Pocher Mercedes 500K build

[koenejet]

I was able to test fit the engine and fire wall.

Fortunately I decided to go ahead and test fit the body. I quickly realized that the firewall was a bit too high. I figured that the two attach screw holes were not in the best spot. The thought of disconnecting everything from the firewall in order to remove it and re-drill the holes left me with trying something that could have ended very badly. I held a soldering iron on the bolt head, while pushing down on the firewall. The plastic softened, the firewall moved into position. Almost too easy.

A trial fit of the wings seems better than expected. I think I can do minimal sanding and tweaking to get them ok. The hood also seems to be better than I expected as well. The doors on the other hand, I think they will be more problematic.




Just a couple other details I haven't mentioned yet:
I got whitewall tires from Model Motorcars . The original tires were warped and cracked, so my friend sprung for the white walls. Which are very nice.
I remade the two cross-members that support the rear-end out of aluminum. The plastic ones were bowed.

As far as the overall build goes; this is for a friend who stated that he doesn't care about extra details, and true scale appearance. He just wants it built and on display, as it was his grandfathers, and is the only thing left he has of his grandfathers. So I'm only doing extra details that would bother me if left alone. My friend wouldn't care either way. For example, the leather around the gauges. Every photo I've seen shows that to be mother of pearl . I'm looking for a way to replicate that. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. And obviously everything gets painted. I'm not super happy with the routing of the copper lines on the engine. I've seen worse, but I have also seen much better. I may redo it if it bugs me enough. But again, my friend would never notice the 'sloppy' routing.

Anyway, hopefully soon I'll have the body parts fitted properly and painted. Then I'll work on the seats. And I still have 4 more wheels to make.

Thanks for looking,
Scott

[Jo NZ]

You can buy mother of pearl laminate - at 0.3mm thick, and it isn't expensive. Google it and see!

[koenejet]

Yea, I was looking at that, and will probably get some. The cheapest I can find is a 5 x 9 in sheet for about $12-$15. My only reservation is that the pattern won't be to scale. There are several types, colors, patterns of mother of pearl . I think if I find a sheet that is just white with very little pattern to it would look ok. I could get a piece cut to shape from Model Motorcars for about $50 - $60, but I'm not getting paid for this build, and I can't ask my friend to pay for that when he would probably be fine with the leather.

I'm experimenting with paint to see if I can get something to look right.

[Jo NZ]

I found a 2 x 4" sheet for $6NZ here

http://www.oceanshell.nz/product/349...c-p-s-50x100mm

Postage from here to the US isn't expensive (not like the other way!) so you should get it for $8US or so...

[koenejet]

Thanks. I had not seen that one, and was about to buy it, but shipping alone would have been $17 US. There are still a few local places I can check.

thanks again,

[Jo NZ]

I can't believe the charge for postage! After all, it's just an envelope and a piece of card....

[koenejet]

Yea, I was all ready to check out, and they only gave me three shipping options. $17 was the cheapest. I don't understand either.

I got a can of pearl clear coat and sprayed that over gloss white (on a scrap piece of plastic), and that looks ok if I can't find anything else. I can get a sheet of laminate on eBay for $12, but it's got a very noticeable normal size pattern that I think would look way to huge for the scale.

later,

[MODEL A MODEL]

Have you looked at nail polishes? A long time a go I experimented with several brands, and found them to have lots of potential. -Most of them have retarders in the mix, to aide in self-leveling. They can also be thinned to airbrush . They dry pretty hard and can be wet sanded and polished to a very nice finish.

I can also recommend a place out here in Anahiem called Coast Airbrush , wwwcoastairbrush.com -they carry an amazing variety of paints.

[koenejet]

yea, that's a good idea. I'll check it out.
thanks,

[koenejet]

This build was on hold for a little while, and I just started back on it again. However, I decided to post my progress on YouTube. For one, I always seem to have problems posting pics on this forum. Not sure why. Other forums are no problem, but this one is always a hassle for me. Also, I just thought I could do a better job of getting across what I am doing and why in a video. I also believe it will help keep me motivated to continue work on the project. So, if any of you are interested in my progress with this, please feel free to check out my YouTube channel, ‘Custom Fabrications’. You’ll see the Pocher build videos. Thanks to every one who gave me incouragment and advice here on the forum though, I do appreciate it.

[Nortley]

"I held a soldering iron on the bolt head, while pushing down on the firewall." You've successfully scaled down the hot wrench! That's beautiful!

[koenejet]

"I held a soldering iron on the bolt head, while pushing down on the firewall." You've successfully scaled down the hot wrench! That's beautiful!

Thanks, but you had me nervous at first. I thought you were going to say I screwed it up by doing that. One thing I've learned with this kit is to not only test fit each piece, but at least the next two after that!