# "Cobra" Mercury



## scottnkat

I'd always wanted to do a model of the Mercury that Stallone drove in the movie Cobra. Problem was that I could never find one and I have never been good at scratchbuilding anything. Well, I decided to finally take the plunge and give it a shot, so I bought the Revell 49 Mercury reissue. 

I figured I would start with the body and hood. If couldn't get those to look good (to my eyes), then I would forget about it. But after much putty work filling holes for the stock mirror and turn signals, sanding down all the seam lines (there were plenty), and making the hood scoop out of sheet styrene and blending it into the hood, I think I will be able to do this after all. So my new project is now officially underway - it's going to take quite a bit, but I think I might actually be able to do this. Check out the pics below and tell me what you think:


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## Ian Anderson

Yea, Scott was looking around Ont he net for The 49 Coupe, and the hood on that one you have there is as close as your going to get it looks like, LOTS of 49 kits out there, As you know, but like I said the hood on that one is closes, Might be tuff finding the wheels for it now, But I'm sure you can match them up, LOOKS LIKE IT WILL NICE. (That one is Chopped And Channeled RIGHT ?)


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## falcondesigns

The scoop looks a tad big.........


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## scottnkat

Ian - it is chopped, but I don't know what channeled is. 

I was trying to match how the scoop looks in some pics that were taken of the car when it was shown at a show a few years back. In this pic, the scoop looks larger than in the picture you posted, falcondesigns. Still not quite right, but at least I am at the point where I think I can get there.


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## Ian Anderson

Yea see those wheels Scott, "MIGHT BE HARD TO FIND", Might have to make a set, But let me know if you can do find them, I would like to have a Set for 1:25 scale of 1:24 Scale, Anyway To channel a car the body is lowered over the frame by removing the floor and refastening it higher inside the body, causing the body to rest closer to the ground without altering the suspension, Older builders may have a deferent description, but thats the deal anyway My Father had one Just like it when he marred my mother....(THAT ONE THERE IS A 1950), if I'm not mistaken. Not that I would know, its on the front plate, but "close enough for the women I go out with anyway", or to good for them now that I think about it.... LOL

Ian


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## scottnkat

Thanks for that info - now I know 

Getting the ride height correct may take some playing, so we'll tackle that one when I get there. Any suggestions you may have would be appreciated. 

At first, I thought that the car just had moon caps on the wheels, but now I see they are a touch different - may have to get the drill out and make some hubcaps of my own - or maybe use putty again to build the slight cone onto the moon caps I already have or something. Took some hunting, but I was able to find the BF Goodrich tires. Now I am hunting down a Hurst shifter for use inside...


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## Zombie_61

Ian Anderson said:


> Might be tuff finding the wheels for it now, But I'm sure you can match them up...


Y'know, there used to be tons of aftermarket suppliers for car kits; it seems most of them have either scaled down their operations or gotten out of the business completely. I did a quick search and managed to locate _*one*_ supplier for the "moon disc" hub caps in that scale: The Parts Box. They have them available in resin _and_ machined aluminum (the aluminum discs have the "cone" shape you're looking for, not sure about the resin discs), but they're in Australia so shipping alone will run ya' $14 and change. Also, apparently they make their parts to order, so it would probably be more than a month before you received your order (kinda ruins the momentum of a build).

Back to your build...I LOVE IT!!! IMO the car was the best thing about the movie, and it looks to me like you're definitely on the right track! I have a couple of Merc kits in my stash, and one of 'em will eventually become the Cobra Merc...if I ever get around to it, that is. 

I do have a question about the car in the "car show" photos--did they say it was used in the movie? The hood scoop looks different, so I'm wondering if it might be a slightly inaccurate replica. From what I've read they used four cars for the film--two '49s and two '50s. Obviously one was destroyed, and I've read Stallone liked the "hero" car so much that he bought it after filming was completed, so it makes me wonder if this was one of the two remaining cars.


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## Seashark

Awesome build thus far, very clean. Looking forward to your progress. :thumbsup:


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## scottnkat

Zombie_61 said:


> I do have a question about the car in the "car show" photos--did they say it was used in the movie? The hood scoop looks different, so I'm wondering if it might be a slightly inaccurate replica. From what I've read they used four cars for the film--two '49s and two '50s. Obviously one was destroyed, and I've read Stallone liked the "hero" car so much that he bought it after filming was completed, so it makes me wonder if this was one of the two remaining cars.


I'm sorry - I don't know the history of the cars too well - I didn't realize that there were four of them. I can't remember exactly what the plate in front of the car stated - just that it was the car from "Cobra" (but I really couldn't tell you if it was one of the two remaining ones or a copy). 

Kind of fun - I start posting on here about this and now I am learning more about this car than I ever knew. Thank you for the info. I guess in the end I will just end up building "my own version" of this car (especially since I can't verify the validity of the photos I got) - it may have some inaccuracies, but I will (hopefully) be able to make it good enough to please my eyes. 

Seriously, I appreciate all the feedback, suggestions, and comments, everyone - this board is a treasure - thank you all


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## Ian Anderson

Thats the real Idea here anyway Scott, "DO IT HOW YOU WONT IT", no one will care one way or the other if something is a little off, There only posting because they Enjoy Jumping in and adding to the other persons thread if not just to keep the person coming back to do more and more builds Im sure of that, as well as there own enjoyment, And besides Im sure it will be so close the the way you thought it would be anyway to The original, no one would care if something wasn't quit right as well, there only here to help Encouraging people like you and me and anyone else who shows up out here to KEEP BUILDING, they have said this over and over again on other post, and Im sure Everyone who has posted this far and in the future will tell you just that....So keep us POSTED, please.....

Ian


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## Zombie_61

scottnkat said:


> I'm sorry - I don't know the history of the cars too well - I didn't realize that there were four of them. I can't remember exactly what the plate in front of the car stated - just that it was the car from "Cobra" (but I really couldn't tell you if it was one of the two remaining ones or a copy).


No problem, just thought I'd ask. With the number of cars they build for any given film, and all the car fanatics out there making replicas of their favorite movie/tv cars, it can be difficult to tell a replica from an original.

And, as Ian stated above, build it the way _you_ want it; as long as you're happy with the finished results, that's all that matters! But please do continue posting photos when you can. :thumbsup:


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## scottnkat

I had been in a motorcycle accident a few months back and shattered my wrist. I had to get bone grafts and now have two metal plates and about 16 screws and pins holding my arm and wrist together. Hence, for me, modeling has gone from being a fun hobby only to now being a required part of my physical therapy to get my fine motor skills down. Needless to say, I am a little slow with getting things done, and it is quite difficult to do regular things. As such, doing any kind of scratch building or modifying take me quite a bit - hence, my hesitation on starting on this project. ;-)

But I am now moving on to the bumper thingies that go on the bumpers. The kit came with just regular straight bumpers, so I scraped the chrome off the bumper where these go, then glued round sprue to the bumpers. I have started using putty to build up these bumper thingies. They don't look good yet, but I am hoping to get them into shape in the next few days. Here's my starting point for the bumpers. ;-)


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## Ian Anderson

what kind of bike did you get hurt on Scott, (IF YOU DON'T MIND ASKING) I ride as well, always have, did you see my 
"*Suzuki Dr-650 SE DUAL SPORT", *In my photos ???, JUST BUILT IT two years ago,, 2008 model new off the floor, Well they built most of it, I just modified the heck out of it and I'm still not done. If its not to much a sore subject to ask that is?, Live to ride and all that rot,.....lol, Not much a street rider anymore my self, use to ride V-Twins, now its only Endure Duel Sports, all the way, I live in the Willamette National Forest In Oregon now, So thats where I do most of my ridding, With the Mountain Lions and Bears,....Some street, But this ones built for the hills as you can see....Just asking, "RICE ROCKET I BET, wasn't it ? Like a R1 ?


Ian


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## scottnkat

I just had a cruiser - I had a Yamaha Road Star. Unfortunately, it got totaled. I've been using my wife's bike to practice with the clutch - still can't quite get that handled yet - not enough strength in my hand. I've got a ways to go before I'll be riding again, but I am happy. It could have been much worse than it was. I hit a deer doing 55 on a rural road - no street lights or anything - deer just ran out from the side right in front of me. I don't remember the impact, but apparently I slid so far on the pavement that my helmet was ground down all the way to the insulation. So my right arm and hand are pretty much normal now, my legs are better, but my left hand and arm are still messed up.

I checked out your photos - looks like alot of fun!


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## Ian Anderson

I had Both The 650 V-Star and the 1100 V-Star as well, Almost the same thing as yours, I like the 1100 OK, 650 was TO WEEK, except they both had the same problem, Not the engine really, there ok, "BUY THE WAY", that is a V-Tween even know its not HD, the problem was in two places, the first one is the back finder / SLASH side brace Hex screws, "THAT WOULD NOT STAY IN", or tight, Not a good thing that combined with the second problem, continues loosening of the spoke wire wheels the thing comes with, BIG TROUBLE at any real speed, Other then that With some after market pipes, Almost feels and sounded like the real thing, "SO a deer got you did it", YEP, been there, Birds and bees are the worst, both of which seems to come from nowhere and "WILL take you out".. Glad to see you made it in one peace, you really should get back in the saddle really, hope you will when you back up to it... "LIVE TO RIDE, RIDE TIO LIVE"

Ian


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## scottnkat

Time for an update. While I've been working on the bumpers and body a bit more, I've also been working on the running chassis and the interior. Here are some pics of the engine and chassis - sorry about the quality - some came out a little fuzzy because it's just a simple point and shoot. This part of the model is box-stock with no frills added. 




























Here's the (almost) completed interior. I made the shifter out of tube brass and made the shifter boot out of .020 sheet styrene. The round racing harness buckles were made by my wife out of sheet plastic. They actually have four slots in each one that the buckles fit into. I always thought that this car had low-rise buckets, but after watching the movie a few times (it seemed that each of the kids wanted to watch it without the others), there is a close-up shot when Sly shifts and you can see the bench seat right behind the shifter in the lower left of the screen. So, bench seat it is.


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## scottnkat

Time for another update, I guess. The body is just about done. The bumpers were a pain, but I feel good about how they came out. Like I mentioned before, I've never scratch built anything before, so this has been one long learning curve for me. Here's how it looks so far. 



















Thanks for looking


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## Zombie_61

Looks good to me!


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## terryr

There's quite a story on that car.



> Washington (ANI): Sylvester Stallone has filed a lawsuit against the owner of a car company over a vehicle the movie star insists was stolen from him 15 years ago. The Rocky star has claimed that the custom-built 1950 Mercury, which featured in his movie Cobra, was stolen from a storage garage in 1994 and Stallone never saw the car again - until recently.
> 
> However, the Cobra car is now in the possession of a collector who rents out vehicles for movies, reports Contactmusic. According to legal papers, filed in Los Angeles, Stallone has claimed that he asked the car's current owner to hand over the keys - but he has refused.
> 
> In the suit, obtained by TMZ.com, the actor-cum-director has claimed that he came across his stolen car while looking at vehicles up for auction on the Internet. He has insisted that the one-off vehicle is worth more than 250,000 dollars.
> 
> Apart from getting the car in return, Stallone is demanding 3 million dollars because the car company's website allegedly used his name and image to promote the auction without proper permission.


I think that scoop must be from a copycat car. Here's a thread with the real deal. Some love it, some hate it.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=423208&page=7&highlight=stallone


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## scottnkat

Thanks for that link and the info. Oh well - guess I'll have to start another car at a later date then and try to do better with it.  

In the meantime, I'll have my version of a copy. This'll just have to do for now. It's getting to be time to move on to something different.


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## terryr

Sorry to burst your bubble. But it wouldn't be that much work to change the scoop.

I never liked either scoop version. Otherwise the car is cooool.


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## Ohlly

the scoop is what makes the car, either is ok but the movie cars looks like its from a 72 torino so you could use pics of those as well.


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## scottnkat

interesting, Ohlly - I never noticed the similarities between the movie car scoop and the 72 Torino. I'm gonna have something to think about now... ;-)


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## spencer1984

You've done some great work on this, it's one of the ones that has been in my "to build" stash for quite some time. I may have to dust off the box...


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## scottnkat

Well, getting to the end now. Finally got the wheels done and the car put together. It is 99% done at this point (for now) - I still need to get the mirrors for it, but I don't have a kit with those mirrors that I can steal from, so it will have to wait. I know the actual car had BF Goodrich tires and it seemed like 20 years ago, half the models I built had BF Goodrich tires - alas, none in my stash, so it gets the generic no-name tires. The wheels are the stock wheels from the kit. I just slowly built up the rims with putty to fill them in, then built it a bit higher. I glued a piece of tube to the back of the wheels, propped them in my drill and carved the rims to shape. This has been a bit of a long build for me and I've learned alot. I will end up revisiting this car again later, but I am done with '50's cars for now - time for something different. Thanks for all the comments, suggestions, and ideas - I'll be more prepared next time I take on this subject. 

Front quarter view:









Rear quarter view:









Front view:









In it's case. My wife printed a miniature "Cobra" movie poster to hang behind it.


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## terryr

Nice job on the car.

Just to update;


> Sylvester Stallone has reached a settlement with a car company following a long legal battle to regain a vehicle he alleges was stolen from him 17 years ago.
> 
> The Rocky star claims the custom-built 1950 Mercury, which featured in his 1986 movie Cobra, was driven away from a storage garage in 1994 and later turned up in the possession of a collector who rents out vehicles for movies.
> 
> Stallone filed legal papers back in 2009 asking for company bosses to hand him the keys and after two years of legal wrangling, the two sides have now reached a deal which will see the star get his car back, according to TMZ.com.
> 
> Details of the deal were not disclosed. The car is said to be worth a massive $250,000.


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