Mercedes L4500A (Zvezda) Chapter 4: Aftermarket resin wheels and suspension

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Aftermarket wheels

If you are to employ an aftermarket set of wheels beware to check before adding parts C42 and C43 to the rear axle. The kit's outer hub moulding was included as part of the outer wheel in my Hussar aftermarket set, so the inner rear wheels mounted directly to the backplate parts C39 and C40

Axles

The front and rear axles are nicely rendered, and all the small assemblies go together without issue. The front wheels are designed to turn but unless you go to the effort of drilling out the steering arm, drag link, and knuckle arms, you don't get to articulate the wheels. I did this successfully with a previous L4500S build but this time I decided to fix the wheels once I had confirmed the angle I wished them to sit. The track rod keeps both hubs in alignment.

 

Mercedes L4500A (Zvezda) Chapter 3: Cargo bed & chassis

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Cargo body

 

The wooden framed cargo body is attached to the chassis via three beams which are secured with U-shaped shackle pins. Access to insert the shackle pins is extremely difficult if you plan to keep the frame and beams separate, but there is an alternative build process to those in the instructions worth considering as I discovered.

This option is to just attach the cargo beam parts F17, F26, and F27 (step 8) once the chassis is built up, leaving you to attach the remaining frame parts as per step 7, to the cargo bed. This way you can add the U- shaped shackle pins but keep the cargo bed separate. 

Mercedes L4500A (Zvezda) Chapter 2: Engine

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Engine

The instructions start with the engine and gearbox and the Mercedes-Benz OM 67/4, Diesel is quite a substantial assembly once built up. Noteworthy from the outset is the engine and gearbox will not fit in the engine bay once the cab floor is fitted. A mistake I have made with other similarly designed kits on the odd occasion in my enthusiasm to complete a build. Sadly, one half of my engine block was severely warped.  Whether this was a manufacturing defect or a direct result of being packaged in a loose bag and getting trapped against another sprue in transit will remain a mystery.   

The whole assembly is nicely detailed and even includes an oil dipstick, however, looking at ref pics there does look like a chunk of cooling pipework is missing over the manifold. If displaying the bonnet/hood completely open, fuel pipes to the injectors will also need to be added as will a battery and bulkhead pipework and wiring.   

Mercedes L4500A (Zvezda 3596 1/35) Chapter 1: What's in the box

 

 

The Mercedes-Benz L 4500 was built by Daimler-Benz from 1939 –1944 in the Mercedes-Benz plant Gaggenau,^[1] and from 1944 – 1945 by Saurer. The vehicle is a long-bonnet truck and was offered as a rear-wheel-drive truck (L 4500 S) and as an all-wheel-drive truck (L 4500 A). The German Wehrmacht used the L 4500 with armoured cabins as Flaks during World War II. Due to the lack of production material, the cabin was replaced with the simplified standardised Wehrmacht cabin and the mudwings with simplified wings in 1943.^[2] Also, the L 4500 chassis was used for the Sonderkraftfahrzeug 4. 

A long winding road.

 08 July 2023

I’ve just got back in my man cave after a protracted absence, and I have been musing on why there are some projects, that don’t pan out as intended. I always plan to push myself and better my last creation, but on occasion many things can and do conspire against that happening. One such example is a shelf queen resurrection project, already some eight years gathering dust. Although to be fair, it was in fact thankfully sat in a box quite dust free, but the gathering bit sounds more appropriate😊 In February I had just finished a lightning quick build of the same vehicle by a different manufacturer and was lucky enough to get it published. This inspired me to pull this older build off the shelf and make it even better.

Sd.Kfz. 7. Building the 8 ton Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen. Chapter 11: Dragon kit: Weathering continues

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After a month away from the bench I've taken a fresh look at how the whitewash looks and although it didn't come out at all as I was intending, a step away has made all the difference. I’m now slowly working my way through areas of the cab that I feel still need improving and have started on a list of small things to do to prepare for all the sub-assemblies and tracks coming together.

Schwerer Wehrmachtschlepper (sWS) armoured cargo version. Chapter 5: Painting and weathering the cab interior

 

Before the cab assemblies can be fixed together the instrument binnacle, radio and wiring, seats and roof tarp were brush painted with Vallejo acrylics and the instrument decals added. My kit included two sets which was fortunate as decal number one did not represent the dial in anyway shape or form. Decal number two was used twice to represent the largest dials and some extra placards were also added from my decal spares box.

To seal in the paintwork and prepare for the external decals and all the upcoming weathering stages I used VMS satin varnish. This can be airbrushed direct from the bottle with a little thinner giving the model a good wet coat to level. It can be left a couple of hours inbetween coats if required.

Below is the only internal reference pic I have. The instrument binnacle appears to sit a little higher than it does in the open top cargo variant. As already mentioned I am not 100% sure that a radio was ever fitted to these vehicles.

 

Sd.Kfz. 7. Building the 8 ton Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen. Chapter 10: Dragon kit: Decals and faded whitewash

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Decals

Now the Alliance Model Works instrument decals had finally arrived it was time to get back to work on the 8-ton. As well as the instrument decals the Wehrmacht licence plates were also added. These were made up from the individually numbered kit decals. A weight stencil included on the kit decal sheet was also added to the driver’s side of the cab. They were all sealed with an airbrushed coat of VMS satin varnish.

Sd.Kfz. 7. Building the 8 ton Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen. Chapter 9: Dragon kit: choosing a subject

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Over the last few years, I have started to base more and more projects on period images of vehicles. With such a wealth of online material it is often possible to find multiple images which makes the task of replicating them accurately a real possibility.

Schwerer Wehrmachtschlepper (sWS) armoured cargo version. Chapter 4: Adding stowage

 

Cargo platform bed populated with various resin and plastic accessories. The tarpaulin on both the bed and the cab is made using VMS paper and shaper 

Chapter 5