Phildaupho

That is an amazing F1 model. I had no idea anything like this was available

Well said Roger and I am really digging your Merc Custom.

Thanks guys - Initially I was not going to do a work in progress post on this project because I figured the build would be very straight forward. It has ended up being more involved than I thought it would be especially trying to rectify some of the short comings of the Revell kit that have been pointed out to me. But as a result I think I will end up with a much better looking tribute to the Sam Barris Merc.

Thank you both for your replies. There is definitely a lot that is good about this kit in its own right. But one of the best things is that it led to the tooling of the '49 Mercury Wagon kit with its completely stock front end. Although I am not inclined to do it myself, grafting the front end of the Wagon onto the Custom would solve some of the short comings previously mentioned. One could even shave the arm rests and door hardware off the interior panels and add to the custom. Personally I am looking forward to eventually using the lowered suspension from the Custom under a Woody build.

Your boat is far more attractive then some of finned creations I remember seeing cruising on lakes as a kid

I currently have a Revell '49 Merc on The Workbench Sam Barris 1949 Mercury - WIP: Model Cars - Model Cars Magazine Forum and during construction short comings of the kit have been pointed out to me that I had over looked or was not aware however I always thought there was something about the kit that did not look quite right. Don't get me wrong the Revell '49 Merc kit is a great source for building a very attractive custom right out of the box which contains lots of great parts for use on other projects. Some of the short comings of the Revell '49 Merc are as follows The body is very slab sided The grill opening is peaked and squared off The hood is very angular Some say the roof has a forward slope and is chopped too much The inner door panels although having a tuck and roll appearance do not have arm rests or door and window cranks The windshield and rear window do not have divider The extended front fenders for the headlights are a matter of taste Some modelers do not like the big round holes for mounting custom taillights It is interesting to compare the Revell '49 to the AMT stock '49 Merc that was released in the early 1960's

I spent some time sanding the hood and grill opening to partially correct the kit shortcomings by making both more rounded. I think it is definitely an improvement and closer to how it should be.

Thanks Tim for your reply. I always enjoy reading your insightful and knowledgeable comments. One of the many reasons I get so much out of participating on this forum is that there is always something to learn from other car modelers. Unfortunately I was not paying attention to new kit reviews when the Revell '49 Merc was released . Although I have at least three of these kits in my stash, I never had to urge to build another chopped Merc until now. I picked the Revell kit to build the Sam Barris Merc basically for expediency in that it seemed like many of the required modifications had already been done and many of the needed parts were included in the kit. Now that the build has progressed and replies have been made; the deficiencies of this kit are very obvious. But it is just a model car and I think it will still look very representative when it is in a display case under a poster of the real car. I could not resist taking a photo of this project next to the AMT '49 Merc I built in 1994 when I was just seriously getting back into the model car hobby. I did a lot of research on how to chop a '49 Merc whether scale model or full scale. I am still very happy with how the chop turned out. With the two side by side it is very obvious the Revell sides are too flat, the shape of the hood is way off and as pointed out by Roger the shape of the grill opening is not correct. Just for curiosity I may have to find the reviews of this kit when it was new to discover other possible deficiencies I have so far missed.

Thanks Roger - I did not modify the area above the grill. That is just one of the many aspects of the Revell kit I am learning about that was not rendered correctly.

The last major body modification was to figure out how to replicate the taillights. I had already filled the round holes for the kit taillights. The original car had custom hand-built taillights frenched into the body. My first attempt was to try and modify the stock AMT taillights for application directly to the body. This might have worked but the reworked taillights became so thin and fragile that I broke one. Then I decided to drill and cut oblong slots into the body which I back filled with sheet styrene. At first I planned to bare metal foil the recesses after body paint and then flow in multiple applications of clear red paint to create lenses. This probably would have produced acceptable results but I found a clear red sprue that I can shape to make lenses. They still need some work to fit flusher. At this point I decided to see how other parts fitted and to check the stance. I just had to drill new holes to mount the AMT ’49 rear bumper but the front bumper required that the peak be taken out of the Revell ’49 Merc gravel pan. The AMT ’49 Merc custom grill is similar to the original but I may reduce its depth to fit deeper inside the grill opening. I was not happy with the shape rounded shape of the kit spotlights so checked out the AMT ’49 Merc units which were more pointed but too small. The spotlights on the original were actual spotlights and fairly large. I found the spotlights in the AMT ’59 El Camino looked very close to the originals.

All I can say is WOW. I am sure the Corvette Museum would welcome this miniature Corvette.

Great looking model. I have always liked these kits. I built a Paul Tracy Kool version and convinced my buddies to build a grid of other liveries. In regard the Greg Moore, it is a real tragedy that Greg was not in the sister Penske in 2000. If Greg had survived I am convinced he would have won championships, Indy and maybe even Formula One.

Thanks Oliver. An aspect of the Sam Barris Merc I really like is how flush the fender skirts fit the body. The kit skirts are not straight across the bottom and are also too thick but I like how there is an inner lip t0 facilitate fitting them to the wheelwell. I did consider modifying the AMT ’49 Merc skirts but these are designed to fit the more rounded sides of the AMT Merc. So my option was to make new skirts of thin sheet styrene with thicker styrene on the backside cut to the contour of the wheelwells. AMT - left Revell - centre Mine -right This photo shows how unrealistically slab-sided the Revell Merc is but it is what it is and I am sticking with it.

Thanks guys. If you have access to past issue of The Rodder's Journal there are great article on the Sam Barris Merc in issues 29 and 38 both before and after restoration.

That is going to be one very wicked Javelin !!

I have always been attracted ’49 – ’51 Mercury Customs. Perhaps the first really cool car I saw cruising the streets of the community I grew up in was a purple 4-door ’51 Mercury that reportedly had a Thunderbird engine was the fastest car in the valley in 1962. Building a chopped AMT ’49 Merc brought me back into the hobby in the mid 1990’s. I painted it purple in remembrance of that ’51 Merc and upholstered it with corduroy like I did back in the ‘60’s. Last year I started off with an AMT ’49 Merc I got in a Secret Santa draw. I built it as the mild custom James Dean drove in the Rebel Without A Cause movie. Recently an acquaintance completed a beautiful ’49 Merc Custom which was a ten year plus project. Once I complete the Sam Barris Merc I will be building a Jimmy Flintstone Hirohata Merc.

Thanks Guys and Andy I do agree with the deficiencies you point out but I think it will look representative when completed and it primarily for my display case.

Thanks Larry. It was a fun project that was at times a challenge but I am very satisfied with the results.

Thanks guys - It is great to have so much reference material. I am going to start working on the taillights and fender skirts.

For my first model car project of 2021 I am building a close but not exact replica of the Sam Barris 1949 Mercury as part of a series of models of cars pictured in six posters from The Rodder’s Journal that hang above my model building workbench. So far, I have built two of the six. History – Sam Barris was probably the first to chop a ’49 Mercury. Some say his personal Merc was the first but it is likely he completed a customer car before finishing his own. The car has been restored by Brizio Street Rods and is in the collection John Mumford. There is a great gallery of photos on the Brizio website of the car being restored. Rods in Progress This 1949 Mercury is owned by John Mumford (roybriziostreetrods.com) Starting point – The Revell ’49 Mercury was a great starting point for this build. The top is already chopped although maybe slightly more than the original but this eliminates the most difficult operation to build a custom Merc. The body is shaved, the hood nosed, the trunk decked and the suspension lowered. The kit also comes with many of the required parts like wide white walled tires, Cadillac hubcaps and spotlights. A custom interior is provided in the kit which is probably reminiscent of the original although no photos exist of the first re-upholstery job. Modifications done so far - Headlight mounting extensions cut back and headlight rims from AMT ’49 Merc frenched to body - Parking light holes filled - Taillight holes filled - Tops of doors were rounded [hood on original did not have rounded corners although model does. It is interesting to note that over the years the hood on the original did get rounded corners as well as louvers – the car has been restored back to its first configuration] - A more prominent peak seam has been added to hood - The hump in the doors was eliminated giving the sides a full fade-away affect which carries through all the way to the taillight area also eliminating the downturn at the extreme back end of the rear fenders. Future modifications - new holes will be cut in for scratch-built taillights - Chrome trim will be added below side windows - Lower side chrome trim will be added - Will add centre trim to windshield and dividers on back window - Fender skirts will scratch-built but based on the shape of AMT ’49 Merc skirts - Stock flathead engine and single exhaust from AMT ’49 Merc - Bumpers and custom grill from AMT ’49 Merc - Plan to paint it with Alclad Candy Emerald Green over Alclad Silver Base

Just came across your new project. I have to add my name to the list of those favouring keeping the "Olds Curve" on the rear fenders as it is very distinctive and stylish.

Thanks Claude I look forward to seeing your 2021 creations.

Thanks Steve Looking forward to seeing you at a model car show hopefully as soon as possible.

Nice T-Bucket from great kit

Beautiful model beautifully built and beautifully presented. I remember seeing old newsreel footage of Rosemeyer driving this awesome car. I do have a 1/43 diecast of this car.