Moebius Models 1/25 1952 Hudson Hornet Convertible Build Review

By Ken Kitchen, Front Range Auto Modelers (FRAM)

The Kit

For a look at this kit as it appears in the box, look here.

When the Moebius 1953 Hudson Hornet Coupe was first introduced I could hardly contain my excitement. Finally we get a 1950's automobile subject that hasn't been done to death. It's not just another tri-5 Chevy. It is a truly new subject, a unique and important part of automotive history.

Now to what's in that excellent box. As is standard the parts are spread out over several sprues of light gray plastic. There are two chrome trees separated by tissue and bagged together. Windows are included on one sprue of clear plastic, along with a small tree of tinted clear for taillights. As would be expected four tires are included. They are a soft rubber with beautifully tampo printed white walls. There is also a solid metal axle for the rear, a small decal sheet, and a very well done instruction sheet.

The parts breakdown of the interior consists of a floor pan, a one-piece back seat (properly narrowed for a convertible), multi-piece front seat (with separate grab handles on the seatback), dash, steering column, steering wheel, and side panels. The side panels have the correct pattern for 52 and the doglegs for the convertible interior.  The decals are excellent, they include all the correct markings for the gauges and body markings.

The Build

First of all let me say that I received this kit for review in June of 2012. It's been sitting on my pile of to-do kits only for a couple of months now. For me to get this built so quickly shows how stoked I am about this project. I kept this one front and center to remind me how much I wanted to build it.

First I must say this was a straight out of the box build. I really like the box art and did my best to replicate it. Even though the 52 convertible was not offered in a two-tone that red and black paint job can't be beat.

With that picture in mind I started by assembling the parts that are best assembled before painting. That included the engine, the front seat and the rear axle. I then divided the parts into color groups to make painting easier.

This kit went together very easily. Flash was almost non-existent the only piece with excess flash was the hood and that was an easy cleanup. The mold lines on the body were minimal, I highlighted those by dragging a pencil across them and then sanded them off.  I painted it with a mix of Tamiya colors. The interior was painted with TS-49 Bright Red. The body was painted with a combination of Tamiya TS-14 Black and TS-49 Bright Red. A lot has been made of the instructions and I'll admit they are a work of art suitable for framing. But in my opinion they could definitely stand to have some clarification in a couple of places. The good news is that it just takes a little fiddling to figure out how parts go together.

The engine is what I was really looking forward to building. It is probably the best part of this kit. I've seen built examples on the net and in person and it is a work of art.  It consists of nearly 30 individual parts and can be built up and easily detailed to be an incredible model all of its own. I chose to build this one straight out of the box to showcase what a jewel it is. However rest assured I will be building another and I plan on super-detailing it.

With some Bare Metal Foil and decals this build was finished and ready for the shelf.

Conclusion

My sincere thanks to Moebius Models for this review sample!