42177 Mercedes G500 4X4

[Aurorasaurus]

2 hours ago, AVCampos said:

If the pin were coloured, people would complain about colour vomit.

To be fair, they could just put a big pink highlight on the part to make it stand out. Or gray out the rest of the pieces applied beforehand, I believe I've seen some instructions that do that. But personally, colored pins make my life a lot easier, reverse engineering builds and organising parts.

[AVCampos]

Well, it's not pink, but at least in the instructions on the LEGO site it's highlighted in green.

Perhaps the instructions that initially came with the set didn't have this highlight and were later revised to be clearer.

[gyenesvi]

Not sure how such mistakes occur. Why aren't all new parts in a step higlighted automatically? That's what Studio does at least..

[Aurorasaurus]

34 minutes ago, gyenesvi said:

That's what Studio does at least.. 

They use LDD pro AFAIK, but I don't get why all bew parts aren't highlighted either, it seems like a simple way to make things better for most people. Maybe they're worried about colorblind accessibility or something?

On another note, how hard/soft is the compound of the g500 tires? Are they actually suitable for offroad use?

[gyenesvi]

5 minutes ago, Aurorasaurus said:

On another note, how hard/soft is the compound of the g500 tires? Are they actually suitable for offroad use?

To me it seems like the Audi tires, not too bad, but not really soft/sticky either.

[Toastie]

29 minutes ago, Aurorasaurus said:

Maybe they're worried about colorblind accessibility or something?

Heehee - if they were, then they should do it in bright yellow or glaring white or anything truly colorful - but pink (which is gray for the elderly and colorly impaired ) is always a tough challenge. However - I do vividly remember instructions, that simply added a ton of pieces and one had to find out by visible inspection, where they were going. Worked as well ... they always made sure that you were seeing the piece - even if it was 1% of it.

Best,
Thorsten

[Sokolov Edward]

Lego uses different styles of displaying changes in instructions - apparently it depends on the author. For example, look at the instructions for the new motorcycle 42202 - it is different from the G500. But almost always in Lego instructions you see the assembled part of the model in real colors - this requires the presence of contrasting details (yellow, red, green) to dilute the monochromatic model at least in the inner part of the structure. Some Chinese Lego manufacturers use a different style - they display the assembled part in one color or make it pastel - this allows you to show the details from the current step in contrast.

Edited January 9, 2025 by Sokolov Edward

[Lipko]

22 minutes ago, Sokolov Edward said:

Lego uses different styles of displaying changes in instructions - apparently it depends on the author. For example, look at the instructions for the new motorcycle 42202 - it is different from the G500. But almost always in Lego instructions you see the assembled part of the model in real colors - this requires the presence of contrasting details (yellow, red, green) to dilute the monochromatic model at least in the inner part of the structure. Some Chinese Lego manufacturers use a different style - they display the assembled part in one color or make it pastel - this allows you to show the details from the current step in contrast.

Pastelling can also be confusing (harder to identify where the new parts should go, so you have to rely more on your work memory or have to page back and forth), I guess LEGO tested and found color vomit slightly better for building experience of an average (non AFOL) person. Always contouring can also be confusing because it hides fine details of where the new parts should go (for example pinholes that you can count, occlusions, etc). So occasional pastelling/contouring/arrow/single-part-callout when necessary with slight color vomit is the most convenient from building process point of view.

[ukbajadave]

15 hours ago, AVCampos said:

Well, it's not pink, but at least in the instructions on the LEGO site it's highlighted in green.

Perhaps the instructions that initially came with the set didn't have this highlight and were later revised to be clearer.

Yep, pieces that are added are edged in green. Sometimes my aging eyes could make it out, sometimes not...

In this instruction however the pieces related to the arrows are not edged in green. Thus my confusion.

I did try pinching and stretching the picture to make it bigger but it turns out that doesn't work with actual paper 

[Lipko]

48 minutes ago, ukbajadave said:

Yep, pieces that are added are edged in green. Sometimes my aging eyes could make it out, sometimes not...

 

In this instruction however the pieces related to the arrows are not edged in green. Thus my confusion.

I did try pinching and stretching the picture to make it bigger but it turns out that doesn't work with actual paper 

It's what I guessed. They use whaveter fits. I think arrows are more usual, but in that particular case it would have been confusing because the pin shouldn't be pushed all the way in.

[Paul B Technic]

Late to the party, but finally got this set :)

https://paulbtechnic.blogspot.com/2025/11/review-lego-technic-mercedes-benz-g-500.html

Edited November 11, 2025 by Paul B Technic

[Timorzelorzworz]

In Stud.io instructions maker it is a global setting for all the parts of the model with the same thickness and color for the outline. Seems to be a matter of taste, but personally I don't like outlined (highlighted) parts and disabled it for all of my instructions.

 

[Aleh]

20 hours ago, Timorzelorzworz said:

I don't like outlined (highlighted) parts and disabled it for all of my instructions.

Don't you think this change will make building process from much more complex to impossible?
Especiallly for complex MOCs

Edited November 12, 2025 by Aleh

[Timorzelorzworz]

3 hours ago, Aleh said:

Don't you think this change will make building process from much more complex to impossible?
Especiallly for complex MOCs

No why? I use many arrows for parts in a new step and custom frames for highlighting parts that can be hard to see. Outlining is very useless for callout steps or for subparts. Stud.io highlights the complete group of parts if it is a callout step.

Edited November 12, 2025 by Timorzelorzworz

[Aleh]

2 hours ago, Timorzelorzworz said:

No why? I use many arrows for parts in a new step and custom frames for highlighting parts that can be hard to see. Outlining is very useless for callout steps or for subparts. Stud.io highlights the complete group of parts if it is a callout step.

So this is a matter of a taste

[Timorzelorzworz]

1 hour ago, Aleh said:

So this is a matter of a taste

Agreed. So far, no one has complained about my instructions yet.

[Aleh]

2 hours ago, Timorzelorzworz said:

Agreed. So far, no one has complained about my instructions yet.

Haha, indeed this is a very good indicator of manuals' quality :)

[DutchLego]

Hi all,

New to this forum, so hope I've read up enough of the previous pages.

After building the Merc, I first designed and build an offroad trailer (https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-239596/DutchLego/offroad-trailer-mercedes-benz-g500/#details) before turning my attention back to the car.

Just as many others, I'd like to tweak the model to look more like the 4x4 squared look. Am I correct that no one has had success with the portal axles?
I did a mock-up in Studio and it looks like should work technically (effect on steering unknown) but won't look particularly good. 
It gave me 2 studs lift and 4 studs extra width per side whereas I'd hoped for about 2 by 2... (lift-wider)

So my question is: have others found ways to lift & widen with about a 2 by 2 ratio? Was wondering if a bigger shock absorber (79717c01 should give a 2,5 stud lift) would fit. Anyone tried that already?

[Aleh]

18 hours ago, DutchLego said:

Just as many others, I'd like to tweak the model to look more like the 4x4 squared look. Am I correct that no one has had success with the portal axles?

Hi, if talking of the current Gelandewagen - not sure if there are any, but in general our G-klasse has portal hubs https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-27039/OleJka/mercedes-benz-g-classe-6x6/#details

[DutchLego]

2 hours ago, Aleh said:

Hi, if talking of the current Gelandewagen - not sure if there are any, but in general our G-klasse has portal hubs https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-27039/OleJka/mercedes-benz-g-classe-6x6/#details

I've seen this MOC with the portal axles. But that setup will be quite hard to implement on the 42177 set. It will require a switch to a rigid axle and the wheels from the 42177 set will still require a spacer to fit on the portal axle. And likely will require the engine to be removed as well.
My goal is to achieve as much of a "drop-in replacement" as possible. 
For the rear, I may have a decent solution to widen 2 and raise 2,5 (with future weight from motors, it will hopefully come down to the desired extra height of 2 studs)
Front suspension will be a challenge.

[gyenesvi]

On 12/4/2025 at 3:40 PM, DutchLego said:

So my question is: have others found ways to lift & widen with about a 2 by 2 ratio? Was wondering if a bigger shock absorber (79717c01 should give a 2,5 stud lift) would fit. Anyone tried that already?

I think your best bet is brick built portals (without proper 3-pin port hubs) instead of the ready made ones. That way, it is possible to sink the portal into the rim, and gain 2 studs on each side.

4 hours ago, DutchLego said:

It will require a switch to a rigid axle

The G500 squared has rigid axles in real life, no? So that change sounds like right thing to do.

[Zerobricks]

18 minutes ago, gyenesvi said:

I think your best bet is brick built portals (without proper 3-pin port hubs) instead of the ready made ones. That way, it is possible to sink the portal into the rim, and gain 2 studs on each side.

The G500 squared has rigid axles in real life, no? So that change sounds like right thing to do.

You can build portal axle hubs with pin hub ports that can accept the deeper wheel version too.

[DutchLego]

Thanks for the suggestions!
Building my own portals seemed a bit above my league, but if the rewards are big enough one has to try!

[gyenesvi]

1 hour ago, Zerobricks said:

You can build portal axle hubs with pin hub ports that can accept the deeper wheel version too.

I know you can, but then you loose 1 (or even 1,5) stud of width reduction (which he is trying to achieve) compared to the version without pin hub. Also, moving the steering pivot as close to the wheel is going to be required to avoid the wheel hitting the fenders.

1 hour ago, DutchLego said:

Building my own portals seemed a bit above my league, but if the rewards are big enough one has to try!

An alternative that you could look into is what I call fake portals by Attika, using planetary hubs built into the axle with the lower steering arms and the driveshaft at an angle. That gives you only 1 stud of lift, but it is a relatively simple and solid build, and it is actually possible to implement at the original with of the G-class (17 between steering pivots, or wider if you wish, 19 is ideal I think). Also, it has the same good steering pivot as the G-class, so no problem with the fenders. Finally, since the lower steering arms are slanted, it actually would look similar to how a real G-squared looks.

Something like this but narrower (and without the servo on top):

Edited December 5, 2025 by gyenesvi

[DutchLego]

Those slanted lower wishbones indeed look cool.
But doing that also requires removal of the vertical 'braces' from the original model. So I'm a bit worried about the stability/ strength.

And the upper wishbone is in the same position as in the original model. So not sure yet how this will raise (other than the larger shock)

My plan now is to build a mock-up for the rear suspension first. My widened version on one side, portal on the other. Think I have enough material for a rough version. 
Then same for the front, which will require some more scavenging from existing builds.  Then I'll see if bigger shocks will fit.

(Probably need to make a new "Work in Progress" topic for that or a workbench post on Rebrickable; there seems to be a size limit for attachments per topic here. And unfortunately Bricksafe nor Brickshelf are allowing new accounts at this moment, so not really sure about correct image posting)

And thanks for the advise so far!