49 Merc restoration

[dino246gt]

Here's the body in paint.

I spray bombed it, then lighly sanded then used clear also from a spray bomb.

Then I polished most of the clear off to achieve this finish.

Remember that I had NO PLAN for this once I started the dis-assembly, it's just the paint I had on hand.

 

[dino246gt]

When I fitted the rear window, I saw those two strips sat way too high.

So I got rid of them!!!

Don't let the reflection of the LED ring light make you think the paint isn't smooth, it is.

 

Edited June 19, 2024 by dino246gt

[dino246gt]

With foil and glass installed, it's coming along!

Anyone who's foiled one of these knows the pain of the side windows, barely any foil, just enough to take a lot of patience!

As always, touch-ups come after looking a large pictures!  Cheers.

 

Edited June 19, 2024 by dino246gt

[dino246gt]

Those side window foil bits!

 

[NOBLNG]

Great work on the interior Dennis. i like that colour too!??

[dino246gt]

I mixed up various shades of Tamiya acrylics to get these tones for my interior, I even had to mix flocking to get a color I liked.

I made some simplistic window cranks and door handles from small beads, wire and wire insulation.

I squished the brass wire for the door handles.

Then I brush Molotow on them.

Not much of this will actually show inside the Merc even though it's not chopped, it's just fun to do and I haven't added any extra parts, other than the "made" cranks and handles.

It's still an old glue bomb save.

Edited June 24, 2024 by dino246gt

[dino246gt]

I painted the dash, foiled the gauges and used decals from the Revell '49 Merc kit.

Then I covered them with white glue, when it dries it sort of looks like glass lenses and it keeps the decals in place!

Interior is pretty much done!

Oh, I'm still going to brush Future to the dash top and steering wheel center, for a bit more gloss.

 

Edited June 24, 2024 by dino246gt

[dino246gt]

I brushed Future over the dash top and door tops, and the center of the steering wheel.

 

[dino246gt]

Here's the front suspension bits.

Since I'll be mounting the king pins upside down for the lowered look, the tie rod won't stay on, so I snipped off those pegs and drilled for straight pins.

I made little styrene circles with a hole punch, and to drill them, I put them on tape because they're too small to hold and drill.

The wheel backs are not from this kit, and they're too long, so they got cut off!

These little bolts hold the wheels on, and now I have poseable steering!

(the kit did have poseable steering, but because mine is a re-build, there was glue and paint and it just wasn't working for me)

 

[dino246gt]

I foiled the original grille, and it wasn't as easy as I thought! Had to do it in sections, and there's a lot of burnishing involved!

Some black panel line brings it to life!

Original bumpers too, but new headlight lenses, these are from Jim Pelosi, resin or 3D I'm not sure but I bought a ton of both sizes and they're great!

Bumper guards were brushed with Molotow after the bumper was attached, chrome was worn, still is in some areas but that's okay for this one.

 

Edited June 27, 2024 by dino246gt

[TarheelRick]

An amazing rebuild. All the small details just bring the whole thing to life. That Flathead is an amazing piece of modeling.

[dino246gt]

I removed the chrome from the centers of the parking lights and added clear lenses from the parts box, likely '32 cowl lights.

Everything is restored from the original built up except headlight lenses, parking light lenses and hubcaps! That was my goal, NOT to get carried away with new stuff!

Edited June 28, 2024 by dino246gt

[dino246gt]

Here's how it looks, I added clear red paint over the old tail lights after I smoothed around the edges and foiled them.

[FoMoCo66]

Wow if you told me this was a glue bomb, I wouldn't believe you. Great job ?.

[SpeedShift]

Excellent work on this.

Could you tell us more about that nice paint job...type of paint, how applied?

Edited July 2, 2024 by SpeedShift

[Zippi]

I'm really diggin the looks of the ole Merc.

[Rattlecan Dan]

Really nice save. Very realistic ole' look. Good job.

[stavanzer]

Wow!

Just Super Work on this save.

I like the paint.

Edited July 3, 2024 by stavanzer

[dino246gt]

I made a little battery box for under the seat.

I added the horns, heater, coil, beehive, voltage regulator and steering gear and rod.

I got the hood to fit better by carefully sanding the sides at the front.

Pretty much finished this one, still trying to make the hood open farther, anyone who's built one knows that it snaps in place and opens, but not very far.

 

 

[dino246gt]

On 7/2/2024 at 5:48 PM, SpeedShift said:

Excellent work on this.

Could you tell us more about that nice paint job...type of paint, how applied?

Hey Jim, it's just rattle can Tamiya and Mr. Hobby clear, also from the can. I use Novus 2 as a polish. I'm getting better with spray cans! I usually use my airbrush, but this turned out better than I expected.

[dino246gt]

I just added the tiniest bit of weathering to the underside:

 

[TopherMcGinnis]

BEAUTIFUL build Sir!

[LennyB]

Beautiful save, came out nice.  

[David G.]

I just discovered this thread and I have to say, what a fabulous rescue job Dennis!

I love all the little details you added. The overall look and finish of the car is fabulous!

I have a thread dedicated to the venerable '49 Mercury, here's a link. 

 

I'd be honored if you'd share some photos of your Excellent example there.

Cheers!

David G.

[bobss396]

What is the color? It looks amazing, these cars need to be painted in a dignified color. I picked up a lot of AMT Mercury parts, I could likely build 3 cars out of that alone. I have 2 AMT kits in the works, one is a resin body, the other is a Revell kit.