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Finished the Mercedes, I am very satisfied with the result. I scratch built the hydraulic brake hoses, the reference shows straight couplings. Further I added micro LED to the rear lights and replaced the bulbs for the front with LED. For some reason it's not possible to light them both when in parallel connection. Guess I have to add a resistor to the micro LED's to make it work. The windows work well, only one of the pins is a bit too long but besides that they move up and down well. The upholstery and roof went quite well, the vinyl of the door needs to be cut to fit (due to the handle bar). Seats were no issue but they don't look like real sheets. I upgraded the dash board with PE meters, looks better than the stickers. I completed all the wheels. Compared to the wheels of the Alfa and Rolls, the wheels of the Mercedes need more adjustment/time. The 2 plastic rim halves don't fit, all the nipples of the spokes had to be redialled (hole too small) and all the spokes had to be bend on one side. For the bending I made a small jig out of a plastic pipe. I drilled a hole with the diameter of a spoke and the depth to the point where the spoke needed a bend. As the inner and outer spokes were not the same I had to drill a 2nd hole on a thicker part of the pipe. The bending of the spokes was needed to make a better pattern but even if you would follow the Porcher pattern, bending would be required to be able to fixate the spokes. There was a lot of plastic protruding under the steel center covers, removed this so that it's not visible when the covers are mounted. The balance weight I pushed first in place using a soldering iron. The hole is does not fit properly, so it will melt it to the correct size. Afterwards I glued them in place. The steel ring on the outside needed to be adjusted such that the nipples would be visible. This was quite simple by using a big socket and pliers. Then press the ring in the desired position. If some of the nipples were not proper in place at the end, I pushed them in using a hot soldering iron. Finally I painted the sidewalls white using Tamiya white primer. And with these tyres I experienced the same as with the Rolls. The primer dried nicely but after 2 weeks it becomes sticky, caused by the plasticising agent in the tyre. It should eventually become dry but it will take quite some time for that. Guess for the next time I should use a water base acrylic. The hub caps I painted one ring black (the body colour), this is a matter of paint the ring black and the excess amount you wipe off once the paint is dry. I spent some time in scratch building the steering rods. Although the MMC parts look nice I wanted to give it a try to do better. I made ball joints, adjustment clamps and dust covers. For the ball joints I used 3 mm stainless steel beads with a 1.5 mm hole. I tapped M2 thread in these holes so that M2 threaded rod could be mounted. For the housing of the ball joint I used 4x0.5 mm brass rod. Length about 4 mm, the top I cut on 8-10 positions in about 1 mm with a serrated saw (Proxxon)of 0.1 mm thick. With a small hammer I pushed the top a bit inwards, as the cuts are very small it will only go in a bit. Enough to keep the bead inside the housing and still give the joint play. The top I closed with 0.2 mm brass plate and filed it to match the housing. The adjustment clamp is made of 4x0.5 mm brass rod with on top 3x0.5 mm brass rod soldered. After soldering and filing I cut it open so that it can clamp. The dust covers are made from Plasti-dip, this is a liquid vinyl and I followed the suggestion of Ken Foran. Is made a mandril of 4x0.5 mm brass rod and connected that with a 2 mm rod (to match the dimensions of the housing and thread). Dipped it in the Plasti-dip, 2 times, let it dry and first cut the access part and removed it from the mandril. At the end assembled and painted the whole. Although not perfect it came out quite well.

Hello everyone. I would like to share my new project with you. It's my sixth 1/8 scale truck that is currently under construction. Just like the previous models I have built, it's not a self-chosen project, but an ordered model of an existing 1/1 model. The model is a Volvo Viking L485 from 1960 with a Danish-built cab. It is completely scratch built in metal. I started it in November 2017, being halfway through the project and expecting to deliver it around May this year. ( My new German colleague, Hr Holzmann. Does his work (Metal Cutting / cutting, rolling and bending.) Very well. ) Klaus