Building a 1971 (72?) Torino Coupe from the Promodeler Kit and
an R&R Vacuumcraft 1971 Merc Cyclone!
The resin body that went under the knife came from R&R Vacuumcraft. As far as I know, the owner, Ray Parsons. only sells at shows, primarily in the Midwest. I usually stock up on his stuff on my annual sojourns to Toledo. In my experience, R&R kits are generally not quite up to Modelhaus or Perry's Resin quality level, but workable, attractively priced, and Ray has a HUGE line of product.
This technique could be applied to any kitbash; the trick is to determine in advance what features of each body are critical, and determine how to make the cuts to capture them.
| Step 1 |  | Unfortunately, I didn't take any pix until I'd cut the bodies, and reassembled the Torino, but this shot shows where the cuts were made. I used a small round blade in my Dremel, and joined the parts using crazy glue and sprinkling baking soda on it while still wet. It dries hard in seconds, and can be sanded vigourously. I used a drum sander in my Dremel to grind away excess, inside and out. ... |
| Step 2 |  | putty, sand, putty, sand, until you've smoothed all the seams... note the hood has already been smoothed. That involves grinding away the scoops from the cobra, than puttying and sanding... A critical measurement is to ensure the length of the rocker panels is maintained equal to the original Cyclone's. Remove the rear tail light panel, and make and glue in a blank from sheet plastic. |
| Step 3 |  | Keep priming, puttying, sanding until it's all smooth... watch out for featurelines and door scribings. If I were to do this again, I would NOT separate the roof at the base of the A-pillar. Getting a smooth joint there after glueing was brutal! I would, next time, cut both bodies about a half-inch back of the top of the windshield across the roof, and join them. Would have been easier to smooth, and likely stronger... live and learn... |
| Step 4 |  | Everytime you get discouraged, insert the PL chassis to see what your tryin' to accomplish... and check all the fits... don't forget the gas filler in the rear fender! |
| Step 5 |  | Ultimately, you'll reach this point, and now it is back to a routine building exercise... Drill the holes for the hoodpins BEFORE you put on those shiny coats of baby blue! (live and learn...sigh).. |
| Step 6 |  | Once you've finished piecing together the Torino Coupe, you'll have some bits left over... Cyclone Cobra, anyone??! |
| more on Step 6 |  | My Blue Ovaltine Buddies say Ford never built this body style as a Merc, it was reserved for the Torino Cobra. Pity... |
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