Jump to content

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing n° 417, class winner of 1955 Mille Miglia


Recommended Posts

Here is my interpretation of the graphite grey Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing that John Fitch drove to victory in the famous "Mille Miglia" race in 1955 (5th overall and 1st in his own class GT +1.3 !).
At that time, it was numbered 417 (which indicates, for the curious, the authorized starting time of this car for the race, 4 :17 AM).

 

This model that I entirely built on a Tamiya base at 1/24 scale – with addition of more than 200 scratched or 3D printed parts - is to my knowledge the second scale model in the world of this mythical car to have been entirely built by a modeler.


I was able to find this during my documentary research that the first one was built over 2 months between September and October 2015, on a FROG kit n°705 base, by a modeler named Ian, whose work is exposed on the “themotormuseumminminature.co.uk” website (link : http://www.themotormuseuminminiature.co.uk/1955-mercedes-300sl-mm-fitch.php).

 

Ian voluntarily omitted the chassis and the engine, glued the bonnet and the rear trunk lid, and made though not only a very nice model, but a remarkable work, in spite of some mistakes and omissions, if you compare it with the pictures of this car taken during the race, some of which can be found quite easily on the Internet.

I have to say that he was less lucky than me, who benefited from a wealth of advice and documents, such as those kindly and generously provided by a member of this Britmodeller.com forum, @ejboyd5, a Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing enthusiast from New York.


It must be said that it was Edward Boyd who suggested, not to say asked, that I make this car, after seeing my first silver Gullwing, and I gladly accepted the challenge.

I didn't know yet what I was getting myself into, and had no idea of the difficulties I was going to encounter in creating or recreating certain indispensable and characteristic parts of this car.
In the end, it will have cost me 2 Tamiya kits, more than 400 hours of documentary study, drawing in Fusion 360, 3D printing, assembly, a lot of hardware and supplies I didn't have, a few nervous breakdowns and a lot of beers.
I also discovered and sometimes mastered new techniques, which improved my modelling skills.

 

Nothing would have been possible and I would not have succeeded in completing this model if I had not benefited from the support and sometimes the suggestions of all my contributors, whom I will not mention all, for fear of forgetting one, but they will recognize themselves without difficulty. 
I could never thank them enough for their enthusiasm and for giving me the courage to go through with it.

 

Of course, there are still many imperfections (At least, my clear coat, which is covered with a lot of micro-scratches, because I sanded it too early after application) or mistakes on this model, but I assure you I don't intend to build it a third time.


During the building, I noticed that the first chassis had a little and un-fixable defect, which would lead to the impossibility to close the bonnet.
So, I built a second one, avoiding to repeat the same mistakes, and this is the one I’ve incorporated in the body of the finished model.


The first bare chassis has been even more improved, and is exhibited below with the car.


And now some pictures (Sorry for the dust particles, they wasn't visible with the naked eye nor on my iPhone's screen )

 

51731285701_ede5d40f64_b.jpg51728598916_802932bb84_b.jpg

 

51730485722_e527716cf4_h.jpg

 

51731536698_48428a49dd_h.jpg

 

51732175500_a2c3b6fd9f_h.jpg

 

51730474552_c89d5b2dfe_h.jpg

 

51731536718_1792e9cd6b_b.jpg51732164740_afa7071202_b.jpg

 

51731525828_b368744e02_b.jpg51731938524_dc01b8e4e1_b.jpg

 

51732164580_fd7482b914_b.jpg51731938804_f046fc17ea_b.jpg

 

51731525943_97bdaca662_b.jpg51731938554_7ae9e55f2c_b.jpg

 

51732175480_5dd97a7714_b.jpg51730463842_c9ca3c4324_b.jpg

 

51732218440_1bcdf6473a_h.jpg

 

51732218430_2f65509f89_h.jpg

 

51732218420_64e349335b_b.jpg   51731982259_fd1194af66_b.jpg

 

51731578768_4459535ad0_h.jpg

 

51730516807_8a46e47481_h.jpg

 

51731982239_ee49d14b9e_b.jpg51732228175_c8d8c1d8cb_b.jpg

 

51731337991_a8c644e232_b.jpg51731991679_29c5641ebc_b.jpg

 

51731337976_8966c6c334_h.jpg

 

51732228315_671f577225_h.jpg

 

51731338001_4aa11149b3_h.jpg

 

51731607493_2b1e5ae402_h.jpg

 

51732010719_d61d62771b_b.jpg51732010799_bca95dee1d_b.jpg

 

51732260555_e52ecb00e4_h.jpg

 

51730558472_c046a6f518_h.jpg

 

51731368986_e3f25bcd1e_h.jpg

 

51730558437_ced89b1b11_h.jpg

 

I hope you enjoyed  this journey  :)

 

And I invite you to follow my thread on the assembly of this car by following this link:

 

 

 

Enjoy :)

 

  • Like 26
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've really enjoyed watching these come together and the results speak for themselves.   The addition of the chassis to the final display just takes it to another level.  Already looking forward to watching your next masterpiece being created - Andy 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's been a good thread to follow as you put this together, and the end results more than justifies the effort put into it.

 

From a purely selfish point of view though, I'm glad you're moving onto something different now as it means that by the time I get round to building mine unflattering comparisons with this will less readily spring to mind. Excellent work.:yes:

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bravo! Somehow I completely missed this build, probably because I was knee-deep in a house move when you started it. Fantastic result! Those 2 cars (I didn't miss the first one) and the chassis combined are a worthy addition to your display cabinet. 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...