Mercedes SK serie thread

[lovegt40]

Ok, as probably many of you understand I also like trucks. Being a old kid I like theme even more when they are old and possibly rusty or abandoned. Even better if operative in middle east and weatherd as a military vehicle.

I already started my serie of the 690s and Ivecos, so now is time for me to analize and study a little bit more of the German ones, another serie I definitely like.
magirus was already part Iveco group, the main other contenders are MAN and Mercedes Benz. TRUCKS ! (so guys if until here u read me cause u was hoping in some nice coupè or gt u can abandon me here in the dust.. )

I dunno so much about the real history of the Sk serie. Just I know they were ultra common until the 90s and still in production (I think..) in the eastern europe.
Unfortunately I could not find so great and precise documentation about those commercial milestones. Wikipedia lacks of a proper descriptive serie, even in other languages. My only way was to search around truck forums and ask other modellers/mechanics.

The sk was this Bambino..


and there are 2 models around of this serie, Revell 1/25 and Italeri 1/24, replicating however similar but different versions.

TBC...and I really hope some kids out there can be interested in this matter as for the italian ones.

[lovegt40]

During the years I collected the 2 kits. Italeri one was the hardest to get, despite the many reissues of the kit. My interest about theme come with the purchasing of a racing Mercedes. I was hoping it was smaller than this big boy arrived at my bay:


This was one of the legendary winning racing trucks from MB, think today in a museum. I had the possibility to see a truck race some yrs ago and was incredibly nice and fun to see those fat buddies running around. Incredible powers (often up to 1000 hp) and nearly all with an RPM stopper in the engine to avoid theme to pass the 160kmts/hours.
After this speed, the shape of the racing object start to matter a lot (Porsche cit.) and for safety reason they are all limited in speed, despite they could arrive easily up to 280 km/hours



The fact this german toy was driven by Stve Parrish, (read UK motorbike rider +barry sheene team mate + UK SBK + TT = HERO for me..) makes it very very very intersting item,even more when I read from his wikipedia some facts like those:
A notorious practical joker, Parrish is known to have carried out various pranks.

He is permanently banned from the Chinese administrative region of Macau after blowing a brothel up with a home-made bomb made out of firecrackers, when several of his fellow riders were being 'serviced' inside.
He burnt down a toilet block in Poland.[14]
He once posed as a medical doctor to allow John Hopkins to fly from Japan to the Australian GP.[15]
He upset his fellow village residents by registering PEN 15 as his car number plate.
He once sabotaged a Mini Moke belonging to Team Bike, (a group of benefactors, mechanics, racers, journalists and helpers) by undoing every single wheel-nut to the last thread, in a revenge prank. The prank was discovered shortly before the vehicle was going to be driven off.[14]
He once posed as Barry Sheene in a qualifying session when the two were team-mates, as Sheene had turned up to the session with a hangover. Parrish put on Sheene's helmet/overalls and qualified on his behalf, then put his own clothing back on and qualified further down the grid as himself.[14]
Parrish owns an ambulance and has been seen using the ambulance to park on double yellow lines with the doors open in visits to his local bank.[14]
He also owns a fire engine and once hosed down the inside of a friend's packed pub on a Sunday afternoon.[14]
Steve appeared in Beadles About pranked by one of his best friends Beadle launched a military assault in the back garden of the ex-champion motorcycle racer. Beadle's About - S02E04 Steve Parris

[lovegt40]

as said instead the Italeri box was for me much harder to get (even more cause, of course, I started to search it when there were no reissues around).
Usually, those old Italeri truck kits are very very nice inside. In general the older they are, the nicer and detailed they can be inside. Italeri had a sort of down detailing during the 90s, trying to sell modern trucks with an older chassis inside. the worst ever was Volvo series, where u get a fh16 with the skeleton of an f12.
Those older boxes were indeed very nicely detailed and molded in a very fine plastic
So my box is this


italeri also made some reissues of him, nearly all have inside the parts to make this first box too, so if you like him you can choose between those ones:












always the same kid, while revell made those other boxes of the 1450LS









...

[lovegt40]

The 2 kits I want to compare are, the racing Revell 145ls


and the very first italeri edition of MB


Both are quite good kits, and they offer 2 slightly different version. Inside Revell box you will basically find the complete 1638 plus a white sprue for the racing parts. Probably Revell updates this model over the years (first editions should be stuff from the 70s) but basically is a good model, with interiors and engines. As usual in the time of those productions, there are many plastic flashes and the box results too small, with some parts deformed or pressed by other





Italeri box is the first edition, in my hands, I have a box also with damaged decals. Also here the bigger plastics are deformed, and this can be noisy when giving the shape to the cabin. Differently, from Revell, the Italian kit has the cabin completely divided

here Revell


and here in background Italeri deformed





and another different issue is about tires. Italeri first boxes had plastic tires, and during the years they changed them inside all the boxes with soft vinyl ones. In my opinion, being a static model, the older plastics can be good anyway, also cause in several subjects they fit better the look of the bigger 12.00 wheels used by all trucks until the 80s.
The versions I like more are dirty tippers/dumpers



so common all over in the past years down in Italy and in Germany, but nowadays completely disappeared cause pollutions/ emissions laws. Too many of theme fly to Africa or middle east and still can work a lot.
Old MB really neever die.

[DasWiesel]

Not an expert myself, but you should at least differentiate between NG and SK:

Mercedes NG (Neue Generation 1973-1988)


Mercedes SK (Schwere Klasse 1989-1994)


Mercedes SK II (1994-1998)


Sadly, Italeri never changed the old NG interior, so dashboard, etc. is completely wrong for SK.

And if you´re really want to build that race-truck, you should get in touch with a member of PMC-Dortmund (I could help you with that), who is currently working on one of those.
You wouldn´t believe how much work is needed to let that Revell kit look at least close to the real deal.