RoR Project 0050 – A Nifty Fifty

RoR Project 0050 – A Nifty Fifty

Project and Photos by Doug Cole  

In days gone by – when dealers made a good profit selling new cars they used to hand out models (promos) to the children to entertain them when they were haggling over price with the parents. The dealers would buy a few dozen “coasters” for the showroom floor and stock friction drive models to give away with the purchase of an actual vehicle. These toys had metal bumpers, hard plastic wheels and a tin chassis. With normal play they were practically indestructible! I found a box of coasters in an auction in a variety of conditions including the one you see here. I restored this one to “showroom” condition and I’ll show you how I did it in my Step-by-Step Project.

For the Modeler: This model by MPC(?) appears to be a 1950 Ford in period green metallic which I chose to restore because of the body damage and missing parts. The plastic used was a thick fibrous amalgam that made body repairs easy – just like the original thick-skinned car. The front end is a massive chromed white metal piece made to take some abuse. In this project body repair, scratch building, foiling, resin casting, detailing and window repairs are fully examined. 

Fig 000a – I chose to blend the old with new on this restoration. I wanted to keep some of the charm of the old promo so I kept the bright metal “windows”, tin chassis, hard rubber wheels and that chromed front end. I added to the detailing by foiling the chrome strips, painting the door handles and locks, rear bumper and adding a gas cap. In most cases it’s deemed sacrilegious to touch an antique toy like this but this one had a huge chunk torn out of the rear drivers quarter panel so I chose it for my “resto” project. Some would cringe but others might agree it looks better than ever!

 

Fig 001 This is the car body in it’s original condition showing the period green metallic.

 

Fig 002a – Here is the damage to the rear quarter panel and trim needing repair. The plastic is thick and fibrous, almost like a fiberglass. That made repairs a little easier than a modern kit because it held the patch and could be machined easily.

 

Fig 002b This is the corrosion on the rear backlight that has taken on some rust. The “windows” are made of a shiny metal that isn’t plated.

 

Fig 003 – I remedied this issue by grinding away the rust with a rotary grinder then buffing it smooth.

 

Fig 004 – Turning my attention to the body damage I began by making a template of the good quarter’s wheel  well. This was turned upside down and lined up with the bottom of the rocker panels. Draw an outline of the wheel well by holding it on the inside of the body while tracing the outline on the outside.

 

Fig 005 – Flip it around and use some slow setting glue to  bond the patch in place matching the position to the good side and squaring up with the rocker panel.

 

Fig 006 – Now that you’ve glued in the patch let it dry thoroughly.

 

Fig 007 – Once dry you can begin carefully cutting out the opening by slicing strips out with a hobby knife down to you outline.

 

Fig 008 – With the wheel well cut out and roughed into shape with a file and some sandpaper, it’s time to add some body filler. I used some Milliput two part epoxy filler here because it takes a while to harden so it can be shaped and smoothed out to where you want it.

 

Fig 009 – Once the filler is place set the body aside to let it dry.

 

Fig 010 – I the meantime, remove the aluminum headlights by prying them gently off with a hobby knife.

 

Fig 011 – After the putty patch dries sand it into shape and then add some other fillers to get it into final condition. I like to use different brands at this stage to make use of the different colors as an aid to knowing where the repair levels are at. You can see a bit of green Squadron putty near the edge used to fill a small dip and some brushed-on 3M glazing and spot putty compound thinned with acetone on the overall area.

 

Fig 012 – After the area has been patched and sanded into finished shape add a piece of .010” sheet styrene cut to shape to replace the missing chrome trim. Glue it into place with some slow setting glue like Testor’s tube glue and adjust it’s position until it’s just right.

 

Fig 013 – After the new trim is dry use some putty to help soften the edge and restore the proper shape to the trim. This piece is fairly straight until it tapers off near the end. By sanding the putty you can restore the original shape.

 

Fig 014 – Next tape off the windows using some painters’ tape. Trim it out using a sharp hobby knife at the edges of the window frame.

 

Fig 015 – After a light sanding of the exterior give the body a couple light coats of primer. DupliColor sandable Filler Primer was used here to enable scratch removal. After several lights coats and sanding in between you’ll end up with a good even coverage of base primer.

 

Fig 016 – Start the color coats with light passes to avoid runs and bring out the metallic highlights. Plasti-kote 7103 automotive spray was used here in a period green shade to match the original color.

 

Fig 017 – After four coats this color  pretty closely matched the original shade with some nice metallic highlights

 

Fig 018 – This prom didn’t have a rear bumper so I borrowed one from another 1:25 scale model ’49 Ford and prepped it to make a clone from.

 

Fig 019 -  I built a Lego casting frame and placed the bumper into the farme and secured it to the bottom with a  little white glue.

 

Fig 019a – After pouring the silicone casting material for the mold I removed the original and mixed up some resin material for the casting. Alumilite casting kits were used here which are available at many hobby stores.

 

Fig 020 – A couple hurs later I had a clone of the ’49 Ford bumper to use o my resto project. I used a silver pen to color the inside of the bumper.

 

Fig 021 – Since the bumper needs to be mounted to the body I located an appropriate place to mount the bumper to the frame and marked both the bumper and the frame using a small drill in a pin vise. I followed these up with a 3/32” hole in the frame (seen in Fig 28) and a shallow hole in the rear bumper to provide placement for the mounting brackets.

 

Fig 022 – I cut a few segments of plastic styrene about 3/8” long to use as mounting brackets for the bumpers and glued them into the rear bumper depressions with some crazy glue. I followed that up with a little five minute epoxy for strength. Set this assembly aside to dry.

 

Fig 023 – Using a silver pen I highlighted all the window frames to emulate the chrome trim of the original car. Do this before you remove the window masks. She looks a little odd now but that goes away when you pull the tapes masks off the windows.

 

Fig 024 –  Now you can begin foiling the body trim with some Bare Metal Foil (BMF). Just cut some strips slightly wider than the trim piece and then rub it down with a pencil eraser. Use a toothpick to get into tight recesses. After you’ve burnished the BMF with the eraser you can simply trim off the excess from the body trim using a newly bladed hobby knife to remove the excess foil.

 

Fig 025 _ Don’t forget the trunk’s handle and external hinges.

 

Fig 026 – Removing the window masks reveals a shiny window with chrome trim. Again, use a sharp hobby knife to go around the edges to make sure there aren’t any corners that get painted in leaving the mask stuck to the window.

  

Fig 027 – Reinstall the original headlights using a plastic hammer to seat them without damage.

 

Fig 028 – In order to mount the rear bumper and provide proper ride height to the chassis, drill out the appropriate place in the rear of the body for the mounting brackets with a 3/32” drill.

  

Fig 029 – Slide the mounting brackets into the holes leaving a slight gap between the bumper and the body. Glue these into place with some five minute epoxy glue.

  

Fig 030 – Before the glue sets hard make sure the bumper is in the correct position by dropping the tin chassis on the body and checking the bumper placement.

  

Fig 031 – Give the bumper some color with some chrome paint or BMF.

 

Fig 032 – Here’s the car with that classic “rustic” looking tin chassis and the original tires and wheels.

  

Fig 999 – I hope you enjoyed my resto project and maybe the next time you see a box of old “junkers” you’ll see its potential and bring it back to life after 60 years in the attic.

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