Moebius 1968 Mercury M100 Announcement

[Radretireddad]

On 7/29/2024 at 12:48 PM, Ron Hamilton said:

I watched HPI Guy's build and review of this kit over the weekend, and while I don't agree with a lot of his color choices and paints used on the builds, they do make me want to purchase the kit. I have most of Mobieus' Ford Truck kits, and I have only built one, the 1969 in the photo shown, but I look forward to building more of them in the future. 

That’s a great looking build. May I ask where you got the wheels from?

[Radretireddad]

23 hours ago, Jim B said:

That would be interesting to see.

Great! I’ll post a brief tutorial in the pickup truck WIP topic.

[Jim B]

On 7/29/2024 at 2:20 PM, 1972coronet said:

BTW, was the 100 available with the FE engine in 1:1 ? I know that the 250 and 350 had the FE (in addition to other engines), but I don't believe that I've ever seen the "lowly" 1/2 ton with a factory-installed FE, 360 or 390.

What engine would be more appropriate for a F/M-100, and where would you source one?

[Can-Con]

OK this might be a stupid question but with all the talk of Model King and Pegasus in the last pages, will this kit be available to us here in Canada at our local hobby shops? 

[mk11]

On 7/28/2024 at 4:56 PM, stavanzer said:

Just Why is it hard to look at?

Answer's in the last part of my statement; not dissing the build itself. Just my 2 cents, ymmv.

5 hours ago, Jim B said:

What engine would be more appropriate for a F/M-100, and where would you source one?

The FE was available as an option in all years and payloads from '65 up; the 240 six was standard. Mid-year '69 was when the 302 was added to the list.

 

 

[Erik Solie]

19 hours ago, Can-Con said:

OK this might be a stupid question but with all the talk of Model King and Pegasus in the last pages, will this kit be available to us here in Canada at our local hobby shops? 

Yes.  There are several shipments going to Canadian distributors.  If your local shop says they can't get it, they need to ask their distributor to get some.

Erik

Moebius

[Erik Solie]

On 7/29/2024 at 11:50 AM, Rob Hall said:

This 1:1 resembles the box art, even has the blue hubcaps. 

Ah, there's the troublemaker that set me down this road!  I blame Jalopnik!

Erik

[mk11]

A little backstory from a Model Roundup bulletin...

 

 

 

"First we have the arrival of the unique and authentic 1968 Mercury M-100 Pickup. Larry Thompson, owner of Moebius Models, sent us this history and asked us to share it with you. Apparently, Erik Solie from Larry's staff brought the idea of doing a Canadian Truck to Larry showing him a picture and explaining, "these were done for the Canadian Market". With large swaths of Canada's rural outback without a Ford Dealer in the area. Ford Motor Company, needing to sell their popular F series pickups in Canada decided to release a special version of the F-100 pickup under the Mercury moniker as M-100's. The truck was a big success in Canada and vintage models are very collectable today.

 

Larry further reflected, "Having many customers in Canada that build our kits, why not dedicate a model to them! Along with not needing much incremental investment to produce the kit, why not indeed! As a huge fan of Canadian Sports and his loyal Canadian customers, Larry got excited and greenlighted the project.

 

The box art is dedicated to Terry Ryan one of the original box art guys for Pegasus Hobbies. (Pegasus is another popular Thompson business) Larry remembers fondly as he and Terry traveled frequently to Detroit to see the Red Wings play. Both are avid Hockey fans and therefore the background of this kit looks like a Hockey arena in honor of Terry. There is also a logo on the truck for Terry's company. On the marquee is a tribute to Terry Ryan, “Thanks for the memories!".

 

The box art for this kit was done by Scott Willis, a contemporary and friend of Terry’s. Larry concludes, "As you can tell this project has a lot of history for us, hope you enjoy" Ah, the sweet memories. Terry, this one is for you! Canada this one is for you! What a great idea for a kit!"

 

Funny how info can get all twisted out of whack on the 'net. After the war, Ford had some catching up to do after the elder Henry finally 'retired'. Ford and Lincoln-Mercury were split into separate dealer streams, much like GM and Chrysler had already done; Chev/Olds dealers selling the Chevy trucks and Pontiac/Buick dealers selling the GMC trucks. Dodge dealers sold their namesake trucks and the Chrysler/Plymouth dealers sold the Fargo/Plymouth trucks. The Mercury truck was marketed by the L/M dealer network. It's possible in smaller towns with just one or the other type of Ford agency they sold either type of truck. One Merc I owned had been originally ordered by a Ford dealer. Another interesting tidbit is that '66-'68 Mercs were built at both the Oakville and San Jose plants. The US built trucks were meant to bolster supply for western Canada, as the Oakville plant ramped up overall production due to the removal of tariffs hindering production for the US market. 

 

Thanks Moebius, for finally doing one.

Edited July 31, 2024 by mk11

[64Comet404]

On 7/29/2024 at 2:20 PM, 1972coronet said:

BTW, was the 100 available with the FE engine in 1:1 ? I know that the 250 and 350 had the FE (in addition to other engines), but I don't believe that I've ever seen the "lowly" 1/2 ton with a factory-installed FE, 360 or 390.

You could order all the same engines in the Mercury as in the Ford. There were probably more sixes and smaller V8's sold in the Mercury line, due to economic factors in Canada, but ordering a M-100 with a 360 or 390 was definitely possible.

[Radretireddad]

On 7/30/2024 at 2:36 PM, Jim B said:

What engine would be more appropriate for a F/M-100, and where would you source one?

According to the original sales brochures, an FE was optional on the 67 to 72 half-ton F series. The manual top-loader or the C6 but not the C4 included in the kit would also be correct with an FE.

https://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/FMC Trucks-Vans/dirindex.html

[Ron Hamilton]

On 7/30/2024 at 2:18 PM, Radretireddad said:

That’s a great looking build. May I ask where you got the wheels from?

I got the 69 Ford Sport Wheel Covers from Missing Link Resin. They were originally in the MPC  68/69 Jeepster. I modified the wheel centers and painted to Ford specs and painted  the white walls on the tires.

[Jim B]

13 hours ago, Radretireddad said:

According to the original sales brochures, an FE was optional on the 67 to 72 half-ton F series. The manual top-loader or the C6 but not the C4 included in the kit would also be correct with an FE.

https://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/FMC Trucks-Vans/dirindex.html

So the kit engine is "kind of" correct?

[64Comet404]

20 hours ago, Jim B said:

So the kit engine is "kind of" correct?

If you don't turn the model over, no one will notice the C4 transmission. If you really need a correct C6, you can find one in the AMT '66 Fairlane or Monogram '69 Talledega kits.

[Jim B]

2 minutes ago, 64Comet404 said:

If you don't turn the model over, no one will notice the C4 transmission. If you really need a correct C6, you can find one in the AMT '66 Fairlane or Monogram '69 Talledega kits.

Well, since I never turn my models over, I'm not going to worry about it then.  Thanks for the info.  I was actually thinking of stuffing this under the hood:

Ford 240/300 I6 Stock Engine Kit — VCG Resins by Reese

[Radretireddad]

On 8/2/2024 at 10:52 AM, Ron Hamilton said:

I got the 69 Ford Sport Wheel Covers from Missing Link Resin. They were originally in the MPC  68/69 Jeepster. I modified the wheel centers and painted to Ford specs and painted  the white walls on the tires.

Cool, thanks. They look just like the Ford sport wheel covers from that era.

[Radretireddad]

23 hours ago, Jim B said:

So the kit engine is "kind of" correct?

It is an FE which was available in a half ton F series so yes, it’s correct.

[Radretireddad]

2 hours ago, Jim B said:

Well, since I never turn my models over, I'm not going to worry about it then.  Thanks for the info.  I was actually thinking of stuffing this under the hood:

Ford 240/300 I6 Stock Engine Kit — VCG Resins by Reese

That’s a really nice rendition of that engine. Much better detail than the kit supplied six. 
 

With a little effort the flaws in the kit supplied six can be corrected.

[Radretireddad]

3 hours ago, 64Comet404 said:

If you don't turn the model over, no one will notice the C4 transmission. If you really need a correct C6, you can find one in the AMT '66 Fairlane or Monogram '69 Talledega kits.

The 1/2 ton 2-wheel drive long bed versions in the series include a correct C6.

Edited August 3, 2024 by Radretireddad

[Jim B]

56 minutes ago, Radretireddad said:

That’s a really nice rendition of that engine. Much better detail than the kit supplied six. 
 

With a little effort the flaws in the kit supplied six can be corrected.

 

Oh, I thought the M100 kit had a V8 in it. 

[64Comet404]

1 minute ago, Jim B said:

Oh, I thought the M100 kit had a V8 in it. 

It does, but there are builders who are switching to the Big Six (available in the Model King issues) because it was a more common powerplant in the 1:1 Mercury trucks.

 

[Radretireddad]

3 minutes ago, Jim B said:

Oh, I thought the M100 kit had a V8 in it. 

According to Chris’s review of the kit, it does include the correct FE and C6. The six cylinder I showed is from the 1/2 ton short bed 2-wheel drive version but also drops into the LWB trucks. Sorry for the confusion.

[Jim B]

23 minutes ago, Radretireddad said:

According to Chris’s review of the kit, it does include the correct FE and C6. The six cylinder I showed is from the 1/2 ton short bed 2-wheel drive version but also drops into the LWB trucks. Sorry for the confusion.

No problem.  I don't have the other kits, so i might go the VCG Resins route.

[1972coronet]

6 hours ago, Jim B said:

 I don't have the other [ Moebius F-Series ]  kits, so i might go the VCG Resins route.

I positively LOVE the products of VCG. I just purchased the performance version of their 300 six (a stock version is available as well) , and it's gorgeous. I've also purchased their 9" Ford rear (comes with TWO !) , two Slant Sixes (stock and HyperPack) , separate 727 trans, Chrysler small block headers, and some other items I can't recall at this moment.

Don't hesitate - you won't be disappointed.

[Jim B]

11 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

I positively LOVE the products of VCG. I just purchased the performance version of their 300 six (a stock version is available as well) , and it's gorgeous. I've also purchased their 9" Ford rear (comes with TWO !) , two Slant Sixes (stock and HyperPack) , separate 727 trans, Chrysler small block headers, and some other items I can't recall at this moment.

Don't hesitate - you won't be disappointed.

Well, if that's not a glowing review, I don't know what is. ?

[1972coronet]

One thing about the Moebius F-Series that I don't understand (okay, two things... but they're related) : 

- No separate trans oil pan (automatics) ;
- No separate covers (Dana differentials).