Mini Mercer Maximus

Our skilled friend and featured Hemmings Classic Car Auto Artist Frank Schaeffer has been busy with a special project that was directly influenced by HMN blogmeister Dan Strohl’s article on a storied 1914 Mercer Raceabout in HCC, as well as Dan’s 17-part series of Mercer Maximus postings.

We’ll let Frank tell the story.

Back In 1967 or ‘68 [I was 7 or 8], we went to an antique car show, and that was there that I saw ’Old 16,’ the chain-driven Locomobile that had won the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup. Peter Helck was at the wheel. The car just fascinated me… so huge and loud, with straight pipes coming out the side of the hood! Its original grey finish and massive copper gas tank were kind of ghostly and mysterious, with so much history and raw power. To me, it was the most impressive car there, and I was hooked!

And that is the introduction to my interest in building this Mercer Raceabout, which was featured in HCC; it was owned by Peter, and still exhibited the patina of a restoration carried out in 1941. As you know, my specialty is in building scale models of abandoned vehicles, barn finds and well preserved vintage autos- anything I can find from before 1950 in the larger 1/16- and 1/18-scales.

With the help of David Greenlees, who supplied images and descriptions, I was able to duplicate the car in fine detail. As I am a kit builder (or ‘basher,’ as they call us), I have to depend on an existing kit or scale model to start with; from there I let my imagination flow, and I visualize the changes and additional details that I need to add or take away for the piece to ‘come alive.’

This is the model, not the actual car as above!

There were many scratch built items needed for this Mercer, and it can take some time to get them to look right. One of the most challenging for me was the Patina on all of the brass parts, as getting that dull brass look from paint is no easy task. A lot of the parts are actual brass, like the steering column, center steering wheel engine controls, fuel tank bands, fuel line, headlight stanchions and radiator core: all were scratch built.

For the dash, I used a fine-grain wood veneer glued to the plastic, and then started making the gauges; the only gauge I used from the kit was the speedo. The ignition switch and oil sight glass came from another kit and seemed more accurate to the real car. I scratch-built the clock, VIN plate, spot light mount, rear view mirror, running light mounts and the ammeter. The gear shift and brake handle were changed to look more authentic, and then all of these parts were painted with my brass patina mix.

The steering wheel center controls are real, hand fabricated brass components.

I am always concerned about authenticity and originality; this is what adds realism to the model, and the HCC article and David’s blogs helped in getting things like the engine and chassis detail correct. If a crankcase is aluminum, you need to paint it as so, and the ‘weathering’ of the engine and chassis really make this model. You find grease and oil stains on the undercarriage, flaking paint on the wood artillery wheels (achieved with tan and grey prime coats and then chipping away the red top coat) and leaking grease around the hub caps and spring shackles to complete the chassis.

Frank deemed the original color he painted the model chassis too dark, so he re-painted it.

Note the grease on the chassis fittings and the chipped wheel paint, as on the full-sized car.

The body was a bit of a nightmare as I had a very hard time getting the color right- I stripped it three times! I used a black primer, and the color coat was sprayed very lightly to simulate the worn finish- a look I’m finally happy with. With the body and chassis assembled, the final accessories and hardware will next be the next to be built, painted and installed, like the real thing!

The headlamp stanchions are real brass threads.

More scratch-building… I’m not done yet! The battery box was built from scrap styrene. This was easy until I got to the wing nuts that hold on the cover- they are so small that it was a challenge to cut the ‘ears,’ and then weld them to tiny grommets simulating the threaded part of the nuts. The hold-down bolts and clamps were made with straight pins and sheet styrene, while the mount was made from baling wire.

The Mercer’s battery box hangs from the chassis. Note the 1/16-scale workshop Frank designed to display his projects.

The radiator’s MERCER name plate was actually copied from the article’s photo on to card paper, and then VERY carefully cut out with a super sharp exacto knife… I got it the first time! The license plate was copied from a different source and scaled down to the correct size. The hood strap was made from a rubberized material that looks like the leather it’s supposed to be, and all of the hardware had the patina finish applied.

The license plates were carefully scaled to echo the originals.

Every project has its pitfalls: This one was almost abandoned because of the paint problems on the body and some scratch building that seemed impossible, and at one point, I put it down for a month. Patience and perseverance payed off, and I can say it is a great feeling of accomplishment to create such a fabulous car in miniature-my thanks to all who helped in this project.

Kudos to you, Frank – this is a real piece of rolling sculpture!