Mercedes Benz W196 Argentine GP

[Retro Racer 44]

So I have made some progress on my MB W196. The body arrived and having thinned several thick spots of the slosh moulded body, I have room inside for the chassis. It is a straight forward brass chassis made with two 3/32 square tubes, a chunk of 3/4 by 1/16 brass in the front and a motor bracket made by soldering three pieces of 1/2 x 1/16 brass strip. I will try to post a pic here.



The motor is a BWA NC-1 geared 10:27 (that may change) with BRW 16" wire wheels and Luf's urethanes on the rear. I had planned a nice detailed front suspension, and even had it soldered together. The front stub axles ended in the middle with collars looking like the inboard brake drums (well, at least a little bit). Before cutting the body to fit over this, I realized that the whole front end would not fit the VRAA proxy rules as it was almost 2.5 inches across.

Back to the drawing board, and out came the soldering iron to undo what I had done. Since the body hides most of it anyway, a bit of faux suspension mounted on the body will have to do.

The body that I acquired second hand is, I believe, from the French company that sells on Ebay. Having carefully printed out a drawing of this car, recorded the specs and converted measurements to 1/32 scale, I believe this body to be a bit over scale. But this particular MB in 1:1 came in several different wheelbases and lengths, and I am not sure which one this body was suppose to represent. My plan is to try to model the #2 with which Jan Manuel Fangio won the 1955 Argentine GP, but even the pics posted on the web show different cars with slightly different body attributes.

So, it will be what it will be, and it will either have to do or be sent back home. The body is about ready for paint. I just have to add the little fins behind the front wheels. Wish me luck, eh?

Cheers,

Keith

[old23]

Looking good, Keith. Did you make the exhaust pipes yourself?

Stewart

[Retro Racer 44]

I did. They are made of 1/8 brass tubing. I slipped an axle in as far as the starting point of the bend then after a bit of a bend pulled out a bit and continued until it looked ok. I soldered the end together that fits inside, and had to flatten the top and bottom a bit to fit the hole I made in the body. I then glued the whole thing to the body with CA, including my fingers. (almost) Since then, I have made the little planes for behind the wheels and glued them in place, found a sleeveless driver and a head that will pass for Fangio and they are now also ready for painting. Maybe tomorrow.

Keith