Moebius '65 Mercury Comet Cyclone news

[CometMan]

I agree with Art, I have a set of those wheel covers on my '66, they look pretty good to me!

[Bill J]

Apologies on my wonky wheel comment. I did not realize they were a representation of a hubcap, to me they looked like an open wheel that was too shallow. I vaguely remember seeing "open wheel" hubcaps on cars back in the day.

Overall, Moebius is making some great kits of some great subjects and doing them well. I just bought a 54 Hudson Hornet Special, another cool kit. Looking forward to every kit you're coming up with, never a poor subject and all have multiple possibilities. Keep them coming!

[CometMan]

Apologies on my wonky wheel comment. I did not realize they were a representation of a hubcap, to me they looked like an open wheel that was too shallow. I vaguely remember seeing "open wheel" hubcaps on cars back in the day.

 

No problem, Bill, but that is why many of us are really looking forward to this kit! Because the Mercury Comet has been largely forgotten/overlooked by so many people, it is very nice to see one produced, especially with the quality kits that Moebius makes!

[Nova-ss]

Yep It's Olive Mist. thanks to Bob's paints for the paint..  I just finished Bare metal foil... plenty of details to foil - but not the worst I've had to do. Some minor fit issues seem to show up when I actually get one all painted and do the final assembly...

I'll be sending a few notes and photos to the factory to clean up a couple minor items,,,

Kit will have both sets of wheels. Flat hood only on street car...

This is a second test shot, when it's done it should work just fine for box side and instruction sheet photos..

Did some digging the other day for engine colors - seems that Cyclone's 289 4V  had black block, heads and intake with silver or chrome valve covers and air-cleaner. Caliente 2V motor has yellow valve covers and air-cleaner..

Need to finish the engine, shoot some photos for instruction sheet and get this thing wrapped up

Thank you Dave,can't wait to make a couple street cars and factory cars.its looks great and a blast just like the others before it.again thank you and Moebuis for help making scale modeling so fun again.....Chris

[Maindrian Pace]

It all looks really good; however, not to be a rivet counter, but the upper firewall is a bit off. The kit depicts an engine compartment mounted wiper motor, but the car has the motor mounted behind the dash inside the car. So that area will have to be smoothed to match the 1:1. The '66-up Comet/Fairlane did have the wiper motor there.

[RancheroSteve]

It all looks really good; however, not to be a rivet counter, but the upper firewall is a bit off. The kit depicts an engine compartment mounted wiper motor, but the car has the motor mounted behind the dash inside the car.

Yes, I noticed that too. The air cleaner also looks a little too flat to me and there are a couple of other mechanical details that seem a bit off, but I'm trying to withhold my judgements until the kit is in my hands. Enough about it looks right that I'll be buying at least one for sure.

[Maindrian Pace]

Me too. Probably more than one.

[Rob Hall]

It all looks really good; however, not to be a rivet counter, but the upper firewall is a bit off. The kit depicts an engine compartment mounted wiper motor, but the car has the motor mounted behind the dash inside the car.  

Weird..seems like an impractical place to mount the wiper motor..wonder why they did that.

[unclescott58]

Weird..seems like an impractical place to mount the wiper motor..wonder why they did that.

Weird that it would be under the dash or on the firewall? And if nobody said anything, I wound have never known Moebius got it wrong. Or really cared.

[mk11]

Weird..seems like an impractical place to mount the wiper motor..wonder why they did that.

Doubt there was any special reason other than that was the way it fit best when the basic body shell was engineered in the late fifties. The '66 restyle gave the falcon/fairlane/comet bodies a bigger engine bay with more room to mount these extraneous items.

 

mike

[Rob Hall]

Doubt there was any special reason other than that was the way it fit best when the basic body shell was engineered in the late fifties. The '66 restyle gave the falcon/fairlane/comet bodies a bigger engine bay with more room to mount these extraneous items.

 

mike

Apparently, the Mustang had it under the dash also through '70 (and presumably the Cougar did also).   I've been around quite a few '65-69 Mustangs and '67-68 Cougars in my family, never realized that...then again, the wipers worked on those..

[RancheroSteve]

Apparently, the Mustang had it under the dash also through '70 (and presumably the Cougar did also).   I've been around quite a few '65-69 Mustangs and '67-68 Cougars in my family, never realized that...then again, the wipers worked on those..

It would make sense that the Mustang wiper motor would be in the same location as the Falcon's - as I'm fond of saying, a Mustang is just a re-bodied Falcon. The wiper motor (original as far as I know) still works on my '63 Ranchero, so I'd say it's a pretty reliable part.

[unclescott58]

It would make sense that the Mustang wiper motor would be in the same location as the Falcon's - as I'm fond of saying, a Mustang is just a re-bodied Falcon. The wiper motor (original as far as I know) still works on my '63 Ranchero, so I'd say it's a pretty reliable part.

Or as my friends and I will joke. A Mustang is really nothing but a Falcon dressed in drag. And we're not saying that as an insult. Falcon was a good car.

Edited April 19, 2016 by unclescott58

[Reeves Racing]

The shock tower braces are a bit off on the model too. On Mustangs they were a bolt on part but on the Comets they were welded in place.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Reeves Racing

[fairlane1320]

I'm looking forward to building some FX Comets!

[Pete L.]

Fellas,

 I came THAT CLOSE to buying one of these cars "back in the day"...and I clearly recall the funky wheel covers. I'll bet they're pretty rare these days !

[High octane]

I originally wanted one of these Comet kits when they come out, however I really like the Mopar offerings that will be comin' out even more. Guess I'll pass on the Mercury.

[Maindrian Pace]

The shock tower braces are a bit off on the model too. On Mustangs they were a bolt on part but on the Comets they were welded in place.

True, but I didn't mention that because that style export brace was offered for the '64-'65 Falcon and Comet when the cars were new - and you can source reproductions from the parts vendors.

Here is one installed above the stock braces, but most owners cut the original braces out to use the new brace.

Edited April 20, 2016 by Maindrian Pace

[Brett Barrow]

Moebius makes some great kits but most of their wheels are in serious need of help. The wheels on the Merc look especially out of whack.

Those are the chromed "open steel wheel"  wheel covers which were an optional wheel cover for Comets in 1965--they are pretty correctly done in the kit!

Art

If there were photos of the other side 0f the model you'd see the Cragar wheels that were offered from Mercury for that car.. The wheels in the photo are not wheels on the real car they were wheel covers - just as Art just posted..

They look funky because the real things look funky. 

[stavanzer]

Gahhh, Brett, you weren't kidding. Those wheel covers (or are they Hub Caps?) do indeed look odd. (At best) I'll need to put a set on at leas one Comet I build.

[sfhess]

Apparently, the Mustang had it under the dash also through '70 (and presumably the Cougar did also).   I've been around quite a few '65-69 Mustangs and '67-68 Cougars in my family, never realized that...then again, the wipers worked on those..

On 69-70 Mustangs and Cougars the wiper motor is installed behind the firewall, but it is accessible by removing the cowl vent grille, just behind the hood opening.

[Reeves Racing]

True, but I didn't mention that because that style export brace was offered for the '64-'65 Falcon and Comet when the cars were new - and you can source reproductions from the parts vendors.

Here is one installed above the stock braces, but most owners cut the original braces out to use the new brace.

If the kit is going to have the skinny bolt in brace it should have both brace styles then. A stock "from the factory" car would of had the wider welded braces. As you said most owners cut out the welded ones.

The bolt in brace was a rare option that was mostly available to re-brace the towers for the big block 427 cars since that engine wouldn't fit with the welded braces.

['70 Grande]

Looks to me that using some of those welded shock tower brace photos already seen in this post, it wouldn't be too hard to scratchbuild the welded brace pieces for a factory stock build.

[unclescott58]

Wow! This brace thing is that big a deal? Again, if no one said anything I probably would not even noticed it was wrong. And is it real wrong on the kit? I would need to see the actual kit, and the source material showing 1:1 factory setup. I'm amazed by this conversation. Again, go back to the old kits of the 60's and 70's and see how many minor things like this were wrong on those. And yet we happy, as look as looked like the real car. Moebuis' stuff is fantastic. They have offered us some of the best and most accurate model cars ever. Are they prefect? No. But they are really, really good. Despite the bad underhood bracing, I'll be buying, and building the kit. I will not be fixing the bracing. I'll build it as it comes in the box. And I bet no one, out side of people reading this thread, will ever know it's wrong. If it is.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Scott.

The question cuts straight back to you: Is it talking about this problem that big a deal? Come on, man. Discussing a kit's deviations from the subject is a major part of what these forums are all about. It's legitimate to discuss. That's a hard fact, and it's not going away no matter who rails against it.

Seems to be a small problem, I've duly noted it, and I appreciate it being mentioned.  Will probably do my own follow-up research.  Won't stop me from snatching up a few of these, either.