Mercedes Benz 300SL by gsdpic -- Tamiya 1/24 -- Finished

[gsdpic]

I've been watching too many plastic car build videos on Youtube and wanted to explore that area a bit more, so built the Tamiya 1/24 Mercedes Benz 300SL from the mid/late 1950s.  I tried several things for the first time with this build, with varying success...

- I used my recently purchased air brush for all the priming and some of the painting, though I used a leftover rattle can for the body (both color and clear coat).  The air brush worked well and I am definitely getting more comfortable using it.

- I used the chrome "bare metal foil" for some of the chrome trim around the windows.  This was less successful, as I could not get it as smooth as I would like, though I am sure that is user error.  Next time I think I will try some of the newer chrome paint (by Molotaw or Alclad).

- Also the first time I used the "panel line accent" around the trunk, and the first time I ever scribed the panel lines to make them a bit deeper.  The latter was almost a disaster as a couple times I slipped and scratched the body so had to do some filling/sanding to repair it.

- I also used some wire to add a bit of extra detail to the engine, though one of those I had to remove because it interfered with the hood closing all the way.

 

Overall, I enjoyed the build.  As with all Tamiya kits I have experienced, things generally fit together very well.   There were a few tricky and fiddly bits but nothing too problematic. 

 

I am not sure what is next.   I planned to build one more car from my stash and then start the Artesania Latina Sopwith Camel, though I just might go straight to the latter.

 

Below are some pictures during construction and of the completed model.  Thanks for looking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[king derelict]

I always loved that car. You did a great job of it

Alan

[mtaylor]

Came out very well.  For it's time, the supercharged 6 was hot car.

[Danstream]

Lovely interior. Very, very stilish car. I wouldn't see myself out of place driving that car 🙂.

Yes, scribing a model is always a chore.

Great model,

Dan.

Edited December 6, 2021 by Danstream

[lmagna]

Very nicely done Gary

Call me stupid I suppose, but I know almost nothing about a 300SL. I had no idea they had a tubular chassis not a monocoque or unibody chassis.

Edited December 6, 2021 by lmagna

[Landlubber Mike]

This looks fantastic!  Really well done!

 

You mentioned using foil for the window trim - what did you do for the chrome on the bumpers and other trim?  Looks great, and a nice contrast against the body color.

[gsdpic]

3 hours ago, lmagna said:

Very nicely done Gary

Call me stupid I suppose, but I know almost nothing about a 300SL. I had no idea they had a tubular chassis not a monocoque or unibody chassis.

 

Thanks.   And yea, I did not know that either.  I guess the gull wing doors were not just a styling thing, but were actually there for a reason!  The kit (and the car) actually had a flat(ish) underbody panel.  I did not put that on....it did not fit great and it covered up all that detail.  

 

20 minutes ago, Landlubber Mike said:

This looks fantastic!  Really well done!

 

You mentioned using foil for the window trim - what did you do for the chrome on the bumpers and other trim?  Looks great, and a nice contrast against the body color.

 

Thank you.  I cannot take any credit for the chrome bumpers, etc.  I just used the chromed kit parts as is for those bits.   One thing about the chrome was a bit of a pain....on both the wheels and the dashboard you had to paint over some of the chrome part, which does not work real well.  If I had some of the better chrome paint, it might have been better to strip the chrome off of  those parts and then paint them.

[Landlubber Mike]

I haven't done many cars, and I've been struggling with what to do.  Your situation is why for the few I've done, I've stripped the chrome and repainted.  I've used Vallejo Metal Colors, and was thinking about trying Alclad and Zero Paints for comparison.  I've used Molotov chrome pens, but it can be a little tricky as you can't go back over what you did or it gets screwed up (haven't tried it in the airbrush yet).  Also haven't foiled yet.  What I think is tricky is trying to get a consistent chrome finish across all chromed parts - a little hard when you're using kit parts, foil, Molotov, paint, etc. in different places.

[lmagna]

Mike

 

I was thinking that they made silver or chrome foil, that would come in thin sheets that could be applied like gold foil with adhesive and a brush. DIdn't find that, but I did find this:

https://www.amazon.com/Bare-Metal-Foil-Adhesive-Bare-Metal/dp/B01M7YKA4O/ref=asc_df_B01M7YKA4O/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=331739865015&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2209089988205891669&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033347&hvtargid=pla-663881865528&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=69286524920&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=331739865015&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2209089988205891669&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033347&hvtargid=pla-663881865528

[gsdpic]

@Landlubber Mike thanks for the info.  Seems the pen would be perfect for the trim around the windows.   Most of the cars I have built don't have a lot of chrome, or they have incorrect chrome wheels that should really be painted silver.   But lately I have built a couple '50s or '60s era cars and have a few more in the stash, and they have more chrome.  In the past I just used the Tamiya X-11 paint or some Model Masters "Chrome" paint, both of which are really just a bright silver. 

 

@lmagna that is the exact stuff I used.   One of the big issues I had was the side windows that have those two little fingers that I guess are the brackets for the front vent window.  It was very difficult to form the foil on those little fingers and get it to stick, and I stupidly tackled that toughest one first instead of doing the easier front and back windows first.  I also used an individual strip on each edge....I've seen others on youtube cover the entire window with one large piece of foil and then cut away the inside, which seems wasteful but maybe gives better results.

 

And of course the old excuse....it looks worse in the close up pictures than in real life, especially with every little wrinkle catching the light of the flash

 

[Landlubber Mike]

That’s the foil I have in the stash too - I haven’t tried it yet.  Sounds like it can have great results but then again I’ve seen a number of models where it doesn’t look as smooth as one would hope.  I’ll have to try it out as the car guys seem to love the stuff for window moldings.