1949 Mercury

[LO51 MERC]

Hi Bill,

I'm just gonna add my few cents worth of appreciation to you for this thread. I've been modeling for at least 55 years, and some of the things you're showing us are some of the things I found out for myself. But, and thanks for this, there are a whole bunch of things I would never have thought of. Thanks for sharing your time and expertise with us. Gary

[James Flowers]

Dumb question maybe? When you use the touch and flow applicator ? What keeps the glue from drying in the applicator?

[charlie8575]

Great build, Bill and a really good idea.

I have a couple of questions.

Foiling before painting. I have a couple of people that've said put the foil on before priming (which seems a bit odd to me,) and what I've usually tried, putting it on the primer. Which do you prefer?

Acetone in paint? Aren't you a little concerned about it dissolving the model?

I like that glue tip. I'll probably experiment with that a little to get the hang of it.

Charlie Larkin

[Oldboychas]

Another problem area I noticed, is this way too thick body work section here. Now I'm going beyond Modeling 101 a bit, and my "Obsessiveness" is kicking in.........but I've got to fix this!

Let's take the Dremel Moto Tool and thin the fender walls out a bit. Be careful if you want to do this! I have a variable speed tool so I have it at the lowest setting possible!

I don't want the speed so fast for it to slip and gouge the bodywork.

Ahhhhh! Much better! But now I see another SNAFU..............

Let's add a "lip" to the inside of the trunk area. Real trunks in 1:1 have a lip to seal the trunk with weatherstripping to keep the nasties out..........we want to replicate something like that here.

If this step is a bit much for you, you can skip it-------this is aimed more at the advanced builders who sometimes neglect this subtle yet important detail.

I added sheet plastic at the corners..............

Then with a round file, I wanted to create a radius for the corners. Look inside any car trunk--------the corners never come to an abrupt sharp angle.........there's always radii there.

Since the corners have an angle to both sides, I want to join all the corners with some strip plastic that's also angled.

The strip plastic is a .010 x .080 pieces that'll be used here.

Using the Ambroid, I'm gluing the strips around the perimeter of the trunk opening.

Now! This looks more "complete" and less "empty". I didn't shave down the tulip panel as this needs to stay put because the trunk hinges off of it.

I need as little drama as possible to build this!

I'll clean the edges up as well as fill in the gaps.............then I think I'm about ready to paint! BTW, the paint color will be deep Krylon Navy Blue----- a very close color that Mercury offered for 1949. The darker colors to me always show off the curves a lot better than lighter colors when it's all rubbed out and polished.

Well that's all for now! I'm going to depart from my norm and paint the body early. Usually I wait until near the end of the build to minimize fit troubles. For the sake of this tutorial however, I'll paint early and while the paint is drying, go through the engine, chassis, and interior prep.

Thanks for looking! Comments welcome!

Edit: Whoops! Looks like Fotki had onions for dinner again! The final pic should show now...........that's the one with the lip around the perimeter of the trunk opening.

[crispy]

Bill, Still following this with awe.

I see a future supplement to Model Cars mag in the form of Basic Model Building 101 by Bill Geary.

I hope that you'll take the time to combine all of your text and pictures for an actual supplement to Model Cars. Thus sharing your wealth of information to not only us on the internet, but that kid that happens to pick up the mag by coincidence.

Thanks, for the basics Bill. We all need them.

Chris

[jfh]

Like the others, I'll add my praise. Thank you, Bill.

I'd also like to suggest that, as you get this further down the road, perhaps this thread can be edited into a new one that has only your posts in it--IOW, a true how-to-thread in 101 modelling, with the consistency of one builder and one model from-beginning-to-end.

Jim H.

[MrObsessive]

Dumb question maybe? When you use the touch and flow applicator ? What keeps the glue from drying in the applicator?

[MrObsessive]

Great build, Bill and a really good idea.

I have a couple of questions.

Foiling before painting. I have a couple of people that've said put the foil on before priming (which seems a bit odd to me,) and what I've usually tried, putting it on the primer. Which do you prefer?

Acetone in paint? Aren't you a little concerned about it dissolving the model?

I like that glue tip. I'll probably experiment with that a little to get the hang of it.

Charlie Larkin

[MrObsessive]

Bill, Still following this with awe.

I see a future supplement to Model Cars mag in the form of Basic Model Building 101 by Bill Geary.

I hope that you'll take the time to combine all of your text and pictures for an actual supplement to Model Cars. Thus sharing your wealth of information to not only us on the internet, but that kid that happens to pick up the mag by coincidence.

Thanks, for the basics Bill. We all need them.

Chris

Hmmmm..............

Like the others, I'll add my praise. Thank you, Bill.

I'd also like to suggest that, as you get this further down the road, perhaps this thread can be edited into a new one that has only your posts in it--IOW, a true how-to-thread in 101 modelling, with the consistency of one builder and one model from-beginning-to-end.

Jim H.

Double Hmmmm..............

[MikeMc]

Like the others, I'll add my praise. Thank you, Bill.

I'd also like to suggest that, as you get this further down the road, perhaps this thread can be edited into a new one that has only your posts in it--IOW, a true how-to-thread in 101 modelling, with the consistency of one builder and one model from-beginning-to-end.

Jim H.

....How about a triple Bill!!!!

[93Z34]

I've been building models for about 30 years Bill and I'm learning things from this thread I'd never heard of before. The liquid cement trick is totally new to me and I've always pulled my hair out over the "ghosting" I get from the things like dome lights and so forth on the bodies.

I can see now why your Daytona came out so awesome. I will be employing many of these new techniques mon my Revell '49 Merc Custom build as well as my next Daytona project. I wish I had known about these methods when i started my other Daytona and Superbird!

Thanks for taking the time and effort to show us all your secrets to turning out some of the best automotive models I've ever seen. Hopefully my work will improve with the implementation of the techniques you use on your projects!!!!

[Dr. Cranky]

Mr. Bill, we're getting anxious for the next installment!

[MrObsessive]

Sorry for the delay guys! I'll try to have something new to put up by Sunday. I didn't get much time to work on it this week as I've been.......................well let's just say preoccupied.

[Captain Obvious]

Sorry for the delay guys! I'll try to have something new to put up by Sunday. I didn't get much time to work on it this week as I've been.......................well let's just say preoccupied.

Man, I haven't been "preoccupied" in years! ;)

[93Z34]

Man, I haven't been "preoccupied" in years!

It's not mine, the test results are negative and I ain't paying for it!!!!

[oldscool]

Always remember, accidents cause people. seriously Bill, ive been watching your progress on this one for several days now and im impressed.

[Olskoolrodder]

I just wanted to comment that this is a great thread!!! I have known about some of these techniques for years,but have also learned some neat new bits to start trying out. Good show,my friend,I can't wait to see updates as they come

[Ragnar]

Nice detailed build series of posts. You do great Work!

CHEERS!

Tom

[Guest arni]

Some very interesting tips here,nice to have then all in one place.Thanks.

[MrObsessive]

I want to get started on the engine to cover a few basics here dealing with appearance, particularly when looking at the engine from the bottom.

Nothing irritates me more than engine blocks that are split the entire length of the engine and trans together. But this is how the majority of kits were done in the old days.

Separate oil pans were a bit of a luxury. As you can see even with the best of lining things up, some areas still don't mate properly. BTW, I'm not as concerned with the trans case as those are cast with a parting line down the middle.

As best I could I got out my diamond flat files and tried to make both sides of the engine/trans as even as can be.

Even so, I know that split will show up after painting, so I got out the Tamiya putty again and proceeded to even out the surface that much more and try to minimize the split "ghosting".

I didn't care for the heads on this engine, so I got a resin set from Norm Veber of Replicas and Miniatures which look much better than the kit one with the molded in wires.

I'm going to get a little more "obsessive" with the engine as I'll be adding ignition wiring, so those kit pieces had to go.

Okay, one of the best modeling tools to come down the pike in regards to painting has got to be this stuff here! Future Floor Wax------which I believe is now called Pledge with Future Shine.

My sense tells me that despite all the careful painting that split still wants to rear its ugly head so..............

Lets brush on several coats of Future on the oil pan. I brushed on a coat------waited 'til it was dry, then brushed on another coat. I repeated this several times until I got a nice thick coat of Future on the oil pan.

Stay tuned for more!

[MrObsessive]

The engine will be a light blue of my own mixing, so a decent primer is in order. Tamiya makes a pretty good primer for most any kind of bodywork. It sprays beautifully out of the can, and doesn't leave a thick coat like some other primers might for this application.

Okay, I mixed up the Krylon Royal Blue, with Krylon White to get this shade of blue which is pretty close (if not exact) to pics I have of a flathead in a '49 Merc.

And whadaya know! That split did NOT show back up! Who says Future doesn't work??

The transmission will eventually be airbrushed with Aclad Steel.

I want the engine paint to fully cure in the dehydrator, so lets look at a couple parts in the ignition area.

Norm makes some EXCELLENT pre drilled cast resin distributors which also come with a shaft. I think he gives you three or four, so I'm down to my last set in this package. I do have other unopened sets to work with in the future.

A close up of the distributor using the macro setting on the camera.

I'll be using Detail Masters engine wiring for the distributor. For those of you on a budget.......you can get the same type of wiring at a good electronics store. Check around to see what they have.

The key is it NEEDS to be in scale! Nothing takes away from the appearance more if the parts used are out of scale for what's needed.

I want teeny-tiny plug boots on the dizzy, so lets slice the insulation they give you to around 1/32" to make these.

Here they are all sliced up and you can see the comparison to the distributor.

The shaft that Norm gives you I won't use-----instead I'll use the shaft that comes in the kit is it's a bit more to scale for this engine.

And for safe keeping, the little boots will be kept in the plastic bag until I need them. If I leave them on the table, one sneeze and they're history!

Okay that's it for now............as I mentioned in another post I've been quite "preoccupied" in another life.

The truth of the matter is I've recently met a very nice young lady through our church and she and I have been spending some time together. In fact I'll be seeing her again tomorrow evening, so needless to say, updates may not be as numerous as they could be.

Through this week I'll be working on the engine, I'm only going to get as detailed as the ignition wiring. For those of you who are novices, I would skip this step and concentrate on getting your construction as neat and clean as you can.

Thanks for looking guys, and thanks for indulging me!

[MrObsessive]

Always remember, accidents cause people. seriously Bill, ive been watching your progress on this one for several days now and im impressed.

Y'know I had to read your reply a couple times! Don't worry, if things work out, that "accident" won't happen until both of us have said "I do".

Thanks for the compliments..........I'm trying not to go too overboard with this although it's tempting. I'm considering a lot of the new ones here whom I don't want to be intimidated by what they see if I get too crazy!

[noname]

I to enjoy Bill's step by step tutorial even though I'm not exactly new at this. Great stuff for a person new to the hobby. Couldn't ask for anything more. Pictures are excellent. Maybe after this one Bill will do a more advanced/detailed account of one of his builds . Real fun to watch.

[Dr. Cranky]

Great info and tips all around. Cool, keep it going.

[Jantrix]

Great stuff Bill. The Future for the oil pan line is something I wish I'd known years ago. And good luck on the "other" thing you got going.