1936-1939 Mercedes Benz 540K by JACK12477 - 1:24 - Italeri - FINISHED

[Jack12477]

For my encore performance I am going to build the 2nd Italeri car kit of the 1936-1939 Mercedes Benz 540K in 1:24 scale.

 

The Mercedes Benz 540 was built between 1936 and 1939. It had an 8 cylinder, 5.4 liter engine, vehicle weight was not less than 2300 kg (5070 lbs) , max speed was 170 km/h (105.6 mph) and fuel consumption was 28 to 30 liters per 100 km or 8.4 to 7.8 mpg (US).

 

The box art show a paint scheme of cream with brown fenders but the kit sprues are yellow with black fenders; I will be changing that to something closer to the box art representation. Looked on the Internet forc pictures of this car in different paint schemes and there are not many to be found. Found more photos of the 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom I just completed than of this Mercedes.

 

The obligatory box contents photos follow:

 

And of course the instructions are again in the picture book form:

 

 

Stay tuned !

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by Jack12477

[lmagna]

It's interesting that you are going to go with the tan and chocolate brown coloring of the box top rather than the yellow/black of the kit. Yesterday while doing some chores and running around town, my attention was drawn to what must have been a restored VW Bug with that exact same color scheme. I was impressed enough to point it out to my wife. She was not impressed at all.  It looked very refined and high end even on a Bug. It should really look good on a Mercedes.

[Jack12477]

Yea, matching that chocalote brown is going to be fun.  I have a coffee bean brown by Americana brand paint which might work. Or I may have to visit Michaels and what they have.  Have to consult with my artist son, he had a tube of acrylic yellow that exactly matched the plastic yellow, in fact I think the yellow in the Mercedes kit is the same yellow as the Rolls Royce kit. Italeri made both kits so it would make sense to do both kits with the same color batch of plastic.  I definitely do not like the molded black tho, okay for engine and undercarriage but not upper body.

 

BTW both of these kits are available from Hobbylinc for $29.79 each. 

Edited February 19, 2020 by Jack12477

[lmagna]

31 minutes ago, Jack12477 said:

BTW both of these kits are available from Hobbylinc for $29.79 each.

Just what I need, another model car in my stash! Don't even think of going the yellow/black. The brown/tan has FAR more class and is much more distinguished. 

[Landlubber Mike]

Looking forward to this one.  I agree on going brown/tan   

 

I have a bunch of the old Monogram classic and Jo-han kits for cars like these (can find them for good prices on eBay).  I figure if I can't own a real one, might as well build a model of one.  I think cars from this period were real works of art.  Not as into the more modern cars.

[Jack12477]

I also have these two kits in my stash Mike. Both are all metal with only a few plastic parts.  Someday I will build them.

 

 

Okay, guys   You can stop drooling now ! 

[Landlubber Mike]

I recently picked up a couple Pocher and Revival kits.  Must...stay...off...eBay...

 

[Jack12477]

I have several completed kits from Hubley, Gabriel, et al, which I built 40 to 50 years ago. They are stored in storage containers because they have started to show their age. The rubber tires dried out and split apart.  I may try to restore them some day.  

[Old Collingwood]

Another  nice build on the cards Jack  - loving what you do with them.

 

OC.

[CDW]

Wow, the Mercedes weighed over 5,000 pounds. What a beast! If a guy could afford a car like that, he would not have been concerned at all for the cost of poor fuel economy. Maybe more concerned about range, but it probably had a huge fuel tank. Look at the size of the differential on that car...it's huge. 100+ MPH was WAY faster than those tires could be trusted I'll bet.

[mtaylor]

Here's an article I read a few days ago (I'm a history buff, but I digress)   https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2017/03/14/engineering-excellence-political-dysfunction-mercedes-benz-in-wwii/

[Canute]

Stop it; I fell into that rabbit hole and spent a half hour following interesting stories. 

[mtaylor]

13 hours ago, Canute said:

Stop it; I fell into that rabbit hole and spent a half hour following interesting stories. 

It's a deep rabbit hole for sure.   I decided some time ago to read as many articles as I could....  I'm not third of the way through that site.  But, it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble.

[lmagna]

17 hours ago, Canute said:

Stop it; I fell into that rabbit hole and spent a half hour following interesting stories. 

Only a half an hour? You must be a much faster reader than I am Ken! But then while almost everything keeps me off of the streets, nothing keeps me out of trouble! I'm married so it is just a state of being anymore.

[Canute]

I had the Admiral whispering into my ear about going off on a few errands. One of which was getting my new eyeglasses. A big deal for this particularly voracious reader.

 

Interesting history of Daimler-Benz. Look up BMW's involvement for additional WW II aviation history.

[lmagna]

2 hours ago, Canute said:

One of which was getting my new eyeglasses.

Yeah one of those necessities of life after 65! I finally got a new set this last year, after something like seven or ten years or something, and I HATE them. I started hating them when the lady told me how much they were going to cost, and it has been going on ever since. They function OK I suppose. I only really need them for reading comfortably. I can even do that OK without them but it tires me out long before I get the stuff read that I want. Not that good for TV and I just take them off altogether on the rare trips to the movies. My wife is the TV person and cannot function without it on. I could live just fine without even owning one! But books, and now to include electronic books, that is a different matter. I have them stuffed in unbelievable places. I always wanted a real library like rich houses have in the Victorian movies, where you could go to the proper shelf and pull out the perfect book for the subject you were interested in at that moment.

[Edwardkenway]

29 minutes ago, lmagna said:

I always wanted a real library like rich houses have in the Victorian movies, where you could go to the proper shelf and pull out the perfect book for the subject you were interested in at that moment.

Yes one with the ladder on the track so you could get along the top shelves, and sit in the wing back chair to read the chosen tome

[Jack12477]

Being cursed with four eyes, aka nearsightedness, since the 3rd grade,  as presbyopia set in with advancing age, I find I can cheat by either removing my glasses completely or just pull them down my nose a bit and look over the rims while bringing the  book a liitle closer to my face.  I do have so called reading glasses and I did try bifocals but cheating is far simpler. And I don't have to play trombone either !  

[Canute]

I got distance glasses from the doc and readers for the modeling/computer/reading stuff. Plus an Optivisor and some intense lighting for modeling. More light is key for me.

[Jack12477]

1 hour ago, Canute said:

I got distance glasses from the doc

I though pilots had to have 20/20 uncorrected vision to fly !  What happened ? Old age ? 

[lmagna]

1 hour ago, Jack12477 said:

What happened ? Old age ?

You're evil Jack!

[Jack12477]

10 minutes ago, lmagna said:

You're evil Jack!

Yep ! 

 

But he is still younger than me ! 

 

Edited February 22, 2020 by Jack12477

[Canute]

You need good vision to get into training and get your wings. Once that's accomplished, as long as you can be corrected to 20/20, they keep you. Only if something really bad, like you go blind in one eye (both eyes and you're out of there permanently, no questions asked, sportsfans) and then they can look at waivers to the rules. When times are peaceable, most likely you get grounded and turned into a ground-pounder. Which, for an aviator, is a slow death.

 

I was 20/20 until about age 44, then a slow decline started. I still correct to 20/20,😁

[Jack12477]

5 minutes ago, Canute said:

I still correct to 20/20,😁

Me too ! 

[lmagna]

23 minutes ago, Jack12477 said:

But he is still younger than me ! 

We ALL are!!😈

[mtaylor]

11 hours ago, Edwardkenway said:

Yes one with the ladder on the track so you could get along the top shelves, and sit in the wing back chair to read the chosen tome

You forgot the fireplace crackling away.......

[CDW]

5 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

You forgot the fireplace crackling away.......

with a $100 Cuban cigar and silk slippers

[Old Collingwood]

14 hours ago, Canute said:

I had the Admiral whispering into my ear about going off on a few errands. One of which was getting my new eyeglasses. A big deal for this particularly voracious reader.

 

Interesting history of Daimler-Benz. Look up BMW's involvement for additional WW II aviation history.

Rather good engines  built to last.

 

OC.

[Old Collingwood]

I have three sets of glasses  - one  long distance to check for that kit part that  "Pinged" far away,   and  mid  focal pair  for when I am getting closer, and a pair of close up ones  for when I am right on top of the part  - then a magnifying glass  and tweezer to pick the damn thing up.

 

OC.

[lmagna]

Wow! The library is becoming quite detailed and quite comfortable. Don't forget the glass of 100 year old brandy for those of us who don't smoke.