# Marui Mercedes G4 kit



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

I just picked up a Marui (Tilt) Mercedes G4 6-wheeled Nazi staff car for the incredible price of CDN$9.95 at my local hobby store, The Hobby House in Ottawa. It was (barely) started and is missing only the driver figure. I've had to uninstall the motorisation gimmick and am in the process of evaluating what will be needed to bring it up to snuff. Faust has an OOB of the kit on his site ( Marui 1/35 Mercedes-Benz G4/W31 (OOB) ). The onlr real changes I'll need to do to the kit is to scratch-built the rear gas tank and filler cap, detail the rear trunk (boot) lid and add a pair of axles/differentials to the underside. I'm *NOT *going to try to detail the entire chassis, as I'm going to place it on a base. Some further comments to Faust's write up: It's a typical Japanese kit for the mid-seventies. Even Tamiya used to include electric motors in some of their kits. While no means state-of-the-art, it's a quite serviceable model kit. The figures include four identical Nazi senior officers (3 in _feldgrau_ and 1 in _dunkelgelb_) and Adolf Hitler (also in _dunkelgelb_). These are comparable to Tamiya figures of the time. The driver figure is missing - I assume he was built and misplaced when the original owner gave up. The assembly was restricted to assembling the drive train using tube glue. This has weakened enough over the years (hey, it's a 45-year-old model) that I was able to pop the chassis members loose and release the motor and gearbox. Unlike some motorised Japanese kits of that era, there is minimal-to-no distortion of the interior parts to allow for the battery box and gearbox, so I don't forsee and major rebuilding needed, aside from the fuel tank and rear axles. The driver I can source from my figure parts box. This will go nicely with my model of Montgomery's Humber Super Snipe. It's moulded in white and black to replicate Der Fuehrer's parade car, and his likeness is shown hatless, with one hand gripping the windshield frame and the other hand in the notorious "Hitler salute". I may cut the heads off some of the figures and alter the angle to give them a little more individuality, as well as swapping out some of their arms for different positions.


----------



## aussiemuscle308 (Dec 2, 2014)

I've been tempted to get something like this, add chrome rims and bright color and call it "Fast and the Fuhrer".


----------



## Faust (Dec 1, 2012)

Wow! You found one of those for $10!!!! That's awesome!

I'm hoping to find a second sometime, so I can steal the figures for the ICM 1/35 kit. I don't really want to start bulding mine since it's so perfect and all the bags are sealed, etc. 

I would also like a second so I could actually build it motorized. I've never built a motorized kit, and I think a G4 toy would be a scream! 

Congrats on the awesome find, and have fun! Make sure you post pics! I'm looking forward to it!


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Faust said:


> Wow! You found one of those for $10!!!! That's awesome!
> 
> I'm hoping to find a second sometime, so I can steal the figures for the ICM 1/35 kit. I don't really want to start bulding mine since it's so perfect and all the bags are sealed, etc.
> 
> ...


I'm having fun with this one. I've determined that WH-37925 was actually one of Hitler's parade cars, a 1934 G4, and would have been the same version as is actually provided in the kit, with the lack of a step in the rear fenders and the oil can on the driver's side running board. It would have been a silver-grey colour with black fenders and silver-grey wheel rims as opposed to the cream colour shown on the box art. Since it appears that the driver figure was identical to the passenger figures, just with different parts for the arms, I'm not worried about him being missing. I'm planning on having a couple of the passengers holding Field Marshalls' batons. Your writeup was a big help. I've collected a whole pile of pictures of the G4 and the model correctly depicts an early G4. Even though only 57 of the beasts were produced over 5 years, there are a lot of variants -- seems they were all custom jobs. A couple of things need work, though. The gearbox doesn't look much like the exposed gas tank, so I built the tank using the large battery box cover cut up with a sprue gas filler tube and a spare spotlight for the James-Bond-like rear spotlight to blind tail-gaters. I'd love to get an image of the passenger side of the hood/bonnet to see if this vehicle had the super-charger exhausts. Anyone who knows and can so inform me would have my deepest gratitude. It would be a simple modification, but would need to be done early in the build.

Update: just went through my image collection with a fine-toothed comb and it seems that the version of the vehicle in the kit _did _have the super-charger side pipes. Just need to find some chrome flex-style cables for that. Unfortunately, I'm in a nursing home (we _are_ an aging demographic) and we're on lockdown due to CoViD 19, so I'll have to find a way to make some...


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

aussiemuscle308 said:


> I've been tempted to get something like this, add chrome rims and bright color and call it "Fast and the Fuhrer".


That would be... interesting... I'm trying to imagine Dim Weasel with a toothbrush moustache as Adolf...


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Well, I'm working on the interior -- the seats to begin with. Photos show the front passenger seat folded up so der Fuhrer could stand and wave at the adoring crowds (You *VILL *cheer or else!). There's also a 3" tall platform for him to stand on and a pistol holster on the interior door panel behind the driver. The two jump seats amidships are moulded as a single bench seat with a depression in the middle so I'm having to separate them and install armrests. Other than that some thin styrene cladding for the interior panels and some door handles and it'll look good. I've also put the scuff panels with their raised chrome surrounds on the rear fenders. I've marked where to drill for the supercharger exhausts, but once I've drilled 'em out I'll have to fill in the panel lines for the vent doors in those locations. I'll also have to add the latches on all 10 remaining vent doors. With the gas tank installed, that should finish the modifications to the kit. After constructing and installing the front axle, adding the supercharger side pipes and adding a muffler & tailpipe, that'll complete the major modifications. Then the kit will go into a small plastic bin in subassemblies to await the end of the lockdown before I can paint it I've built a seated figure to replace the missing driver and added a holster. Unlike many 1/35 vehicle models, the driver figure fits nicely in his seat awaiting arms and an SS loyalty dagger.


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

I finally figured out how to do the supercharger side pipes. I tried wrapping some mild steel wire around a nail for the required look, but that hurt my thumbs and looked like utter crap. I looked around and found a spool of thin wire solder which I wrapped around some telephone wire. Looks perfect! Once I get it trimmed to size and bent in the proper 90 degree angle, I'll flood it with some thin superglue from Dollarama and paint it with chrome paint. Should work!


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Did you use the three strand telephone wire or just one stand from it - for future scale reference. 🤙


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Did you use the three strand telephone wire or just one stand from it - for future scale reference. 🤙


I'm using an older telephone wire from 20 years ago. This is a .040" coloured plastic sheath with a single .015" copper wire in it. Unlike the more modern telephone wire with multiple thin strands, it ill hold its shape when bent. Wrapping .030" solder around gives an approximation of the flexible metal side pipes needed. You could simply use .040" (1mm) copper wire as a core for the solder wrapping, but I'm in a nursing home which is on lockdown to protect the residents from CoViD 19, so I have to use what I've got on hand


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Understand. Hope you at least are getting to go outside. Mrs Fox and I have started walking in the neighborhood just to do something other than grocery shopping.

And thanks for the details on the wire size. After I asked, I thought about our old land line at my parents house. A black wire that would roll out to any point in the house - except the garage!


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Understand. Hope you at least are getting to go outside. Mrs Fox and I have started walking in the neighborhood just to do something other than grocery shopping.
> 
> And thanks for the details on the wire size. After I asked, I thought about our old land line at my parents house. A black wire that would roll out to any point in the house - except the garage!


Well, we do have an enclosed garden, so I can go "outside" and get some fresh air. Still, I'm going stir crazy. Luckily, I have my laptop hooked up to the internet and my account has unlimited bandwidth. Stay safe and healthy.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Thanks! We even had some folks say Hi! and wave yesterday. Good health and safety to you too!


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> And thanks for the details on the wire size. After I asked, I thought about our old land line at my parents house. A black wire that would roll out to any point in the house - except the garage!


Well, wrapping the wire with solder didn't work all that well. I was thinking "how do I find some thinner soft steel wire for the wrapping" when it came to me! I'm already using non-steel wire, so why not just strip the plastic sheath from some of the telephone wire? I'm currently doing the wrapping and it looks much better. I only need 2 pieces of the finished product about 20-25mm long, so it's doable. Let you know how this iteration works.


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

OK, success! I wound up (pun intended) wrapping the copper wire around the steel wire. The copper wire is thin and soft enough to get a good wrap, while the steel wire is thin enough that the finished product is the perfect diametre compared to photos and can be bent in a right angle. I've got 25mm length ans a 30mm length, just enough for the supercharger side-pipes. The length you have to go to when supplies are restricted. If it wasn't for the quarantine lockdown, I could have just gone to the nearest music store and got a wound guitar E string, about the same size and cheap.

Once this whole episode is over, I really must stock up on miscellaneous supplies...


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Well, I give up (sort of). I can't hand-wind the wire tightly enough that when I bend it it won't leave very visible gaps. However, the hand-made pipes will do well-enough for pre-assembly to be replaced before painting. To that end, I;m ordering a set of round-wound acoustic bass guitar guitar strings (less than $10 CDN at amazon.ca) which not only will give me lots to spare in 4 different sizes, perfect for detailing sci-fi models, but won't need painting to get a chrome finish as they're nickel plated. Since I can't do the final assembly until I paint the model and *that *has to wait until after the lockdown finishes, it turns out to be a win-win situation.


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Well, after 2 months, the bass guitar strings I ordered from Amazon with a Apr 30-May 5 delivery date have not arrived. However, since the local stores are opening up to some extent, a friend of mine is going out tomorrow to pick up a set at a local music store (as my LTC home is still under lockdown) and will deliver them to me. He'll drop them off at the door and I'll have money waiting for him. So, I've decided to pull the G4 out and do some more work on it. As it turns out the side-pipes are just fancy exhaust pipes as the model I'm making is the early version which was not supercharged.

I've got a nice wooden base for it and a sheet of Tamiya textured paper cobblestones.

The mounts for the spare tires are... wrong. In reality, they're tubular steel. I have some heavy-duty electrical wire, so I dug it out. The copper core is about 1/16" in diametre (about 60 thou), which looks exactly to scale. The outer plastic jacket fits into the mounting hole in the spare wheel, so I cut a slice of about 2mm and stuck in into the mounting hole. Voila! Instant custom poly cap which necessarily fits the new copper wire mounts. Looks like everything will fit!

I finally got some AAA batteries for my little camera, so hopefully I can get some pix in the next week or so. I've mostly got the modifications to the seats done, including the folded-up front passenger seat so der Fuhrer can stand up comfortably and the two mid-ships jump seats with (non-functional folding armrests). I'm currently looking through the figure parts bin to find new heads and arms to customise the driver and passengers, as the mouldings are all identical.

Two-and-a-half months on lockdown is taxing my patience, but at least we have a large enclosed ornamental garden where I can get some sun and fresh air, which helps with the cabin fever without risking the Lager Lurgy.


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Digging through my figure parts, I found one to fill the missing passenger slot. It's the officer in greatcoat from Tamiya's motorcycle sidecars. I also found a pair of right arms that are positioned correctly for holding batons. I looked up the dimensions of a Nazi baton and it's 50cm long and 3.5cm thick - a 14mm long piece of .040" (1mm) styrene rod fills the bill and I just need to use my pin vise to drill the fists out. I'm currently searching for my kit of a Kubelwagen to cannibalise the driver's arms (yum, cannibalism!). It's amazing how many unbuilt kits can be stored in a 140 sq. ft. bedroom and a cupboard in the activity room (now pressed into service as the unit staff room).


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Well, I got all the figures assembled except the driver. The Tamiya Kubelwagen and Scwimmwagen do not have compatible arms on the driver figures. Gonna have to search around in my stash some more.


----------



## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

a labor of love


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Well, kinda... I love the process of constructing a kit and the satisfaction that comes when it turns out well; and the Mercedes is a thing of beauty. Just too bad it belonged to a murderous bastard. On the other hand, I remember when it was discovered that the Mercedes in the Canadian War Museum had belonged to Hitler, and the curator wanted to take it off display because he feared it was "glorifying Hitler". I said to myself, "How does it glorify him to say, 'Hey, we kicked his ass and stole his car!'?" I consider this a trophy of a defeated enemy. Besides, the Nazis had all the nifty stuff, and what other army ever had uniforms made by Hugo Boss?

But anyway, I found a couple of Tamiya arms that worked well for the driver with just a tad of tweaking...


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

OK, my buddy picked up a set of Fender nickel-plated steel roundwound hex-core short scale extra light bass guitar strings in .040", .060", .075" and .095". The largest equates to 3.325" in 1/35 scale. In the images I've been able to find on-line, 3" seems to be visually right. They bend into a sharp 90 degree bend by hand and I'm using a diamond cut-off wheel in my Dremel to cut them. Also in the supplies he delivered was a pack of 2, 7x12" sheets vacuformed .020" styrene treadplate from Model Builders Supply (modelbuilderssupply.com) in what they say is 1/100/HO scale but actually looks to be just right for anything between 1/35 - 1/25. They're in Toronto (actually Aurora, a suburb), Ontario, Canada and they do mail-order. You can download an illustrated catalogue at the Web address above. I won't need the treadplate for this build, but I though I'd mention it.


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Well, the side-pipes are built and attached to a module that will fit in place once the model is completed and painted. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to spray paint here, so once I've got everything built I'll still have to wait until lockdown is over to complete the model. Luckily, I now have batteries for my camera so I' should be able to get progress photos in the next week. The underside is and will remain a real dog's breakfast but once the model is secured to its base nobody will be able to see that kludge. I'm happy with the figures and I'll be brush-painting them, as I'll also do with the interior.


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

The model has been sitting half built for a couple of months while my nursing home is on lockdown. This month I got some government rebates and my climate-change incentive from the provincial government, so I was able to have a friend go to deSerres and pick me up a Sparmax AC-55 airbrush compressor. I have a Badger 200 airbrush and I'm putting together a spray booth so I can get some painting done and get back to some serious modelling.


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Well, it's two years later and I finally got out to my friend Bill's for a paint session. I used Tamiya rattlecans, and the gloss black went down perfectly on the fenders. Unfortunately the light grey crazed crazily. I rarely use gloss paints, but have never got any crazing from Tamiya matte sprays. Yes, I know Tamiya sprays are acrylic lacquers, but I'd never had an issue before. Faced with a putty job and priming before repainting, I was stalled and disappointed. Then, I went to the Hobby Centre and saw a couple of Revell (ex-ICM) G4s for a price I could afford (having turned 65 in March, I'm now on Old Age pension instead of disability, so I've got more money each month), so I bought one to evaluate it. What a dream! I only need to do a few mods to backdate it from a 1939 to a 1934 (removing the step from the rear fenders and scratch-building a windshield), and this kit comes with all the detail I'd had to scratch-build. Turns out the Marui kit was undersized, but the figures are still useable. The only thing is that I'm going to have to use my Molotow markers tp chrome the trim parts. I went back the next week and picked up the other copy of the kit to do General Burkhalter's G4 from the opening credits to Hogan's Heroes - I can build it mostly stock and only scratch-build the soft top it was always depicted with. I can scavenge wing crosses from 1/72 aircraft for the doors and paint the whole vehicle Panzer grey... I also picked up a 1/35 CMK Volkswagen typ 82e which I'm doing up as a gloss black SS staff car.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Sorry to hear about the paint crazing. But congratulations on becoming a pensioner! Good luck on the new customs. 🤙


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Sorry to hear about the paint crazing. But congratulations on becoming a pensioner! Good luck on the new customs. 🤙


Thanks, MFR. The quality difference between the mid-70's Marui motorised kit and the 2011 ICM static kit is like night and day. The front passenger seat can even be posed folded up so mini-Adolph can stand and give his Fascist salute. Luckily, the Marui figures are comparable with mid-70's Tamiya figures, so once I get it done (probably next decade, at my speed) it'll look even better than my originally planned version.


----------

