Mini Big Rigs – Adding the detail

By Carl Kirkbeck

ACCESSORISING THE MERC

Our out-of-the-box build is now complete, and it resembles the real Ken Kirk Pilkington Glass Merc. But a few extra details will finish it off.

With our kitset now complete as far as the boxed parts are concerned, it is time to look at how we can add personal touches to the build. We do this by using items from spare parts and junk boxes found around the workshop. It’s fair to say the adage ‘never throw anything away’ rings true. As time goes by, you will find that you acquire bins of spare parts, which tend to amass after a few years of model building.

The first addition is a factory roof-mounted wind deflector, including cab side extensions (see reference photos). Looking at the many MercedesBenz Trucks Italeri has manufactured over the years, we see that kitset #793 is based on the later model 2448 Merc. Fortunately, it comes complete with full factory wind kit and side skirts.

Once we have acquired the sprue from kit #793 that holds parts 182, 183, 184, 185, 186 and 189, we have everything we need to replicate the aero kit on our Pilkington Merc build. Now it’s time to apply the skillsets and tricks learnt over the past few months. By following the instruction sheet and steps detailed here, we can easily adapt these parts and take our build to the next level of realism and accuracy.

1) The donor Italeri Mercedes-Benz 2448, kitset #793. 2) The required sprue from kitset #793, with the required parts 182, 183, 184, 185, 186 and 189. 3) As we did with the cab panels, first spraypaint the red plastic surfaces with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer, then give it a topcoat in Tamiya TS26 ‘Pure White’. When painting, leaving the parts attached to the sprue avoids getting finger prints on the freshly coated surfaces. 4) Remember to remove the paint from the surfaces to be glued when using solvent-based glues, such as Revell Contacta Professional, to ensure that the two plastic surfaces bond together effectively. 5) Following the instructions, we see that the way forward is to construct the aero-kit as one complete piece and then once dry, fit the entire assembly to the cab as one piece. 6) Apply decals/signwriting before fitting the aero-kit assembly to the cab. Using low-tack masking tape, you can carefully mark out centre lines to assist with moving the decals into place. 7) The fitting of the completed aero-kit can now

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take place. We recommend a transparent waterbased acrylic adhesive such as Revell Contacta Clear. You don’t need to remove the paint to expose the plastic for the solvent to bond as the glue directly adheres to painted surfaces. Leaning the cab slightly forward assists with keeping the aero kit in position while the glue takes hold. 8) The finished install of the aero kit adds another level of realism to our build.

Next month we look at the finer details – Hella spotlights, number plates, air horns and whip aerials.

DO YOU BUILD MODEL TRUCKS?

Would you like to share your stories and model builds with our readers? Contact carl@nztrucking.co.nz. These pages are dedicated to supporting the hobby, and we would love to hear from you.

NEW BIG SWEDE

Exciting news from the Italeri website: a 1:24th scale Scania S730 Highline is set to join the kitset manufacturer’s ever-increasing fleet. The new kit offers fine detail, with photo-etched parts, super detailing of the big V8 and an option for an opening driver’s door. This news will be welcomed by model builders worldwide, especially here in New Zealand, where the mighty Griffin is well represented.