Tamiya Mercedes-Benz Arocs Tipper Project

At the time I bought the Mercedes Benz tipper truck it had just been released and was therefore the newest 1/14 scale truck available from Tamiya.  The fact that I had only one other tractor truck and it was the very oldest, the King Hauler, just gave a nice symmetry to my collection.  There are many things which haven't changed at all in all those years including the leaf springs, rear axle configuration, 3-speed transmission, wheels, and other chassis details.  On the other hand, this is the first tractor truck to have a tipping bed rather than a 5th wheel and only the second Tamiya truck ever (after the 58268 Mammoth Dump Truck) with a motorized tipping bed.  Mercedes Benz has been represented among the Tamiya tractor truck line-up almost from the beginning and comprises 6 of the 17 tractor trucks released as of 2018.  The tipper model is based on an Arocs 3348 6x4 configuration.

Like the other tractor trucks, this is a leaf sprung model with a 3-speed transmission and solid C-channel frame.  The rear two axles are driven and feature open metal differentials.  It is provisioned for using the MFC (Multi-Function Control Unit) for lights, sounds, and vibration.  Out of the box, the tipping bed is not functional but the model accepts the new ACU-01 control unit and electric screw actuator for remote control of the bed.  Perhaps best of all, the model just looks fantastic.  It is difficult to find anything Tamiya did wrong in the molds or details.  The doors do not open but the cab tips forward to access the inside.  An interior dash and seats are included, but they are not used if you install the MFC.  Instead you can use smoke colored paint to tint the windows and effectively hide the wiring without totally blacking out the transparency.  All of the older tractor trucks used a standard 27 turn silver can motor which makes the model much too fast, especially in 3rd gear.  For this model, Tamiya uses a new "mighty tuned" motor with 35 turns which is much more reasonable (and also rebuildable).  Even then, it is arguably still too fast.  I use a 55 turn motor in my other trucks.

I'm not a big fan of the monochrome gun metal finish of the box art, so I wanted to do something much more colorful.  I ended up using Brilliant Orange which I thought was a good match for some European trucks I have seen.  I didn't want to make the whole truck the same color, so I used a two tone with gray for the fenders and grille.  I retained the gun metal color for the bed.

Update:  This model was destroyed in the 2022 fire.  It has not been replaced.