Mercedes Unimog S404 Ambulance ICM 1:35

Let's start with step No. 4: part D45 is not symmetrical. Check the orientation of the red marked parts. The notch should be at the bottom. 

As always alignment of the frame is crucial for the fit of everything else. I suggest not to glue part D58 but only to put it in place. Perfect orientation can then be achieved when mounting the gear box.  

I recommend not to glue engine and gearbox together at this stage. The attachment faces between the two allow quite some range which might cause you problems when installing this complex to the frame. Installed separately later you can wiggle the two parts nicely together. Due to a misalignment in this step I had to separate engine and gear box again. 

The lower parts of the tanks have to be mounted on the supports in a single orientation. Double check their position on the supports and only then glue the top part onto it.
I had to remove the intake again and transfer it to the other side - leaving a hole at the back of the tank - because I malrotated the top part by 180°. 

I suggest to align parts B18, B29 and B1 in one go. I ended up with a slight warp which made mounting the dashboard difficult
Check part B25. It has a little knob at the lower edge. I mistakenly removed it, thinking it was a sprue gate. It is not. This led to the next mistake: mounting the front grill upside down (yes, it fits this way too). Correcting this was possible but required sharp tools, brute force, foul language, white putty and careful sanding. 

Parts C1-5, C1-8 and C1-20 constitute this box. When mounting the round tube gaps remain.  

This looked wrong, so I closed it with a sheet of styrene. Now I know that it is wrong now. The gaps are to be seen at the real thing too. So, no need for extra work. 

 

The first batch of parts assembled and ready for primer. 

Frame assembled and partially painted (what will be visible later). Lights were sprayed with white on light exposed areas after a black primer Mr. Surfacer 1500. Then thin coats of German Gelboliv followed. Don't look at the engine. This was just a testbed for a painting technique new to me. Nothing will be seen later. The exhaust was handpainted with several rust tones in a wet in wet-technique and finished with some pigments. 

Basic cabin done. I was pondering which color to use for the German yellow olive that was typical of the early Bundeswehr vehicles. At the end I mixed Flat Yellow H04 with Olive Drab H78. I like how it turned out. 

About 2/3 of the windows were shaded. Unfortunately my first attempt was much too opaque. So I wiped it off again with IPA. 

Ambulance cabin assembled, sanded, washed and ready for primer. 

The tarp for the cabin gave me a headache. The tarp from Perfect Scale Models has a much nicer texture and the straps but turned out to be much too wide. I cut a small stripe out at the rear and glued it back together. This improved matters considerably... 

...only then to discover, that PSMs tarp is much too high too. 

The kits tarp fits like a glove. Maybe I add texture and straps and go for it. Still pondering. 

After reading the instructions carefully and double checking which holes have to be drilled into the roof to mach my version, I now discovered that "my" version of the Unimog didn't have any guard rails over the flash light. So I closed them again. 

Finally the cab found its place after two days of dryfitting and shaving off plastic from various spots 

Now ready for the last details to be added 

The ambulance shelter was completed too after redoing the windows twice. 

Here the shelter has already received a black priming and white highlighting. Ready for german Gelboliv (yellow olive). 

The figure set of FC Model Trend are beautifully printed. They ought to look pretty good when painted.  

Unfortunately their posture is not an unmodified fit for this kit - although they are designed for it. A lot of tweaking awaits me there.