1/16 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing

[Rich Chernosky]

This is a kit that almost didn't get built. While rummaging through my stash I accidentally leaned on top of this box and crushed the roof in on the painted and polished body. I had been excited to finish this kit but not so much now. Months later I decided to attempt a repair. After much careful gluing, filling, sanding and repainting I was successful. I recently polished the roof out and decided it was time to finish this. Color is Testor One Coat Laquer #1803 Diamond Mist. Can't say this was exactly a joy to build as it is an early Italeri. almost all of the alignment holes had to be enlarged and there were many fit issues. But the kit has its good points too. In particular the glass and chrome surrounds worked  very well. Below are comments below the pictures for the rest of the details on this build. Thanks for looking and comments welcome.

Wouldn't be a Mercedes Gullwing with out this shot.  This particular car has to be the most modeled subject. I have this car in several scales from 1/87 to 1/12. Its a cool collection.

Interior with drivers door open. I chose a darker red than normal and like the regal look it affords. I also had a flocking to match. Interior was very well appointed with all the approprioated chrome doo-dads.  Dash was chrome but painted to match the exterior which is common to this car. 

Finished car on its wheels. Hood, trunk, and doors all open. Wheels steer through the steering wheel. Chrome trim fit was excellent and most enjoyable part of this build. 

Rear veiw has some good detail. That 300SL chrome logo has an interesting story. I used Micro Liquitape  to apply these and left this logo on my bench to dry. Later when i went to attach it , it had magically disappeared. What had happened it is it had attached itself to my sleeve (its a contact cement) and I had gone upstairs to take a nap.  Several hours later and just before going to bed I discovered the logo in the blanket. I rushed downstairs and attached it. You just don't usually get this kind of lucky. 

Side veiw shows the nioce fit of the window trim and glass. The chrome surrounds were seperate pieces and I worried that it would be a problem. Not so. The doors on ths other had, consumed a lot of time to get working properly. Italeri included the hydraulic struts to keep them open and eventually this all worked out. The true test of a Mrecedes Gullwing kit is how the doors fit. During mock-up they fit great but when the glass was installed not so much. This side looks good, the other is marginal. 

Italeri did a nice job on the fuel injected six. The engine is laid over at a 45 deg angle. The nice detail on the injector and distributor is hidden. 
The hood fit down nicely. Thanks for looking

[SpikeSchumacher]

Nice save, Rich!

[Jim B]

Beautiful Mercedes.  Very well done.

[karbuildr]

Very nice Mercedes. Like the car and the background as well.

[PappyD340]

Great looking Benz!

[Mike 1017]

Very nice

[1959scudetto]

Well done repair, Rich - this is one of the all-time classic cars and you did it justice.

[happy grumpy]

Glad you were able to finish this one Rich. It is beautiful, you did a superb job saving it. This is such a beautiful car.

[Rich Chernosky]

On 2/15/2025 at 9:36 AM, SpikeSchumacher said:

Nice save, Rich!

Thanks Mathias, it was touch and go there for awhile. 

 

On 2/15/2025 at 12:49 PM, Jim B said:

Beautiful Mercedes.  Very well done.

Thank you Jim

 

On 2/15/2025 at 5:38 PM, karbuildr said:

Very nice Mercedes. Like the car and the background as well.

Thank  you David.

 

On 2/16/2025 at 7:30 AM, PappyD340 said:

Great looking Benz!

Thank Larry

 

On 2/16/2025 at 9:08 AM, Mike 1017 said:

Very nice

Thanks

 

23 hours ago, 1959scudetto said:

Well done repair, Rich - this is one of the all-time classic cars and you did it justice.

Thank you Helmut.  You don't know (maybe you do) the heartbreak I had when I heard that ominous snap as I leaned on top of the box. An accident like that really takes the wind out of your sails when it comes to finishing a project.

 

59 minutes ago, happy grumpy said:

Glad you were able to finish this one Rich. It is beautiful, you did a superb job saving it. This is such a beautiful car.

Thank you Mario. This one had such a nice polished finish to it. Would have been a shame not to try and repair it.  It was a nice kit with some good features so I am glad its now done.  I have a friend who owns a real one and had it restored. It won the Amelia Island concours.  I have had the priveledge of being able to go all through it and have all the work explained to me.  Beautiful only begins to explain what he has. 

 

[Ragtop Man]

This looks GREAT. I popped for one of these when the LHS owner got tired of looking at the opened sample on his shelf and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. 

Any notes or details on the build that you could share would be great. 

If my skills were better, I'd be a heretic and do a roadster - I think I like those as much or more than the Gullwing. And I'm keeping an eye out for an affordable Testor's issue of the same thing. 

 

[Rich Chernosky]

19 hours ago, Ragtop Man said:

This looks GREAT. I popped for one of these when the LHS owner got tired of looking at the opened sample on his shelf and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. 

Any notes or details on the build that you could share would be great. 

If my skills were better, I'd be a heretic and do a roadster - I think I like those as much or more than the Gullwing. And I'm keeping an eye out for an affordable Testor's issue of the same thing. 

Bob...I keep lots of build notes as I go. Instruction book is full of them.  Biggest problem are the doors.  Do them first. I used  Micro Liquitape to install the hinge retainer. Its a contact cement and can be removed several times. Lots of fitting and trimming before painting needed here.  Many of the aligning holes are too small and will need to be enlarged. So keep a reamer or drills handy.  Glue the chrome window surrounds securely to the windows. I  use several water base clear type glues.  Revell makes a good one.  Once done check fit with the body. Mine fit very well. Above all have fun with the kit. It has many cool working features and the the fit of many of the parts is good. . And thanks for the compliment. 

 

 

[Rich Chernosky]

19 hours ago, Ragtop Man said:

This looks GREAT. I popped for one of these when the LHS owner got tired of looking at the opened sample on his shelf and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. 

Any notes or details on the build that you could share would be great. 

If my skills were better, I'd be a heretic and do a roadster - I think I like those as much or more than the Gullwing. And I'm keeping an eye out for an affordable Testor's issue of the same thing. 

 

Bob..as an additional note...I do have the roadster kit built. Same nice kit but a lot harder to find. 

[Rattlecan Dan]

Sounds like it was a real bear to build. And you did a very nice save on it. Good work. Looks great.

[STU111]

Beautiful build of a globally recognised classic Merc. I like the story of finding the tiny badge for it on the bedding. You’re right, you don’t get that lucky usually, so it was meant to be. Top job. 👍🏻

[ChrisR]

Looks great.

[Mr.1/16th]

Love your build!! Did these a few yrs back for a customer in 1/16th scale. 

[slusher]

Beautifully done!

[89AKurt]

Didn't know this kit existed!  Glad you didn't give up, came out very nice.  Funny story about lost & found. 😅

[Rich Chernosky]

On 2/18/2025 at 6:10 PM, Rattlecan Dan said:

Sounds like it was a real bear to build. And you did a very nice save on it. Good work. Looks great.

Was not that hard a kit to do except maybe the doors. 

 

On 2/19/2025 at 11:10 AM, ChrisR said:

Looks great.

Thanks.

 

On 2/19/2025 at 4:48 PM, Mr.1/16th said:

Love your build!! Did these a few yrs back for a customer in 1/16th scale. 

 

Thanks.  I have a lot of 1/16 scale builds myslef. I like the larger scale because of all the working parts.

 

On 2/19/2025 at 11:52 PM, slusher said:

Beautifully done!

Thank you Carl.

 

On 2/20/2025 at 12:03 AM, 89AKurt said:

Didn't know this kit existed!  Glad you didn't give up, came out very nice.  Funny story about lost & found. 😅

Kurt...did some checking on this kit and found several still available. Italeri did several 1/16 kits and this one is the most common. Glad you liked the story.

 

[Rich Chernosky]

On 2/19/2025 at 6:08 AM, STU111 said:

Beautiful build of a globally recognised classic Merc. I like the story of finding the tiny badge for it on the bedding. You’re right, you don’t get that lucky usually, so it was meant to be. Top job. 👍🏻

Stuart...not the first time that has happened but always a joy when it does. I have had to fabricate a lot of lost parts only to find them months later either on the floor or stuck to something else.  I'm sure there is a Murphy's law for this. 

[Bugatti Fan]

Certainly worth the effort of re pairng it Rich.  Nice build.