Monster 49 Merc

[Dr. Cranky]

From the imagination of my friend out in St. George, Utah, comes a rare and orinal 49 Merc . . . it's still in progress, but you can tell this one is going to be mean and nasty . . . you can almost see it barrelling down the salt flats . . .

To check out the pictures, you can visit Jim "Hollywood" Fernandez's fotki archives . . . enjoy . . .

http://public.fotki.com/shrimpee/my_model_...vell-1949-merc/

[Robert81]

Sweet Merc. I love the front mount supercharger. You don't see them to often, because they are a real race only item.

[Raul_Perez]

That is way too cool!! The Potvin blower is a great touch!! You don't see it used very often.

I'm almost finished with my first iteration of the Revell 49 Merc. It's done in a Pro-Touring theme with a late-model Cobra SVT engine, tranny, wheels, mirrors and the full interior, including the dash and center console. The body mods are pretty minimal, mostly removal of the bumpers and addition of a roll pan in the front from the AMT Merc. I'll post some pictures when it's done. It'll be interesting to see how it's received, since almost all of the ones on the board have been done in an "old-school" theme.

I'm planning on my next 49 Merc also being a salt flat racer. I still haven't decided how to deal with the large grill opening, but I do like the way that you did yours. The third, and probably last one will be done it a Pro-Street theme.

Anyway, keep up the good work!! Your Frankenstein truck was GREAT!!

[Jantrix]

Your friend does great work. I have a saltie plan in the works also, I'd really love to a brief expanation of how he did the aluminum discs. His photos tell a lot, but I've a few questions. Is it glued to the styrene rim? Is is burnished and shaped by pressing against the wood and then filed down against sandpaper to a perfect round? Please! More info!

[dub]

That is one nasty Merc! I love it! Now I have a few ideas for my second one of those I build.

I'll tell you what, if SAE were still around, this would be kit of the year. This is only the beginning. Just wait until more of the builders who work slower finish theirs.... I can't wait to see what else is out there lurking on other's workbenches.....

Edited December 5, 2007 by dub

[Dr. Cranky]

Raul, this is not my Merc. It's being built in Utah by my buddy Jim "Hollywood" Fernandez.

Dub, I agree with you, we are only just starting to scratch the surface of what is possible with this new kit. I think it will be remembered as THE best of ONE OF the best of 2007.

[cruz]

WOW!!!!! Pretty cool stuff man!!!!!

[Raul_Perez]

Raul, this is not my Merc. It's being built in Utah by my buddy Jim "Hollywood" Fernandez.

[Olle F]

I like the way he did the louvers. I guess that's styrene ladders for H0 dioramas?

[dub]

I like the way he did the louvers. I guess that's styrene ladders for H0 dioramas?

[Dr. Cranky]

Delighted you guys are enjoying Jim's work. I actually wrote him to let him know we were all admiring his build in progress, so I hope he'll jump in and answer some of our questions.

He's one of those builders who stays a few steps ahead of the game when it comes to imagination and skill.

[Tom Kren]

All i can say is WOW!

[Hollywood Jim]

Hello all. This is my first post here on MCM Forum. I guess Virgil kind of twisted my arm to get me here by posting pictures of my 49 Merc. I'll put this forum on my favorites list and see what happens.

Thank you all for your compliments on my Merc.

Here is an answer the question from Jantrix about the wheels. I wanted to buy some aftermarket salt falt discs, but I was afraid that they would not fit the kit wheels. You know I could have purchased several sizes and then hope they worked. But here is what I did. I used the bottom of a soda pop can.

I cut the disc a little bigger than the kit wheel. I cleaned off the chrome from the wheel and used 2 part epoxy to cement the disc to the wheel. Then I put the wheel on my slow speed dremel. I filed and sanded until the disc was the same size as the wheel. The only pain is that there is a code number embossed on the bottom of every soda can. I had to sand for a while to remove the number. Gotta be careful and go slow. One time the disc came off of the wheel.

And that's it.!!!

[Raul_Perez]

Jim,

Great work and thanks for sharing the pics!!

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I also want to do a salt flat version after I finish the Pro-Touring version that I'm currently working on. As I'm sure you've seen, this is a great kit with a lot of potential to do all kinds of versions...maybe even a Pro-Street one with monster tubs and tires to match...hmmmm...

[Modellpularn]

That's a really wild Merc! A lot of cool details. I discovered the "Moon disc" trick a long time ago, but wasn't smart enough to save the bottoms of soda or beer cans, 'cus they didn't have the embossed numbers like today's cans.....

[Dr. Cranky]

Hey, Jim, great to see you over here . . . yeah, lots of folks have been admiring your build and though I was almost tempted to get credit for being it's builder, you know I could not do that . . .

[Dr. Cranky]

Folks, Hollywood's salt racer Merc is done . . . and I hope it blows you away the way it did me. Amazing build . . .

http://images30.fotki.com/v50/photos/9/985...IMG_3417-vi.jpg

[atenzapower]

Thats a sick Merc

[Raul_Perez]

Only one picture?! That's not fair!!! Come on Jim, let's see some more pics!! That thing looks awesome!!!

[Mike]

That's easily the coolest Merc build I've seen in a long long time.

[Hollywood Jim]

Thank you guys for all of your compliments. I really appreciate it. Here are more pictures.....

[atenzapower]