WIP: 1984 Paris-Dakar Mercedes Benz 500 SLC

[cbrain]

Hello, here's a link to a photo of the car I'm working on right now.

http://www.dakardantan.com/voir-equi...84-c6741c.html

It is an old 1/24 ESCI kit. It is a scale replica of a 1984 Paris-Dakar runner of a Mercedes Benz 500 SLC driven by Jochen Mass.

The following thumbnail images are my progress pics on the build. You can click on them to see a bigger picture.


Just primed.


A little work on the engine.


Some bodywork done.


Underchassis and tires.


Test-fitting the tail lights.


Test-fitting the grilles and headlights.

Now this is the part where I discovered the reference picture from dakardantan which I linked above and noticed that the kit's rear tires and fenders are incorrect. So I tried to find some replacement tires for this build.


The toy I found that will provide its tires for my build.


Test-fitting the rear tires prior to trimming the rear fender.


Comparing the front and rear tires.




That's all the pics I have for now.

[AngelSaxo]

yeah! I love the Dakar cars... continue this proyect, it's a beautiful and rare car/kit.

See you

[bigfrit]

Hell yeah!

I didn't even know this model existed, keep it up, I love dakar cars, this is making me want to build some of my stack too, damned!

Need to finish something then...

Keep up the good work, somebody's watching with interest.

Oli

[cbrain]

Here's some progress pics. I was kinda overwhelmed with the fender trimming that I had to do that I started doing something else. In the following pictures, I scratchbuilt some hinges for a working bonnet/hood out of paperclips, some hollow plastic tubes, and some epoxy clay.











This is how the hinge would be hidden from sight when the dashboard is already in place.

That's all folks.

[bigfrit]

Nice progress, I m awaiting to see more !

Olivier

[Technoman]

I jusr managed to acquire this kit so I will watch this with interest. Good job so far!

[RallyRaider]

Interesting project, you doing a great job with it.

[cbrain]

Thanks for the encouragements guys. I appreciate it.

I have received some more reference pictures for this project from dakar d'antan (thanks jeff) and I noticed that on tarmac courses the car still uses the same tires as the front. The rear off-road sand tires as referenced may only have been used during the desert courses.

So, I have decided to make two versions of the car.... wow, this project is starting to get bigger! I have an extra 500 slc kit which i can kitbash for the build, but unfortunately It has a different set of decals. I will then be making two underchassis (one with the standard rear tires and the other with the off-road rear tires) which will share one body since I only have one set of decals for this car and I have no means/resources of duplicating them.

Here are the kits.... The third kit at the bottom is the same kit as the one in the middle. I will be putting that aside for the moment for a future project.


Dunno why ESCI labeled these boxes as 450 slc when they're suppossed to be 500 slc. ehehehe

[DJPaul]

Great build.

I think that soon we'll have another subforum:
Automotive Forums .com > Automotive Art > Car Modeling > Completed and In-Progress Projects - Motorsports > Dakar Replicas

[cbrain]

Okay, a little bit more progress on the kit....

I had to fill in the grilles on the rear windows and cut out a hole for the fuel spout or cap.


before



after


I also modified the rear rims a bit.... they were too narrow to fit nicely onto the off-road tires.



Ain't that fugly?



Now that's more like it.

Well, that's all for now.... next progress will be the wheel arches trimming. I'm working on them right now.