Can't help with the yellow, but I'm jealous.

For some reason I'm attracted to vintage larger scale car kits. It must be due to the two Pocher kits I tried to build as a youngster. First I'd heard of Entex or a Mercer Raceabout.

Whatever yellow you choose, I'd urge you to use a good lacquer of some sort. I pretty much ruined the finish of my first car model in 50 years with acrylic paint and stupid Future.

Have fun with that kit, and a pic of the box would draw more interest, show folks what you are talking about. I only researched because of my specific interest.

It is likely that any color photos you see today are restored, so the color may not be as first built anyway.  If you see a color you like in a photo, I wouldn't be too worried about an absolute match.  Same thing with the uphostery- do what looks nice to you.  Build it as if you were restoring a real Mercer.  I do that with airplanes too.  I do polished Alclad finishes representing museum aircraft, even though few planes of the time were polished.

A lot of cars of the pre-WW1 era came with gray or tan tires, but you don't see ones with those tires today.

Congratulations, also, on having the kit!

I'm guessing you'd be hard-pressed to find a proper color code for the original 'Mercer Yellow' shade, but period illustrations I've seen...and authentically-resored collector's cars, like Jay Leno's...universally show a 'canary' or 'lemon' yellow, without any hint of orange. Any good-quality paint in that range should do. As Greg advised, I'd be tempted to go with lacquers; but, particularly given the age of the kit, it's probably a good idea to test any paints used on a sprue section or unseen surface, first, just in case.

Whatever you do...please...share the photos of your work; it's not often we get to see such an uncommon old kit!

Cheers

Greg

Can't help with the yellow, but I'm jealous.

For some reason I'm attracted to vintage larger scale car kits. It must be due to the two Pocher kits I tried to build as a youngster. First I'd heard of Entex or a Mercer Raceabout.

Whatever yellow you choose, I'd urge you to use a good lacquer of some sort. I pretty much ruined the finish of my first car model in 50 years with acrylic paint and stupid Future.

Have fun with that kit, and a pic of the box would draw more interest, show folks what you are talking about. I only researched because of my specific interest.

 

I always painted my old cars in scale hobby paints , usually enamels because I knew it wouldn't eat the plastic. I tried lacquer a few times back in the day and always ran into trouble, not so much these days but I prime now too, never did back then. This is old styrene though, so what ever I put down I'll test first. That said, Model Master acrylic over stynlrez is a no brainer to put down with my own thinner, it sprays pretty much like lacquer or enamel and even buffs up pretty nice. But well it's an old car, deserves old school paint lol !!

How do you get a photo up here anyway ? I took a shot just with my cell phone, emailed it to myself and stuck it in my computers Pictures folder. Can I go from there or does it need a photo hosting site that I don't have (unless it can come from Onedrives cloud) ?

I'm headed to the hobby store and looking for paint.

I am working on a motorcycle model and am using Tamiya "Lemon Yellow". It sounded like the closest match to the original Norton yellow fiberglass color.

Looking good GM, that would really be a nice color for the Mercer....

GMorrison

I am working on a motorcycle model and am using Tamiya "Lemon Yellow". It sounded like the closest match to the original Norton yellow fiberglass color.

 

Hah ! Yes, I saw the lemon yellow in acrylic X8 at the store and bought some actually. I also bought some Model Master enamel gloss in Chrome Yellow that looks good if I want it a little darker or I could lighten it up with some white. So right now I have a couple of options.

Didn't see any lacquer there, I'd have to go online if I want that.

Nice paint on that bike GM !

Don Stauffer

It is likely that any color photos you see today are restored, so the color may not be as first built anyway.  If you see a color you like in a photo, I wouldn't be too worried about an absolute match.  Same thing with the uphostery- do what looks nice to you.  Build it as if you were restoring a real Mercer.  I do that with airplanes too.  I do polished Alclad finishes representing museum aircraft, even though few planes of the time were polished.

A lot of cars of the pre-WW1 era came with gray or tan tires, but you don't see ones with those tires today.

 

The kit came with black tires, don't think I'll mess with that, especially given the tread pattern. Not sure the old buff colored tires ever had this tread.

Thanks. The parts were cast of course in yellow plastic, Italeri kit.

I primed white Tamiya, then a couple of coats of yellow, then Future. At one point the assembly of the fender into the front forks forced them apart and the shocks didn't work. I soaked the painted part in hot water and put a clamp across it. That fixed the fit, but clouded the finish. However it buffed out nicely without damaging the paint.

I really like that car kit, what a find!

GMorrison

Thanks. The parts were cast of course in yellow plastic, Italeri kit.

I primed white Tamiya, then a couple of coats of yellow, then Future. At one point the assembly of the fender into the front forks forced them apart and the shocks didn't work. I soaked the painted part in hot water and put a clamp across it. That fixed the fit, but clouded the finish. However it buffed out nicely without damaging the paint.

I really like that car kit, what a find!

 

Yes we were really glad to have found that kit, it was a nice gift in a time when there wasn't much extra spending money around. She always managed nice gifts from the hobbyu store that was diagonally across from the apartment we lived in back then, stuff I wouldn't purchase outright myself in those times.

Ah, so you did clear coat it, was curious about that. The Mercer body parts, well most of the kit really are also cast in yellow. I was planning on white or light gray Stynylrez primer.

Right now I have test drops of the MM drying and the wife informed me already it's too mustard colored. And of course she is correct ! Seriously, the lemon yellow looks like the color. I have two spru sticks drying, one with Tamiya, the other MM and the Tamiya almost blends right in with the yellow plastic color which other than the plastic looking like plastic and the paint like paint, does look about right.

. Well this was supposed to be a photo. Guess you can't copy/paste to here.

Hello!

Look what I have found online:

It's always a good thing to have a lady supporting your hobby - so good luck with your builds and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel

Hello!

Look what I have found online:

 

It's always a good thing to have a lady supporting your hobby - so good luck with your builds and have a nice day

Paweł

 

Yep, that's the one. Not my box though, mine is a bit worse for wear. But hey it's what's inside that matters.

Wow that's awesome!!! 

I had an Entex handheld game that was a 'Space Invaders' knock-off back in the early '80s. I had no idea they made model kits too until a few years ago. 

oldermodelguy go to the forum  http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/feedback_help_and_testing/f/22/t/177127.aspx

which answers the question, how to post pictures on Fine Scale Models.  Yes, you will need a host. But there a many that are free and will get you the results you want. Just read their specifics and if they make sense to you, then go ahead and use ‘em. If they seem to have too much complexity or seem not to you liking for any reason, then move on to another.  I currently use a site called “postimages.org” but there are many others.

The elephant in the room is Photo Bucket. Which used to be a very good site, simple to use, easy to navigate and to store pictures on; HOWEVER they went through a metamorphous from user friendly to a Corporate ad driven company  that caused many, many pictures on older form entry’s, all across the internet, to completely disappear. The cost of lost picture information to both the forums , of every countless differant subjects, and the people posting (some of whom have passed on) has been a very hard pill to swallow.   [Note: the previous is my personal opinion, your mileage may very]  

So read through the  How To Post Pictures forum,  see how really easy it is.  And get to posting pictures. 

Old time emogis  are still sorta true: OR 

;  

Good Luck 

Ok, y;all are smart.

For that "old timey" look, would you spray the yellow over a gloss or opalescent White, or over Silver?

Back when we could still get Floquil, the Old Silver was one of my go-tos, as it would buff the least bit.

Great find OMG! I look forward to watching the build.

CapnMac82

I'd spray it straight yellow since it's not a metallic or pearl color. One thing I'd be worried about is the colored plastic. Red and yellow plastic were great for us as kids because that meant we didn't have a shelf of all white cars. The downside is that unless a barrier coat was applied, sometimes the pigment used to color the plastic would leach through into the color coat. Usually a simple coat of Testor's Silver from the rattle can is all that's needed to prevent this. Cover that with your favorite primer and you should be good to go. As always, your mileage may vary and as always try this on a piece of sprue or a part that you're sure won't be seen before applying it to the body.

lewbud

Great find OMG! I look forward to watching the build.

CapnMac82

I'd spray it straight yellow since it's not a metallic or pearl color. One thing I'd be worried about is the colored plastic. Red and yellow plastic were great for us as kids because that meant we didn't have a shelf of all white cars. The downside is that unless a barrier coat was applied, sometimes the pigment used to color the plastic would leach through into the color coat. Usually a simple coat of Testor's Silver from the rattle can is all that's needed to prevent this. Cover that with your favorite primer and you should be good to go. As always, your mileage may vary and as always try this on a piece of sprue or a part that you're sure won't be seen before applying it to the body.

 

Thanks, so far test have revealed no bleed that I can tell. I use stynylrez primer, will be shooting Tamiya X8 over that I believe.

As to photos, trying to post pictures here so far has been a bust trying to use imgur. No go.

I use Fotki, costs about 20.00 a year, easy to use.

There is also a 1:16 Stutz of same era out there.  I think it was offered by a couple of different vendors- same kit,though.  They go good together if you can find both.

Don Stauffer

There is also a 1:16 Stutz of same era out there.  I think it was offered by a couple of different vendors- same kit,though.  They go good together if you can find both.

 

lewbud

I use Fotki, costs about 20.00 a year, easy to use.

 

Entex was a company that reboxed other kits and created some pretty attractive box art. One of their more interesting kits was a visible Wankel rotary engine, which was a rebox of a kit available in Japan from Gakken. It hit the stores about the same time that Mazda came on the scene over here.

This Mercer Model was a rebox of an Aurora kit, in turn a rebox of an earlier company Saunders and Swader. If you search for the Aurora version, it can be found for around $ 100.

Several other models were sold in this scale by Entex, including a nice Model T panel truck. My own favorite is a Pendle Traction Engine, originally made by Bandai I think. But impossible to find.

Lindberg sold a 1/16 Stutz racer, which was also a Saunders kit. If memory serves, the original may have been motorized.

https://i.postimg.cc/NFhwVHrP/Mercer-jpg.jpg

Hey I got it to post from another hosting site !

Dead center top is the broken piece.

GMorrison

Entex was a company that reboxed other kits and created some pretty attractive box art. One of their more interesting kits was a visible Wankel rotary engine, which was a rebox of a kit available in Japan from Gakken. It hit the stores about the same time that Mazda came on the scene over here.

This Mercer Model was a rebox of an Aurora kit, in turn a rebox of an earlier company Saunders and Swader. If you search for the Aurora version, it can be found for around $ 100.

Several other models were sold in this scale by Entex, including a nice Model T panel truck. My own favorite is a Pendle Traction Engine, originally made by Bandai I think. But impossible to find.

Lindberg sold a 1/16 Stutz racer, which was also a Saunders kit. If memory serves, the original may have been motorized.

 

 

This kit comes with the gears and shafts to power it ( nice quality too, brass and steel lol), though I haven't looked for instructions on motor mounting etc. since I won't be doing that.

Here is a clearer picture of the cracked piece from the Mercer kit. I used a hair dryer and a bit of force to get most of the warpage out. how it glues in should take care of the little left. Besides the obvious break there is another on the top.

IIRC the Mercers were made between 1910 and 1914. There are a few I have seen at car shows that have been restored and the two yellow ones I have seen were two different hues of yellow. One was a bright yellow and one was a pale yellow. Testers has a couple of yellows in their small bottle line that would satisfy either of the two yellow tones. The yellow I have often heard referred to as canary yellow, of that period, would be the brighter yellow. Also of note the bright yellow one has brown leather seats. Google the Mercer and I think you will find a picture of this car, as well as the light yellow one , a black one,and a off-white or cream colored one.  Check the Jay Leno web site for his collection. He might have one, he has a lot of rare old cars.

rangerj

IIRC the Mercers were made between 1910 and 1914. There are a few I have seen at car shows that have been restored and the two yellow ones I have seen were two different hues of yellow. One was a bright yellow and one was a pale yellow. Testers has a couple of yellows in their small bottle line that would satisfy either of the two yellow tones. The yellow I have often heard referred to as canary yellow, of that period, would be the brighter yellow. Also of note the bright yellow one has brown leather seats. Google the Mercer and I think you will find a picture of this car, as well as the light yellow one , a black one,and a off-white or cream colored one.  Check the Jay Leno web site for his collection. He might have one, he has a lot of rare old cars.

 

Thanks for your post and thoughts ranger ! Yes I've done pretty lengthy searches by now and seen several real Mercers in different yellows but your mention of brown leather is the first sign I've seen of that. I'm doing mine brown anyway with a slight red tone in it ( interior not the body).

I'm not 100% sure on the yellow paint yet but Tamiya has one I'm kind of liking at this point. It's their X8 Lemon Yellow and it comes out nice over white primer . I've sprayed some tests on empty prescription bottles with that and also Model Master Chrome Yellow enamel. Clear coat is an option, it looks good with two coats of clear over the Lemon Yellow to my eyes, that is to say it looks natural and not under glass lol.

I think the real challenge is going to be the black striping, especially on the fenders. Meanwhile I have the rear deck piece shown in the post above yours to repair. And quite a lot of bits of flash to trim off through out the kit.....