extended rear quarter panel with custom rear taillights….custom license plate housing recessed into trunk panel…..new hinges made for trunk panel…..rear roll pan with rear bumper from Revell ’49 Mercury….two tone paint scheme with HOK Snowflake pearl white over gloss pure white, HOK Tangelo Pearl, modified custom mix with a charcoal vinyl pinstripe at color break…..topped with a clear pearl highlight coat and clear followed by a coat of Future.
Engine/drivetrain : 2005 Chrysler 300 Hemi engine….custom engine bay engine faring…… tires from Revell 1959 Ford…….wheels from 1949 Mercury……1949 Mercury suspension lowered….front wheels pose-able.
Interior : front buckets from 2005 Chrysler 300…..rear seats, narrowed from Chrysler 300…..custom door panels with half round “tuck’n roll” upholstery……Tamiya Orange and Camouflage Gray color scheme…..dash decals from Revell 1949 Mercury (white face set).
1949 Mercury Convertible, Up dated January 8, 2012
06 January 2012 - 06:51 PM
Once again, for no apparent reason, I am beginning another build, while in the middle of many others that are nearly finished. Why do we all do this to ourselves? Really, why? My two 1934 Fords are nearly finished, just waiting for the photo etched grilles that I am working on (that is another story, all together)….my Timbs Streamliner is also nearly done, also waiting for the grille, bumpers and step plates, which are part of the photo etch situation too. My 1932 Ford Wide Body is done too, once again waiting for the custom photo etched grille.
Perhaps you recall, back in 2010 I did a model of John D’Agostino’s 1961 Thunderbird known as “Firestar”. Well, a few weeks ago the current owner of the car contacted me requesting that I build a model of the car for him. Of course I quickly agreed and began work on that. One good thing is he is now furnishing me with the engine shots and current pictures of the car with the few minor changes he made to it.
Then after the 2 1934 Fords, one a sedan and one a roadster, both full fender cars, I got the desire to do a third, you know a “hat trick”. This is a 3 window resin (man, the resin on this one is thick) coupe. I opened the doors (very difficult with the ridiculously thick resin casting) and molded the grille onto the hood. This is going to be very cartoony, with huge rear tires, no fenders, an independent suspension, way down low up front and a big old honkin’ blown Hemi powerplant. Topped off with a candy blue paint job, white interior and computer designed and vinyl cut flame masks so I can paint some wild yellow, orange and red flames, no wait, maybe white, teal and purple flames, I don’t know yet, we’ll have to see when the time comes.
And if that’s not enough, 3 weeks ago I started work on another one of the 1950’s GM concept cars. I am working on the 1956 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket….another one of those concept cars that is growing out of the Corvette chassis. It seems that most GM concept cars of that era grew out of the Corvette chassis and body panels. I think the other divisions were jealous that Chevrolet had a sharp little sports car to help establish a division identity and they all wanted a piece of that….well that is my opinion on it anyway. The Oldsmobile Golden Rocket is one of those Jet plane era influenced cars that GM designers were turning out on a daily basis, or so it seemed. I will post more on that as work on the body molds progresses. Currently, I am in the design drawing phase working out how I am going to produce the multiple body panels this vehicle will require. This is a very long term project so I expect this to be in the works for months and months, I am in no hurry with this as it is a very involved and complex body design.
So in the middle of this, I got the bug to work on a car that I have been planning to build for a few years now and that is the subject of this thread. Over time I had assembled a few of the parts I would need for this and for whatever reason, the bug hit me last week to start it so I caved in and started it.
I am converting the venerable old AMT 1949 Mercury coupe into a chopped Carson top style convertible. Now I know I can pickup a resin Mercury Convertible from Mr. Flintstone, and it would look great, but where is the fun in that???.....I want to do it myself. So basically, this will be a very low to the ground custom with some resin “bubble” skirts I picked up somewhere. I also picked up a Desoto “tooth” style grille somewhere (not from the Revell ’49 Merc). The body will be shaved of all chrome and the headlights will be frenched. The taillights will be the slightly diagonal, but basically vertical style custom units I am molding on to the rear; this is the biggest modification, not counting the top removal. I am leaning toward some subtle hood scopes built into the side of the hood just above where the hood meets the front fenders….I am not completely sure yet. The doors are to be opened and hinged to open inward. I am making the stretched Carson chopped top from two tops from the 1950 Ford convertible kit. The windshield will be chopped down also. Under the hood I am planning a late model Chrysler Hemi engine (I think I have one laying around somewhere that I can commandeer for this build. I have some big fat white walls in mind and a two tone paint scheme with Prowler Orange Pearl over White Pearl. A primarily white interior with Orange trim and seat faces to match and an off white padded style low Carson roof.
Ok, enough talking…….here is the car, on the messy work bench with the top cut free but sitting on the car.
I used a round cutting blade on my Dremel tool to make the cuts.
Here is the body, sans the top and the chrome side and nose trim has been sanded off to give a cleaner, smoother look to the gorgeous curves of this body.
Man, these 1949 Mercury’s are a real work of art…
when you strip away the excess unnecessary frills and shinny things and stuff, the underlying metal is just perfect in the raw, so to speak, soft, round and sensual. Anyway, here the main chop is made to the windshield frame showing the lowered height. 
And here are the two Ford Convertible roofs that are being cut and spliced together to make one longer roof for the Mercury.
The roof will get a major revision so it will look to be a padded roof, much lower and snug on the car.
Next up will be the door opened and hinged.
Perhaps you recall, back in 2010 I did a model of John D’Agostino’s 1961 Thunderbird known as “Firestar”. Well, a few weeks ago the current owner of the car contacted me requesting that I build a model of the car for him. Of course I quickly agreed and began work on that. One good thing is he is now furnishing me with the engine shots and current pictures of the car with the few minor changes he made to it.
Then after the 2 1934 Fords, one a sedan and one a roadster, both full fender cars, I got the desire to do a third, you know a “hat trick”. This is a 3 window resin (man, the resin on this one is thick) coupe. I opened the doors (very difficult with the ridiculously thick resin casting) and molded the grille onto the hood. This is going to be very cartoony, with huge rear tires, no fenders, an independent suspension, way down low up front and a big old honkin’ blown Hemi powerplant. Topped off with a candy blue paint job, white interior and computer designed and vinyl cut flame masks so I can paint some wild yellow, orange and red flames, no wait, maybe white, teal and purple flames, I don’t know yet, we’ll have to see when the time comes.
And if that’s not enough, 3 weeks ago I started work on another one of the 1950’s GM concept cars. I am working on the 1956 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket….another one of those concept cars that is growing out of the Corvette chassis. It seems that most GM concept cars of that era grew out of the Corvette chassis and body panels. I think the other divisions were jealous that Chevrolet had a sharp little sports car to help establish a division identity and they all wanted a piece of that….well that is my opinion on it anyway. The Oldsmobile Golden Rocket is one of those Jet plane era influenced cars that GM designers were turning out on a daily basis, or so it seemed. I will post more on that as work on the body molds progresses. Currently, I am in the design drawing phase working out how I am going to produce the multiple body panels this vehicle will require. This is a very long term project so I expect this to be in the works for months and months, I am in no hurry with this as it is a very involved and complex body design.
So in the middle of this, I got the bug to work on a car that I have been planning to build for a few years now and that is the subject of this thread. Over time I had assembled a few of the parts I would need for this and for whatever reason, the bug hit me last week to start it so I caved in and started it.
I am converting the venerable old AMT 1949 Mercury coupe into a chopped Carson top style convertible. Now I know I can pickup a resin Mercury Convertible from Mr. Flintstone, and it would look great, but where is the fun in that???.....I want to do it myself. So basically, this will be a very low to the ground custom with some resin “bubble” skirts I picked up somewhere. I also picked up a Desoto “tooth” style grille somewhere (not from the Revell ’49 Merc). The body will be shaved of all chrome and the headlights will be frenched. The taillights will be the slightly diagonal, but basically vertical style custom units I am molding on to the rear; this is the biggest modification, not counting the top removal. I am leaning toward some subtle hood scopes built into the side of the hood just above where the hood meets the front fenders….I am not completely sure yet. The doors are to be opened and hinged to open inward. I am making the stretched Carson chopped top from two tops from the 1950 Ford convertible kit. The windshield will be chopped down also. Under the hood I am planning a late model Chrysler Hemi engine (I think I have one laying around somewhere that I can commandeer for this build. I have some big fat white walls in mind and a two tone paint scheme with Prowler Orange Pearl over White Pearl. A primarily white interior with Orange trim and seat faces to match and an off white padded style low Carson roof.
Ok, enough talking…….here is the car, on the messy work bench with the top cut free but sitting on the car.
I used a round cutting blade on my Dremel tool to make the cuts.
Here is the body, sans the top and the chrome side and nose trim has been sanded off to give a cleaner, smoother look to the gorgeous curves of this body.
Man, these 1949 Mercury’s are a real work of art…
when you strip away the excess unnecessary frills and shinny things and stuff, the underlying metal is just perfect in the raw, so to speak, soft, round and sensual. Anyway, here the main chop is made to the windshield frame showing the lowered height. And here are the two Ford Convertible roofs that are being cut and spliced together to make one longer roof for the Mercury.
The roof will get a major revision so it will look to be a padded roof, much lower and snug on the car.
Next up will be the door opened and hinged.
