49' mercury to be customized to a 50' Mercury

[davyou5]

Hellos all!

I just got the 49 Mercury Special Edition Kit from Revell today! I also ordered an AMT 49 Mercury, so I can use the Cattle Guard Front and and rear Bumpers I expect that will be on the way soon.

Costumized Build!

I am Customizing this kit to be the Awsom 50 from the movie "Cobra" with Sylvester Stallone. But there are a few parts that I still need to complete this dream kit of mine, I still need to obtain the 50' Merc Dashboard, Parts by parks has the Flat hubs that I need to buy still, and I am considering making the interior just as accurate as the exterior, so I need to find Driver and Passenger Racing seats, Seat belts and a Temperature gauge. The rest of how it looks on the inside I can just get from the movie.

Nobody likes reading too long a page so I am going to separate the Photo's and explain further what I have done.

Here are three of the starting out photo's. Every thing was in the box.

[charlie8575]

I'm not familiar with the car or movie, but it sounds like an interesting project.

A few suggestions:

1. Don't stand so close to the subject while taking pictures. Those were very, very blurry. If, like me, your hand gets a little shaky, you might want to consider using a tripod. Also, try not to zoom in to the subject too much, that can throw focus way off.

2. Get a Photobucket account so you can post more pictures and leave them. You only have so much space for attachments allotted to you here. See the tutorial in Tips, tricks and tutorials for more information.

Charlie Larkin

[davyou5]

Thanks to the thread Back to the Basic's by Mark Taylor, I learned allot and applied it here on this model. But everyone that has responded to my questions have also contributed to the knowledge I gained and applied to this model. Thanks to this forum I think I did a really good job, Better than if I would have started with out the forum.

Okay the next three photo's,

You can see the cast mold is white, It ended up having a few burs that I did have to sand down. other than that is was a very clean cast. The next photo is the hood after washing in dish soap, Now before I move on I will have to say that LSUfan 1981 suggested that I go with the Dupli-Color Dark Shadow Gray Metallic, Okay I could not find it anywhere here, So here's what I have done, I ened up going back to the Hobby Lobby, and instead I got the Model Master Gunship Grey along with Model Master White Primer, The White Primer is all that they had. Also since I have learned about the Embossing Powder I tryed to find some there to, and all I could get was Sand in black.

Well for the third Picture, I used the White Primer and as Suggested to me by Niteowl7710, I put both paints in luke warm water and shook the hell out of them . So this photo is of the Test I have done on the Hood. And honestly folks I was amazed at how well the Primer and Paint went onto this model, I barely had any Orange peels, at least I could scratch them off with my finger nail, and after Curing the Paint in the Kitchen Oven, I have to say that this is far most the best paint job I have ever done! thank you all for the tips.

Edited September 25, 2010 by davyou5

[davyou5]

I'm not familiar with the car or movie, but it sounds like an interesting project.

A few suggestions:

1. Don't stand so close to the subject while taking pictures. Those were very, very blurry. If, like me, your hand gets a little shaky, you might want to consider using a tripod. Also, try not to zoom in to the subject too much, that can throw focus way off.

2. Get a Photobucket account so you can post more pictures and leave them. You only have so much space for attachments allotted to you here. See the tutorial in Tips, tricks and tutorials for more information.

Charlie Larkin

My Digital Camera is real cheap, so I do apologize that the pictures and lighting aren't very good, but I will take your advice The next time I Post my photos here, Thanks.

[dwc43]

I'm not familiar with the car or movie, but it sounds like an interesting project.

Charlie Larkin

Here's the vid I posted some time ago on the tube.

[Car Crazy 81]

Dave- Great start on the Merc i like where you going on this one.

I wanted to give you some ideas on what i did mines.

First thing i did was used a small piece of sprue from the kit to fill in the turn signal indicators.

Stripped off the chrome plating on the kits chrome reverse wheels and primed & painted them silver.

To get the correct dash order one from Modelhaus or Replicas & Miniatures Of Maryland.

To find Dupli-Color paints your local auto parts store carries them. If you cant find Dark Shadow Gray Metallic try Medium Gray Metallic which is dead-on.

As far the interior i would use the one from the kit and add seat belts. I got this idea from member Aftashox he made a set of seatbelts out of medical tape and used photoetched buckles. The easiest way order a set from MCG.

I hope this helps if you need any additional information PM me.

[davyou5]

Dave- Great start on the Merc i like where you going on this one.

I wanted to give you some ideas on what i did mines.

First thing i did was used a small piece of sprue from the kit to fill in the turn signal indicators.

Stripped off the chrome plating on the kits chrome reverse wheels and primed & painted them silver.

To get the correct dash order one from Modelhaus or Replicas & Miniatures Of Maryland.

To find Dupli-Color paints your local auto parts store carries them. If you cant find Dark Shadow Gray Metallic try Medium Gray Metallic which is dead-on.

As far the interior i would use the one from the kit and add seat belts. I got this idea from member Aftashox he made a set of seatbelts out of medical tape and used photoetched buckles. The easiest way order a set from MCG.

I hope this helps if you need any additional information PM me.

Hey LSU fan, Thanks for the Tips! I ended up using the seats and repainting the them white (Again), I have been working on it for two days now It's almost complete, I am just now tryng to decide if I want to put a coat of clear gloss over it. To All: Here's what I have so far

Keep in mind that the lighting was different on all the Pictures, But think the color matches up well enough. Still I am seriously considering putting a coat of Clear Gloss over it, Give me some feed back here, To Be or not to be a coat of clear gloss .

Also I am waiting for the AMT 49 Merc Kit to come in so I can get to work on the front and rear Fenders, Every thing else will take time to get, This will definintely not be an over night project so I will keep everyone updated as I get the parts.

Any way thanks for your comment LSU Fan, I will PM you if I have any questions, or need help in any way:).

[davyou5]

Okay People, I have gotten as far as I can go for this customization for now , I have to wait for other parts to come in. But I have a few pictures here to give you an Idea of how its turning out.

The Wheels I have placed there for fun, I do not have the Set of tires and the Hubs that I need just yet.

The Window Seals I have painted by hand, since I cannot afford BMF at the moment.

This is the best shot of the Engine that I could get for you, sorry.

This is all I have for now It will be awhile before I can post more:) .

[charlie8575]

A. MUCH better photos. They bring out...

B. Some very nice work.

As a suggestion for a camera, go hit a good independent camera shop in your area, Salvation Army, Savers, church thrift shop, yard or rummage sales, and see if you can find yourself a simple, point-and-shoot 35 mm camera. Just make sure the flash works and you're all set. You can usually pick one up for around $5-10 and you'll get a nice camera that takes decent pictures. If possible, stick to a major brand, like Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Vivitar or Chinon (the last two are mostly contract manufacturers but they make their own stuff from time to time.) Film can be processed and put on a CD for about $5-7 per roll. I usually use Walgreen's or Target, and the professional services for "important" pictures or the occasional contract job I do. If you want to get a little more fancy, you can get a nice 35 mm SLR kit for around $50-75 on Craigslist or the thrift stores, sometimes even less. Canon and Nikon are the two easiest to get extra lenses for. If you go for a Pentax, try to stick to a K or Ka-Mount lens (i.e., non-autofocus,) the AF-mount lenses are hard to find and expensive (I speak from experience.) A Minolta Maxxum is also a nice camera, and many of the Sony Alpha digital camera lenses can be used with them, as Sony bought Minolta's camera line about ten years ago so they could concentrate on copying machines. A Maxxum 5000 with a non-zoom lens (something like a 35 mm, 50 mm or a short telephoto, like a 28-80,) can be had for about $60 through private sale. A Canon Eos or Nikon of most descriptions and about 10-15 years old will be about the same, again, sometimes far less. Dad has a Nikon N80 and it's superb.

You'll find you get really nice pictures out of a decent camera, regardless of medium and if you order a CD, you don't need to get prints all the time and it's ready to upload to Photobucket. And for a (very) few bucks, they're out there.

[davyou5]

A. MUCH better photos. They bring out...

B. Some very nice work.

As a suggestion for a camera, go hit a good independent camera shop in your area, Salvation Army, Savers, church thrift shop, yard or rummage sales, and see if you can find yourself a simple, point-and-shoot 35 mm camera. Just make sure the flash works and you're all set. You can usually pick one up for around $5-10 and you'll get a nice camera that takes decent pictures. If possible, stick to a major brand, like Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Vivitar or Chinon (the last two are mostly contract manufacturers but they make their own stuff from time to time.) Film can be processed and put on a CD for about $5-7 per roll. I usually use Walgreen's or Target, and the professional services for "important" pictures or the occasional contract job I do. If you want to get a little more fancy, you can get a nice 35 mm SLR kit for around $50-75 on Craigslist or the thrift stores, sometimes even less. Canon and Nikon are the two easiest to get extra lenses for. If you go for a Pentax, try to stick to a K or Ka-Mount lens (i.e., non-autofocus,) the AF-mount lenses are hard to find and expensive (I speak from experience.) A Minolta Maxxum is also a nice camera, and many of the Sony Alpha digital camera lenses can be used with them, as Sony bought Minolta's camera line about ten years ago so they could concentrate on copying machines. A Maxxum 5000 with a non-zoom lens (something like a 35 mm, 50 mm or a short telephoto, like a 28-80,) can be had for about $60 through private sale. A Canon Eos or Nikon of most descriptions and about 10-15 years old will be about the same, again, sometimes far less. Dad has a Nikon N80 and it's superb.

You'll find you get really nice pictures out of a decent camera, regardless of medium and if you order a CD, you don't need to get prints all the time and it's ready to upload to Photobucket. And for a (very) few bucks, they're out there.

Hey thanks for the Comment, and I will sure look into more camera's and camera options.

[davyou5]

Hello all,

Update. Though I have no pictures for now, I did end up ordering parts. I got the 50' Dash from Modelhaus. Flat hubs, Black Chrome BMF, and a set of three small gauges (though I will be using one) from Parts by Parks, then I found a website called Grand Prix Models were I ordered a simiar looking three spoke Racing Steering wheel, this company is in England so it's going to be a wait for it.

Ewaskew has inspired me to use the Fun Foam for the interior, I am still working the details all out on that process but so far so good. I will post up more pictures soon. Thanks.

[davyou5]

Hello all,

Another update with pictures! I just got in the 49' Mercury kit from AMT, Swapped the fenders and had to glue and hold them on to make it them stay, though on the AMT kit a bar was going across the guards, so I carefully cut them out. Also I added a few decals from that kit to the Engine compartment, Since I do not know what the engine looked like from the movie, I thought it would be neat just to place them there, acurate or no.

Also I had alittle oopss the other day, I accidentally set the body on top of a Q-tip damp with paint thinner, And as you can imagine it burned right through my paint job, So I ended up taking off the paint and respraying it again . So now the windows are all fogged up and I have to order replacement windows. I am still waiting on the tires which will be in soon, and the Flat hubs I ordered. Though I would much rather be showing off a finished project, this one is going to take allot of time, and waiting .

Anyway thanks for looking.

[charlie8575]

Those pictures look great, Dave. And the conversion looks good, too. Great job.

Charlie Larkin

[Car Crazy 81]

Dave- The website for those plates is http://www.spencer1984.com .Once you visit the site look up Tips & Tech the how-to is located October 2009. I also PM'ed you Bill's e-mail address.

Edited October 3, 2010 by LSU Fan 1981

[thebronze]

Looks good so far.....But You are forgetting the hood scoop

[davyou5]

Looks good so far.....But You are forgetting the hood scoop

Hi, Thanks for the Comment. But I have not forgotten the Scoop, I am right now in the Process of making the Scoop, I am also awaiting more custom parts to come in , I was just showing what I have done currently. It's almost complete, and I will be showing the rest of it on the " Under The Glass" topic. Thanks.

Edited October 4, 2010 by davyou5

[davyou5]

I am still in between this project, and I am still awaiting the 50 Dash board from ModelHaus, and the Racing Steering Wheel from a UK company. I am currently working on getting the Hood Scoop right and fixing up where the Cement glue burned on the Plastic with some putty. And since I have the putty there are a few more area's that need to be fixed. I also intend on changing the color to the Medium Grey that would make Cobra's Car more accurate. This is all I have up to date right now.

Edited October 20, 2010 by davyou5