AMT '49 Merc

[papajohn97]

This one is built from one of the many recent re-issues of the old AMT kit (first tooled in '63?) and is still an amazingly good kit.  I used a factory original color, "Lima Tan", as a base paint from Scalefinishes.com that I chose based on a beautiful car that was listed on bringatrailer (here).  My model came out more of an olive greenish tan than the bringatrailer car which is metallic and more of a pinkish tan but I'm ok with the hue on my finished model - it look's like a period correct tan that I remember a lot of cars being when I was a kid.  I sprayed Tamiya TS-13 rattle can lacquer clear coat over the base coat. The brightwork window frames and side trim were masked and airbrushed using Alclad Chrome over black gloss enamel with a little Molotow pen touch-up, all other colors used were Tamiya acrylics.  I made a circular mask and sprayed the wide whitewalls onto the stock kit tires using Tamiya FX-2 flat white acrylic. The driver's side mirror was added from my parts box. I decided to glue the trunk lid shut after spending way too much time trying to get it to close properly with the rear off the body.  Assembly was pretty easy except for the fit of the grill with the grill center piece and the bumper, I had to do a lot of tweaking to get it all to fit and it's far from perfect.  I also managed to encounter some crazing on the bottom of the drivers wing window which only showed upon after assembly is a mystery to me - I used the Testor's "clear part cement and window maker" adhesive which is pretty mild stuff and did not apply it where the crazing occurred....oh well....always something....

I can see why these Mercs were/ are so popular to customizers, such  clean classic well-proportioned styling. Love this kit!

Cheers, John

Here's an outdoor shot, amazing how different/ lighter this "Lima Tan" color look's under sunlight (could be my cell camera's bad exposure?):

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by papajohn97
added sentence about trunk lid

[70 Sting]

Nicely done. Really like the interior.

[cobraman]

Very nice clean model, well done.

[Jim B]

Great looking Merc.  Well done.

[bamadon]

Very well done.

[1972coronet]

What a beauty! Nice and clean; perfect choice of colours. Seldom are these AMT Mercs built stock; yours is a fine, fine example.

*another kit that I must add to my collection.

[happy grumpy]

Really nice. This car is to me the most significant 50's design wise. This car is timeless. Always nice to see a stock build merc. Great work on this classic.

[bisc63]

Very sharp build. I commend you on your choice of gray here; too many "cool" shades of gray used sometimes as car color and it can look drab. This "warm" tone of gray is just nice on the Merc body! You wouldn't expect chrome trim to pop like that on gray, but there's a wonderful contrast between the trim and body that looks so real. Well done!

[thebavarian]

Great work. The color fits well with the car.

[Dragonhawk1066]

Nice!!

[PappyD340]

Great looking Merc!

[Street Rod]

Very nice build! Clean and well detailed. 
 

“Crazy ‘bout a Mercury”  ?

[Chuckyg1]

Nice build. Rarely see one built stock and yours is beautiful. 

[rsmodels]

John, I haven't built one of these since the first issue back around 1963 or so. Yours looks spectacular-color, detailing, everything. Great job!

[Zippi]

That color looks fitting for the 49 Merc.  Love the old flattys.  Really nice looking build.  

[espo]

Beautiful looking color and paint finish. Seeing one built to represent a show room style is not often seen. This represents one of the best-looking Ford products of that time. Very clean looking chrome trim and emblems. 

[ea0863]

Very nice build. I particularly like the brightwork. Thank you for posting!

[1959scudetto]

Wonderful Mercury in perfect period-correct color.

[Plowboy]

I typically don't like stock. But, for some reason, I like this model! It really makes me want to build one! Well done! 

[Tom99]

Looking good!

[papajohn97]

Thanks guys for all the positive feedback. I have the Revell ‘49 Merc woodie wagon kit which I hope to also build a stock version of and post in the near future. The Revell kit unfortunately only comes with a tri-carb Cadillac V8 so I’ll need to replace it with a stock flat head, maybe an excuse to buy another one of these excellent AMT Mercs?

[bondo bill]

very clean nice

[Koellefornia Kid]

So clean! Nice build!

[Bronzekeg]

looks great, love the color choice.

[carrucha]

Cool Merc.  Nice to see one build factory stock.  Well built and finished.