[MOC] The "White Elephant": 1931 Mercedes-Benz SSKL in 1/32 scale (7w)

[Sven J]

Hello everyone,

For me, the sports cars of the late 1920s and early 1930s, with their monumental engines and their clean, functional design (the ornate Art Deco sports cars of the later 1930s don’t appeal to me that much), are among the most fascinating vehicles of all.
If someone gave me a car like that as a present, I almost would be tempted to try and get a driver's license in my old age...
So it was only a matter of time before one of these vehicles made its way into my 1/32 series, namely the "White Elephant," correctly called the Mercedes SSKL and even more correctly the Mercedes-Benz WS06 RS.
This special "lightweight version" (due to large drill holes in the frame) was the final development stage of the W06 series, the most well-known example of which is probably the SSK model.
Unlike other W06 versions, the SSKL was only available with a two-seater racing car body. The engine, a massive 7.1-liter inline six with a supercharger, already familiar from the previous models, now produced 240 or 300 hp (without/with supercharger). The top speed was said to have been over 230 km/h.
What braking would be like if a truck suddenly pulled over to the fast lane is something you'd rather not imagine...
This splendid vehicle was available for the bargain price of 40,000 RM, which was equivalent to almost 20 average gross ANNUAL salaries!
And by the way, if you want to buy an original SSKL today, you can save up for it for around 20 years, too...

Luckily, my model is a bit cheaper. It consists of approximately 220 parts. About 10% of these are 3386 round bricks, which I laughed at as unnecessary when they were first released... well, you never stop becoming wiser.

Enough said, you’ll want to see some pictures, I suppose:

The proud owner, Count Balthasar von Baller und Bleifuß, with his brand new toy.
A size comparison with the (scale-accurate!) modified Jack Stone figure also reveals why the SSKL earned its nickname "White Elephant."

The Count in action behind the wheel:

And, finally, two pictures from the building phase to show the design of the chassis:

Free building instructions for the model are available here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Best regards,
Sven

 

Edited October 22, 2025 by Sven J

[Toastie]

Moin Sven,

oh my, oh my ... I am not a car person, but after seeing this, I may reconsider that. What a beautiful and >perfectly< designed and assembled replica of that Benz! Crazy.

I looked for a while at the last picture, and then it made click. Of course, you couldn't leave out a perfectly designed “underside” as well. So when you show off this beauty in a diorama, it can very well go into a glass box, which slowly rotates around its main axis ... 360° of perfection.

Wow.

All the best
Thorsten 

[Sven J]

Thank you Thorsten, you're always too kind!

4 hours ago, Toastie said:

I am not a car person

As far as modern "computers on wheels" are concerned, neither am I.
But these 1930s cars are something different. Classic mechanical engineering, almost locomotive-like.

Unfortunately, the parts range in dark green is still very limited. Otherwise I might be tempted to build a matching Bentley...

Edited October 23, 2025 by Sven J

[dimka_ya]

Beautiful model :)

[Shiva]

Another nice car from you :)

[Sven J]

Thank you @dimka_ya and @Shiva!

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

On 10/23/2025 at 11:54 AM, Toastie said:

I am not a car person

The same goes for me, but this is one of the exceptions, this is a work of art and its scale and level of detail are something incredible

... next to a fabulous steam locomotive with big red wheels and black body it is really perfect... the free instructions are madness! 

[Sven J]

Thank you for your kind words and appreciation, @LEGO Train 12 Volts

7 hours ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

.. next to a fabulous steam locomotive with big red wheels and black body it is really perfect...

That's what it was built for...
But it will take a few more months before the locomotive is finished. I'm susceptible to procrastination...

[Sven J]

Hello everyone,

After looking at some prototype photos again, one thing was certain: the exhaust manifold had to be modified.
Luckily, I had some rigid hoses in the appropriate color lying around, so the three pipes now not only extend further upward, but also are shining in flat silver.

In addition, I swapped the old 132 tires for the brand new (and unfortunately still ridiculously expensive) 21x6 ones (5813). It takes brute force and some tricks to stretch them over the wheels, but in my opinion, they look much better. The overall wheel diameter is a fraction of a millimeter larger than with the old tires, but more importantly, the new tires are treaded and significantly narrower –  perfectly suited for vintage car models.

See for yourselves:

 

Thanks for stopping by again!
Sven

 

[imvanya]

On 10/22/2025 at 11:04 PM, Sven J said:

A size comparison with the (scale-accurate!) modified Jack Stone figure also reveals why the SSKL earned its nickname "White Elephant."

Yes, love it! I've been thinking about this after Speed Champions switched to the 8-wide format. These figures work so much better for the scale! And LEGO has been using more minifig-style longer legs and arms for Woody in Toy Story sets, Na'vi in Avatar sets, and Jack Skellington in the recent Ideas Nightmare before Christmas set. Would be interesting if LEGO decided to use them for Speed Champions, although I realize an extra row of studs is to much space to waste in those sets. I also suspect that collectors would be unhappy if a unique figure in a licensed Speed Champions set would be in this weird scale.

20 hours ago, Sven J said:

In addition, I swapped the old 132 tires for the brand new (and unfortunately still ridiculously expensive) 21x6 ones (5813).

Super excited about these new tires. Still waiting for the New Elementary review of the set 

[Sven J]

On 11/3/2025 at 5:42 PM, imvanya said:

Yes, love it! I've been thinking about this after Speed Champions switched to the 8-wide format. These figures work so much better for the scale!

Thank you!
More about the procedure for converting JS figures is shown here.

[imvanya]

8 hours ago, Sven J said:

Thank you!
More about the procedure for converting JS figures is shown here.

Thanks for the link! And I think I forgot to compliment the car itself, but that goes without saying. A very clean build, and a clever use of the studs-on-the-side plates to replicate the drilled frame.

[Sven J]

7 hours ago, imvanya said:

a clever use of the studs-on-the-side plates to replicate the drilled frame.

These are actually 3386 "Brick, Round 1 x 1 x 2/3 Half Circle Extended with Stud on Side". Stacking them results in the closest distance between open studs that is possible with Lego elements (6.4 mm).
In fact, playing around with a pile of 3386 was what gave me the idea of building the SSKL.

[imvanya]

Duh, now that you’ve said it, it’s hard to unsee. Reading posts from a phone has its downsides. It’s cool that an “out of system” combination of parts is a design decision and serves a purpose.