HO 1:87 Scale
Favorable axle load distribution was only a brief benefit
WIKING has erected a model-making monument for the Pullman generation – right at the front is the Mercedes-Benz LP 333 with double front axle. The “millipede” from Mercedes-Benz marks the beginning of the logistical appreciation of forward control trucks, which at the time were far behind the hood trucks. As early as the 1960s, the traditional model makers had opted solely for the Pullman tractor unit with a short cabin. In 2019, WIKING followed up on the historical model by the legendary master model maker Alfred Kedzierski and miniaturized the “centipede” with a long-distance cabin. Mercedes-Benz had built the unusual truck with a double front axle at the end of the 1950s as an emergency solution based on Seebohm’s laws. Only through the third axis was it possible to build a truck with a gross vehicle weight of 16 tons. In 1960 the permissible total weight for two-axle trucks was increased again from 12 to 16 t. That’s why the LP 333 only rolled off the assembly line from 1958 to 1961. A total of 1833 vehicles were built, 354 of them in the last year of production.
Note – Model item, not a toy! Not suitable for children under 14 year
