need to know how to make fins on a 49/51 mercury kit.

[deathskull59]

i need help on how to make the fins on a 49 merc. and turn it in to a 51 mercury with revelles kit any pics and ideas.

[deathskull59]

any one has ideas on how to do this.

[62rebel]

i added fins to put Chrysler taillights on one of my AMT '49 Merc's; it was a matter of cutting away the fender you don't need and filling the hole with styrene stock and filing/sanding it to shape. it can be done with patience and good reference material. i have tried to do the same thing by using filler, but that's too much area to fill with it without it shrinking and cracking. i've done the same thing to change the rear quarter shape and fin on the AMT '56 Ford. when you add the styrene to the hole, try to establish "witness marks" so when you're shaping the stuff you don't take away too much.

[AndersE]

62rebel is correct, you should use minimal with filler. Another tip is that if you are doing a major modification, it can be necessary to have some sort of substructure there you've cut away the fender, this with the intention of keeping the strength of the body. Look at how its done in 1:1.

[62rebel]

i've been mulling this over, and i also think it could be done by shaping the fins out of laminated sheet styrene until you're happy with the shape, then cutting the corner out of the rear quarter and fixing them in place. this will reduce the amount of stress induced by continued handling of a body shell with large areas cut out of it. always work DOWN when adding body parts; it's tough to add back material if you file/sand away too much. make your filler piece larger than necessary and work it down to final shape/size once fixed in place. i might add to keep the use of superglue confined to the BACK of the piece/body; cured CA is much harder to shape than styrene and you'll find you're removing much more plastic than glue when shaping. refer to the scratchbuilt Tatra thread if you have trouble seeing how it's done.

[deathskull59]

well i do have some useless 49 merc fender skirts that mite be used to make the fins. but can using bits of sprue tree and glueing them to the rear of the car also work. when you use bondo putty to shape the fins. or dose it work diffrently.

[62rebel]

sprue is an excellent source of styrene stock especially since it will match the kit material without question. smooth down one side until flat, glue it on, let it cure (give it time to really cure up solid) and shape it. the tighter the fit between the sprue pieces and the body, the less filler you'll have to use later on. don't rely on tube glue to fill gaps, it will shrink; liquid cement (solvent) is the best stuff for this.