OTOMARSAN Mercedes-Benz 0302

This is the model of Turkish version Mercedes-Benz 0302, made by Otomarsan. I made use of a 1/50 diecast model by Tekno for conversion.

26 February 2011: The original model's photos before disassembly.

27 February 2011: After disassembly, I fixed the opening parts with superglue. The first operation was to shave off the lower bulging section that our version does not have.

04 March 2011: The most outstanding difference between the two versions is the upper section. The side pillars are curved and the roof  is stepped. I cut the roof and straightened the curved pillars.

06 March 2011: I made the roof from brass sheet by bending and hammering, then fixed with both superglue and epoxy glue.

I carved the upper edges of the windshield frame to a more straight path to come closer to our version. I also shaved some metal to narrow the A-pillars. I made the rear window frame with the central pillar and fixed it to the roof with solder and with superglue to the body. I also enlarged the rearmost window gap to suit our version.

07 March 2011: I made the roof drip rails from 0.8 mm wire and fixed with superglue.

12 March 2011: I applied a primer coat. Next thing I did was to put myself in unnecessary trouble. I thought that glueing plastic strips for the roof panel reinforcement carried the risk of  not being at straight lines, and headed for trying some other ideas. The first attempt was to stretch threads and fix them under some aluminum duct tape then cut a suitable part and stick it on the roof. The appearance proved to be fine but when stuck on the roof, all the minor wrinkles would have to be treated by putty so I gave up.

13 March 2011: Then I thought of making them by polyester putty and a template. I drew the template on the computer, printed on 4 sheets of sticky paper, cut out the necessary parts and applied the putty.

I separated the template before the putty cured but the result was not sharp enough. I made a smaller template for local remedy but still I did not like the result and gave up again.

14 March 2011: I sanded down the putty strips and did what I should do right at the beginning; I glued plastic strips! The philosophy saying "to see what must be done, what shouldn't be done must be understood" came into life...

23 March 2011: After filling all the openings, I joined the upper and lower halves of the body for preparation of the mold. I filled the level difference between the upper and lower parts with automotive polyester putty. I applied a checking primer, retouching of some places are due.

I drew the floor, internal parts and alternative doors on the computer and had them cut from steel sheet with laser.

27 March 2011: After bending the parts, I glued them together with epoxy glue to form the rough base.

10 May 2011: After a long hiatus, I got on the job again. I made a mold for the front and rear wheel groups and cast a pair. The photo shows the pair as they came out of the mold.

14 May 2011: I made a mold for the seat groups and cast one set of seats.

21 May 2011: I made the female mold for the body.  I poured resin at each side, eventually making a shell for the male mold. I made the male mold, then cast a sample body, but the walls were too thick so I ground the inner surfaces with Dremel to make a thin-walled body. Then I used this shell for the male mold, and using the last set of molds, I got a better body.

27 May 2011: I made a mold from the front grille and cast a sample part from marble adhesive.

28 May 2011: I also made a mold from the dashboard and cast a sample part from marble adhesive.

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