Mercedes L 4500

[Lummox]

Evening All,

 

I been lurking on the forum for some time and thought it's about time I started to contribute. So here we are with my first ever build log. Yay!

 

I started this project several months ago. There will therefore be an initial rash of posts to summarise my progress so far, but updates thereafter will be infrequent (as I work at a snails pace  - an especially slow snail at that).

 

We're dealing with the Zvezda L 4500 A, which to be honest is pretty good, but we always like to have some aftermarket trinkets don't we. Inevitably some etch and replacement wheels therefore also make an appearance...

 

 

I won't include sprue shots, mainly because I'm lazy, but also because reviews can readily be found elsewhere, e.g. https://armorama.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=3951

 

A review for the replacement wheel set is available on our favorite modelling site...

 

I'll start posting progress updates very shortly.

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

[Lummox]

Hi All,

 

To give a quick flavour of where I am in the build, here's a summary of the current state of play. Apologies for the rubbish photos (I'm limited to a hand held phone camera at the moment).

 

Chassis rear and bed:

 

Chassis front, front axle, and air cylinder:

 

Cab components:

 

Radiator rear, with hose to water pump on engine:

 

 

Engine right, with exhaust manifold, and hose to radiator (again):

 

Engine left, with various components ready for the paint shop (fuel filter, oil filter, and top of compressor):

 

I aim to cover these much more in subsequent updates.

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

[edjbartos]

Looking really good. nice progress so far, nice clean build, looking forward to seeing more...

 

Ed

[Pig of the Week]

Very nice...I'm going to need a German lorry now..! 

[Bullbasket]

Really good progress so far. You've got some excellent detail into those small parts. Nice work.

 

John.

[Lummox]

17 hours ago, edjbartos said:

Looking really good. nice progress so far, nice clean build, looking forward to seeing more...

Thanks Ed, more coming below.

 

6 hours ago, Pig of the Week said:

Very nice...I'm going to need a German lorry now..! 

Thanks Pig (that doesn't sound quite right, but meant with the best intentions!) It certainly makes a pleasant change from all those track links and road wheels (I'm looking at you Panzer IV).

 

6 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Really good progress so far. You've got some excellent detail into those small parts. Nice work.

Thanks John. Probably a tad over the top with some of the detail but it keeps me out of mischief.

 

 

The next update covers the replacement wheels from ET Models. The wheel are pretty good, but not without issues. We'll start with the bad news...

 

In general the castings are good, with sharp detail in evidence, especially on the treads. The boundary between the hub and the tyre however is, how shall we put this, a bit rough. Not sure what to do here to be honest. I may be able to tidy things up to a certain extent, and it may look OK under some paint. We shall see, and there would always be our good friend Mr Mud if needs be:

 

There's also something odd with the front wheels. At first I thought ET had represented some negative camber, but surely the plane of the hub shouldn't be different to that of the tyre. It's hard to describe, and harder to photograph, but hopefully you'll see from below that the hub and tyre are skewed (but only on the front wheels):

 

I may well be missing something, not exactly being an engineering genius, but that's not right is it? I'd have thought you'd get a jolly wobbly ride.

Whatever, I don't think it will be a major problem, hopefully not being noticeable especially with a large turn of the front wheels. Fingers crossed.

 

Now for the good news...

 

The main reason for getting the set was the impression of load on the tyres, rather than the unrealistic 'on tip toe' look of unloaded wheels. Yes, you can file flat spots, but then you don't get the tyre bulge associated with load. The ET wheels look to portray the impression of weight quite well.

 

Here's a comparison of the rear, inner wheels. The ET wheel (on the left) looks much better in my opinion than the Zvezda equivalent (which also seems skinny and has an odd tread pattern):

 

And here's a couple of pictures with the wheels in situ. I think they will work well:

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

 

[Cerberus]

3 hours ago, Lummox said:

The boundary between the hub and the tyre however is, how shall we put this, a bit rough. Not sure what to do here to be honest.

 Fill the hub with a blanking piece of plastic, then find the center, then use some sharp point calipers/dividers to scribe a better more defined line between the tyre and the rim, or just fill it all in with mud n dust 

 

 

3 hours ago, Lummox said:

but that's not right is it?

 Not really no, but as you say the tyres look better because they represent load/weight, and therefore don't have that tippy toe look that kit wheels tend to have, so it's probably worth the trade, resin is resin, pros and cons, very often really nice detail, or more accurate, but can be warped, undersize (shrinkage) air bubbles, and all kinds of strange nonsense sometimes.

 

 Matt

[Lummox]

22 hours ago, Cerberus said:

Fill the hub with a blanking piece of plastic, then find the center, then use some sharp point calipers/dividers to scribe a better more defined line between the tyre and the rim

Hmmm, I like your thinking Matt - that's got the old cogs whirring...

 

Just a minor update today as I've spent most of the day pressure washing the patios and paths (so haven't been able to prepare much content). While de-gunking stuff it crossed my mind that there I was striving to de-weather something to make it pristine, but usually I'm striving to make something pristine look weathered. We're a strange bunch! 🤪

 

A closer look at the bed. It can be built separately to the chassis, which simplifies construction and painting. Detail is nice, though the wood effect is probably a tad overstated (I'm going to leave it as is). Just a few knock-out marks to contend with, nothing too serious. The dabs of paint indicate knock-out locations:

 

The replacement wheels are slightly larger that the kit equivalents. I had to shave the bed supports slightly to get the spare to fit snugly in its home:

 

I'm unsure what load I'll have at the moment, but I am sure that I won't be fitting the bench seat things. This causes a problem as the supports for the benches are annoying moulded onto the bed sides. I've started to very carefully pare the supports off, trying to retain/restore detail where possible (e.g. where the supports cross over underlying fastening plates). This, as you can imagine, is a royal PITA. I've completed one side, the other side being shown for comparison. Hopefully things will look OK under paint (if not, strategically placed cargo can hide to worst areas): 

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

 

Paul.

[APA]

On 4/24/2021 at 4:04 PM, Lummox said:

Thanks Ed, more coming below.

 

Thanks Pig (that doesn't sound quite right, but meant with the best intentions!) It certainly makes a pleasant change from all those track links and road wheels (I'm looking at you Panzer IV).

 

Thanks John. Probably a tad over the top with some of the detail but it keeps me out of mischief.

 

 

The next update covers the replacement wheels from ET Models. The wheel are pretty good, but not without issues. We'll start with the bad news...

 

In general the castings are good, with sharp detail in evidence, especially on the treads. The boundary between the hub and the tyre however is, how shall we put this, a bit rough. Not sure what to do here to be honest. I may be able to tidy things up to a certain extent, and it may look OK under some paint. We shall see, and there would always be our good friend Mr Mud if needs be:

 

There's also something odd with the front wheels. At first I thought ET had represented some negative camber, but surely the plane of the hub shouldn't be different to that of the tyre. It's hard to describe, and harder to photograph, but hopefully you'll see from below that the hub and tyre are skewed (but only on the front wheels):

 

I may well be missing something, not exactly being an engineering genius, but that's not right is it? I'd have thought you'd get a jolly wobbly ride.

Whatever, I don't think it will be a major problem, hopefully not being noticeable especially with a large turn of the front wheels. Fingers crossed.

 

Now for the good news...

 

The main reason for getting the set was the impression of load on the tyres, rather than the unrealistic 'on tip toe' look of unloaded wheels. Yes, you can file flat spots, but then you don't get the tyre bulge associated with load. The ET wheels look to portray the impression of weight quite well.

 

Here's a comparison of the rear, inner wheels. The ET wheel (on the left) looks much better in my opinion than the Zvezda equivalent (which also seems skinny and has an odd tread pattern):

 

And here's a couple of pictures with the wheels in situ. I think they will work well:

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

 

Possibly the best loaded wheels I've seen. 👍 I really hate, as you say, 'tiptoe' wheels and don't know why manufacturers don't do them as standard. (don't get me started on vynal tires in kits!) however and unfortunately a lot of military vehicles don't have that weighted look in real life. (run flats etc) but I do think it's almost that essential for realistic look. 

Nice build as well BTW 😁👍

 

Andrew 

[Lummox]

Hi All,

 

Today's update will cover the Voyager etch:

 

Here's what you get in the set; 3 sheets of etch, an acetate sheet with printed gauges for the dash, a resin pick-axe and notek light, a section of 0.5 mm rod, and a section of 0.3mm steel wire. As ever, the steel wire is curved and cannot be straightened with the usual trick of rolling under a steel rule. Does anyone have a tip on how to straighten such wires?

 

The set is typical in that there are elements that will definitely enhance the target kit, elements that are a marginal improvement over kit equivalents, and elements that are best ignored (are no better or actually worse than what they are meant to replace, or are inappropriate for use). I definitely have a love/hate relationship with etch, but am slowly  learning to be selective about what is used from a set and what is ignored.

 

The radiator grill is an ideal candidate for an etch replacement. The photograph doesn't do it justice, and it needs the etch Mercedes logo added, but in my mind it is an improvement of the kit representation shown for comparison. Also visible here is something that should have been included in the Voyager set but wasn't, this being the small logo above the radiator grill. It's an ideal candidate for etch, being flat, delicate and hard to reproduce. But Voyager chose not to include it for some reason. I've tried to replicate it using the centre of the Mercedes logo sliced off the kit radiator grill (needs more work, but getting there):

 

An area where the etch will definitely be beneficial is the bonnet air vents. It's not obvious from the photo but they are open in the etch, but are solid in the kit. Also visible on the etch fret is the engine cooling fan which will be a great improvement over the kit offering:

 

Brackets, straps, fixing plates, etc. are other areas where etch comes to the fore. The air cylinder fastenings being a good example (the kit bracket being shown for comparison):

 

The etch and acetate gauges for the dash will also enhance the cab area (see below, top left and top). This, however, highlights a failing of etch in general in that it is flat. The speedometer on the L 4500 stands noticeably proud of the dash (see below, middle left). The kit attempts to represent this, but the speedometer was a bit shallow (see below, middle right). The etch ignores it all together, which is nice (not).

I've reworked the kit dash to introduce the speedometer (see below, bottom), The etch will be placed over this, and the speedometer gauge will need to be carefully cut from the acetate to fit. I'm not sure why the acetate has two representation of the speedometer gauge, but I'm glad it has as I have two chances with the trimming! I've also added paint to the back of the acetate to modify the top two gauges to more accurately reflect the real thing  (originally the 4 smaller gauges were identical):

 

Finally an example of some of the crazy things you see in etch sets. The set provides elements to dress up Jerrycans. No cans are provided, I suppose they assume everyone has the Tamiya Jerrycan set (which to be fair, everyone probably has!) Part B13 (highlighted below) has arms that need to be bent in 3 directions. The arms are 1.5mm long. There are no bend lines on the arms. What on earth are they thinking? This is one of those etch elements that should be ignored, only a blithering idiot would attempt such a thing:

 

Well a blithering idiot did indeed attempt it. Is it an improvement? From above, I'd say not (the clasp thing is too long and the wrong shape). From the side, maybe. Would I have preferred for the set to include the small Mercedes logo above the radiator grill rather than these? Yes, yes I would:

 

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

 

Paul.

[Pig of the Week]

The wire may respond to being heated up red hot then left to cool naturally, this can soften it so it's easier to roll flat...

Otherwise it's prob easier to find some appropriate gauge wire elsewhere that's already straight !

[Lummox]

1 hour ago, Pig of the Week said:

The wire may respond to being heated up red hot then left to cool naturally, this can soften it so it's easier to roll flat

Thanks for the suggestion @Pig of the Week. I did try to anneal the wire but must admit I didn't try too hard. Like you say it's probably better to just bin it, but being a Yorkshireman it goes against the grain.

[Lummox]

Good evening, and on with the next update - the chassis.

 

Zvezda have pulled out the stops here, the chassis detail is lovely. Some work was needed to remove knock-out marks (especially on the inside of the chassis rails, where they were mainly hidden) and general thinning of some components, but to be fair you would get a little gem right out of the box. I've added a few bolt heads, some wiring and brake lines (mostly imaginary as no references were available), some tweaks to the towing hitch, and other additions that I'll cover in more detail.

 

Being long and thin the chassis is hard to photograph in the whole (how do the maritime folks manage?), so I'll split into chunks. First the rear:

 

Now the front with the half painted engine in place. The drive shafts from the engine to the transfer case, and from the transfer case to the front axle need to be added. It will get quite busy here eventually:

 

With a little effort you can get working steering by articulating the various linkages (after all everyone likes working features to play with ). Here's shots of the steering of full right lock and full left lock:

 

And here's the mid section. The circled addition is imaginary and warrants some explanation:

 

Basically I've been puzzling over where the inner line from the air cylinder goes. It must go somewhere, but I've been unable to find out for certain where. A braking diagram from a Mercedes brochure gave a clue and my imagination took over from there: 

 

Finally some shots of the engine sitting on its cradle within the chassis:

 

And an impression of how things will look with the radiator in place:

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

 

Paul.

 

[vytautas]

Just brilliant! So many details, wires, rods, and tubes looking very impressive. 👍
 

Now the most important thing is to prevent coolant from entering the fuel system, as the fuel pump will fail and you will have to rebuild it. 

 

Vytautas

[APA]

Really nice work there. I did a similar thing on my Scammell Transporter. I know what you mean about the guesstimations on stuff. A canister with a knob and a couple of pipes never hurt anyone 😉 Very rewarding and effective as well.

 

Andrew

[Lummox]

1 hour ago, vytautas said:

Just brilliant! So many details, wires, rods, and tubes looking very impressive

Thanks Vytautas. Think I will go cross-eyed when I get round to fully wiring the engine

[Lummox]

1 hour ago, APA said:

I know what you mean about the guesstimations on stuff. A canister with a knob and a couple of pipes never hurt anyone 😉

Thanks Andrew. Let's call it being creative - I won't tell anyone that it's not accurate if you won't 👍

[Kelscale]

On 23/04/2021 at 21:50, Lummox said:

Hi All,

 

To give a quick flavour of where I am in the build, here's a summary of the current state of play. Apologies for the rubbish photos (I'm limited to a hand held phone camera at the moment).

 

Chassis rear and bed:

 

Chassis front, front axle, and air cylinder:

 

Cab components:

 

Radiator rear, with hose to water pump on engine:

 

 

Engine right, with exhaust manifold, and hose to radiator (again):

 

Engine left, with various components ready for the paint shop (fuel filter, oil filter, and top of compressor):

 

I aim to cover these much more in subsequent updates.

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

Dont forget the top mounted coolant pipe

 

[Kelscale]

On 24/04/2021 at 16:04, Lummox said:

Thanks Ed, more coming below.

 

Thanks Pig (that doesn't sound quite right, but meant with the best intentions!) It certainly makes a pleasant change from all those track links and road wheels (I'm looking at you Panzer IV).

 

Thanks John. Probably a tad over the top with some of the detail but it keeps me out of mischief.

 

 

The next update covers the replacement wheels from ET Models. The wheel are pretty good, but not without issues. We'll start with the bad news...

 

In general the castings are good, with sharp detail in evidence, especially on the treads. The boundary between the hub and the tyre however is, how shall we put this, a bit rough. Not sure what to do here to be honest. I may be able to tidy things up to a certain extent, and it may look OK under some paint. We shall see, and there would always be our good friend Mr Mud if needs be:

 

There's also something odd with the front wheels. At first I thought ET had represented some negative camber, but surely the plane of the hub shouldn't be different to that of the tyre. It's hard to describe, and harder to photograph, but hopefully you'll see from below that the hub and tyre are skewed (but only on the front wheels):

 

I may well be missing something, not exactly being an engineering genius, but that's not right is it? I'd have thought you'd get a jolly wobbly ride.

Whatever, I don't think it will be a major problem, hopefully not being noticeable especially with a large turn of the front wheels. Fingers crossed.

 

Now for the good news...

 

The main reason for getting the set was the impression of load on the tyres, rather than the unrealistic 'on tip toe' look of unloaded wheels. Yes, you can file flat spots, but then you don't get the tyre bulge associated with load. The ET wheels look to portray the impression of weight quite well.

 

Here's a comparison of the rear, inner wheels. The ET wheel (on the left) looks much better in my opinion than the Zvezda equivalent (which also seems skinny and has an odd tread pattern):

 

And here's a couple of pictures with the wheels in situ. I think they will work well:

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

 

 

Recent Mercedes L400 aftermarket wheel discussion here https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/mercedes-l4500-aftermarket-wheel-recommendation-t327453.html

[Kelscale]

Nicely detailed build.  Just completed an OOB build on this myself so interested on how the aftermarket PE and your excellently rendered scratch additions improve the stock kit

 

I have this pic of what I guess Zvezda used as a ref for the tyres.  Odd looking but they did exist at some time or another

 

 

I have accumulated quite a few ref pics, but the majority of close-up colour pics are post war so no guarantee they are original

[Lummox]

18 hours ago, Kelscale said:

Dont forget the top mounted coolant pipe

Don't worry @Kelscale, the engine coolant system is definitely on my radar (see below).

 

18 hours ago, Kelscale said:

Recent Mercedes L400 aftermarket wheel discussion here https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/mercedes-l4500-aftermarket-wheel-recommendation-t327453.html

I hadn't seen that link before, thanks for posting. The Hussar and Panzer Art replacement wheels appear to be unweighted, which is a shame, as it would have been interesting to compare with ET's representation of load.

 

17 hours ago, Kelscale said:

Nicely detailed build.  Just completed an OOB build on this myself so interested on how the aftermarket PE and your excellently rendered scratch additions improve the stock kit

Many thanks for the kind comments Kelscale. Feel free to post pictures of your completed build - I'd love to see it.

 

Kelscale has mentioned the prominent cooling system of the OM 67/4 engine that powers the L 4500, so now would be a good time to cover it. Unfortunately Zvezda dropped the ball a little in this area. They have rendered a pretty good representation of the engine, but kind of gave up when it came to the radiator and cooling plumbing.

 

The kit radiator is weak, being basically a flat piece of plastic with an engraved arch. I've had to scratch a radiator with appropriate cooling input/output connectors (as highlighted below). I'm confident that the top connector (water in?) is accurate as there is ample photographic evidence. The bottom connector (water out?), however, is more imaginary:

 

Zvezda also made no attempt to portray the coolant plumbing on the engine cylinder head. Rework was necessary here to represent the 4 coolant outputs for pipework that leads back to the radiator. Hopefully this is obvious in the before/after comparison picture below (the 'before' image has been obtained from the excellent Track-Link review of the kit found here: https://www.track-link.com/forums/site_blogs/46010/flat😞

 

Here's a taster of what I'll eventually be working towards to add the pipework back to the radiator:

 

That covers the feed into the radiator, but what about completing the circuit? There must be a connection from the bottom of the radiator to the water pump on the engine. I've only managed to find fleeting clues of what this may look like:

 

With this limited information, and a large helping of guesswork, I've come up with this:

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

 

Paul.

 

[echen]

Terrific detail!

[Pig of the Week]

You'll probably have it running over the weekend ! 

[Bullbasket]

Great work in the plumbing department, and even if it is wrong, the chances of someone finding out are very low. Nice work.

 

John.

[Lummox]

On 4/30/2021 at 5:02 PM, echen said:

Terrific detail!

Thanks Echen

 

On 4/30/2021 at 11:26 PM, Pig of the Week said:

You'll probably have it running over the weekend ! 

Just need some fuel and a battery - more of which later...

 

On 5/1/2021 at 1:50 PM, Bullbasket said:

Great work in the plumbing department, and even if it is wrong, the chances of someone finding out are very low. Nice work.

Thanks John

 

 

Time to cover the cab in more detail I think. Detail here is OK, but again you get the feeling that after the great work on the chassis and engine, Zvezda just ran out of steam. The firewall is a blank canvas that will need work to add missing detail:

 

The inside is also rather sparse and there were several knock-out marks to deal with. I've started to add detail but more work will be required:

 

The clear plastic for the glazing is flawed (it may well be just a one-off with my kit), Do you see that hair running through the windscreen and the cab back window? That not me being a bit lax with the dusting, that hair is embedded within the plastic! Must admit I've never seen anything like this before:

 

Although the windscreen seems quite clear at first glance, there is quite a bit of distortion when viewed at an angle. I think the only use for the kit glazing will be as templates for replacements:

 

The cab floor was totally featureless, so I added some anti-slip areas and surrounds for the handbrake, gear shift, etc. The seats also have no shape or texture, but to be fair I think they may well be like that in real life:

 

During research I discovered that the fuel tank and battery were housed under the seat:

 

So I thought I'd attempt to replicate this to add interest to the cab area. Now I just need to find out whether the seat hinged up in some way for access, or whether it was lifted off in it's entirety. Does anyone happen to know?

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

 

Paul.