1/24 Italeri Mercedes Benz 1853 Heavy Truck (SK series)

[cifenet]

Hi all,

I wasn't supposed to build this kit, but as luck would have it, I ended up spending a good week to finish this one.  I made NO attempts to "enhance" nor "add" details to the kit and it allowed me to complete it rather quickly.  

I saw this one being offered for sale online quite cheap and decided to buy it as a practice kit to hone my skill.   

The kit had all kinds of problems though, the seller mentioned that it went through some water damage having molds on parts. ?  

 

The box art looks good and the box itself survived the water damage, but that is where the good things end. 

 

The decals were damaged quite bad and I tried using Microscale decal fluid to revive them, but they just crumpled into pieces. 

Only license decals were used.  I simply cut license plates and glue them with backing paper still intact.

 

And the instructions had funny smell too.  I allowed sun to bake it for an entire day thinking would kill any toxic molds. 

I am not sure if it helped or not, but I felt safe touching the instructions.

 

And I found the front windshield cracked in the middle, so I made a replacement with a thin plastic sheet.

I then washed the entire parts in soapy water and allowed them to dry in sun as well.  The worst part was that many parts were warped quite bad, I wasn't sure if I could actually finish building it!

At the end though, I actually enjoyed building the kit.  Just like AMT truck kits, I think Italeri truck kits have their own charm for sure.  

The build wasn't easy for me, there were many areas where I was so frustrated, I thought about trashing it.  

What I liked:

• the subject of a European truck is cool to me especially this one coming from 80s and 90s era.
• a good amount of details straight out of box.
• I was able to complete the multi-piece cab assembly prior to painting (by inserting the cabin interior into the cab through the bottom opening).
• I bought it cheap.

What I did not liked:

• molds in this kit due to water damage!
• warped/broken parts.  Is this because Italeri pack trees tightly into the box?
• crude construction/assembly methods used on various areas.
• vague attachment points for exhaust piping, aero parts, and various frame components.

 

I think I wrote too much, here are photos of the the final build:

 

 

Edited March 2, 2024 by cifenet

[ChrisR]

Looks great!

[PappyD340]

Super nice build, well done!

[SpikeSchumacher]

Nice save!

[grodudulle77]

Very nice work !! ?

[Jim B]

Great looking Mercedes. 

[Dutzie]

Great looking build!

[Rockford]

You didn't write too much at all, great account of the build, would have been an interesting WIP. You've done a great job on the model, looks really sharp. I think I've only ever built one Italeri kit and that was decades ago but I recall not liking it the experience, I think it was the Western Star kit.  

[1hobby1]

Amazing work!

[Bronzekeg]

great job!!

[Jürgen M.]

Nice strudel-machine! Looks immaculate especially concerning the damage the moisture had done! 

Wouldn't have noticed If you hadn't said anything!

I think the new Italeri kits aren't that bad. 

The old ones were a real pain in the ...! The plastic tires that had to be put together were just a no-go!

I built a few of them but came back to the Revell and Amt kits soon.

[Edward Gore]

Very nice finish. The front glass looks flawless with the replacement clear part. Your painting skills are off the hook!

[Noah H.]

That's a great looking build. Really sharp looking engine.

[stavanzer]

Great Build. Just the right amount of written content. Your Paint job is Flawless!

Good Show.