NEW 49 MERC WHATS UP?

[Tom Kren]

The box indeed two-sided; the red and blue ones are on either side of the same box. I was shopping at my local 'Great Wal of Mart' for other stuff this evening, and saw that they had 3 on the shelf.

(they had 2 on the shelf after I left. )

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WHAT YOU LEFT TWO SIT THERE ALL ALONE HOW RUDE!

[VW Dave]

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WHAT YOU LEFT TWO SIT THERE ALL ALONE HOW RUDE!

Actually, it turns out there were three more. Not to worry, Tom....after a visit to the local auto museum on Tuesday, and showing him the one I bought, Matt T. rescued of 2 of the remaining Mercs.

[Matt T.]

Actually, it turns out there were three more. Not to worry, Tom....after a visit to the local auto museum on Tuesday, and showing him the one I bought, Matt T. rescued of 2 of the remaining Mercs.

Thanks for the lead, Dave!

This kit is a homerun, guys! If you're waiting for one, it will be worth the wait. Apart from the obvious beautiful chopped body, great decal sheet and multitude of build options; my quick, limited inspection last night reveals that the tuck & roll interior can be cut down and fitted to various cars, the 16" medium-offset chrome reversed wheels will fit in the Rat Rod whitewalls ( ), the Caddy mill will accept the Revell Parts Pack 6x2 & 4x2 log intakes with little modification, and the 15" Sombreros and wide whites are very nice (tires even have 'Firestone' on them!).

The interior door panels don't have any engraved handles or door pulls, and none are included separately. But, as I said above, this makes for a very easy conversion to a wide variety of customs and hot rods.

My parting thought is the new flat box. It strikes me that it resembles the Japanese style, with the body laid flat in one end and the other trees stacked beside it, all separately wrapped. One of the short ends has a great picture of both built versions. Could Revell be positioning its domestic line for better Euro & Asian sales? The new box will fit right in the shelf slot meant for a Tamiya or Fujimi box - no doubt about it.

To paraphrase ZZ Top... "Hobbico/Revell - We Bad, We Worldwide."

[VW Dave]

How about some photos of the kit contents, Matt? Pretty please?

Not Matt, but he did ask me to shoot the pics:

http://public.fotki.com/VWDave/my_model_ca...revell-49-merc/

I omitted one of the small parts trees and the tires, but the rest is there.

[Mr. Metallic]

Thanks for the lead, Dave!

(tires even have 'Firestone' on them!).

That is very interesting. I wonder if Revell obtained access to a liscensing agreement that Hobbico possibly had with Firestone? If that's the case at least it's one positive thing to come from the Hobbico purchase!

Finally, a return to revell tires with sidewall detail! I know, it's a little thing, but it does make a difference

[RodBurNeR]

instructions, box art and decals plus photos of the kit

[Rob Hall]

This kit isn't a Wal Mart exclusive, though, is it? I see it listed on online model vendors websites as 'coming in August', so I'm assuming it will be readily available elsewhere eventually...

[oldcars]

Got one at Wally World in Colorado Springs yesterday. Oh happy day!

[casassa]

A fellow club member found them in South Bend, IN and grabbed one for me. I couldn't wait to get started. I've already modified the skirts and taillights and am working on figuring out the best way to use the RM&M '53 Buick side trim. So far everything I've assembled or test fitted went together well. There are lots of options in the box, so you could easily build a half dozen variations just with what's in the box. I can see myself building several of them.

[Ken Kitchen]

Got one at Wally World in Colorado Springs yesterday. Oh happy day!

Which Walmart in the Springs? I've check the one at Chapel Hills and the one at Powers and Woodmen and no luck

[larrygre]

Boy would I love to get a hold of one of the Wally World early birds, but here on the East Coast, its slim pickins.

What I've been told by a number of sources is that each W-M store orders new stock based upon THAT PARTICULAR STORE's sales, and that's why you see different kits in different W-Ms, and even W-Ms with no model kits at all.

I'll just be a little more patient. At least I can leave my razor saw in the drawer 'cause the roof is already chopped!

[oldcars]

Which Walmart in the Springs? I've check the one at Chapel Hills and the one at Powers and Woodmen and no luck

The one at the other Powers store across from K-Mart. Good hunting. They had four when I went in and three when I left. Richard

[Zoom Zoom]

I have been to SIX different Wallys in three different states in search of this kit and have come up empty-handed.

Frustrated!

Okay, now take a deep breath...the kit gets "officially" released on the 15th, according to the Model Roundup. Soon everyone, even those w/o the elusive WM Mercs, will be able to get them. I quit doing WM expeditions long ago, never could find anything new/hot locally that I heard about people finding elsewhere. My local store has a ton of kits, but not the new Merc.

[lordairgtar]

the walmart in Burlington Wisconsin had no selection at all, maybe 5 kits, all Donks. When I went to the WM in Mukwanago, it was like walking into a small hobby shop, tons of kits, HOK paints and the illusive Revell Merc. I did not get it but i did walk away with the Lindberg L700-trailer-40 Ford Combo for $24.95. I couldn't pass that up. Not sure what to make of that Ford. Kinda like the AMT kit but something was not right, Palmer tooling maybe? Plus the Ford chrome had so much thick flashing around the bumpers. That tool had seen better days. The truck looked OK.

[Modelmartin]

Hey Gregg! I thought you were done buying kits for a while???!!!! I know how that works.

I can't stand Wal-Mart so I will wait for my Local Hobby Shop to stock them. I am not much of a custom guy but this might be fun.

[FloridaBoy]

I really wasn't expecting this Merc to be as close to being on time as it was. It is a terrific kit, and I anticipated it would be, because I have become a Revell true lover. I always have been an AMT guy, and thought Revell, MPC. Johann, Lindberg, Eldon, the foreign companies and others to be cheap imitations. No longer.

I was basking at the beach last Saturday evening when my friend called me and asked what I thought of the model, and my reply was I had not seen it. He told me it was at Wal Mart, so I skee-daddled up the beach right there, and headed to Wal Mart.

Here is the point of the story. Walmart seems to be moving the toys around to prepare for the pre-Christmas season rush. So, it took me some time to find the models, then when I got there, they had the same old tire inventory of kits and spray paint. I got discouraged then looked way UP to the top shelf almost out of sight and there were 10 of them. I picked up 3 and headed for the checkout lane.

If your WalMart doesn't carry model kits, talk to the manager. They are customer oriented, and they do have a modeling program up to each manager to participate in. I did just that 4 years ago, and they have a full shelf of models. Second, look around and ask, they may still be in the box. WalMart down here seems to always be hopefully behind in stocking. It may be there, but still either in the back room or in a box to be scheduled for shelving.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

[FloridaBoy]

Just a little about the kit, short of a review. I am so excited about this kit, I am building my first one right out of the box, except for seats, and cutting out a sunroof. Just a few things about the kti. The box is the size of the downtown models, but this one is finished on both the top and bottom. One top has a "blue" custom option, while the reverse side has a red one. This is because there is no way to build it stock (leave that to AMT), but there are a whole lot of different grilles. The grille that I am going for is the '54 Pontiac grille.

Second, the top is really chopped, even a little more than I did my AMT. Almost to the point of not being able to view the interior, but still looks cool. Third, bench seats and no buckets like you find in the AMT one.

Last, the make and model of the engine is a mystery. I think it is because of licensing fees. I checked it against my other motors scheduled for my models, and the closest I could determine is that it is either a Ford or Mercury motor of sixties vintage.

There are alot of tire and wheel selections, and I haven't been this excited about a new model since the Revell '40 Ford Coupe and Convertible.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

[charlie]

I found the merc and dodge truck both in Missouri last week at the same time.Then have seen them in tennessee also this week

[FloridaBoy]

Regarding the engine, thanks for the information. It doesn't look too much like the Caddy engine that came in the AMT '49 Ford kit, but I will take your word for it.

I also have a suggestion. Some very cool wheels for this could come from the old AMT '40 Ford Sedan Delivery kit. Solid moons with wide whites.

Geesh, I can't believe I am building a car with skirts, wide whites, and almost stock out of the box. That is how much I like this kit.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

[BigPoppa]

Regarding the engine, thanks for the information. It doesn't look too much like the Caddy engine that came in the AMT '49 Ford kit, but I will take your word for it.

I also have a suggestion. Some very cool wheels for this could come from the old AMT '40 Ford Sedan Delivery kit. Solid moons with wide whites.

Geesh, I can't believe I am building a car with skirts, wide whites, and almost stock out of the box. That is how much I like this kit.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

I thought the AMT Merc had a Chrysler mill?

[Bowtienutz]

The AMT merc had a 413 mopar.

[Ken Kitchen]

The one at the other Powers store across from K-Mart. Good hunting. They had four when I went in and three when I left. Richard

Richard,

Thanks, they have two less now. There was still one on the shelf when I left.

By the way, I'm a member of the Front Range Automotive Modelers here in Colorado Springs. If you are interested you are welcome to join us. Our next meeting is the 21st of August. That's a week from next Tuesday. We meet at 7:00 PM. If you're interested let me know and I'll send you directions.

Ken

[Mr. Metallic]

I thought the AMT Merc had a Chrysler mill?

I think he said '49 Ford

Anyway, in my constant visits to multiple Wally locations over the last two weeks i noticed the same thing as FloridaBoy, that they are moving their model sections. However, they seem to have expanded it considerably, more than doubling it. It's pretty empty right now, and they only have the old stock they relocated, but looks like they are preparing to get a whole lot more kits. But, it could just be all unassembled diecasts coming, who knows. I guess we will have to wait and see. I'm just excited because I haven't seen a wally model section this big an almost 10 years.

[Zoom Zoom]

I refuse to go on any Wally World expeditions looking for kits, because 99% of the time I never find what I want. I'll go into a store if I need something else, and there's a Wally World in the same shopping center as my local grocery store.

My local store just shrank the big model dept. drastically. There are a ton of AMT kits up high on the shelves waiting to be marked down. A few Revell and Maisto kits as well. No new Mercs nor Lindberg kits. I realize every store independently determines the size/quantity/type of merchandise. My store grew the model dept. last year, but is shrinking it back. It's been in a constant state of flux ever since the store opened.

Apparently Aug. 15 is the "official" sale date for the '49 Merc.

[BigPoppa]

i stand corrected

I think he said '49 Ford