Hi-Po

The Mercury is simply beautiful.

Sharp looking.

Looks good.

Great looking build.

Nice and neat. Good job.

That is one beautiful Caddy. Job well done.

Simply beautiful, well done.

Very creative and well done. I like it.

Thanks everyone, your comments are much appreciated.

Nicely done and impressive.

Thanks for the comment and I too have heard the rumor regarding the two built for evaluation. Too bad that Studebaker didn't follow through with the concept, it could have been a real money maker for them.

Nice job and I like what you did to the wheels, cool idea.

Recently, I came across a photo of a 1:1 1953 Studebaker Starliner Coupe that the guy had converted to a convertible after the hardtop had been damaged. Always looking for something different to build and having the AMT/ERTL 1953 Studebaker kit in my stash, I sat to work on building my own Studie rag top. Also, I might mention that Studebaker never made a Starliner convertible. I started by carefully cutting off the roof being sure to leave the side wing windows. I then reshaped the trunk area. Wanting to give this a mild custom look, I added wheel well molding and rocker panel trim using styrene strips. The front and rear bumpers were modified by removing the bumperettes and enlarging the rear license plate area. The taillights were modified with scratch build lenses and aluminum tubing was used for the exhaust tip. I wasn't happy with the way the front fascia looked so I added about 3mm to each end which lowered the fascia giving it a better look. Also, the car was lowered in the front end per kit instructions. Other scratch built items include the antenna, sun visors, window cranks and interior door handles. The purse in the front seat is from the Tamiya Campus Friends set with an added styrene strap. The convertible boot came from my spare parts and was modified to fit the Studie. The wire wheels and tires came from a '62 Thunderbird. I used Scale Finishes Silver Jade over Tamiya white primer for the body color. After the paint was dry, I rubbed it out using Novus #2. No clear coat was applied. Instead, I waxed the exterior using Meguair's Gold Class wax. Interior paints are Model Masters and I used a combination of Bare Metal Foil, Alclad ll Chrome and Molotow Chrome pen for the bright work. The engine and engine compartment was detail painted and I added spark plug wires using fly tying wire. Also, the chassis was detailed painted and a X brace was added to the frame to better support the convertible configuration (sorry no photo). This was an enjoyable build that adds another unique - one of a kind - subject to my ever growing car collection. Enjoy the photos.

Nicely done!

Beautifully done! Nice and clean.

Nicely done, looks great!

Nicely done!

Outstanding build! Nice and clean. Attention to detail is great. I like it.

Nicely done.

Nicely done, clean and simple.

Absolutely beautiful. Nice and clean, I like it.

Excellent! Very realistic. Great job.

Fabulous! That is totally out of this world, lol. Nice job on the build.

I agree with thatz4u - one of your best.

Very clever idea and execution. I like it.