Mercedes-Benz 300SL W198 with conversion to the “Blue Mauritius”

[keramh]

Hello,

my new project is starting, but no, I won't just flatten the model like a postage stamp, no, it will be a very special conversion.

Only 1,400 of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL W198 were built and of these 1,400 units, only 29 were ordered with an all-aluminum body. Of these 29 vehicles, only one was painted in Bavarian blue at the customer's request, which prompted the trade press to give this aluminum wing the nickname "Blue Mauritius". The incredible story behind the rediscovery of this special 300 SL and the rare paint job were the trigger for producing this exact vehicle in 1:8.

I'm currently doing a lot of research on seat covers and other things.

Among other things, I'm looking for the Rudge locks, finding something like that in 1:8 is really difficult.

My model also has the original MB rearview mirror, but the model has a Talbot mirror, so a new build is also required here.

I'm excited to see what else will come next.

Now I'll just quickly get the W196R off the table and then this construction will begin.

[Mark A]

I look forward to seeing what you do with your build! The blue is sharp looking.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[MikeH]

Wheels and mirrors are a good candidate for 3D printing.

Here's a good set of reference photos: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/rudge-knock-off-wheels/

Here's a link to a 1/24 set on Shapeways, bet the owner would consider upscaling it.  https://www.shapeways.com/product/2NZSWW9JV/300sl-rudge-wheel?optionId=299272364&li=marketplace

[keramh]

good morning,

The Silver Arrow has been finished, cleaned up briefly and the conversion of the silver W198 into the “Blue Mauritius” is now starting.

I don't start with construction phase 1, the hood, radiator grille, steering wheel, dashboard, etc. are only unpacked when they are installed.
So I start with construction phases 4 and 6 to 13 to put the engine together.

All parts of an engine at a glance

I won't name every screw here or document every single step.
Rather, I will present assemblies and go into special details.

The Bosch injection system

Next, the pressure lines to the injection valves are plugged in.

But these have to be repainted first, as the original ones are made of aluminum.

And that is the current status.

The attentive observer will have noticed that everything is on the table twice.
The reason is that I have a very good relationship with the owner of the original vehicle and he asked me if I could build one for him too.
No sooner said than done, I received a second delivery and am now building a duplicate of this beautiful car.

 

[keramh]

good morning,

I actually wanted to limit myself to essential features such as interior design, color, rudge vents and rear-view mirrors for this build, but it's not possible...

When you look at the pictures of the original and compare them with the kit parts, there are big differences and so now let's go into more detail.
I would now like to try to bring all visible components in the engine compartment as close to the original as possible.

Accordingly, I dismantled the intake manifold again and took care of the pipe with the strange silver rings.

Here are pictures of the original.

In the first step I sanded off all the beads.

Then the two beads of the rubber area were rebuilt with 1 mm and 1.5 mm semicircular profiles.

In the third step I put shrink tubing over it and shrunk it with a lighter.
Then all protruding areas could be cut off and hose clamps installed.

 

With a few modifications to the etched parts, the smart terminals come very close to the original.

[keramh]

good morning,

the engines are nearing completion and I have started on the interior. Here is the seat from the kit.

The backrest padding is a little too high. In the original it is flush with the back shell or is even a little lower.

So I separated the back cushion, sanded it out a bit and glued it back together.

If we have the opportunity, we can also take a look inside.

Now the side cushions have been built up a little and the seat now fits much better into the shell.

And here are all the seats in the individual construction steps.

From the kit part to my version with the seat shell covered in genuine leather and the upholstery with cotton fabric and printing with the original pattern.

 

 

 

 

[jake112]

Nice job!

[keramh]

good morning,

After the first seats were finished, the handles for adjusting them also had to be reworked.

These were made from fairly soft plastic as part of the kit and were glued very well to the seat shell.

During dismantling, they deformed extremely or broke completely. So new construction!

 

[keramh]

We continue with the interior design.

The advantage that I build two models means that I can always show you the kit part with my changes in comparison.

The side panels were divided as much as possible and necessary.

The fact that the height of the map pocket on the kit part was much too small was a gift for me; I was able to simply place the new pocket on top of it.

Here are all the parts loosely put together.

The floor has already been primed gray. The next step is flocking.

If anyone has noticed that some of the parts have different leather colors, that is absolutely correct and intentional.

Parts from the 1955 original were used on the original vehicle and some parts were replaced with new parts during the restoration.

I tried to adapt this to the original using different shades of blue.

 

 

[keramh]

good morning, This weekend was really successful. Many parts could be installed and the model can now be easily recognized as such. Putting the tubular space frame together was a real pleasure. Everything fits together perfectly.

The front suspension

The rear suspension

 

The shock absorbers

 

 

 

 

 

[keramh]

Actually, you should be happy about any print, especially if they are multi-colored and even quite well done at first glance.

But unfortunately only at first glance.

I found originals here, so you can find out what was supposed to be there.

Since none of these stickers were installed on the original and are definitely no longer installed, it wasn't difficult for me to remove them.

With a Q-tip in some Dowanol these go down super easy.

 

[keramh]

good morning,

I once again got hung up on the little things, but when you open the hood everything should be as close to the original as possible. In this post I'll take care of the windshield wiper motor. The German instructions say starter, not bad either. First the frame which is quite well made, some sprues removed and ready for installation.

Then I assembled the engine as the instructions suggest. It's unclear to me why the colors were chosen so strangely.

Parts that are silver should be black and black components are originally silver, well...

It is questionable why the bracket is missing the tip, here is a picture of the original component.

So stick it on and build it up.

Then the oil container, the color is quite good but the label is a joke

And that should be here.

With all the signs I ask myself how these errors come about?

Simply writing it off would reduce the errors. Was it broadcast over the phone and someone wrote what they heard?

Since there are no information stickers on the original, these come off.

Here is my unit

 

 

 

 

[keramh]

I adapted another part to the original. Here is the radiator pipe from the kit.

And compared to the original

Again it's nice to see that parts in the kit are silver that should actually be black and black parts that are silver in the original...

So the indicated rubber areas and clamps were sanded off, everything was painted and supplemented with gripping hose and etched part clamps.

[Mark A]

Looking fantastic, as usual!

 

Best,

Mark

[keramh]

good morning,

While browsing through my pictures of the original, I came across the hood latch that was already installed in the upper corner of a picture.

Since this is silver again in the kit, I removed it again.

In the original it is painted black and three very distinctive stud bolts and the spring on the pull mechanism were missing.

I added these parts and adapted the locking mechanism to the original as much as possible.

 

 

 

 

[keramh]

good morning,

I was now able to reinstall the hood latch and then install the firewall and radiator.

Then all connections, lines, cables, hoses, etc. should be laid.

The kit part does not match the original

So new building

A few more small parts here and there and then this area is finished.

 

[keramh]

good morning,

I still owe you one thing, the air filter. I didn't like the kit part at all when it was closed and the height is far too small.

 

Here is a picture of the original

I looked for a suitable perforated grille for a long time. The shaving foil is not bad but a bit too small for me.

I chose the middle perforated grid.

When installed, this component looks much more impressive, even if I think you won't see much of it later.

[keramh]

A gullwing photo every day 😉

Oh yes, vacation is so nice...

Since I'm pretty much done with the engine compartment, let's move on to the interior.

The straps in the kit are obviously red, so a new build was inevitable.

My template has brown leather straps attached, so my choice is light brown leather.

When looking at the original photos, I noticed the complex nature of this item.

These consist of a wider middle section, each with two buckles and 2 straps each, which are mounted on the handrails in the vehicle.

Here's my version

Since the planned flocking did not produce the desired result at all, I searched for a suitable material for the carpets and found what I was looking for.

And as always, a comparison with the original

[keramh]

An interim contribution from the micro saddlery.

I received an inquiry about manufacturing them just in time for the straps to be completed.

So I created a little step by step guide.

Since I wanted all the belt buckles to be of a similar size, I first built a small bending aid.

Then I sanded the slightly crushed beginning of the wire flat.

The short beginning of the buckle can be bent using the hole on the side of my bending aid.

Then the wire is passed around and through the slot.

The finished and straightened buckle

Now there is a small hole in the 4 mm leather strip.

The buckle is threaded and the tab is folded backwards and glued.

Now I repeated this on the other side and glued everything onto the slightly wider strip.

Even thinner strips were now glued around the ends.

Now another 4 mm strip could be rounded off and punched.

This strip is now pulled into the buckle.

Do the same on the second side and the 4th required strap is finished.

I hope this short guide helps one or the other to enhance their project in a similar way.

Have fun with it.

 

 

[keramh]

good morning,

The vacation is over and I'm quickly adding another little gimmick.

While looking at the many pictures I noticed a rectangular flat pocket behind the seats.

Inquiries revealed that this is used to store the side windows.

That's the great thing: you always learn something new. The side windows can be removed and are then stored in this bag.

So I got the measurements and the bag was ready.

But first I started with a frame in which I can stretch the leather perfectly around the “core”.

The finished bag

and in the model

I think it's pretty close to the original.

 

[keramh]

We continue with the floor mats in front of the driver and passenger seat.

These are simple grooved rubber mats in the original vehicle, so a new one is required again.

Since I have already built rubber mats of this type before, it was immediately clear to me that I needed an IDE computer cable or something similar.

Cut into pieces and glued together with superglue

The kit floor mats could serve as a cutting template.

Painted black, it can be used as a rubber mat.

And as with any change, compare it with the original

 

[keramh]

I also worked on the carpet.

To do this, I first made a Kehder out of real leather. A strip was cut and then folded over by approx. 1.5 mm, glued and pressed so that it was nice and flat and, above all, straight.

Then I used the kit mat as a pattern and cut out the carpet 1.5 mm smaller all around.

When looking at my original pictures, I noticed that the carpet is incorrectly represented in the kit.

In the kit, the carpet goes down to the floor and the cardan tunnel is removed.

On the original W198, this carpet only goes up to the level of the transmission tunnel.

There are two individual carpets behind the seats on the right and left.

The original carpet also has a central slit so that it can be laid around the middle attachment of the luggage rail.

Of course, that's exactly how I did it.

 

 

 

 

[keramh]

Today I finished the lower mats and of course I don't want to withhold the result from you.

Here are the two mats behind the seats

And here with the large mat of the shelf above it

And finally a rehearsal with a seat and small items

[keramh]

Hello model building friends,

I have a question for the community.
Are you even interested in a construction report like this?

I mean, I've now received a total of 4 comments on my construction report and I'm wondering whether the Gullwing is even interesting enough?
If there is no interest in my conversions here, I would leave it alone, because taking photos and writing a post doesn't happen by itself!

To be clear, I don't need "great job", "class work", "super" or anything like that.

I'm looking for an exchange about techniques, advice on how to improve, help, suggestions, just a normal exchange about the model.

I hope you understand what I mean or I hope that someone actually reads this post.
Or is there something wrong with my translation?
My English is absolutely not perfect.
Is what I write completely incomprehensible?

Greetings from Berlin
Marek

[TonvanB]

Hi Marek,

For a none native speaker your English is very good and understandable so that is not the case. With 778 hits ( on the moment of writing) you have a lot of attention and maybe people will try out all the wonderfull things you show us..