Harry P. Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 One of the all-time coolest cars ever. If you were a big shot and/or heavy hitter in 1930s Germany, this is the car you wanted to be seen in. This is the kit... It's 1/16 scale, so it'll fit right in to my "classics" collection. The "K" in 540K stands for "kompressor," which is the German word for compressor... or in automotive terms, supercharger. This car had crazy performance, sort of like the Bugatti Veyron or McLaren or (insert your favorite super car here) of its day. The kit can be built one of two ways... with dual spares mounted in a well behind the rumble seat, or with the rear deck clean and fender-mounted twin spares. Still not sure which way I want to go, also not sure what color I want to go with, so... suggestions are welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hgbben Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Black is hard to beat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaughingIndian Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Black (maybe too SS), white, grey with red interior or brown leather. To match your other classics though, you'll probably go two-tone. Maybe time for red and black? Wheels in back. Love your work Harry, thank you ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Harry, you're on a roll. I can't wait to see how you "class up" this kit. I'd say go with the rear mounted spares for a sportier look. and maybe a rich, maroon color for the car. Is there a way to put whitewalls on the tires, and are the wire wheels OK and up to your standards? I can also see some kind of mesh screening in those hood side vents....... However, it's your model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hgbben Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Black (maybe too SS), white, grey with red interior or brown leather. To match your other classics though, you'll probably go two-tone. Maybe time for red and black? Wheels in back. Love your work Harry, thank you ... black and silver two-tone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Will you go with the kit wire wheels again? I know-it's easier... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twokidsnosleep Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Not yellow Beautiful car though, loving this era of vehicles at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) You've already done the Pocher in black and tan. I'd go for deep maroon and tan, or bright silver and blue interior. As you probably know,the original car for the Maharajah was a light cream/beige, and the factory produced it with a brown interior (nicely done in the kit), which he didn't like, and the interior was re-done in red.You probably also know that in general, roadsters had matching leather dashboards while hardtops (limousines, as they were called) had wood dashes.http://s827.photobucket.com/user/sjordan47/library/Mercedes%20500-540K?sort=3&page=1&_suid=141990318931703397679429035634 Edited December 30, 2014 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 IMO the box art yellow looks terrible. Was silver a color of the day ? That with a blood red interior might look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 Black (maybe too SS), white, grey with red interior or brown leather. To match your other classics though, you'll probably go two-tone. Maybe time for red and black? Wheels in back. Love your work Harry, thank you ... I've never seen one of these in two-tone. But seeing as they were very high-end cars, I suppose an owner could have his painted any way he wanted. I like the looks of this car in black, but like Skip said, I already have a black one, so something different. Red is too "expected".... don't like yellow on this car, white seems too plain, silver too bland. Maybe maroon with a white interior and wide whitewalls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) Here's an unusual 2-tone green from the catalogue.. I still think silver is cool How about Hermann Goering's "Blue Goose" with modified seat and steering wheel to fit His Fatness? Needs 2 bullet holes and a night light in the middle of the headlight bar. Resale Red is always good with a tan interior Or you may be interested in a vintage burgundy... If the interior comes out half as nice as what you did with the Pocher, it will be magic This is an odd Cabriolet A or B Edited December 30, 2014 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twokidsnosleep Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Boy that silver with white walls looks fantastic Once agin Skip is the man with the knowledge All are amazing pictures really, such gorgeous lines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) PS: You can also build it without fender-mounted spares and with a clean rear deck. Six of the 26 long-tail special roadster model run had the spare tire hidden under a round lid. Here's Jack Warner's car... For those who are following this thread, this is the car the kit is based on -- The Maharajah -- it includes the 2 fender-mounted spares and 2 side-mounted, long-distance fuel tanks. Maisto made an inaccurate diecast that has both side and rear spare tires. Edited December 30, 2014 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I love this Burgundy color... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I love this Burgundy color... An excellent choice. I applaud your taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imatt88 Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Skip, Where do you get all this info? Its great.... I now have reference pics for when I rebuild mine... I can hardly wait to see what Harry does with this beauty....... BTW, I really like the two-tone dark blue/white Cabriolet.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 (edited) Skip, Where do you get all this info? Its great.... I now have reference pics for when I rebuild mine... I can hardly wait to see what Harry does with this beauty....... BTW, I really like the two-tone dark blue/white Cabriolet.. I have several 1/16 Mercedes kits that inspired me to amass quite a bit of reference. My posts here have only been in response to Harry's original post. There's a small amount of reference on the 500K and 540K at my Photobucket account. PM me if you need further information. http://s827.photobucket.com/user/sjordan47/library/Mercedes%20500-540K?sort=3&page=1&_suid=1420040388489012071502627804875 I'll be happy to supply information to anyone who needs it for prewar Mercedes or 300 SL Gullwing /roadster. Edited December 31, 2014 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 OK... it's been a while since I posted anything on this (I'm finishing up another model that's almost ready to go "Under Glass" and I have been working on that one the last few days)... but now, back to this big Benz. Cleanup of the kit parts is a huge PITA! There are mold seam lines, ejector pin marks, sink marks and flash on virtually every piece! I can't tell you what an unpleasant part of model building parts cleanup is. Hours spent making the parts look the way the manufacturer was supposed to make them look in the first place... Much of the engine detail is missing, and what is there is at best a pretty crude approximation of the real thing. I used my razor saw to cut away the terrible air cleaner.. I'll scratchbuild a better one. The new air cleaner base you see here is actually the pupil from a "googly eye!" I bought a bagful at HL a long time ago, because those black plastic discs come in handy for all sorts of things when you build in big scale. On the exhaust manifold, the triangular flanges that the flexible external exhaust pipes bolt to are completely missing, so I made them using sheet styrene: A lot of what should in reality be separate engine components are molded together in one big piece (like the photo above where I cut off the air cleaner), so I'll be relying on paint detailing to make it look like there are more separate pieces than there really are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 Still haven't decided on body color, but I have decided to go with the rear-mounted spares as opposed to the fender mounted ones. The fender mounted ones break up the smooth lines of the car, IMO. Skip, I did see where 6-7 of these cars had the spares hidden under a cover, but scribing that circular seam line to represent the spare tire cover onto the kit piece would have been a real chore... so I decided to use the real panel with the open tire well... The joint between the body and that rear panel won't be a problem... long, thin chrome trim pieces go there and will hide that seam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 (edited) PS: According to the touchy collectors at The AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America), only Americans would have ordered or restored a 540K with whitewalls and chrome wheels. Egad. You also have the choice of building the kit with RHD for customers in Europe or India or the Far East, or LHD for unwashed Americans and Germans. Edited January 4, 2015 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peekay Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 PS: According to the touchy collectors at The AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America), only Americans would have ordered or restored a 540K with whitewalls and chrome wheels. Egad. Being a New Zealander with no automotive allegiances I like both the European and American approaches. But my English friends are horrified if they see, for example, an XK120 Jag or an MG with whitewalls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 Getting going on the engine. First I built the basic block/trans assembly and sprayed the whole unit silver followed by a coat of Testors Transparent Black Window Tint... Then I brush painted the upper block and cylinder head semigloss black... On the real car the ignition wires are routed through a manifold to keep things neat and clean. No such part in the kit so I made my own using styrene U-channel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 And here is that spark plug wire collector installed. Plug boots are scratchbuilt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Nice work. How did you do the plug boots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) How has your experience with your superb 1/8 Pocher 540k affected this build? Did it help to make this better, or has it decreased your satisfaction with building at half the scale and a fraction of the detail? Edited January 7, 2015 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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