Plastheniker Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Hi, After WWII Mercedes resumed racing with the completely new designed W196 in 1954. She was the most advanced and most sophisticated front engine GP car ever (the successful era of front engine GP=F1 cars was over in 1958, but f. e. Ferrari used them even in 1960). The W196 had a lot of unique features, e. g. an intricate tubular space frame from thin tubes, a 4(!) OHC straight eight canted to the right for a lower center of gravity and a very low silhouette, desmodromic valve gear, central power take-off, direct(!) injection. Mercedes used a beautiful streamline body for high speed circuits and an open-wheeled body where cornering was more important. The W196 appeared not before the third GP of the 1954 season and then won 4 of 6 races. For the 1955 season the inboard front brakes were mounted outboard, because they tended to overheat and the long wheelbase impeded cornering. These shorter vehicles won 5 of 6 GPs. Their complete superiority shows the result of the British GP: They finished first, second, third and fourth. My model has the long wheelbase and inboard brakes, therefore it is a 1954 car. After winning the sports car championship, too, and under the impression of the Le Mans disaster Mercedes finished all racing activities at the end of the 1955 season. The W196 that was sold for almost $ 30,000,000 recently (the highest price for a vintage car ever) was a 1955 model. I can't remember when I built my model (maybe 10 or 20 years ago) but I do remember that the Protar kit was a sham because the box was nearly empty. Except a nice body the few other parts (no chassis, no engine, no firewall, no radiator) were wrong (f. e. wheels) or extremely simplified. Fortunately W196 and 300 SLR are technically very similar, so I could take a lot of parts from the RoG kit. The rest was scratch built and of course real wire wheels were indispensable. After a lot of work this is still one of my favourite models.
Harry P. Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 Beautiful model to be sure. The wire wheels really set it off nicely.
peekay Posted March 12, 2014 Posted March 12, 2014 Beautiful, like everything you've posted, and the wire wheels are the icing on the cake.
bbowser Posted March 13, 2014 Posted March 13, 2014 Wow, that is inspiring! I really enjoy your builds, thanks for sharing.
Silver Foxx Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 You do beautiful work , this looks terrific .
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 14, 2014 Posted March 14, 2014 Yes, a very beautiful model. I've always admired the clean and purposeful look of all the 196 iterations. Magnificent cars, and a model here that does them justice.
Nacho Z Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 I really like the subjects you choose and the work you do on them. This one is simple and elegant. By simple I mean the body lines. They are nice and clean!
Jim Gibbons Posted March 18, 2014 Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) Now you have to find one of the 1/24 resin transporter models. I have the CMC in 1/18 scale that I display my #722 300SLR on. Superb model, by the way. Edited March 18, 2014 by Jim Gibbons
Plastheniker Posted March 18, 2014 Author Posted March 18, 2014 Thanks for the comments! Now you have to find one of the 1/24 resin transporter models. I have the CMC in 1/18 scale that I display my #722 300SLR on. Superb model, by the way. Jim, I agree, the rather pricey CMC models are really outstanding. The Rennwagen-Schnelltransporter is unique and spectacular in reality and as a model. BTW it is at least doubtful if it was ever used before Mercedes retired from racing in October 1955. The leading German author for Mercedes' truck history says that the vehicle was finished too late and that therefore it was only used for advertising purposes – as a real part of the Mercedes racing history it would probably not have been scrapped in 1967 (the museum vehicle is a replica). For me even more desirable is the W196 streamline car. I am afraid, however, that there will never be a 1/24 kit. Unfortunately there is obviously too little interest among modelers.
chaves pah Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 Thanks for the comments! Jim, I agree, the rather pricey CMC models are really outstanding. The Rennwagen-Schnelltransporter is unique and spectacular in reality and as a model. BTW it is at least doubtful if it was ever used before Mercedes retired from racing in October 1955. The leading German author for Mercedes' truck history says that the vehicle was finished too late and that therefore it was only used for advertising purposes – as a real part of the Mercedes racing history it would probably not have been scrapped in 1967 (the museum vehicle is a replica). For me even more desirable is the W196 streamline car. I am afraid, however, that there will never be a 1/24 kit. Unfortunately there is obviously too little interest among modelers. Hi Jürgen, If it can help everybody, you in particular, I did buy a few years ago a resin W196 stromlinenwagen 1/24 body, a very crude one in fact made probabily by Resilient Resins, for sure made for slot racing purposes, as the wheel arches had to be "dremelled" to fit any rolling chassis, wich I am "tayloring" to sit on a Revell 300 SLR, so that is why I bumped in your thread about your wire wheeling metod that makes us breathless! After this, only UTOPIA... the back to front crossed wire wheels, such as the 250 LM ferrari ones... I will try to post a few photos of my stromlinienwagen soon...
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