'40 Mercury convertible: reproportioned from the ITC kit

[traditional]

In the early ‘60s, ITC made a 1/25 plastic kit of a ’40 Merc, but anyone who’s looked at those kits knows that the model is terribly disproportionate with very few useable parts or accessories. It was marketed as a remote-control model with no chassis to speak of and very rudimentary interior and engine compartment. Still, I’d picked up a couple of those old kits quite inexpensively over the years. but I didn’t really expect to ever build one.

I do enjoy a challenge, however, and with this ongoing pandemic and time on my hands, I decided to try my hand at ‘making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear’. After spending a lot of time reproportioning the main body, I decided to open and hinge the doors and trunk lid, and build a detailed, longer Merc chassis from an AMT ’40 Ford version. I used stainless wire to form most of the body trim, a Revell parts-pack Cadillac 354” motor (modified with a 3-2bbl intake and a ‘Replicas and Miniatures’ Cadillac air filter), chrome wheels from Pegasus with parts-bin tires, and added my usual fabricated brass rad, an aluminum fuel tank, aluminum strip transverse springs/shackles, polished aluminum exhaust system, and poseable steering dropped front axle.












































Cliff Read

[fordrodnkustom]

Amazing craftsmanship truly a work of art!

[41chevy]

Beautiful work, the more you look, the more details you see. Fantastic!!   Paul

[tomqvaxy]

wow; definitely a "labor of love".

[deuce]

That is simply beautiful. Glad you stuck with a similar color blue. That paint job is absolutely flawless.