49 Merc Woody (Lowered a bit)

[geetee66]

I know a lot of you guys will have built either this, or the chopped version, so you'll know how nice this kit goes together.

Anyone who's wondering if they should build one; Do yourself a favour and buy this kit.

I've been used to old kits and re-pops of old kits, where the tooling is dodgy. But this is like a Tamiya kit in its engineering and moulding.

The decals are also some of the best I've ever used.

That said, the review in ModelCars Mag, proved to be very useful, especially when highlighting symmetry issues on the front end.

All of the following photos are from my phone, so please excuse the quality.

Body issues dealt with. Rattle-can primer.

One of my favourite parts of building a kit, is the engine.

I added a rudimentary attempt at a fuel system (it looks ok to the naked eye). I made the fuel filter from clear sprue, tinted with a yellow and silver Sharpie.

I drilled out the kit distributor and added plug wires. The coil was about to be added after this photo

I decided to make the Woody more 'surf'. So I gave it hibiscus upholstery

.

Here's the rear seats too

The engine got some wires to the alternator and a basic throttle linkage. These Caddy engines are nice to detail. 

 

Edited December 5, 2016 by geetee66
Forgot a detail

[geetee66]

The paint is Honda Rio Red, from a rattle can, topped off with automotive clear from a rattle can. 

I masked the chrome trim and the wood section of the body, to keep the detail.

Then I added the kit Tiki decals. I covered them in clear lacquer, once the decals were dry. The masking reduced the amount of wet-sanding I'd need to do on an already polished body.

Then I reversed the mask to cover the red and sprayed on Lada Cream, for the base colour of the timbers.

Dark brown was dry-brushed onto the timbers. I've never attempted a wood-effect before, so this was all a bit of a shot in the dark.

As I dry-brushed the brown onto the timbers, some of the paint came off the brush in tiny pieces. as I wiped them off, I realised this was the effect I was looking for.

I thinned some Tamiya clear orange and tested it on a bit of sprue and figured it had the same hue as varnish.

I deliberately allowed the 'varnish', to vary in colour, to give it a slightly weathered look.

 

[Steven Zimmerman]

Great job on the wood so far. IMHO, most who doo wood grain go overboard, adding 'too much'......Looking forward to seein this finished.........'Z'

[geetee66]

After the varnish was dry on the timbers, a black was was applied to add depth.

The decals went on well. I trimmed the decals a bit, so the carrier film didn't interfere with the timbers. The upper decal on the doors needs setting solutions to get it to conform to the curves on the body.

Then on to the interior assembly, which almost built itself. Like I said before, a well-engineered kit.

Door handles got BMF and the shut lines and timber got a black wash

Edited December 5, 2016 by geetee66
spelling

[geetee66]

I've tried 3M Spray-Mount and gloss paint for flocking the carpet, but this time I used PVA (white glue). The results were better.

A bit of firewall detail also went in

A quick test-fit and the ride height looks ok. I made riser blocks for the rear axle and relocated the front axle stubs a bit higher, to drop it down. It's going to have skirts, too, which makes the tail look heavier.

I finally got to see if the timber looks realistic. I'm happy with the results, what do you reckon?

[geetee66]

Thankfully, everything lined-up on my test-fit. The front wings need to be prised-apart to pop the big Caddy mill into the engine bay. 

I've done the foil on the glass and epoxied it into place. I'm just trying to decide whether to put a surfboard in it, make a roofrack with surfboard, or just pop it together and finish it today.

Thanks for looking

[Rider]

Wow, this is groovy man, I dig the seats, hope you put some boards hanging out the back.

[espo]

That is beautiful. I like all of the extra effort on the detailing of the engine. The interior seat treatment looks perfect. Where did you get the flower patterns ?  Like you , when I built mine I did the "wood" just using similar paint techniques. I used Tamiya clear yellow on the lighter parts, and their clear orange on the inner door parts. I never could get the decals to work for me. Yours looks like it is on air bag suspension. I really like how it looks.  

[geetee66]

Too late to open the rear window. 

If I can find my soldering gear, I might knock up a roofrack.

I forgot to say, the wheels are Pegasus chrome reverse. Pegasus wheels have this toy-like tube for a metal axle.

So I decided to modify the kit wheel-backs and make them fit the Pegasus wheels. I got the correct diameter by putting the wheel backs in a Dremel and griding them on an emery board.. They needed to be thinned a bit, too, as did the brake drum covers. The axle ends were also ground down, to get the wheels tucked inside the arches.

[geetee66]

That is beautiful. I like all of the extra effort on the detailing of the engine. The interior seat treatment looks perfect. Where did you get the flower patterns ?  Like you , when I built mine I did the "wood" just using similar paint techniques. I used Tamiya clear yellow on the lighter parts, and their clear orange on the inner door parts. I never could get the decals to work for me. Yours looks like it is on air bag suspension. I really like how it looks.  

Thanks David

The seat decals are nail-art. There are hundreds of designs available on Ebay and the print definition is quite good. They're about $1 a sheet. I used two sheets to get the repeat in sizes. Some sheets are a continuous print design from edge to edge and some are printed for individual fingernails. I bought a few designs, so I had a choice and got free postage !

[espo]

Thanks David

The seat decals are nail-art. There are hundreds of designs available on Ebay and the print definition is quite good. They're about $1 a sheet. I used two sheets to get the repeat in sizes. Some sheets are a continuous print design from edge to edge and some are printed for individual fingernails. I bought a few designs, so I had a choice and got free postage !

Thanks, I'll have to go with the wife the next time she goes for supplies.

[Intmd8r]

Looks great!

You got me fired up to start mine!

[peekay]

You nailed the wood! ()

[Wagoneer81]

Very cool!  This has helped me make up my mind about getting this kit.  I'll be building one, in the near future!

[Ron Hamilton]

I love what you are doing with this one, especially the wood work. I'm going to do the same thing when I finish mine.

[Dogfish_7]

Really diggin your Wagon!

[geetee66]

You nailed the wood! ()

LOL! 

[bobthehobbyguy]

Nice work. Great job on the woodgrain.

[DumpyDan]

Great detailing on the wood grain, you have a good eye for detail

[vintagercr]

Wow, great detail and the wood grain looks great

[Sydney]

Great looking build. You've done a wonderful job on the wood.

[crazyrichard]

yuuup .. looks great , love this one !!!

[58 Impala]

Nice job,great looking wood panels.

 

[David G.]

Very well done! The woodwork and added details are excellent,

David G.

[geetee66]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

Apart from me, you're the only people who get to see my builds, so your comments are valuable.

After working 7 days on the trot, with 3 hours of commuting every day, I've not had much time to do any more to it,

I'm going to finish this wagon, tomorrow. I'll give it a roof rack and surfboard in due course.

It's going to have an aloha garland hanging from the rear-view mirror, made from red and white tissue, cut into little 'flowers' and strung on very fine wire.

 Possibly some interior junk and some cushions with skull patterns, tossed into the trunk.

I really wanted to find a resin 'radio flyer' wagon and an old style coca-cola cool box, to go on the roofrack with a surfboard.

Does anyone know where I could get one, or  resin swamp cooler?

If not, I might set myself the task of scratchbuilding them.