sjordan2

I remember seeing news features about this back in the 1950s. The original idea was that there would be an automated inside "fast lane/carpool lane" that cars hooked up to and exited from at a given stop, sort of like a personal bus route. Mercedes has had a working driverless car in development for a couple of years and, of course, there's the new Google car.

This, and the rest of your race cars, are worthy of a book.

I've noted that some people have gotten confused when they paste the IMG code into the reply box: You won't see the image until after you hit the Post button.

For those who don't want to splurge for things like a factory service manual, these two reference books cannot be beat. They're reasonably priced and complement each other beautifully, and provide 90% of what you need to know to build an authentic 300 SL: BEST OVERALL FOR DETAIL AND PAINT/INTERIOR FINISHING: Mercedes-Benz 300 SL by Dennis Adler, full color and overall amazing. http://www.ebay.com/itm/MERCEDES-BENZ-300SL-BY-DENNIS-ADLER-/261467291897?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item3ce0aa40f9 BEST FOR FACTORY DETAIL, CONSTRUCTION, DIAGRAMS (all black & white): Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwings and Roadsters 1954-1964 Ludvigsen Library Series / Karl Ludvigsen http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=mercedes+300sl+Dennis+Adler+book&_sop=10&_osacat=267&_from=R2&_armrs=1&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xmercedes+300sl+Ludvigsen+book&_nkw=mercedes+300sl+Ludvigsen+book&_sacat=267

Just some minor notes before you get too far along... 1. DASHBOARD: A.The 300 SL script on the face of the dash is about 2 times too big (it's the same as the script on the trunk). Either use a script from a smaller scale kit or use it from the PE stuff from FMD that I mentioned above. B. The horizontal chrome control panel omits the air vent controls at the far right and left sides. You'll have to make these yourself. C. The dash needs a padded and upholstered strip under the control panel strip. You can do this with 1/2 or 1/4 round rod. 2. Throw the shift lever away. This weird, snaky shape is based on a misunderstanding of the long, gooseneck lever from the first 50 production models that mounts over the bell housing. Just make a straight shift lever. 3. The U-shaped luggage bar on the interior rear deck should be in 2 pieces. Cut off the forward horizontal bar and place it just above the floor of the deck. 4. Like the nose grille, the hubcaps are way too fat and stick out too far. There are a variety of ways of fixing this, and I would like to see your ideas. More to come as I think about it.

I reiterate that I HIGHLY recommend getting either the Minicraft or Italeri 1/16 versions of this car for reference, which will answer many questions for you, such as what the firewall should look like (Minicraft will be cheaper, Italeri is a bit more detailed). Neither of them is totally complete, but I can fill in a lot of questions after that. If you're going to devote this much time and effort to creating a beauty that's better than this kit has been built before, you should spend the money. Maximum for Minicraft should be $35 retail, not including shipping.

That's what separates the pros from the hobbyists. Nothing at all against the hobbyists, of which I am one. There are just different levels of commitment, and many of our hobbyist colleagues rise to pro level.

Apparently, there are a number of reasons why you can't fit the water tank in the proper position -- the kit's upper firewall comes way too far forward at an angle; it should be vertical and further back, and the same goes for the interior floorboard/bulkhead beneath it. If you can't make a smaller water tank that will fit, it would be better to leave it out completely instead of mounting it the way the kit shows it. Or you might be able to adjust the position or length of the intake silencer. I think they must have mounted the tank on the oil cooler section of the radiator structure because part of its function is to cool the oil, but I've never seen such a thing on a 1:1. As mentioned, the tank should feed the cooler with a tube running from the proper position. If you look at your engine pictures above, one of the easier things you can build is the radiator hose, which isn't in the kit. It goes directly from the radiator to inside the firewall, where it connects to a heat exchanger that can't be seen.

While there are minor differences, your pictures are from the 300 SL Roadster and not the Gullwing. The difference can be seen in the two coils at the right side of the firewall -- not part of the Gullwing, which only had one coil on the firewall, pointing outward. 1. You will note in your first picture that there is a line going from the water tank, connected by a metal tube, going directly into the radiator. 2. Toward the top of the picture, there is a water hose coming from the firewall that connects to the radiator, and is joined by a hose from under the intake manifold.

Talk to them about scrapping their original issues of the 1/12 Mercedes Gullwing and Ferrari 275 GTB, and starting over in 1/12 or 1/8. My Holy Grails.

Just goes to show them nasty Russkis will do anything to fool Merkins.

More shots!

Your work is superb, and each one is better than the last. Love the windows rolled down.

Extraordinary detail, very clean. What's going on with your 1/12 Mercedes?

Oddly, my dog quiets down whenever I put on a Mark Knopfler album. Seems to work.

simonr probably gave the best comparison. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1085 Note that the Italeri is 1:24 scale and the AMT is 1:25. Both have advantages and disadvantages. When I get around to it at this scale, I'd probably choose AMT because it has a slightly more accurate fender shape and the body is molded in one piece (doors, hood, trunk are separate) -- Italeri requires mating the lower body valances both front and rear (requiring putty work to blend them), lacks the stock bellypan under the car, and (unilke Italeri's 1:16) the doors appear to be molded shut. I particularly like the fact that AMT offers a choice of stock wheels or knock-off Rudge wheels, and has workable steering. There are other detail differences, and these kits are cheap enough to get both and determine which way you want to go. Any Gullwing kit, and some other Mercedes kits, can benefit from replacing decal emblems with PE metal stickers (mine are by FMD, part FA-24003, from stradasports.com).

Yes, his work is amazing. You can follow his detailed Continental build, along with more large-scale goodies from others, here (he's about 3-4 years into this model) http://www.scalemotorcars.com/forum/showthread.php?36929-Continental-Mark-II

If you listen carefully to the Japanese pronunciations, you'll pretty much get it right if you pronounce the following without any inflection or emphasis: "TAHM-YAH." The "Y" will take care of the "i" sound.

After a lifetime of owning manual shift sports cars -- Alfas, Porsche, Corvette -- I currently have an automatic Infiniti. But I still leave my right hand on the shift lever constantly out of habit. The "sports shift" feature is really just a placebo that makes you think you're shifting. But without a clutch, it's hard to finesse the performance.

No, you don't. A Renwal abomination that is the worst kit ever sold under the Revell label.

Watching you do a large-scale Corvette, especially an L-88, is the model-builder's equivalent of watching Michelangelo paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Carry on.

Good luck on the Maserati 3500 GTi. You'll need a lot more than accurate wire wheels to make it work. However, I have a ton of reference material that I'll be happy to share with you. Matt Bacon made the best one ever done, so you might want to search on this forum. His build here is totally essential: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=1086640 Be careful with aftermarket wire wheels. Most of them are 1/24 for the Ferrari 250 GTO, with large, deep-dish rear wheels, and they're too big for the 1/25 Maserati. See if you can find Herb Deeks wire wheels.

I don't get overly exercised about stuff like this, but it seems to me if you want to have a little expertise in a subject of great interest to you, you should know how to pronounce it properly. But that's minor. One of the more interesting revelations and corrections of the past couple of years was this: On accepting an achievement award for the invention of the .gif, the first thing its elderly creator said upon taking the podium was: "And it's pronounced Jif, not giff [with a hard g]." Even some Interweb pros I know don't know that.

Another solution for the small door windows is this: The door windows on the 1:1 pop out and can be stored in a vinyl sleeve; The vent windows will remain. So, just cut off the trim and glass from the kit part and leave the vent windows.

I assume you're still going to fill in the gaps of the body seams. I think the grille would be helped by sanding the inside of the outer frame to 1/2 or 1/3 its existing width. Unfortunately, there is no inner lip around the inside of the frame to help with proper mounting of diagonal grille mesh behind it. Perhaps something can be done with L-shaped channel. Note the following: If you create new window trim, using body openings for a template, you will also have to create new window glass from clear styrene, since the kit glass has recesses for the chrome to fit into and will be visible. In other words, everything involving the windows - chrome and glass - will have to fit on top of the body plastic.