New Product Revell Mercedes 300 SL 1:12 - Tifa lends a hand

Further progress. Front and back suspension and steering column added to the chassis.





Looks like the steering is going to be finctional.

After some thinking I decided to take a shortcut and skip painting the body since it's already silver and shiny (although plastic), I wouldn't get it as smooth as I've got no experience with airbrushing and do not want to try somehting new right now. Using brushes I wouldn'tget it as smooth. More experienced builders would probably frown on this shortcut.

I'm not sure if 1/12 figures would have the legroom to fit in it after it's finished (and if they do, getting them in would probably be a challenge).

Definitely more ambitious than the model kits I have done. Good progress, and good luck.

GubernatorFan wrote:Definitely more ambitious than the model kits I have done. Good progress, and good luck.

Thanks.
It's more ambitious than anything I've done too. I've built dozens of tanks and planes in 1:72, and houses in 1:160. But nothing like this. Since it's been released I've looked at the instructions on the Revell site several times considering to buy it. And a few weeks ago I decided to get it, because I needed a project to work on.

So far I'm pleased with how it's progressing.

Engine and drivertrain is installed into the chassis.




Progress will probably halt temporarily, because I noticed for the chrome parts I need a different glue, and likely it will be a few days or even a week before I am near a modelshop.

Progress was temporarily halted due to distractions of other projects. But with the arrival of Tifa it's started again.

Dashboard installed in the inner compartment.



Test if the body fits and it's really starting to look like a car.




Tifa came to take a look






The question is ofcourse, does she fit?


Kind of, but I fear with the seats installed she won't anymore (but maybe with her boots off).

A Figma however is shorter and has more room.

That’s coming along nicely. Glad to see you back at it.

Thanks. I made good progress with the interior today.


Some work on the body as well (still loose on the chassis). Hoods are attached and functional.


Progress on the seats (still some paintwork to be done there, the pattern are decals), so they are loose too





Tifa still kinda fits in the seat


But seems to be about a head too tall

There was progress today (mostly some finishing to the interior and starting work on the wheels).
Tifa looking at the current state.



She decided she would help attaching the wheels.












"See, I told you I could do it."


"Yes, but you realise you still can't drive it?"
"Why not"
"There's no steering wheel."
"Oh, bugger."


"Well, it's starting to look more like a car."


Unfortunately I ran into an issue with the doors. I got them somewhat attached, but turned out they didn't quite fit and the hanging of the doors was too fragile, so I need to work something out for that. Otherwise I could have probably finished it tomorrow.

Tifa is going to have a stylish ride when you're finished!

Do you think she will fit inside the completed vehicle with the body shell attached?

Probably not. I couldn't get her to quite fit in the passengerseat. she hovers about 0.5 cm above it, probably due to her legs being to long, so maybe she can sit on it with her boots of. Legroom at the driver seat is a bit less, because it has gas-, brake and clutchpedals. I think the steering wheel will also restrict manoeveringspace too much to get her into there.

I measured her. She about 15.2cm, which is 182.4cm. That's really tall.

Aww, how nice of Tifa to help you.

Yes indeed.

Not much work done today, but she tightened the wheelnuts.


(yesterday the wheels were loose on the axle)

Body attached (only with screws, because it has to come loose again to finish the doors), and steering wheel attached.


Unfortunately Tifa tightened the screws on one of the wheels too tight, so that one doesn't turn anymore.

Some finishing needs to be done (adding head and taillights, bumpers, and some chrome parts). Also the doors need to be hanged properly.

Looking good. Can you not just loosen the screws on that one tire…?

Thanks.
Nope. Tifa tightening the screws was a joke. In fact the wheelnut is glued to the axle, after which it turned fine. Then the plate withthe screws glued to the wheel. After which it still turned, but after a day it doesn't anymore. Apparantly a touch too much glue at the wrong place.

Ahh, that’s too bad.

TravelGuide wrote:

A really impressive and ambitious project, TravelGuide!  
It's very exciting for me to see the progress over months. So many details on this vehicle!  


I was also recently interested in a specific vehicle in 1:12 and searched the whole internet for it.
But the 1:12 scale seems to be rare. Other scales, smaller and larger, seem to be more common.

Have you continued to work on the Mercedes? I look forward to the continuation with photos.  
And it's great that Tifa is helping diligently.

Maybe Tifa can fit better in the seat if you remove the shoes and feet completely?  
Then the leg ends very narrow at the front and maybe it fits better?

Thank you Kayla. I did make some progress. Basically I only need to properly suspend the doors and then I can add the last details. I think these are only the head- and taillights (which I already painted), the front bumper and the decorative chrome strips on the side (where you now see the spalt between the upper body and the chassis)


Tifa gladly shows you the interior.









(I noticed she shows a nice little cleavage in this shot)

Unfortunately progress is temporarily halted, because the way Revell made the suspension of the doors is of poor quality. I need to make some alternate parts for that. Which should be fairly easy, I just need a brass round profile of 1 or 1,2 mm and bend it into shape to replace the original plastic one.
These I can get at a modelshop for about €1, but I just need to visit one (ordering online isn't a financial attrective alternative due to the shipping cost, these profile are sold at lenghts of 50 cm, so shippingcost is not in proportion to the cost of the parts). I'm going to a modelrailroadfair this weekend, I can hopefully get them there as well.

Indeed I think that if I remove Tifa's boots, she might fit, although she is a tall gal and still might have not enough headroom.

As you probably found, most modelcars in larger scale are usually 1:16, as are kits. There are some more kits in 1:12, Italeri has a Fiat 500. And there are some Formula 1 cars (I think from Tamiya).

I think there are a lot more motorbikes in 1:12, kits and readymade models.

Nice attention to detail. And a true spare tire is such a good thing to have.

Look at that interior! From back in the day when driving was a tactile pleasure!

Of course, cars like this were extremely limited production runs, and were relatively expensive at the time ($6,800 in the US in 1954, or over three times the cost of the popular Chevrolet Bel-Air of 1955).

It's nice for Tifa that she has a "sugar daddy" who takes such good care of her!

Thanks! I'm quite pleased with it so far, although it's not a perfect build (but it rarely is with me).

I tried, but the Phicens are too tall. I tried with the Arhien pirate (with her feet off), but her legs are too long. Tifa is even taller than her, so she's not going to fit either.

My Figma's do fit however, they're a head shorter than the Phicens. Althought the girls from Girls and Panzer are a bit off in this car. Too bad they don't have the girls from the automotive club of Girls and Panzer.