by Jeff Sissons
Model photographs by the author
This model is no longer produced by Wrebbit. I contacted them and they said the line was discontinued some years ago. But I have been told that it does appear on eBay sometimes. And a good friend of mine in the USA says that "close out stores" sometimes have them. So this photo build is just for you modelers who have an interest in large scale car models and are lucky enough to own a model or are successful in purchasing one. Try Google images by entering "Mercedes-Benz 500K."
The same good friend mentioned above bought me the Mercedes for my 60th Birthday.
| Automobile: | Mercedes-Benz 500K Roadster |
| Year: | 1934 |
| Country: | Germany |
| Powerplant: | 8
cylinders Bore: 86mm Stroke: 106mm Displacement: 5019cc Output: 74kW (100hp) at 3400 RPM With supercharger: 118kW (160hp) |
| Top speed: | 160 km/h |
This large-scale model of the Mercedes-Benz comes in a large sturdy box. Parts are die-cut and pre-scored for folding; and all of the die-cut pieces push out easily, with only minor cutting or effort.
On opening the box I was amazed at the amount of colors on the heavy card pages. 2mm, 1mm and 0.5mm. Some of the pages are chromed and you have to "spoke" six wheels by use of a jig. (But, there is the option of a simplified version of the six wheels, where no sewing is required!..Did I hear a sigh of relief there lads!!)
A separate poly bag contains a collection of wooden dowel, cotton and elastic bands. A count of the parts gives a total of 558.
The Instruction booklet is an amazing 200 pages long and in four languages. English, French, German and Italian. The model can be built with an elastic band "motor" that will power the model car for a few feet. (We shall see; watch this space.)
The instruction Booklet is broken down into a sequence of 12 construction stages, starting with the chassis.
The left and right main chassis members are laminated together in threes. When the parts are separated from the main card sheet, small pips of card are left on the parts; these have to be removed with a sharp knife. The edges have to be colored to suit the colors of the parts. Whether they are done individually or when laminated together is up to the modeler. Personally, I left the parts to dry laminated together then painted the edges with my water colors. Similar laminating together is done with the cross members A6 and A7. When all these components are dry and you are happy with a couple of test fits, glue the two side members together with the cross members and ENSURE all is square before letting the assembly dry for at least 12 hours.
The firewall and floor pan are made up with assorted brackets, and the whole is fitted to the chassis. The flat card gear lever/shift, was scrapped in favour of adding a more realistic looking one in aluminium tubing (or even plastic sprue from the spares box). I will use a glass bead for the actual shift knob, probably fitted as one of the last items.
That completes part one with no problems at all. The card is finished in a glossy look, so the bodywork can be easily buffed to shine. The two photos show the completed sequence. The recessed dials give a nice 3D impression.
The large engine block is made out of one piece of card and is the base for fitting all the engine parts, as per the real thing. One of the first steps has the builder running the elastic band "motor" around a dowel installed in what would be the sump area of the engine. This band will eventually be tethered near the rear end of the chassis. Once the pulleys and fan are attached to the front end it starts to look very business like. Components are installed on each side of the engine , supercharger, filters etc. and eventually the sump is fitted and the elastic band run through the opening and into the underside area of the chassis. The engine assembly was then glued in place. The 3D effect is gradually built up with layers of flat card built up onto box sections and looks very realistic.
This part deals with the rear transmission, in which the two ends of the elastic "motor" are tied off to the transmission tunnel and onto a spool glued to the rear axle. Make sure that at all times the dowel Q5 is allowed to rotate freely within the holes in the transmission box and shock absorbers. Any tightness here will seize up the action required to launch the Mercedes along the floor.
Although PVA wood glue was suggested as the adhesive for the model, I decided to use the Yellow UHU glue to attach the transmission box and spool to the chassis, as this was the part of the model that would have most stress put upon it.
The dowel has to be marked accurately in seven places to assist in the positioning of all the transmission components, and a paper template is thoughtfully supplied for this operation. The photo shows the transmission parts fitted and aligned using the dowel until perfectly dry.
Now the interesting part. A spool is made up to tie off one end of the elastic motor and the other is tied off on the transmission tunnel. The spool takes up the turns on the elastic, tensioning it when the wheels are turned clockwise. Releasing the wheels gives the momentum for the car to run along for a few feet. I have painted the knot and where the elastic string enters the spool red, to show the tether points.
The final thing that has to be done when you are sure the knots are tight (and here a spot of diluted PVA glue helps dropped onto the knot will stop it opening) is to fit the cover C16 over the take-up spool.
With tie rods and steering linkage made from card, this should be an interesting section. The first part deals with the make-up of the two mufflers (silencers).
By a clever design of folding the three mufflers do in fact take on the oval shape and these are mounted on brackets that can just be seen on the previous photo. The connecting pipe between the two rear mufflers is made from paper and is contained as a template in the rear of the manual. The front box later picks up a pipe from the engine manifold, and that is the exhaust system for a while. The fuel/gas tank is constructed next, and it spans the rear of the car. Made up of three parts, it provides stability for the boot/trunk and gives weight for the traction of those rear wheels when the car is released after tensioning the rubber motor.
The next stage in part 4 is to prepare the four disk brakes and callipers. The four disks make up easily and once dry, the actuators are fitted ready to receive the rolled up bearing. This fits onto a pin on the front suspension. The pin and the rolled up spring as seen in the photo, are held in place temporarily by the top plate whilst the pin and spring dry perfectly square.
The top bracket is then removed. The same is carried out on the left front suspension. Once all is dry and square, the front disk brake is slid over the pin and checked to insure that the assembly will swivel once the tie rod is fitted. A cover strip is then applied over the bearing, and then the front suspension and swivel assembly can be brought together. Be sure to test that all joints are free to move at this stage, as it will be difficult to rectify this later. The sequence of photos shows the nearside and offside steering assemblies fitted with the tie-rod and awaiting the steering column. All pegs, brackets and suspension parts are now glued and free to move. Again I have painted the actuator dowel red to clarify how the steering works. Turn the steering wheel and the dowel will push against the slot in the tie rod and turn the wheels.
All that remains is to glue the rear brake drums onto the axle and the stub axels into the front drums. That's it. Part four complete. Now on with the sewing....
So that brings me to the end of this first article on the Wrebbit Mercedes 500K construction. I hope you have enjoyed the article, as much as I have enjoyed building the model. In the next issue we will be covering the wheel construction, seats, rear wings and the rear body, so join me then.
