Mercedes L 4500

[NIK122]

You're a brave man Paul. Congratulations on managing some pretty drastic.......butchery, at such a late stage!  It's certainly an improvement.

Thanks for the words of encouragement regarding the G4😎

[Keeff]

Now that does look good,correct and alot better! 👌

 

I'd say you're right about the sump being boxed in to protect it off road .... the picture looks like it's been mackled together! 

 

Keith ☺️ 

[Jochen Barett]

I saved to point out that sump thing for some later time to prevent early completion

 

Congratulations! Another detail nicely improved. (I'm sure there were at least two versions of the sump, remember the German car industry making small improvements year after year? The welded "Fahrzeuge der Wehrmacht" version (shown on a vehicle lacking the front wheel drive)) might be a post war make shift solution, the WL 300232 ... I dunno)

 

Did you ever consider micro-LEDs in the lights and dashboard? Or a downgeared micro motor to turn the radiator fan?

[Stef N.]

A brilliant bit of modelling on the sump. Very well done.

[Milan Mynar]

On 25/08/2024 at 12:06, Lummox said:

Cheers Keith. Normandy is well worth a trip, though if I was to visit again, I think I'd go with some like minded friends rather than the family. They indulged me, bless them, but there's only so many museums/memorials/gun emplacements/etc. you can drag them around before they start looking at their phones,

 

Right, I have some shocking news - there has been an uncharacteristic burst of activity! I don't know what's come over me to be honest. Perhaps I'm ailing for something, or maybe the holiday recharged some batteries I didn't know I had. Whatever, we have some progress to report on...

 

Firstly, the front axle was weathered up and added to the chassis, the steering being set to a jaunty full-lock. I thought I'd add a picture of the steering mechanism at this point as it's doubtful we'll ever see it again when the wheel is on: 🤪

 

Talking of wheels, one thing led to another, and before we knew what was happening, the truck has it's boots on:

 

A bit of fettling was needed, but not too bad considering the butchering that went on with the wheels. There was some collateral damage on the way (note the absent width indicator) but any missing 'sticky out' bits are safe and sound but left off for now, I was momentarily concerned about the 'toeing in' of front wheels, thinking that something had gone out of square somewhere down the line. A bit of digging, however, confirmed that positive camber is apparently a good thing, giving 'a smoother ride for the vehicle on uneven ground, which makes it common for most off-read vehicles'. Every day is a school day (it is for me anyway):

 

Finding corroborating evidence of positive camber was more of a challenge, head-on pictures where the wheels are visible being hard to find. I did find a diagram, however, where camber seems to be evident, and a picture of an extant truck maybe suggests some camber?

 

The butchered wheels have turned out OK which is pleasing. As suspected that steering mechanism is more or less hidden now the wheel is on:

 

All six wheel touch the ground and everything is level, which is a result:

 

And finally, the weighted wheel effect gives a nice 'planted' look to things:

 

And that's things up to date. It feels like we've hit a significant milestone now the truck is on it's feet and starting to look like, well, a truck.

 

Cheers, and thanks for looking,

 

Paul.

Those loaded tires look nice.

[robw_uk]

Don't often say this but boy do you have a beautiful sump....

[vaoinas]

19 hours ago, Lummox said:

Have you ever noticed something, that you can't understand how you hadn't noticed it before, that you wish you'd noticed way earlier, and now it's been noticed it cannot be unnoticed? No? Maybe it's just me then. 🤪

 

 

Yep, sure happens to me once in a while.

Very good work on the sump - the result makes a massive difference to the engine.
Can't wait to see it in engine bay.

 

 

Cheers!

Kristjan

[Lummox]

No update for a while as I've been out and about on several trips (mostly pleasure), so apologies for the late responses to your welcome comments...

 

On 9/5/2024 at 3:20 PM, NIK122 said:

You're a brave man Paul. Congratulations on managing some pretty drastic.......butchery, at such a late stage!  It's certainly an improvement.

Cheers Nik. Not sure if it's bravery or stupidity to be honest, but things worked out OK in the end.👍

 

On 9/5/2024 at 4:30 PM, Keeff said:

Now that does look good,correct and alot better! 👌

 

I'd say you're right about the sump being boxed in to protect it off road .... the picture looks like it's been mackled together! 

Thanks Keith. It would make sense for there to be some sump protection for when the going gets a bit lumpy, but just guesswork really.

 

On 9/5/2024 at 5:46 PM, Jochen Barett said:

Did you ever consider micro-LEDs in the lights and dashboard? Or a downgeared micro motor to turn the radiator fan?

Ha, Jochen, now that would just be silly <quietly opens new browser tab to search for micro electrical components> .

 

On 9/5/2024 at 5:47 PM, Stef N. said:

A brilliant bit of modelling on the sump. Very well done.

Cheers Stef - quite chuffed with how it worked out tbh. 👍

 

On 9/5/2024 at 6:07 PM, Milan Mynar said:

Those loaded tires look nice.

I agree, they do look nice Milan. I'm a fan of weighted wheels as I think they make a big difference to how wheeled vehicles 'sit'.

 

On 9/5/2024 at 11:37 PM, robw_uk said:

Don't often say this but boy do you have a beautiful sump....

Ha, you silver tongued devil Rob.

 

On 9/6/2024 at 11:15 AM, vaoinas said:

Yep, sure happens to me once in a while.

Very good work on the sump - the result makes a massive difference to the engine.
Can't wait to see it in engine bay.

Cheers Kristjan. I'm glad it's not just me that keeps noticing things. I was hoping the engine would seen be mounted by now, but guess what, I've noticed other things.

 

Right, what's been going on then? Well not a great deal to be honest as I've been on a couple of holidays. I think it was @Keeff who mentioned he was a history buff, so just for him, here's some Roman antiquities (around 3k km apart, one location being very much hotter than the other):

 

Sightseeing has meant that progress has been curtailed somewhat, being limited to working on the engine air filters:

 

The air filters look to come in various shapes and sizes, those provided in the kit appearing to be modeled on the style seen here:

 

Missing from the kit representation are the diamond manufacturers badge (?). I'm guessing that the filters screw onto the engine ports hence the different orientation of the 'diamonds' on the two filters - dunno? I hoped to find decals in the spares box to represent the 'diamonds', but no such luck, so we had to get imaginative. Looking at some old etch we see 'sprue' attachment points that have a similar diamond shape. Hacking off a piece of 'sprue' and finessing the shapes results in some passable diamonds:

 

Also missing from the kit filters is the 'mesh' effect around the periphery. How this may best be replicated caused some head scratching, but eventually it was decided to suggest the mesh using some Archer treadplate resin decal:

 

So what do we end up with? Well the 'diamonds' are a bit too big, and the 'mesh' is not really fine enough, but it is what it is:

 

Finally some shots with the filters mounted on the engine. The 'mesh' effect kinda gets lost under the paint, but it will do:

 

And that's things up to date. As ever, cheers, and thanks for looking,

 

Paul.

[Jochen Barett]

 

enlarging the right pic (and in case you didn't learn to read your classmates's tests in any orientation tilting your had or rotating the pic or monitor) tells you "KNECHT" (well maybe it is more "recognition" than "reading"). Wonder if it is/was mesh or expanded metal in those days. Seems they were of the "push on and secure with a clamp"-type, so the poor orientation might be a sign of operator's lack of passion. Inside was a metal mesh to be moistened with oil (and to be cleaned and remoistened periodically) to catch any particles.

 

Check:

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/luftfilter-knecht-vw-kaefer-tuning-porsche-356-okrasa/2873149844-223-8706

 

As always: Great work!

[Jochen Barett]

For some reason or the other I came across this site:

https://bushmakow.com/index.php?post_type=library&s=mercedes#results

 

and I downloaded and browsed this .pdf-file:

https://bushmakow.com/library/443-d-667_403-gleisketten-lastkraftwagen-4-halb-tonne-maultier-mercedez-benz-typ-l-4500-r-bedienungsanweisung/

 

and I thought it might be a nice inspiration and a source of nic diagrams and interesting German words.

 

Naturally the Maultier version of the L-4500 has more and other thingies than the wheeled version, but on page 76 (right hand side) there is an explanation of the things the driver has to operate and it might be close to the wheeled version

17 Stößel der Zentralschmierpumpe (plunger of central lubricating pump)

18 Abblendschalter (switch high beam / low beam)

the rest is almost self explanatory.

 

Pages 47&48 show nice views of the engine (including "15 Entlüfterrohr").

[Lummox]

3 hours ago, Jochen Barett said:

For some reason or the other I came across this site:

And I'm very glad that you happened upon that site Jochen. What an excellent find, I suspect you've unearthed a little goldmine there - thank you.

 

I've downloaded the manual and shall start to devour the goodies within (I can see Google Translate getting a hammering in the near future!)

 

Only one problem Jochen - why couldn't you have stumbled across that site three years ago?

[Jochen Barett]

2 hours ago, Lummox said:

+++

 

Only one problem Jochen - why couldn't you have stumbled across that site three years ago?

Maybe I did stumble into the place many years before. Remember, there are two things that make a man really sexy, one is having a poor memory, the other I forgot.

 

I must have spent an hour reading the field cook book https://bushmakow.com/library/568-h-dv-086-feldkochbuch-126s/ and other fascinating old German manuals.

 

On the other hand it seems the section "Library" was added in 2024

https://web.archive.org/web/20240801000000*/bushmakow.com

[APA]

On 9/26/2024 at 4:53 PM, Lummox said:

No update for a while as I've been out and about on several trips (mostly pleasure), so apologies for the late responses to your welcome comments...

 

Cheers Nik. Not sure if it's bravery or stupidity to be honest, but things worked out OK in the end.👍

 

Thanks Keith. It would make sense for there to be some sump protection for when the going gets a bit lumpy, but just guesswork really.

 

Ha, Jochen, now that would just be silly <quietly opens new browser tab to search for micro electrical components> .

 

Cheers Stef - quite chuffed with how it worked out tbh. 👍

 

I agree, they do look nice Milan. I'm a fan of weighted wheels as I think they make a big difference to how wheeled vehicles 'sit'.

 

Ha, you silver tongued devil Rob.

 

Cheers Kristjan. I'm glad it's not just me that keeps noticing things. I was hoping the engine would seen be mounted by now, but guess what, I've noticed other things.

 

Right, what's been going on then? Well not a great deal to be honest as I've been on a couple of holidays. I think it was @Keeff who mentioned he was a history buff, so just for him, here's some Roman antiquities (around 3k km apart, one location being very much hotter than the other):

 

Sightseeing has meant that progress has been curtailed somewhat, being limited to working on the engine air filters:

 

The air filters look to come in various shapes and sizes, those provided in the kit appearing to be modeled on the style seen here:

 

Missing from the kit representation are the diamond manufacturers badge (?). I'm guessing that the filters screw onto the engine ports hence the different orientation of the 'diamonds' on the two filters - dunno? I hoped to find decals in the spares box to represent the 'diamonds', but no such luck, so we had to get imaginative. Looking at some old etch we see 'sprue' attachment points that have a similar diamond shape. Hacking off a piece of 'sprue' and finessing the shapes results in some passable diamonds:

 

Also missing from the kit filters is the 'mesh' effect around the periphery. How this may best be replicated caused some head scratching, but eventually it was decided to suggest the mesh using some Archer treadplate resin decal:

 

So what do we end up with? Well the 'diamonds' are a bit too big, and the 'mesh' is not really fine enough, but it is what it is:

 

Finally some shots with the filters mounted on the engine. The 'mesh' effect kinda gets lost under the paint, but it will do:

 

And that's things up to date. As ever, cheers, and thanks for looking,

 

Paul.

Hi Paul 

 

A alternative for the mesh could be replacement razor foils. Have a search on Google. Fine and detailed. Remington tend to be more uniform. 

 

 

I used them on my bedford mwc for the water filters

 

Andrew 

[echen]

1 hour ago, APA said:

replacement razor foils

I tried that once. Did some some mischief to a couple of fingertips before I twigged how sharp they are. 

[Lummox]

Well it's been quite some time since the last update. It's the usual story of life, work and a lack of mojo conspiring to grind the build to a halt. I do apologies for my slothfulness. There has, howver, been a smidgen of progress to report on.

 

I must admit I'm sometimes my own worst enemy when it comes to killing my fragile mojo. I've been stuck in a rut on the engine, with an angel on one shoulder saying 'the engine is fine, move on to something else', but a devil on the other shoulder saying 'but what about those missing bits, you can't leave it like that'. Let me try to explain...

 

Looking at engine pictures we see various paraphernalia around the gearbox and bell-housing area, the 'boomerang' shaped clutch/brake levers being especially prominent. Also of interest is the throttle pedal which appears to sit directly on the bell-housing (though any throttle linkage remains a mystery):

 

Here's another example of what I believe to be a post-war bus wreak which shows another view of the clutch/brake 'boomerangs' and throttle pedal, but also shows the 4WD selector adjacent to the gear stick (the 4WD selector being missing from the previous pictures, the first presumably being 2WD, the second being from the Maultier manual found by Jochen):

 

OK, so what does the kit give us in this area? Well not a lot, as can be seen from this image grabbed from elsewhere. The various pedals and levers are mounted in the cab (which is fair enough), but the kit gearbox and bell-housing is nevertheless pretty sparse (which is kinda understandable given that not much will be visible of this area under normal viewing angles):

 

As little would be seen I was planning on leaving the gear-box area 'as is', but that pesky shoulder devil kept nagging away, and well, you know how it goes.

 

The first job was to build up the area where the gear stick and 4WD selector attach to the gear-box. This actually has some value as it prevent a 'see through' look when viewed at low angles (previously you could see daylight highlighting the fact that the gear-stick in the cab isn't actually connected to the gear-box):

 

The next job was pure fantasy. The shoulder devil insisted that the throttle pedal wasn't connected to anything and that just wouldn't do at all. So, some bits'n'bobs were used to knock up a totally imaginary throttle linkage (to roughly the area of that 'throttle return spring' thingy behind the Einspritzpumpe that was discussed many moons ago):

 

There is a slight chance that the throttle linkage may just be seen when the engine and cab are in place (but I suspect you'll have to look really, really hard to see it)

 

The final job was admittedly a bit bonkers truth be told, an attempt being made to represent the clutch/brake 'boomerangs' from scraps of etch fret:

 

The idea is that the 'boomerangs' will be mounted on the bell-housing, and the ends will stick through holes in the cab foot-well to give the impression that they are connected to the clutch/brake pedals:

 

 

Will everything line up when the engine and can are in place? Time will tell (there's too much play at the moment to know for sure).

Will any of this be visible when the engine and cab is in place? Most probably not, which is why it's all a bit bonkers. You may see the end of the 'boomerangs' popping out of the foot-well, but that's about it I reckon. Hey ho.

 

And that's things up to date. Cheers, thanks for looking, and thanks for your patience,

 

Paul.

[NIK122]

Bravo, bonkers good! 🤪 It's always a treat to see your progress however small! Beautiful work as ever.

[vytautas]

Hi Paul,

I really like your tremendous work on this building, including the painting and weathering. Superb job! 👍

 

Vytautas

P.S. At first glance, everything is fine, but I would check the intake valves. I'm sure that pesky shoulder devil would agree with me too. Issues with intake valves can lead to poor combustion, compromising the proper operation of the vehicle over time and reducing its performance. I would recommend paying special attention to the second and fourth (keep in mind, that motor valve clearance measurements should be done on a cold engine).  

[Jochen Barett]

Don't rush it! Remember you promised to keep entertaining us with this build well into 2026.  👍 

[Bullbasket]

Superb work as always Paul. The etch and rod work is excellent.

 

John.

[echen]

"Bonkers" - maybe. Brilliant - certainly.

[Nenad]

This build is epic! 

[Lummox]

First may I offer some belated season greetings. and may thank you all for your much appreciated support. 👍

 

Shamefully this build is now entering it's 5th year, and it will come as no surprise that the painfully slow progress continues (so much for New Year resolutions!) In my defense I have some valid excuses this time, the 'modelling studio' (aka the spare bedroom) being occupied for much of the xmas period, and the 'paint studio' (aka the shed) being far too perishing to do any meaningful work. There has however been some meaningful progress...

 

I was determined to start the new year on a positive note by drawing a line under the engine faffing and get the thing mounted into the chassis. Before this could be done though, we need to tart up the engine bay with some detail painting, the addition of some placards (which I'm a sucker for even though some are imaginary), and some general dirtying up:

 

 

 

With that done we can now mount the engine. This was easier said than done as the fitment was quite sloppy, and we had to ensure replicate the slight downwards orientation of the engine relative to the chassis. The engine orientation is evident in diagrams and various graphics (these examples being obtained from the excellent Engines of the Wehrmacht site, which is well worth a look if WWII Axis is your thing):

 

Verifying the downwards engine orientation was a challenge, but these wreak and period Fire truck pictures seem to suggest that it is valid. I guess that the orientation makes sense in that it helps maintain a straight line for the drive-train from the engine to the transfer box mounted mid chassis - dunno really? 

 

Anyhoo, after some fettling, tweaking and messing we end up with the engine mounted at something like the correct orientation:

 

And with that, the engine is in - hooray! Naturally, some of the detail has disappeared somewhat, but hey, that's the modellers life:

 

Must admit to being quite pleased with how the radiator and cooling fan has turned out though:

 

And the work to rebuild the engine sump hasn't gone to waste as it's quite prominent from a frontal view. Result!

 

All in all there's been some meaningful progress for a change. Getting the engine in has turned from a bit of a millstone to a significant milestone. It's not the end of the engine faffing though as now we have to start on the various plumbing, but that's a story for another day...

 

Cheers, Happy New Year, and thanks for looking,

 

Paul.

 

[Stef N.]

What a lovely face it has. Magic work. 👍👍

[Keeff]

2 hours ago, Lummox said:

And with that, the engine is in - hooray!

Yes, but does it start? 🤣

 

Happy New year to you .... 

 

This looks fantastic .... I think I may have said this previously, but it's not a model, it's a scale replica .... outstanding! 

 

Keith ☺️ 

[Bullbasket]

Paul, can I just say that apart from being in awe of this model, I really like the way that you pose and group your photos. Very neat. 

The engine bay is superb mate. Well done.

 

John.