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Mercedes 300SL Gullwing 1/24 Tamiya with photoetched detail up set from Hobby Design


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Evening guys :)

 

 Tires are on the wheels, not a big improvement, but this car is taking life step by step

Only the wing nuts are missing (or the wheel covers supplied in the kit... Haven't decided yet )

 

50556592781_308f297e0a_c.jpg   50556592791_647bdc0de0_c.jpg

 

Too much dust on this part, I've to blow it and clean the tire 🙄

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8 hours ago, silver911 said:

Very nice but...me being me...I have to ask...where are the valve stems Thierry :)

 

Ron

Hereunder the photograph  I was looking for, in order to scratch the valves:

 

50557333993_94deb89c0d_c.jpg

 

Thanks Ron for the advertisement :)

 

 

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Evening chaps :)

 

I've been asked to make stem valves for the wheels... so I scratched  them

- Hole 0.5 mm drilled through the wheel

- A tiny portion of 0.5 mm electrical wire with black insulation threaded through the hole

- a droplet of CA gel

- A little touch of semi gloss black at the end of the cable, to mask the metal wire

- 4 times

- it's done !

 

A merciless close picture:

 

50560208433_c873a3ef26_c.jpg

 

 

 

Wheels are now in place on the axles, they are just waiting for wheel covers or wing nuts .

 

50560952626_9268415733_c.jpg   50560971661_3b90981479_b.jpg

 

50561123487_4f7c059be0_h.jpg

 

 

I've also glued in place the air filter and air box

 

50561080192_bcb32ea9d1_c.jpg

 

To be continued....stay tuned :)

 

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Great job, it's amazing how much a little detail like tyre valves makes such a big difference. 

 

If it was my build, I'd go for wheel trims as I prefer them on the SL. 

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2 hours ago, johnlambert said:

Great job, it's amazing how much a little detail like tyre valves makes such a big difference. 

 

If it was my build, I'd go for wheel trims as I prefer them on the SL. 

 

I'm torn by the 2 options..

Wheel trim caps are beautiful, but a nightmare to paint correctly.

PE Wing nuts are beautiful and frankly "glamour", rather easy to assemble, less difficult to paint (Molotow chrome) and would give a touch of originality.

I'm going to prepare both sets and have to sleep on it before deciding :)

 

 

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Good evening gentlemen :)

 

Still thinking and hesitating about the wheels, so I've begun a now job, while I'm waiting for the jelly which replace my brain stops to wobble :)

 

So.....body work ! At least, as many say !

 

The body has been inspected a while, looking for moulding lines and other stuff, and in reality, there was one major issue: the shape of the right front fender was wrong: viewed from the front, it had a triangular shape instead of a rounded one, as for the left.

So began the sanding job, 1000, 2000; 3000 grit, then a light coat of grey primer, to verify the job, and so on, until I get a correct shape for the fender  and I've removed the moulding lines I saw previously.

Then, I tried a test fit over the chassis, and there....Another issue: the vacuum chamber I've scratched, situated behind the oil tank, didn't allow the body to fit correctly...so I've removed this additional part.

 

And, at least, the body has been primed with a second coat of primer, as well as the doors and the hood:

 

50567889437_6be21b9a6d_b.jpg   50567754761_deb47ea577_b.jpg

 

50567889407_b41f063065_b.jpg   50567003778_7e0c25f22c_b.jpg

 

50567754846_29e4ef62ed_b.jpg   50567754826_4cfc486c5e_b.jpg

 

You could notice that the fittings are terrific ! It's Tamiya :)

 

And I've primed the underbody with Light grey Alclad primer, a second coat is needed:

 

50567754751_72242be670_b.jpg   50567003788_efcb10eb6d_b.jpg

 

You could notice that the details are very fine and accurate. This underbody, obviously is going to hide the bird cage and other components as the engine, but IT IS a masterpiece itself

 

Stay tuned if you like :)

 

 

 

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It's very hard to judge the quality of a part when it's that slightly weird matt clear plastic the undertray is made of, but judging by your photos have made a good job of the underbody as well as the body itself. I have to admit that I couldn't tell (still can't if I'm honest) the issue with the shape of the wings but I can't deny that the end product from you is excellent and up to your usual standards. Keep up the good work.

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Good evening gentlemen :)

 

A bit of progress today...I've been working on the tub.

 

The underside has been painted semi gloss black, the wheel housings have received their first coat of Gravity Color GC-208 Daimler silver, and the inside of the tub has been painted red as the inside of the firewall

The Red I used is ZERO PAINTS ROSSO-FX Ferrari Leather Color, which match perfectly with the Tamiya suggested color (a 50/50 mix of Tamiya X7 - Bright Red and Tamiya XF-7, matt red) but give in addition and overall a realistic leather effect

The dashboard top  and the two seats has been painted the same color.

 

The dashboard  supplied by Tamiya is a nice chromed part, which had to be painted with 2 colors :

- the bottom, in red

- and the space between all the meters, the same color than the body, that is Daimler silver

- Of course, the bezel must keep their chrome

 

How to proceed ?

The solution has been given by another French modeler on his Youtube channel (Fabio from Videomodelling channel)

- First: paint the dashboard Daimler Silver, over the chrome

- Then, gently strip the chrome on the bezels and other stuff that must be chromed, with a toothpick point

- And finally, paint the red part with a fine brush (I tried to paint it before the Silver, after right masking, with the airbrush, but the ZERO PAINT do not stick very well on the chrome, and while removing the masking tape, the red paint stripped out !)

 

Hereunder the result

 

50580534917_cc5c6e8c83_b.jpg   50580528932_70a8b60ec8_b.jpg

 

50579660748_c5f39fd569_b.jpg   50580519042_5889ab634a_b.jpg

 

50580519072_994b38ab77_b.jpg

 

Now, it remains to put the decals and the logo "300 SL" on the dash and many other operations...so stay tuned for the next steps :)

 

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1 hour ago, Mr Mansfield said:

Superb workmanship on the dash. Does the kit come with decals for the dials?

 

noticed on your previous post how well the doors line up. That must make you smile 

Of course, there is ! but I was a bit lazy yesterday, so didn't put them on.

There's also a metal transfer with the logo "300SL".

 

50583812118_7532c5e67e_b.jpg

 

This will be done shortly :)

 

What I've done yesterday evening is :

 

placing 2 PE parts which represent the locking plates for the doors

- fabricating the floor carpeting of the seats

- painting the seats red and weathering them a bit

 

50584672602_4524986496_b.jpg   50583812098_a79b1654fd_b.jpg

 

To be continued....😎

 

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Good evening Gentlemen :)

 

I know that, writing what is following, I'm going, perhaps, to disappoint some of you... but I have to be honest and not to hide the harsh truth !

 

After a good start on the dashboard, I've faced several issues with domino effect, that I've managed as I could, for finally getting a  just passable result to my eyes (and more, only if I remove my glasses)

 

- All was going well for putting decals.

- But when I tried to put on the dash the metal transfer (logo" 300 SL"), the Daimler Silver paint stripped out while removing the transparent protector film !

- So, it's been necessary to  paint another time the right portion of the dash, while respecting the left portion, in order not to  spoil the decals.

- Pity, the right most decal (the clock) has been damaged

- Fortunately, I had in my stash some spare decals  from my Talbot Lago, and I've been able to use one of them, after a little surgery, to replace the damaged one

- It remained to clean the metal transfer from the paint that was glued on it, and try to glue it on the dash, if possible without soiling the Silver paint......

- Here,  another time, some problems: first the litlle coat of adhesive at the back of the transfer has been removed while cleaning, second, this weak transfer broke in 2 parts during thsoe operations.

- I've managed to save it and to glue it in place with very tiny drops of canopy glue, which I hoped to get transparent while drying, but the result is frankly very disappointing, at close range.

- At last, in order to enhance the visual aspect of the dials, I've used, as usual, tiny drops of Gauzy Agent put on the decals....But unfortunately, for the first time since  I use this varnish, an undesirable reaction appeared with the Tamiya decals (and not with the Heller Talbot Lago one), and the dark parts of the decals have turned a bit grey !!!

- I've managed to darken them a bit using diluted Tamiya Black Panel Line Accent Color

 

 

All things considered, this would not have happened if I have taken the precaution of spraying 1 or two layers of Clear coat over the dash after having put the decals....Once dried, I would have placed the metal transfer without any difficulty  and without stripping the paint whole removing the film.

It's often from your mistakes that you learn most !

 

 

Hereunder, some photos (I've avoided to take close pictures of the right part of the dash, because I feel ashamed to have spoiled it)

 

50590349661_1a3c8ba467_b.jpg  50590467987_d797568d1b_b.jpg

 

50590467782_e38500e6f2_b.jpg  50589604758_001960e784_b.jpg

 

To go on enhancing the dash, I've put a micro touch of Molotov Chrome with the sharpened point of a toothpick on the 4 screws situated on the top of the dash and have given more relief to the ashtray with Tamiya Light Grey Panel Line Accent Color

 

50590349296_66d0fba7a9_b.jpg

 

Now, it's time to modify the steering while, using the Hobby Design PE parts :)

 

Stay tuned if you like and thanks for watching :)

 

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Wheels too have been redone, because finally I wasn't happy with them. The Mig pigments , based I suppose, upon graphite powder, are very greasy and let prints on the tyre.

 

So, I've stripped out the paints in a bath of Glanzer and the a bath of IPA, and then redo the job using the following sequence:

 

- 1/ Alclad Gray Primer and Microfiller...24 hours drying

- 2/ Alclad Gloss Black base....48 hours drying

- 3/ Alclad Polished Aluminium, 3 light coats....72 hours drying

- 4/ Put the tires on..no issue

- 5/ Paint the valve satin black with the point of a sharpened toothpick, under magnifying glasses

- 6/ a bit of Tamiya Black panel Line Accent Color here and there and...

 

Here is the result, which I'm proud of:

 

50591664137_c8a03b7199_b.jpg

 

 

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Sorry to hear about the mishaps with your dash. Good save though and thanks for the warning you added.

Wheels look great after the latest treatment.

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Suggest you remove the "flocked" carpet.  The 300 SL had black ribbed rubber mats covering the floor areas in front of the seats.  The vertical sides of the footwells were covered in either leather or vinyl to match the interior. The transmission tunnel cover was carpeted with a tight square weave carpet as was the horizontal area behind the seats. Since the carpet was such a hard, tight weave, there is no softness or pile visible in 1:1 scale let alone in a 1/24 model,

 

Wheels look much better following the repaint, but please be advised that fully chromed wheels were extremely rare back in the day, appearing only on some specially prepared display vehicles.  Similarly, what is commonly seen today as a wheel with the majority painted body color and a highly polisher alloy outer rim is not an original finish. Factory wheels were painted body color all over.  Hub caps were generally chrome with the three segments abutting the star and the wide ring outside that being painted in the body color. Some early cars (not yours) had two tone hubcaps with the segments abutting the star being painted to match the interior and the wide ring around that painted in body color.

 

Sorry about the wasted effort you put into scratch building the vacuum tank, but as you now know it was not needed with the Ate T-50 brake booster system with which which your car is equipped.

 

Finally. with regard to the dashboard lights, may I suggest some small drops of paint: 1) Red, for the light between and above the tachometer/speedometer which is the generator charging indicator; 2) Blue, for the small light between and below which is the high beam indicator; and 3) White, for the other two lights below the tachometer and speedometer.  The lighted pull knob controls (electric fuel pump and ventilation blower) can be brightened with a dab of amber paint to signify their lenses as well.

Edited by ejboyd5
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1 hour ago, ejboyd5 said:

Suggest you remove the "flocked" carpet.  The 300 SL had black ribbed rubber mats covering the floor areas in front of the seats.  The vertical sides of the footwells were covered in either leather or vinyl to match the interior. The transmission tunnel cover was carpeted with a tight square weave carpet as was the horizontal area behind the seats. Since the carpet was such a hard, tight weave, there is no softness or pile visible in 1:1 scale let alone in a 1/24 model,

 

Wheels look much better following the repaint, but please be advised that fully chromed wheels were extremely rare back in the day, appearing only on some specially prepared display vehicles.  Similarly, what is commonly seen today as a wheel with the majority painted body color and a highly polisher alloy outer rim is not an original finish. Factory wheels were painted body color all over.  Hub caps were generally chrome with the three segments abutting the star and the wide ring outside that being painted in the body color. Some early cars (not yours) had two tone hubcaps with the segments abutting the star being painted to match the interior and the wide ring around that painted in body color.

 

Sorry about the wasted effort you put into scratch building the vacuum tank, but as you now know it was not needed with the Ate T-50 brake booster system with which which your car is equipped.

 

Finally. with regard to the dashboard lights, may I suggest some small drops of paint: 1) Red, for the light between and above the tachometer/speedometer which is the generator charging indicator; 2) Blue, for the small light between and below which is the high beam indicator; and 3) White, for the other two lights below the tachometer and speedometer.  The lighted pull knob controls (electric fuel pump and ventilation blower) can be brightened with a dab of amber paint to signify their lenses as well.

 

Thanks so much @ejboyd5 for these precisions and advices

 

It seemed to me, looking at the wheels on some pictures found on the Internet, that what I have represented polished aluminium, could be the same color than the body. Now I know....so the job will be redone, for the fifth time !

OK for the dashboard lights; I think I've understood what you mean... could you provide on this forum some close up pictures of the dash if you own ?

 

Unfortunately, it's too late for the bad carpeting on the floor. Impossible to remove it without definitely ruining the tub. I'll try to fix this mistake, with black stuff to simulate the ribbed rubbernecked mats

Concerning the tunnel , perhaps could I modify the appearance, glueing some painted fabric on it...

 

I've to sleep on it :)

 

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