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

[keramh]

hello,

When I looked through the pictures of the original vehicle, I noticed that I hadn't taken care of the additional headlights yet.

I naively assumed that I would find something suitable in my junk box.

When I had the measurements and pictures sent to me, I was a bit shocked.

They weren't just simple additional headlights, no, this 300 SL has Marchal Fantastic Fog Lights.

Where can I get these diffusers or how can I build them myself?

Then I got a tip: the IXO Volvo Amazon in 1:8 had such additional headlights....

I looked it up and sure enough, this kit had the parts I was looking for. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU again for this TIP

I wrote to IXO and waited.

Yesterday the doorbell rang and the postman handed me a bright orange envelope.

For a moment I thought you knew an envelope like that and it was from IXO Collections from France.

The contents: 2x the almost complete issue 1 of the Volvo 122S

And here are some more pictures of the original Marchal Fantastic Fog Lights.

I don't think you can imagine how relieved I am.

Especially since I received the Volvo components as a gift from IXO.

I expressed my concerns, sent a link to the construction report and described what I was going to do with their kit.

It seems that they are very happy with my plan and what I have done so far.....

[keramh]

Then I couldn't hold back. The first parts had dried sufficiently and hardened.

The tires were placed in 70° hot water for about 10 minutes and were easy to put on.

Beforehand, I wanted to take away some of their shine and they had to spend a few kilometers on the sandpaper highway.

It doesn't have to be much, but the parts clearly lose their toy character

I just love this Bavarian Blue.

 

[TonvanB]

5 hours ago, keramh said:

hello,

When I looked through the pictures of the original vehicle, I noticed that I hadn't taken care of the additional headlights yet.

I naively assumed that I would find something suitable in my junk box.

When I had the measurements and pictures sent to me, I was a bit shocked.

They weren't just simple additional headlights, no, this 300 SL has Marchal Fantastic Fog Lights.

Where can I get these diffusers or how can I build them myself?

Then I got a tip: the IXO Volvo Amazon in 1:8 had such additional headlights....

I looked it up and sure enough, this kit had the parts I was looking for. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU again for this TIP

I wrote to IXO and waited.

Yesterday the doorbell rang and the postman handed me a bright orange envelope.

For a moment I thought you knew an envelope like that and it was from IXO Collections from France.

The contents: 2x the almost complete issue 1 of the Volvo 122S

And here are some more pictures of the original Marchal Fantastic Fog Lights.

I don't think you can imagine how relieved I am.

Especially since I received the Volvo components as a gift from IXO.

I expressed my concerns, sent a link to the construction report and described what I was going to do with their kit.

It seems that they are very happy with my plan and what I have done so far.....

IXO client service is very helpful ......and the most important: they respond directly!

 

[Katz]

13 hours ago, keramh said:

hello,

When I looked through the pictures of the original vehicle, I noticed that I hadn't taken care of the additional headlights yet.

I naively assumed that I would find something suitable in my junk box.

When I had the measurements and pictures sent to me, I was a bit shocked.

They weren't just simple additional headlights, no, this 300 SL has Marchal Fantastic Fog Lights.

Where can I get these diffusers or how can I build them myself?

Then I got a tip: the IXO Volvo Amazon in 1:8 had such additional headlights....

I looked it up and sure enough, this kit had the parts I was looking for. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU again for this TIP

I wrote to IXO and waited.

Yesterday the doorbell rang and the postman handed me a bright orange envelope.

For a moment I thought you knew an envelope like that and it was from IXO Collections from France.

The contents: 2x the almost complete issue 1 of the Volvo 122S

And here are some more pictures of the original Marchal Fantastic Fog Lights.

I don't think you can imagine how relieved I am.

Especially since I received the Volvo components as a gift from IXO.

I expressed my concerns, sent a link to the construction report and described what I was going to do with their kit.

It seems that they are very happy with my plan and what I have done so far.....

That is awesome!  Are you going to recreate the peak on top of the lamp housing?

(careful with the chrome. It tarnishes easily with fingertips)

[keramh]

6 hours ago, Katz said:

That is awesome!  Are you going to recreate the peak on top of the lamp housing?

(careful with the chrome. It tarnishes easily with fingertips)

Hello,

the tip is very weak and only easily visible, I don't think I'll touch it again.

I think I wouldn't make this small part any better and then the whole headlight would suffer.

[keramh]

Addendum to yesterday's wheels, the valves.

The ones from the kit had to be removed to paint the rims.

In themselves, they are not badly made, but some were so firmly glued to the rims that they broke when they were dismantled.

But somehow I also wanted to see threads and a screw connection on the rim, so I built a new one with a 1 mm stud.

This was shortened to 3 mm and dipped in black paint, and the valve cap was ready.

The whole thing times 5

And now the studs can be glued into the hole in the rim.

Then do that again times 5 and the wheels for the first aluminum wing are ready.

[keramh]

hello,

today a letter came from Russia (via Latvia) and the contents, I am simply speechless and I am sharing the pictures with you here.

First I will show you the etched parts and then the direct comparison with the kit stickers.

Let's start with the star and lettering on the tailgate.

The emblem on the front was a bit too big in the kit. The new etched part (already colored) is 7 mm in diameter.

The lettering on the dashboard and the Mercedes Benz lettering on the left side of the vehicle.

And since I am building two models, all etched parts times two.

(The Mercedes Benz lettering is of course only needed once per model.

So I am super happy and can only recommend the work, the quality and the price of Alex (AGD Models).

[TonvanB]

Quite an improvement !

[Katz]

7 hours ago, keramh said:

hello,

today a letter came from Russia (via Latvia) and the contents, I am simply speechless and I am sharing the pictures with you here.

First I will show you the etched parts and then the direct comparison with the kit stickers.

Let's start with the star and lettering on the tailgate.

The emblem on the front was a bit too big in the kit. The new etched part (already colored) is 7 mm in diameter.

The lettering on the dashboard and the Mercedes Benz lettering on the left side of the vehicle.

And since I am building two models, all etched parts times two.

(The Mercedes Benz lettering is of course only needed once per model.

So I am super happy and can only recommend the work, the quality and the price of Alex (AGD Models).

I too ordered a set and they are on the way. Excited to see them on the model!  What are you using as adhesive?

[keramh]

Either superglue, clear varnish or I want to try something new.

I've heard of MIG Super Glue, an acrylic glue.

It's supposed to dry clear and not emit any gases, it's water-based.

[TonvanB]

Try Colle 21 (https://www.colle21.com/en/collections/glue) Super glue without the whitening and movable when there is oxygen 

[keramh]

hello,

the painted parts have now hardened and the assembly can begin.

In the first step I painted all the seals matt black.

Asmall but important step. We'll continue soon.

[keramh]

hello,

it's continuing but because the sun is blazing down on the craft room it's only going very, very slowly.

I think I'll move my model building time to the evening hours.

But here's a picture of today's sweating orgy. The front with the additional headlights is finished.

and again a comparison with the front of the original.

[dcartwright]

Love it in the color blue.

[keramh]

yes, I love the blue too.

1400 Gullwings were produced, 29 of them with a body made entirely of aluminum and of these only one was delivered from the factory in Bavarian blue.

I simply had to adapt my model to this original.

[TonvanB]

Love the result!

[keramh]

hello,

just a small update today, the interior panels have been flocked.

The kit was made in pure white, but according to my list there was never a white interior panel.

My specification called for a light grey cloth.

So I mixed white viscose flakes with a little grey and a very light beige component and processed them.

Covering the pillars with leather is almost impossible because the material would be too bulky.

In this case I mixed a suitable blue and painted the interior panels of the A and B pillars.

Here is another follow-up photo and then a direct comparison with the smooth white kit part.

 

 

 

[keramh]

hello,

We're continuing in small steps, today I was able to finish the entry areas.

The kit originally included these made of red plastic.

I covered them with blue leather.

The handles, the bar, are in the middle of the base plate, which is wrong.

It wasn't possible to cover the base plate with leather, even though I have 0.4 mm leather, it's too bulky.

So I mixed a suitable blue again and painted new base plates.

This time the bar is offset to the side and tiny 0.8 mm watchmaker's screws are attached.

Oh dear, such enlargements are terrible, the parts look awful...

[Mark A]

4 hours ago, keramh said:

hello,

We're continuing in small steps, today I was able to finish the entry areas.

The kit originally included these made of red plastic.

I covered them with blue leather.

The handles, the bar, are in the middle of the base plate, which is wrong.

It wasn't possible to cover the base plate with leather, even though I have 0.4 mm leather, it's too bulky.

So I mixed a suitable blue again and painted new base plates.

This time the bar is offset to the side and tiny 0.8 mm watchmaker's screws are attached.

Oh dear, such enlargements are terrible, the parts look awful...

This is all looking amazing!

Photos of models seem to have the ability to make anything, no matter how good, look terrible.

best,

 

Mark

[keramh]

hello,

This weekend I worked on several construction sites and was able to finish some parts of the Bavarian blue aluminum wing.

Let's start with the brake drums.

The kit comes with Rudge brake drums made of black plastic.

As with the rims, we wonder why the kit was delivered with hubcaps?

Here is a Rudge and a normal brake drum for comparison.

And as we can see, they are silver.

Once again, we were supplied with black components that were supposed to be silver and elsewhere we received silver parts that were originally black.

So I grabbed a brush and repainted the parts.

And if someone says what's the point of all this, you won't see it afterwards - but you can see it!

[keramh]

As I wrote, I was able to achieve results at several construction sites.

We continued with the panels for the wing doors.

The arrangement of the screws did not match my original pictures, so the positions of the screws were redrawn and drilled.

A comparison with the original door.

And my result.

I am not yet satisfied with the transition from the leather to the painted area and am considering covering the pillars with leather.

I still have two door panels and will try it out.

[keramh]

And for today, one last big step for me, the dashboard.

This has a very unique story.

During the restoration, the original paint was found under the red painted panel.

A restorer of church frescoes removed the red paint in 8 weeks of hard work and exposed the original Bavarian blue from 1955.

Another special feature of this W198 is that it was equipped with an additional ammeter by the factory.

And on the far right is a St. Christopher plaque.

Who and when this was attached could no longer be determined, but the current owner left it on and so of course it has to go on the model.

Furthermore, in this enlargement you can see quite well how "bad" the original paint surface is.

Therefore, I painted this component with a brush to get small irregularities in the painted surface.

Here is my first preview of the model's dashboard and the comparison with the kit part.

 

 

 

[keramh]

hello,

The door panels had been bothering me, it couldn't stay like that, so I took everything down again and covered it completely with leather.

The thickness of 0.4 mm was still too thick for me to properly cover the pillars.

I cut the leather with a sheep's scalpel and rounded it off by a good 0.1-0.2 mm.

Here is the result

and both doors as a group photo

I don't find the assembly with the 3 screws, as it is incorrectly shown in the kit, to be that annoying.

But I'm still thinking about whether I'll paint over the black heads with my dark blue mixture.

Finally, here's a little interesting fun fact.

Since I had to remove the door handles for the repainting, when I put them back in I noticed that they have notches for fingers on the back.

For comparison, an original lock

I find that funny because the door handles are firmly glued and almost flush in the door, why equip the invisible back with notches for handles?

[keramh]

Hello,

Now that the doors were finished, they could be installed in the body.

Next came the roof panels.

The black screws are really annoying and I tried to hide them with viscose flakes.

Here the glue spots are still wet, now you can hardly see anything and the entrances could be installed.

 A nice result from the outside too.

The shape of the 300 SL is so delicious...

[keramh]

As soon as the doors are in, it's time to move on to the hood.

The hood after painting and with the fittings installed.

After installing the hinges.

Oh, great, it looks wonderful from every angle.

Now the whole thing is getting so big again that there's no room on the work surface.

I've cleared out a shelf and the aluminum wing can stay there until further assembly.