Ferbz

Isn't there a saying that there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity tho?🤪 lol Yes, the quads on that Chrysler are super cool 👍

Yes, that's something that would certainly work! Altho one of the things that bug me about the factory front end is how everything is placed at right angles. Angling the headlights shakes all that up a bit I think.

Not a bad idea! Spex84 mentioned they could also be scoops that have forward pointing antennas. Both ideas are very era appropriate 👍

Thanks🙂 Ha! I think you're right I could back out, but I've made my bed and now I have to lie in it lol Besides, if I chicken out now, I feel like I won't really know what I'm capable of achieving. I gotta take a chance and see what happens. 'Once more into the breach.......!'🤪

Lots of work, indeed. Ha! That's a great way to make lemonade out of a lemon-y situation 😉 But I'm going to hold fast to plan A and see if I can pull it off. With great risk comes great reward....potentially.🤪

Yeah I think they improve the front end quite a bit! I think what always bugged me about the stock front end design is that everything is at right angles. The angled headlights make it a bit more dynamic and makes that 'horse collar' grill a more purposeful focal point. How's that 'design speak'.....lol 🤪

A little update: I've turned my attention to the front end at the moment. I've always thought that those quad headlights might improve that front end if they were canted! (This bodes well I think as it gives a design nod to the Edsel's sleeker cousin, the 58-60 Lincoln). I decided to hack off the headlight tunnels, and back them with some sheet styrene pieces. These backings will get hogged out and hollowed to allow the head buckets to sit deeper than stock depth. Here they are mocked up roughly where I think I want them to sit. (Admittedly, there are other things I want to resolve with the front end but I have to resolve this headlight mod first!). Next step will be to widen the hood and taper/integrate the headlight tunnels into the fenders. How do I do this? I'm not sure! lol 🤪 I think I have to cut away the inner portion of the front fender tops and trim them so they fit farther away from the hood. Then fill the gaps between them and the hood? Stay tuned as I try to figure this out...

Thanks! Let's see where it goes. I feel like my creativity/ideas are hit and miss, honestly. I do love a challenge tho, and mostly I just want to see if I can pull it off! 🤪👍

I will say that even tho I have issues with the body of Revell's 49 Merc, I think it's great that they produced a kit that was already chopped with lots of custom parts to go along with it. What it does is provide a way for younger folk (and anyone less experienced with chopping/modifying a stock body kit) to build a full traditional custom model car of their own. Same goes for their 48 Ford sedan kit.

Thanks! 😁

I thought the same thing when I saw that Revell had come out with their 49 Merc kit! I asked myself why would they make a 49 when we already have 1949 offerings that exist from both AMT and MPC? Also, aside from the extra custom parts, it's not a very good kit in my opinion: The body is not accurate, and the chop is not done very well as the top sits too high at the B pillars 😑👎

Ha! I feel the same way about it. On one hand, the 58 Edsel is a very unique design, which is what makes it 'cool' to me. On the other hand, it is also generally kind of weird and awkward lol As a result, I've challenged myself to see if I can turn this strange car into a slick custom that is rooted in the history of that late 50's era. In the recent past I was able to take a Revell 50 Ford Pickup and tastefully customize it (I think) and improve it's otherwise 'unhandsome' factory look. We'll see if I can do a similar thing with this Edsel:

It does! I thought I was going to need to do the same for the rear window opening (I had planned on making two relief cuts in the top, one on each side of the main one going down the center for the windshield). Turns out I was able to nudge (slightly bend) the top halves of the C pillars outward and the bottom halves inward, in order to line them up again. However I still need to sand down the .020 thick styrene plating I used to strengthen the cuts at the pillars to confirm rear glass fitment. I'll wait to do this later. I probably should have switched to .010 thick styrene in this case....to late now! lol🤪

Fingernail wraps? I may have to look into that! I have been considering with using thinner styrene than my usual .020, like .010 but I wonder how strong it would be. Would I be able to go to any standard beauty supply store and find those fingernail wraps?

Thank you! I've learned over the years of cutting things up that the cleaner I can make my cuts and the more precise I can measure things out, the btter the overall job will turn out. Not to mention that cleaner mods make for an easier time with paint prep. I certainly will do my best to document the steps on this build! 👍