Monogram Quicksilver rebuild / mod

[Russell C]

Built one of these as a kid, at a time when I sill played with models in the carpet. I dutifully glued the wheels/hubs onto the axles over the slip-fit tires, so it did roll. Didn't corner worth beans, of course. The single remaining part  in my parts box from mine is the 4-spoke steering wheel, center front in the pic below. Found all the rest as a parts-missing glue bomb on ebay just recently (tragic that it has a crack in the windshield), and it's handy that there is an ebay seller out there with reproduction decals (with silver metallic printing instead of the kit's silver foil, though). For the flames, lazy that I am these days on painting, I think I prefer the decals out of the Revell '67 Chevelle Streetburner version. (Dec 2022 update - changed my mind to the Revell '56 Chevy. See updated post down below)

Always liked this overall Tom Daniel design but have issues with various elements of it, such as the full width taillight lens, the bumperless rolled pan look, and the wheels. What I'm aiming for is a slightly de-tuned street machine custom look with regular front / deep dish rear rally wheels (hence my question about 24th scale vs 25th scale ones here), quad Buick taillights, a cowl induction-only hood, and a return of chrome bumpers.

The clear roof panel begs for some kind of load in the back. My first thought was for several crates' worth of Mercury model car boxes on top of a folding table, as though it was all destined for setup at a model car swap meet, but then I could imagine some smart aleck saying they'd all melt in the sun. Then I remembered I had several giftaways of Hot Wheels from the GSL contests, one of them being a '49 Mercury. It'll fit just fine between the fender wells, and with a bit of detailing, it could pass for a 1/3rd scale model, or an overdone pedal car. Toss in a couple of old AMT kit trophies and it might look like something hauled in a car like this. Good excuse to cover over the stained carpet material as a way to salvage it.....

Stay tuned.

Edited December 20, 2022 by Russell C
fixed link / changed idea about flames decals source

[slusher]

These are really fun kits to build...

[Maindrian Pace]

I built the Quicksilver as a kid, and it was one of my favorite cars. I always thought that it was pure genius on Tom Daniel's part to use El Camino doors on the sedan delivery body for the slanted B pillars, which takes a lot of the blockiness away and gives it a sleeker custom look. Someday I'll build another one.

[Junkman]

Built one of these as a kid, at a time when I sill played with models in the carpet.

What? You stopped doing it?
I'll do this 'till I die.

[Russell C]

A photo alteration of somebody else's ebay listing to give a general idea of the direction I plan to go in for the taillights. First, I'll have to fill in the entire panel like Geno did for his Silver Bullet, so ignore the bump in the middle of the pic below. But instead of the Chevy lights, I'll just have the larger - and four of 'em - Buick lights. And some kind of bumper bigger than the Impala one, but not necessarily the Invicta one. I have it too low in this altered pic, but even still, it doesn't look like it works well in this application .....

 

[Geno]

I like where you're going with this Russ, keep us posted.

[geemoney]

go GO go!

Love the street fighter-quicksilver-bad actor

I want to build one to resemble the original SF box art!

[DumpyDan]

cool

[Russell C]

Thanks for the interest, guys. Yep, I'm lagging behind a bit on posting at least one progress pic, which I can do when I get back to my apartment early next week. At least got a question answered about the silver foil version decal reproduction over at this thread. Meanwhile, having had a lot of fun with the Y-block engine in my last silly build (photo links malfunctioning until maybe an MCM forum system update restores 'em), I thought the flip front of this Quicksilver kit would be a great excuse to present a more detailed Z28 engine. So, I've turned the kit's entire too-simplistic engine/tranny lump into separate parts of tranny / bell housing / oil pan / oil filter / starter, along with separating the distributor and creating a better outlet for the upper radiator hose. You'll see.

[Russell C]

Separated the engine block/tranny into four pieces, mostly for having an easy time creating deadly sharp color line separations between what will be an orange engine, silver bellhousing and slightly different silver tranny, but also in order to have a totally cylindrical oil filter / starter instead of those two being molded-on lumps. So, there's a parts-box starter, and the beginnings of a period-correct early '70s oil filter, along with a more detailed mounting spot for the filter. Started on a better looking distributor, and put a larger block of plastic at the front of the crossram intake for the upper radiator hose. I won't go overboard with carburetor detail since I intend to bury that area with a single oval air filter with the cowl induction foam perimeter around it. I don't know my engines well, but it sure seemed this kit's Z28 one lacked that big round thing at the lower front, I assume a harmonic balancer. And, I used my motor tool cutting wheel to gouge in the rectangular hole in the blog of a water pump at the top front, in order to make that look more realistic in shape.

Oh, dear, the battery seems to have gone flat.

[Russell C]

Slight change of plans - I wiped out the kit's combined timing chain cover/water pump blob and added a mounting point for the fuel pump down at the front bottom passenger side corner, along with freeze plugs. The new timing chain cover will eventually have stretched sprue boltheads around the perimeter (since those are easy to make), but I'm leaving out the indented tri-spoke shape in it since it is harder to replicate (though it could be done with a 72nd scale 3-spoke truck steering wheel) that will be mostly buried under a much better water pump scrounged from the Revel '69 Camaro glue bomb I bought, and the harmonic balancer seen in the previous post. I've also decided to use the crossram intake and carbs from the Revell kit

Edited February 6, 2023 by Russell C
fixed busted link

[Eric Macleod]

I too built one of these as a kid and still consider it one of my all time favorite models. I think it was the first model I built that I really thought looked like the box photos when I was done with it.  I'll look forward to seeing what you do with this one. 

[Geno]

I like where you're going with it Russ, keep us posted.

Edited December 16, 2016 by Geno

[Russell C]

Will do. Got about 2/3rds through the complicated process of accomplishing the kind of regular/deep rally wheels I prefer, along with fixing the cowl induction hood ... but the other obligations I have which enable me to keep a roof over my head and meals on my table absorb time that cuts clean into my hobby time. Very frustrating sometimes,

[mod3l Lover]

   These are always fun to see peoples different takes

on design mods and such on cars like this.

   I look forward to more also!!

 

        David S.

[mod3l Lover]

   These are always fun to see peoples different takes

on design mods and such on cars like this.

   I look forward to more also!!

 

        David S.

[junkyardjeff]

I remember building one and I think it was called something else and molded in orange.

[Chuck Most]

I remember building one and I think it was called something else and molded in orange.

This one?

[junkyardjeff]

That is it.

[Russell C]

Update, after several years of inactivity. Was feeling stumped on how I was going to find a mint condition original silver foil Quicksilver decal sheet, and whether I could cobble together other flame decals that I like better. Twin problems solved days ago via Want Ad requests fulfilled via Ken "BIGTRUCK" and Thomas "Blacksheep214"! No offense to Tom Daniel or Monogram, but I think the Revell '56 Bel Air flames in the middle/upper right will work on the sides behind the front fender cutouts, and I'm reasonably sure I can splay out the two in the middle/upper left a bit to cover the hood, which will lose its huge scoop in favor of a cowl induction shape.

Haven't been totally stagnant on this project in the intervening years -- I filled in the back taillight panel and shaved off the round bump below the window, whatever that's supposed to be. In my pursuit of standard front/deeper dish rear rally wheels, I used my mini lathe to precisely separate the trim rings off the rally wheels in a '69 Revell Vette glue bomb I got years back. That same bomb is donating its basic GM front frame clip/suspension. Another '69 Z28 donates its firewall and fuel tank, where I'll either narrow that tank to fit between the molded-on frame or make a platform for the full width tank to go on the frame, such that it would like a fabricator would do for a 1:1 car. I make the glue bombs I've bought earn their keep! That Vette has donated its front fenders, roof, grilles and interior to another WIP that I should post one of these days ...

[Smilesperhour]

I've just chopped out the same fuel tank. You did a far better job than my hacking did

[Russell C]

6 hours ago, Smilesperhour said:

.... You did a far better job than my hacking did

I'll confess to cheating, sorta, a tip I learned from the late Bob Paeth maybe 2 decades back at one of the GSL contests where he showed us how a stiff paper disc screwed  into a motor tool shank will work as a good circular saw, for lack of a better description. Details on that tip at my comment reply with two more photos at this Panel Cutting thread.

[Smilesperhour]

That is clever idea