Pearly Hue Merc

[doomcrew]

time for another project. this time it's a resin bodied (jimmy flintstone) 1939 matranga merc. this will have an amt 40 ford coupe chassis, a flathead from the new 48 ford coupe kit, inc the front and rear ends and drum brakes. tyres will be from the revell 49 merc kit. first off, i had to cut open the bonnet. this wasn't going to be easy, as there is quite a bit of material to be removed from the ahem, fiewall and inner wheel wells. i started to use my dremel with the saw wheel, and...............OUCH!! the saw snatched and caught the base of my thumb. after a ticking off and lots of finger wagging from my better half, i got on with the task and removed the bonnet along with the doors. these will open suicide style. the paint will be white base with crystal blue flip flop flake over the top. i have removed most of the original floor including the area with the moulded in exhaust pipe.

[lorenzovargas1978]

That is going to be sweet!!Looks like you already got some blood,sweat and tears in it! Be careful bro, I've been there with the xcto knife.That is a nice body that I got to try building in future.I"ll definitely be following this build!

[doomcrew]

thankfully my hand/thumb has healed and i have managed to work on the merc a bit more. next time i'll wear steel gauntlets. lol

as you can see from the pics, i had to correct some gap issues with the bonnet and doors, and to do this i glued strips of plastic to the areas concerned. after drying and the application of body filler, i sanded the areas, checking the gaps as i went. the firewall and the inner wheel arches have been put in and i now have to work out the door hinges, as i have to consider the thickness of the resin.









steve

[doomcrew]

well i have the hinges sorted, and fingers crossed they should work as i have tested them plenty of times. i have also decided on tunneled rear bullet lights, so it was out with my dremel again, being careful in not carving anything into my hand again,
(note the fresh scar on my hand).

[ira]

[glow=red,2,300]Nice Work Steve![/glow]

[TheMadModeler]

Lookin' Good..
BiLL..

[snakeplissken81]

Gonna be a cool ride.

[koffinbuilder64]

Very kool work Steve!

[baddgass]

super cool. i'll be looking in.

[doomcrew]

made some more progress on the merc. this is the mock up ride height, i dont know if i can get it any lower as the suspension travel will be at a minimum as will the tyre clearance. the chassis has been given new floor panels and the bumper brackets will be lengthened. these are the magnets that will be used for the doors and bonnet, and you can see the holes already drilled for them. the 48 ford radiator was cut down to clear the bonnet and the engine mounts were extended.

[doomcrew]

started doing the interior panels and decided on tuck n roll but haven't decided on what type of seats to use in the front, bench or seperate. the interior tub is scratchbuilt from sheet stock with half rounds used for the tuck n roll. the body is now in first stage primer, ready to be sanded back.

[koffinbuilder64]

Lookin good Steve! Love the interior work too!

[Dennis M]

Wow ' super job so far.

[doomcrew]

;D ;D cheers guys.

some more updates, and got a chance to use my new airbrush. i put a gloss black base coat on the front and rear axles, and on the front and rear interior window frames. the black will be the base for alclad chrome. i used matt white for the panels and the slightly modified 53 studebaker seats. i will rub the surface of the paint to simulate vinyl.

[doomcrew]

the body has now got it first layer of paint. i will rub it down before laying more paint on. the engine has been started, although not literally lol, and it will have machined air filters and beehive oil filter. the carbs are from the 48 chevy fleetine kit, i thought they better than the 48 ford carbs. the wheels are also from the chevy but will have the custom sombraro hub caps from the 48 ford kit.

[doomcrew]

the pearl has now been laid on. i just made a couple of passes as i didn't want the pearl flakes to build up in the recesses. you should be able to see the effect, but it will be more evident when the clear is put on. before that though, i need to apply some pinstripe transfers. i also began to scratchbuild the throttle linkage and i may machine the airfilters at the weekend, new year party not withstanding.

[doomcrew]

had a little problem with the paint, as contaminants got on to the body while putting on very light coats of clear. so had to sand it back, and re-apply the white. while thats drying for the pearl to be added, i continued with other things. i machined a pair of air filters along with a beehive oil filter, just waiting for some etched parts from modelexpress.






thanks for looking in.

[doomcrew]

this is how the paint looks after re-working it, i've applied more of the crystal blue this time, just keep fingers crossed that the clear goes on without a hitch.






thanks for looking.

steve

[lorenzovargas1978]

Build looking great so far...

[ira]

[glow=red,2,300]Great Engine Detail & Nice Paint!!![/glow]

[doomcrew]

well i kept fingers crossed that the clear would go on with a hitch. wishfull thinking on my part, as in keeping with a 50's sci-fi film, the body was invaded with alien bodies. but, i will not be beaten, hence plan B. the crystal blue will still be used, but over a light metallic blue. pity, as the white was looking great to, but i had already put blue flock on the interior floor. now, wheres that brick wall to beat my head against?

[doomcrew]

well this is the new base colour, and i stayed with a colour from ford. the pearl will still be used and i will keep the the firewall and dashboard in the original white.






thanks for looking

steve

[doomcrew]

i have never had a problem like this before even with light colours, so it must be the type of paint i'm using on this. usually i stick with one manufacturer for the colour, but i switched this time and has caused no end of headaches. i have now decided to strip off the paint and start again, maybe with a two-tone colour with the pearl. dark on top, and light below. here are some pics of the engine in place and the interior which is in progress.






i will get there in the end.

[doomcrew]

ok, here we go again with the paint, and yep it is totally different. grafite metallic and metallic blue with the crystal blue pearl. the colours wil be seperated by the belt line. i have also made a modification to the grill opening, as there will be a photo etched 40 ford grill inserted.

[Paul B. Canney]

nice!

[doomcrew]

this is how the main paint looks now, just need the pinstriping and clear coat, so far, it's all good.








thanks for looking.

[lorenzovargas1978]

Nice looking ride,you got some skills!!

[doomcrew]

cheers matey. ;D ;D

the paint is finally done, clear coated and polished.

[doomcrew]

well i decided to crack on and get the merc done, so here it is. i will post more pics later.






thanks for looking........on to the next project.

[Lee @ krow kustoms]

sweet