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Mercedes 300 SLR Mille Miglia using Revell kit


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As the 300 SLR seems to be quite popular at the moment here are a few pictures of one I made from the 1/24 Revell kit a while ago.

Overhead

 

Driver's side P1000788

P1000825 P1000826 P1000832 P1000784 Overhead 2

 

 

I bought the kit just after it first came out, about 25 years back but didn't build it until about 10 or 12 20 years ago.

It's not a bad kit but suffers some avoidable errors that a little research could have saved had Revell not slavishly copied the sample stored by the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart. who you could be forgiven for thinking would provide a perfect example. Not so!

Mercedes "civilised" 722, the most blatant alterations being to the driver's headrest, a Targa Florio style being fitted, the access panel to the spark plugs being fitted, sidelights being present and the paint finish being to a more modern standard. And the font of the race numbers was also wrong.

Generally the wheels and tyres were very poor, the body shape OK if a little slab sided and some of the components of the kit were simplified and softly moulded.

I remade a lot of the parts in the kit but as 3d printers were unavailable to ordinary modellers, I made replacements in the traditional way - the headrests were made by using laminates of plastic sheet on a thin metal base and the two scuttle scoops were handmade from thin metal sheet.

I got the decals and a p/e sheet from K&R who also do a 300 SLR from metal, although it is quite expensive. I forget who marketed the wire wheels but it's maybe irrelevant now as I think they ceased trading a while back. They're not entirely correct but I like them!

Forgot to say - Also scratch-built windscreen since original was poorly moulded and too thick. It's strangely upright because the earlier versions caused Moss so much buffeting that Mercedes modified it to spill the slipstream further back and it proved to be the best compromise.

Dave

Edited by Fastcat
Memory fade
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Thanks Keith.

I think the K & R kit maybe gives a better starting point but it's kerbside and much more expensive. I was hoping the Revell kit would be definitive but it wasn't to be. Neither could it be described as up to Tamiya's standards but you have to go with what's given.

 

Dave

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Thanks for those kind words.

I've just discovered that it was built over 20 years ago - doesn't time fly by when you're having fun. I don't build much now as I have ataxia which affects coordination. Seems like it affects memory too!

 

Dave

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Thanks for the kind words.

Hope so. You never know just where 3D printing will lead. I can't see traditional kit makers queueing up to do it. Problem is Mercedes produced different cars for various races and drivers - they seriously wanted to win - but when you consider what's now available for aircraft modellers you never can tell.........

Maybe those niche subjects wont be so niche any more.

Dave

Edited by Fastcat
missed a bit
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When I read you built this one 20 years ago, my jaws drop on the floor, Dave !

Because Internet wasn't as content rich as it is now 8

It's just amazing what you managed to do with probably so few documentation !

 

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Hi CC,

Yes it was pretty difficult and there's much more information, available now. A lot was obtained by reading as many articles by the two participants as I could find and trawling the internet as much as possible. Where I didn't know for sure, I best-guessed, otherwise I'd never begin. After nearly 70 years it's all that can be done as nearly all aircraft modellers will attest.

 

Dave  

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Hi Cliff,

               Many thanks.     

             Yes, most racecar seats are plain but Mercedes wanted to mirror their production cars so it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Incidentally the tartan pattern on the decal sheet was thought to be a bit too bright but toning it down didn't work that well so I finished the seats with a mix of masking and fine decal stripes.

The end result came out quite well and to my eyes much better than what was provided.

 

Dave 

Edited by Fastcat
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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks Houston,

                                  The Revell kit certainly has its challenges! Nothing that can't be overcome with a bit of perseverance though. 

 

Dave

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Thanks John,

                            Unfortunately it isn't likely that I'll build anything new. I have a condition that affects dexterity and coordination (I'm even slower on the keyboard than I used to be, believe it or not) and it's hard to work out a sequence of build - I don't often follow the instructions. 'Fraid I'm stuck with what I have.

 

Dave

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Thanks desert falcon. I've always liked the 300 SLR in spite people calling it brutal or functional. I read the story of Moss and Jenks many years ago when I was a schoolboy and I always hoped someone would make a kit of it. I was a bit underwhelmed with the Revell kit but with a lot of work, it came out OK in the end.

 

Thanks again.

 

Dave

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That someone wouldn‘t like a 300 SLR is a mystery to me, I think it is sheer beauty!
I‘ve also seen the 722 in the MB Museum, I know it‘s not 100% correct and all that but It‘s still gorgeous to look at. 
 

Wouldn‘t mind having this one delivered to my door either, they could leave the „flat bed“ too :) 

 

ltkOdu9.jpg

 

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For anyone thinking of any of the Mille Miglia cars, I see that Michael Portaro of Indycals has released a decal sheet for each car which makes it much easier to achieve. The decals are in the correct font and much more realistic than the ones in the kit.

In the past, Indycals have used an all-over carrier film so the subjects need cutting individually from the backing sheet but that's a very small price to pay for an accurate set of markings.

 

Dave

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13 hours ago, Fastcat said:

For anyone thinking of any of the Mille Miglia cars, I see that Michael Portaro of Indycals has released a decal sheet for each car which makes it much easier to achieve. The decals are in the correct font and much more realistic than the ones in the kit.

In the past, Indycals have used an all-over carrier film so the subjects need cutting individually from the backing sheet but that's a very small price to pay for an accurate set of markings.

 

Dave

 

Precisely those I bought and applied on my model :)

 

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Forgot to say, there's also Le Mans Decals for all the variations that Indycals don't do. This enables the Targa cars, Dundrod cars and also, for the more adventurous, the Le Mans cars. They're based in Spain and have a terrific range in all the popular scales. And not just Le Mans cars either. They cover F1 and many others including some rally cars. Meant for slot cars originally they're good quality and service has been good when I've used them in the past. Well worth trying for that hard to get item.

 

Dave 

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