1/24 Italeri Mercedes Benz Actros Black Edition

[cifenet]

I used to build just about everything except trucks and since last year, I built nothing but truck kits. 

It really is comical how it turned out for me. 

Looks like this trend will continue for awhile and yet again, I started another truck kit.  

Looking at the instructions, the build is quite straight forward so this one should be another quick build for me. 

I will try to at least add some wiring and minor details. 

The main objective for this build is to make sure that I paint "black" correctly and I will need to put extra effort to make sure all the surfaces are clean and smooth.

 

I will try to stick with the original coloring scheme shown above: total black! 

 

Starting with the frame, I quickly lined up the rails and glue things away. 

 

One lesson I learned while building these truck kits is that the frame has to be absolutely straight and leveled at this stage. 

Anything uneven or skewed, things won't fit and stand properly later. 

 

Comparing against Revell and AMT kits, I find engines by Italeri kits are more crisp in details.  

 

The familiar Italeri's multi-piece cab construction work!

 

I lined up and taped up panels and CA glue all joints!

 

I began assembling the cabin early.  Similar to the frame work, I lined things up properly and started gluing each panel. 

I know I will be polishing the truck rather hard to bring out the deep black shine later, I made sure to add reinforcements between joints to strengthen the cabin.

 

I bought a black CA glue thinking I can myself gluing things better, but this purchase was a big disaster. 

It could be just how mine is produced, but every squeeze of the glue bottle, it puffs fine string of glue everywhere. 

I am trying to be careful, but this happens when I am not expecting!

 

I use these panel liners to improve depth on panel lines.  I think it requires some skill to do it right though. 

 

Mistakes almost always happen and I repair them with liquid putty.  I also used CA glue to repair these and it equally works well.

 

To improve the overall paint quality, I prep the surface with 2000# sanding sponge.

 

I like to work smaller batch of parts at a time so for my first session, I will work with these parts first.

Many parts require gluing halves together requiring extensive putty work...  Minor details were added on some parts and all parts were lightly sanded.

 

Most of the times, I won't use chrome plated parts came from the manufacturer.  

So these chrome wheels must be stripped.  "Super Clean" removed them rather quickly. 

 

Minor piping work was done and I quickly put together a mock build to see the stand.  All four wheels touch and they are leveled!  This is a decent start so far!

 

Preparing for paints.  I need to buy more of these clip holders...

 

It took about 45 minutes to complete the painting of these parts.  

 

I don't usually apply primer when painting gloss black, but I wanted to see if the cab has any surface flaw.  I found several areas and corrected them.

 

The interior parts are painted too, but it doesn't show well.  They are painted with darker grey.

 

I did pre-shading on bedding, but it doesn't show up either.  I think I won't do much of detailing inside.

 

I have enough parts painted and prepared, I think I am ready to assemble things to move forward. 

 

My painting session went quite well, I was able to finishing painting all the parts as planed without making mistakes. 

Some parts were intentionally painted with metallic colors to improve the overall look.    

I know when things go smooth like this time, this usually indicates that something will go wrong later.

 

I did not replace the drive shaft with an aluminum tube as I usually do.  The driveshaft from this Italeri kit was sharp in detail, I decided to use it as is.

 

I didn't realize this before, but the wheels have some issues mainly the spare tire.  I decided not to repair this as it will be hidden once mounted under the frame.

 

After I applied first black coat, I found these sink marks.  They bothered me too much, I decided to fix them.

This is purely my mistake for not finding them prior to painting.

 

The repairing work took about 30 minutes and now I need to paint them again.  Used my padded sanding sticks from 400#, 600#, 800#, and 1000# to repair these.

 

The aero parts also suffered sink mark issues.  I am used to these now, they aren't even a problem, I will just need to repair these and rework.

 

I really do not like these type of recess pink markings.  In order to save time, I decided to use polyester putty. 

Polyester putty costs more, but the best part is that the putty doesn't shrink. I can fix these in one attempt and move forward.

 

It is two parts putty, so you will need to mix.  One comes in white and another comes in orange color. 

The ratio is to mix and match the color of the putty against the color of the cap!

 

Edited March 28 by cifenet

[cifenet]

I also started to putting together engine parts.  The parts have clean lines and have high level of details.  Bravo for Italeri.

 

I use Tamiya's panel liners to add depth and bring out molding details on parts.  Then I clean out the excess using AK's odorless enamel thinner.  The thinner does not smell and I really appreciate it.

 

Since I have these parts already painted, I was able to put together rather quickly. 

 

I added "blue" shrink tube + thin wiring wrap to enhance the details.  This is the same technique I used on Peterbilt 359 and Benz Actros MP4 as shown above.  I think it works quite well.

[cifenet]

I strongly believe that if you can sand faster and better, you can finish your build quicker with higher quality.    

I am sure you guys have your favorite tools for sanding, I thought I should share some of the sanding and polishing tools I use here.  

A. I have a set of mini files and I use them on metal parts such as aluminum pipes and metal panels.  Nothing special, but they are produced in a smaller scale for our hobby.

B. This is something I recently started to use.  They are called nano glass files and they are made out of glass!  I mainly use these to clean and smooth out the parts right after they were cut from plastic part trees.  The big advantage is that they don't seem to wear out and can be washed with water!

C. This is sand paper with an adhesive backing. I have a foam block where I attach these to sand things extensively.  They do wear out fast, but I can swap them out quickly and continue with sanding work.  Economical, but they wear out quick.

D. I use these these the most, they are shaped like long sticks so I can sand things easily using a longer hand stroke.  It has useful hard straight edges.   I can also sand things by following part lines/edges.  Very useful and they come in various grit ranges.  Most of the time, I use 400#, 600#, and 800# the most.

E. They are sanding sponges and I use these to sand round shapes or contoured surfaces.  Very useful to prep body surfaces prior to painting session.  I find Tamiya sanding sponges last longer, but they tend to be somewhat pricey. 

1. These are micro polishing pads and I use these extensively for polishing out painted surfaces.  They used to be "better" in quality 10+ years ago though.  The ones I get online nowadays do not seem to last long.  But I rely on them heavily for bringing out shine.  I start out with 3200# and go all the way to 12000#.

2.  These are my new favorite for polishing, but quite pricey.  They are from a company called "GodHandtool" from Japan.  They last longer and have thicker foam so you can press harder when polishing surfaces.

3. These are called micro polishing cloth and I use these to polish tight spots.  I fold these to reach tight areas.  Very valuable.

 

Here, I am using E. from the above tools list to prep the cab surfaces prior to painting.  You can see how nicely it covers the surface.

 

Another thing I wanted to improve is to add some depth to the light housing.  They are simply way too flat.

 

I drilled the main light housing and high beam projector.

 

I used Tamiya's epoxy putty to shape up the light housing.  This one is a quick type, it starts to harden within 5 min so I quickly gave a round cup shape.  

For the high beam projector housing, I used an aluminum tube to mimic the shape.  I will keep the metal finish of the pipe which I think it will improve the light housing look.

 

And to complete the lens, I used light curing clear resin as always. 

 

 

Edited March 28 by cifenet

[cifenet]

 

Another painting session started.  And I did buy more of those clips to hold parts.

 

I also printed 3D rivets and bolts, then gave various metal finishes.  These come very useful and I just ran out so I printed more. 

I will use a couple of these to also present light bulbs located inside of the light housing. 

 

The polyester putty did its job.  I can barely see markings on black primer.  I can paint over and no one will notice about the pin marks!

 

Every single time when I paint this eyebrow piece, I seem to struggle.  I want it to be dark enough, but somewhat transparent to allow some light to pass through.

Two mistakes I made.  I need to remove the three rivets on the top prior to the painting (the instructions did mention to remove) and also the shade is way too dark, I can't see through. 

I will need to cut off the rivets, strip the paint, and redo.

The main theme started to appear here which is "wash, rinse, and repeat".

 

Still need to fine tune and repaint some parts to my linking, but the chassis is shaped up now. 

All four corners are still touching and the frame is leveled.  The truck stand is parallel too. 

I will focus on painting the cab and exterior parts next.

 

 

Edited March 28 by cifenet
Trying to post in late hours, all kinds errors in writing!

[cifenet]

I am applying another paint coat of black on body panels. 

I am trying not to apply a thick coat of black in a single session, but rather apply a thin layer of black paint in multiple sessions.

 

Ultimately, my goal is to obtain a thicker paint job without spraying any heavy coat.  The work is tedious though as I have to correct minor paint defects each time I lay a coat of paint. 

 

And each painting session, I perform some kind of polishing to achieve smoother surface.  The problem with dealing with black paint for me is that, sometimes I can't see how much I can cut the surface.

 

So the problem is like this happens where I remove too much paint and now the bare plastic starts to show up. So a paint correction must be made on top of existing paint correction effort...

 

For the grille mesh, the kit includes a black nylon mesh.  I don't think this gives a convincing look and it is very out of scale. 

 

I found an oil splash cover for cooking and I used it on Peterbilt 359 grille which worked quite well for me.  But then this is still out of scale in my opinion. 

 

I was able to pick up from a hardware store where it has finer mesh pattern and I think this is a perfect fit.  

 

This is where I also picked up a clear plastic sheet which I ended up using to replace my previous truck windshield replacement.  Worked out very well.  It is crystal clear and thick enough to keep straight shape. 

 

After a quick masking work, I airbrushed chrome silver on the center molding.  When laying out "shiny" metallic paint colors, it is better to use lower air pressure and allow the paint to "land" on the surface rather than shooting into it.   I used around 5 psi to spray mine.

 

I think the end result is quite convincing especially the mesh itself.

 

Unfortunately, some gap exists here, I think I can fix this by using a stripe of black electrical tape on the back.

Edited March 28 by cifenet

[cifenet]

I intentionally used different shades of black by mixing grey to prevent the truck looking all black. 

The rear fenders are black, but they aren't really black. 

Some air tanks were painted in glossy black and some were painted in silver. 

I think I can make things more compelling this way.

 

I really like the details on the side and it is shame that things will be covered with side body panels!  The Benz logo on the exhaust canister is just superb. 

 

When I was building the SK truck, I also thought about leaving out the side panels as the truck becomes very interesting with all the details. 

Maybe I need to build TWO of the same trucks, one to show the normal setup, and another one to show everything inside!

 

You can see how much details are lost once the side panel is up and attached.

 

Edited March 28 by cifenet

[Gary Chastain]

I’m guessing that you are catching up the build post or you are really fast at building😂🤣😂, looking great. 

[cifenet]

Good to hear from you, Gary!

Yeah, I am catching up almost!  
 

I wrote a longer post and I ended up losing it, I was so mad.  
 

I wish it has a draft mode where I can save internally. 
 

Now I am trying to post in multiple smaller chunks hoping the damage is minimal if something crashes again. 
 

1 hour ago, Gary Chastain said:

I’m guessing that you are catching up the build post or you are really fast at building😂🤣😂, looking great. 

 

[Edward Gore]

Great problem solving. And excellent finding the splatter guard for the grille. Thanks for sharing all your detailed progress. 

[cifenet]

@Edward Gore Appreciated very much!  Keep up the good work on the Trackmobile, it is definitely a unique conversion!

 

3 hours ago, Edward Gore said:

Great problem solving. And excellent finding the splatter guard for the grille. Thanks for sharing all your detailed progress. 

 

[cifenet]

My interior is going to be as simple as it can be.  If anything, I may add seat belts, but I am not sure. I can manage my time building this kit by spending less time on interior parts and focusing more on the exterior areas.

 

Hence, I can spend more time on polishing parts. 

And I thought I was making decent progress on body parts till the glue problem happened again...

 

It really stinks.  I wanted to attach side foot steps and again, the glue strikes!

It puffs!  And spits!

I think this is happening when the air in the bottle is trying to escape as the squeezed glue is pulling back into the bottle. 

And as it escapes the tip of the applicator, it is spitting out the glue at the same time. 

I was able to polish the glue residue at the end without repainting the whole piece, but it made me quite upset that it was kept happening.

I will only use this glue on unpainted parts from now on.

 

Time to address the details on the bumper piece.  I masked everywhere except the light housing areas and gave one bright coat of silver chrome. 
 

I also painted the side mirrors and it was somewhat tricky as the mirrors has chrome inserts also.

 

I applied those rivets as light bulbs.  Looks quite convincing to me.

 

The headlight lens have chrome bezels on the vehicle so this must be reproduced.

 

Masked the center part of the lens and gave a coat of silver chrome over gloss black.

 

Lens are inserted using Microscale Krystal Klear.  It dries clear and has enough strength to hold parts like these.

I think these light housings are looking better now with added depth.  

 

I wanted to complete all work for the bumper piece, but looks like the center grille mesh pattern isn't aligned well. 

Small details like this one counts so I must fix it...

[cifenet]

I think I am ready to tackle the polishing work of the main cab.  Thankfully, the paint has minimal orange peel and it is quite reflective already.  I think I made the right decision to spray things in multiple sessions without applying any heavy coat. 

 

This is the close up photo of the painted surface.  I have not done any polishing at this point. 

 

Now I will further even out the surface by using high grit polishing pads (8000# - 12000#). 

 

These three polishing compound tubes work quite well to bring out decent shine.  I have used automotive polishing compounds as well, but they tend to be more aggressive on our kits.  

There is some learning curve to use these properly, but the end result is something quite satisfying.  Patience is needed too and it is all about carefully repeating the work little by little.

I would skip the polishing steps when weathering is being done to the vehicle, but I tend to find the polishing effort very rewarding and enjoy working at it.   And this is probably why most of my trucks are built clean.

 

My first polishing effort done and the deep black shine is starting to come out. 

Unfortunately, it has its downside having this black painted truck- I am leaving all kinds of fingerprints and every time I handle the cab, it is leaving fine scratches! 

This is something I didn't expect to happen at this stage as I still have many assembling steps to complete.   

 

[Force]

Great progress.

[youngtiger1]

Simply superb. You have an eye for detail painting. I love those shiny looking panels you painted and polished…a trick I need to learn. Few questions for you if you don’t mind 😉

Are you painting out of can or airbrush? 

Are you polishing with those Tamiya compounds between each layer of paint? 

in one of the photos above you wrote in red text letters “wash, rinse, repeat” what do you mean by this process? Is it part of polishing? 
 

Thank you for sharing your great build. I am glad I saw it 😁

 

[Jürgen M.]

4 hours ago, cifenet said:

I think I am ready to tackle the polishing work of the main cab.  Thankfully, the paint has minimal orange peel and it is quite reflective already.  I think I made the right decision to spray things in multiple sessions without applying any heavy coat. 

 

This is the close up photo of the painted surface.  I have not done any polishing at this point. 

 

Now I will further even out the surface by using high grit polishing pads (8000# - 12000#). 

 

These three polishing compound tubes work quite well to bring out decent shine.  I have used automotive polishing compounds as well, but they tend to be more aggressive on our kits.  

There is some learning curve to use these properly, but the end result is something quite satisfying.  Patience is needed too and it is all about carefully repeating the work little by little.

I would skip the polishing steps when weathering is being done to the vehicle, but I tend to find the polishing effort very rewarding and enjoy working at it.   And this is probably why most of my trucks are built clean.

 

My first polishing effort done and the deep black shine is starting to come out. 

Unfortunately, it has its downside having this black painted truck- I am leaving all kinds of fingerprints and every time I handle the cab, it is leaving fine scratches! 

This is something I didn't expect to happen at this stage as I still have many assembling steps to complete.   

 

Try using medical gloves. I always have used them for painting and discovered that they were especially useful when handling higloss parts.

No fingerprints at all. But be sure to use a tight fitting size!

[Gary Chastain]

I have had issues using that same glue, figured I didn’t know how to use it properly, so I just set it aside. Progress is looking really good

[cifenet]

 

7 hours ago, Force said:

Great progress.

Hey Håkan, glad to get your feedback!  Hope all is well on your side!

 

3 hours ago, Jürgen M. said:

Try using medical gloves. I always have used them for painting and discovered that they were especially useful when handling higloss parts.

No fingerprints at all. But be sure to use a tight fitting size!

That is a great idea, Jürgen.  I was just going to apply some kind of swirl remover at the end.

I will need to start wearing latex gloves when handling the parts.

 

3 hours ago, Gary Chastain said:

I have had issues using that same glue, figured I didn’t know how to use it properly, so I just set it aside. Progress is looking really good

I see.  it wasn't fun repairing glue stain several times especially on painted surface. 

Hoping to rectify the situation, I transferred the glue using a tooth pick and it still left glue string...

[Jürgen M.]

Any time! Always glad to help! 😊

Just one thing:

Since you don't feel it if you've got glue or paint on your fingers wearing gloves please be sure to check them carefully before you touch your parts!

They look so perfect it would be such a shame to ruin them by a mistake like that. It's happened to me, that's why I'm telling you. I was really angry about it.

[cifenet]

Thank Mike for the positive feedback! 

 

6 hours ago, youngtiger1 said:

Are you painting out of can or airbrush?

For this build, I used an airbrush to paint all parts except minor detailing done via a hand brush.  I do use spray cans on certain occasions. 

 

6 hours ago, youngtiger1 said:

Are you polishing with those Tamiya compounds between each layer of paint?

Most of the times, I would just try to correct obvious paint defects (mostly removing dirt/dust) only using polishing pads (4000#, 6000#, and 8000#) after I apply a coat of paint. 

I did not use the polishing compound between coats for this build, usually I use them on the final coat (in this case, my clear coat). 

But I think there is no rule stating that you cannot use between the coats though. 

The compounds do leave white residue, so careful cleaning is always necessary prior to applying next coat of paint (warm soapy water cleans them quick).

 

6 hours ago, youngtiger1 said:

in one of the photos above you wrote in red text letters “wash, rinse, repeat” what do you mean by this process? Is it part of polishing?

Ah, this is what happens when I put together WIP during late hours, I write things that makes no sense. 

I was just making sarcastic remarks that everything I do, I have to do it many times because of all the silly mistakes I make.  

Edited March 29 by cifenet

[youngtiger1]

Thank you for answering my questions above. What brand polishing pad are you using? I have to still add these to my modeling tools and there are many to choose from. Again, TIA. 

[cifenet]

Hey Mike,

I think the “Micro Mesh” is the actual name of the company.  But it is somewhat pricy.  I bought mine from Micro Mark.  
 

If you Google search, I think many online places should carry.   
 

Many places offer similar polishing pads though, I think even a local Hobby Lobby store should have their own.  
 

I found this one (the grits do go up to 12000 which is ideal): 

https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Model-Kits/Paint-Brushes/Micro-Finishing-Cloth-Abrasive-Pads/p/108354?gad_source=1

The concept is similar to polishing an actual car paint, it just that we need to work at it on a smaller scale model.   

 

2 hours ago, youngtiger1 said:

Thank you for answering my questions above. What brand polishing pad are you using? I have to still add these to my modeling tools and there are many to choose from. Again, TIA. 

 

[Jürgen M.]

Nice idea by the way using those clamps to hold the parts while painting.

I also use the wooden sticks but combined with flat wooden squares I cut in pieces from a long 12 x 5 x 100 mm profile! I then drill holes in one side to fit in the wooden sticks.

Then I cut off pieces of double sided tape used for carpeting and stick them on.

Looks like this: (used already)

I'll have to think about using clamps for some parts though. Cool idea!

 

[youngtiger1]

Cifenet, thanks again for the information. Glad to hear the Hobby Lobby model pads will work just fine. Another reason to visit them again 😀
 

Have a blessed Easter! 

Edited March 30 by youngtiger1

[cifenet]

I am trying to wrap up the build, but still many small items are left for me to address. 

The building experience has been nothing but pleasure.  I think the kit itself is challenging and the building procedures are quite rewarding.

I will try to challenge building one of the trailers next time. 

 

I only wear these when I am painting, but I had to wear these while assembling the truck to keep the painted surface clean. 

To be honest, I don't think I want to build another black painted vehicle again. 

It requires so much TLC during the build process, it is slowing everything down for sure.

 

One issue on attaching clear parts to the cab:

The way you attach the windows/windshield on this kit is from the inside.  Then you insert your cabin interior and seal the cab. 

You won't be able to access anything inside once the cab is sealed. 

But the real problem happens when you accidentally press the windows inward after they have been glued and the cab has been sealed.   You will have NO way to reattach the window without tearing out the cabin and most likely CA glue has been used to attach the cabin. 

A messy work, indeed!

 

Case in point: It happened to me while working on one of the  previous trucks!  Noticed how the window is pressed in?  In order to fix this, I would have to tear our the back panel (it was CA glue shut) making a big mess.

 

I was able to carefully glue the top edge of the window and stick a pen on masking tape (looped so the adhesive back is on both end) to pull it outward to attach the window back. 

Even though the problem was rectified without tearing out the cab, the experience wasn't pleasant at all.

 

In order to prevent this from happening, I built a small window frame to hold things in place.  And I think I will use this method for all of the Italeri's "multi-cab" assembly.

I decided NOT to use any glue on the window, and quickly built a frame trim on the top to hold its place. 

I will paint the trim black so it won't show up later. 

 

I tried to assemble the cab with cabin in it, but there is an odd problem.  The cabin isn't sitting correctly and one side is slight higher. 

I will grind off the "top" side of the cabin.  I had a similar issue with Italeri's MP4 as well, so go figure...

 

I decided to go dark black and reworked on the sunshade/aero part.   I think it actually turned out okay after adding minor detais and silver accent stripe on the top.

 

Built this one using thin electrical cables.  I will add the coupling connectors and an electrical wiring later. 

 

Coloring turn signals, parking lights, and other small lights.  I like using enamel paint for coloring lamps/lens. 

 

Italeri did not include clear parts for side markers on side skirts. 

I simply painted the surface sliver first and then overcoat with orange clear.

 

As I am still building the kit and handling the parts, it attracts so much dirt and dust.  Or I should say it shows every little speck and fingerprints.

 

As soon as I finish building this, I won't touch it for good.

 

 

[Noah H.]

This truck is turning out fantastic despite the fingerprints. Great work throughout.