ejboyd5

I'm taken by the logic embodied in, "Model viewing distance = approximately 2ft x the scale of the model. In 1/48 that's a hundred feet away." It seems a practical way to determine the degree of detail to be applied.

I well remember the Christmas when my parents gave me the book and I read it straight through before lunch. Let's hope the short movie will be as entertaining and riveting.

Holy $%#&! What an impressive level of detail. I can't find the crewman. Is he still on leave after the last mission?

As it often was in real life. A fraternity brother of mine had one with a small block Chevrolet installed. Although it was quite fast in a straight line, none of the A-H components, from radiator to rear axle, were up to the stresses put upon them by American horsepower and torque.

We can all agree it's a Zero, but Matchbox did trenches, not rivets.

Thanks for teaching me something about the plane's post-war use as well as making a nice replica.

I'm overwhelmed by the complexity of the masking. Well done.

I would be happy to assist as I did with "722," but I don't have easy access to a 300 SLR like I have to the 300 SL. I do have many pictures of the 300 SLR from the '55 MM, so I'll chime in where appropriate.

What is the intended use for the heavy wood cribbing stored on the rear fuselage walls and on the starboard side of the nose compartment?

For a display chassis only (the factory made several) the tubular support for the gear shift lever is correct. On complete cars this support was not needed as the shift lever was supported solely by that part of the body's floor that served as the rear of the transmission/drive shaft tunnel cover.

Not to be hyper-picky, but are we sure that the star and 300 SL emblem on the trunk lid should be applied over the "1" of the "417?" It seems hard to believe that when painting temporary racing numbers the M-B team would have taken the time to remove these items, paint the numbers and then reinstall the trim. I know that's how M-B did it when they recreated "417" for show, but there are serious questions as to configuration of the original. The many pictures I have amassed of the 1955 MM are inconclusive on this point.

Informational, educational and entertaining. Thank you.

Impressive work and an impressive workplace. Thanks for sharing. From its location relative to the ship may we assume that the Swordfish is making an unassisted take-off into the wind.

They were blue, but wear items do get replaced.

Here's more info on headlining than you'll ever need or want: If your car was built in March, 1955, or earlier, it very likely had cloth (wool) headlining material that started at the top of the instrument panel or bottom of the windows and covered the entire upper half of the interior. This was not the most practical design in that every time someone climbed in or out of the car there was a tendency to grab the window post and leave dirty fingerprints on the headlining, which was not easy to clean. By July of '55 the factory decided to cover the vertical posts at each door with leather (or vinyl) for more durability. However, the headlining on all cars covers the window post on each side of the rear windshield remained as before. At any areas where cloth headlining and leather/vinyl meet, the cloth should always overlap on top of the leather/vinyl. Since "417" participated in the 1955 Mille Miglia held on April 30/May 1, it seem almost a certainty that A and B pillars would have had fabric headlining extending to the top of the dashboard and the lower edge of the quarter windows. Hence a small extension for your headlining on those pillars, the pillars on both sides of the rear window and on the doors would appear warranted. BTW, the gray color appears right on.

A chance meeting with a rock outside of Brescia is a plausible explanation for your BMF problem, no matter how apocryphal that might be. All 300 SL Coupes with the L1 blue plaid/blue vinyl interiors were trimmed with a light gray headliner. I do not know of any cars that came from the factory with other than light gray or beige headlining.

417's right window frame hit by rock while leaving Brescia. That's your story. Stick with it.

What livery is planned for the next one?

Interesting and unusual theme for these decals. Credit to the manufacturer for trying something new.

Original documentation fails to discuss how many times the racing shop drilled mounting holes in the hood before they got it right.

Interior is excellent. Original cloth seats would crease and wrinkle and that's what happened to yours, very realistic. Don't obsess over screw placement. Remember these were hand assembled vehicles and variations occurred even in 1:1 scale.

"Being repaired" would seem to be a rather tongue in cheek caption for the photograph.

Being part of the firefighter/ambulance community, I received my first Moderna shot in December and the second in January. Absolutely no ill effects whatsoever. Despite multiple potential Covid-19 exposures from patients, not a single member of our agency has reported any symptoms or has shown positive in any test. I find it difficult to understand the reluctance of some easily defined subsets of our population (either ethnic or political) to accept the inoculation. Its value is proven and refusal is foolish. Being part of a herd, unless we are considering "herd immunity" is not always wise and sometimes comes at great personal risk.

I'm in awe. More work than maintaining the 1:1 model.