Tamiya Merc SLR McLaren in pearl white!

[jaymcminn]

This was a relatively quick buildup of the Tamiya McMerc kit. The engineering on this kit is extremely ambitious in some respects and less so in others. The opening doors are impressive and the hinge mechanism for the hood that replicates the 1:1 are nice, but the motor follows Tamiya's recent trend toward top-end only detail. It still looks pretty good with paint detailing. The kit was built box-stock with the exception of heat-shielding on the underside of the hood- later I might replace the plastic mesh insert on the front end with photoetched mesh.

This is the intake plenum before installation- it's a pretty typical Tamiya piece in that they do one complex part that represents several different parts. This approach poses some paint challenges, but makes for very impressive parts fit...

The taillight assemblies are amazing in this kit. Red lenses go over chrome reflectors and a clear LED assembly mounts on top of that. After installation in the body, a clear lens snaps in from outside the body... the results are amazing. These are the assemblies before installation...

The interior and exterior are where Tamiya did the bulk of this kit's engineering. The interior is a pretty complicated setup with separate pieces for the different colors. The results, however, are amazing. The hardest part of the interior build was masking the doorjambs and painting them the body color. Note the metal transfer for the "SLR" badge on the dash. The satin-plated pedals are a nice touch.

[jaymcminn]

The finished chassis- it looks kinda cool like this!

One of the more unusual aspects of this model is the die-cast metal base plate on the chassis. It's there for the sole purpose of adding weight to the finished model Weird, but it really makes the thing feel more substantial when you pick it up.

The body is suitably complicated on this car. I used Tamiya pearl white over their fine white primer and topped it off with Testors One-Coat clear.

The body mounted to the chassis...

[jaymcminn]

And a few shots of the finished model. The panel fit is pretty impressive... you'd never notice the slightly larger gaps on the opening panels if it were a darker color. I washed the non-opening panel lines with a medium grey just to make everything match.

[sjordan2]

Clean, beautiful, very impressive.

[jaymcminn]

And a few more...

This was a pretty amazing kit to build. The final fit of the doors and hood is a bit fiddly, but the results look great if the car is opened up or with the panels closed. The metal transfers are fantastic, too. The kit decals, however, were terrible... the wheel centers fell apart while I was trying to position them. I might try contacting Tamiya for another set. The licence plate decal came from the Revell Mercedes SLS kit. As always, questions or comments are welcome!

P.S. This is also the first test of my new photo booth... built to Alex Kustov's specifications from foam core. It works pretty well, but I haven't found the right white balance on my camera yet (lots of color correction required on these pics to make them look this good)... any suggestions?

Edited April 27, 2013 by jaymcminn

[sjordan2]

Is this what the wheel center is supposed to look like? I got a metal sticker set from stradasports.com that includes this star/laurel design (needs underpainting) - FMD brand, part #FA-24003. May be available from Model Car Garage. (About 3mm wide)

Edited April 27, 2013 by sjordan2

[TooOld]

Great looking build ! The kit itself is pretty impressive even with the few quirks that you've pointed out . I might give it a try !

[jaymcminn]

Is this what the wheel center is supposed to look like? I got a metal sticker set from stradasports.com that includes this star/laurel design (needs underpainting) - FMD brand, part #FA-24003. May be available from Model Car Garage. (About 3mm wide)

That's the one, Skip. I'll contact Kevin at Strada and see if he has any in stock. Thanks!

[Guest G Holding]

P.S. This is also the first test of my new photo booth... built to Alex Kustov's specifications from foam core. It works pretty well, but I haven't found the right white balance on my camera yet (lots of color correction required on these pics to make them look this good)... any suggestions?

Bring this Monday night Jason. to Tims.....and your camera....I will teach you the white balance "trick"

[hacked]

''very nice''

[Nacho Z]

Beautiful build Jason!!! This may be the first time I have seen it done in white and I have to say it does look good.

[freakshow12]

awesome.

[Yahshu]

Wow, that is real nice

[Modlbldr]

A simply stunning build. It looks fantastic in pearl white.

Later-

[jaymcminn]

Bring this Monday night Jason. to Tims.....and your camera....I will teach you the white balance "trick"

Will do, Greg. See you then!

[krazyglu]

That thing is wicked, look's like it has some challenging part's for sure and you did a nice job.

[Kennyboy]

Beautiful build!

[bondo bill]

very slick!

[Modelbuilder Mark]

That looks great.

[sjordan2]

I found this in my files. You may be able to make your own stickers/decals by printing it out to size on silver paper or clear decal paper.

[ChrisR]

Nice clean build!

[cruz]

Looks terrific man, color suits it well!!!

[slusher]

Beautiful model. Excellent work..

[Guest G Holding]

WOW Jason !!!

That is one stunning build. Your pictures are great, but the car must be seen to really see what you have done!!

You may claim it is the kit, but your skills made this a real mind blowing build. Your panels are perfect, doors fit like a 1:1

Your use of the Tamiya primer and pearl white have given that a smooooooth look !!

[IMSANUT]

A very stunning build of a car that leaves me cold. Very sanitary work on what is a tough build. Bravo.