Interesting use of a W126 estate
- Thread starter The Boss
- Start date
-
- Tags
- estate interesting w126
i would say so.. sorry what is SLS?
Ian B Walker
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2003
- Messages
- 7,668
- Location
- Freckleton
- Car
- 300-24, saloon and coupe, E300 24 valve diesel estate
Self leveling suspension
SilverSaloon
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2004
- Messages
- 7,758
- Car
- 1994 W124 E300D Estate, 1985 R107 280SL
what a waste of a rare conversion
alfsmate
New Member
Don't know why they even bothered, as there are lots of really good specialist vehicles that can be hired to do "tracking" shots properly. Look at one of the later pictures with the rig on the back,the car is nearly tipping backward and the slightest bump in the road will shake the camera like mad as they are not using an anti vibration head. I think they are cheapskates trying to do a professional job with armature equipment.
renault12ts
MB Club Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 16,674
- Car
- 2005 W215 CL500.
Look carefully, I think that's a home made estate!!
GrahamC230K
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2002
- Messages
- 9,755
- Car
- Audi A3 & S4 quattro
Guy Dewdney used to do this type of work I think. Bet he could add some perspective as to why the car was maybe chosen.
EDZ649
MB Enthusiast
I bet the 0-60 time has been seriously hampered!
alfsmate
New Member
To Graham C230K
I'll add some perspective to as to why this car was chosen, very simple answer, they are doing a job on the cheap. The scariest bit is; the crane centre column is not in a true upright position, any crane operator will tell you that when a crane leans over the whole balance system is lost and disaster is staring you in the face. Still ignorance is bliss. And as someone else said what a waste of a conversion. To do it properly you need extend the chassis, add another axle and set of rear wheels and fit a very heavy duty adjustable suspension system and have a minimum of a V8 engine.
I'll add some perspective to as to why this car was chosen, very simple answer, they are doing a job on the cheap. The scariest bit is; the crane centre column is not in a true upright position, any crane operator will tell you that when a crane leans over the whole balance system is lost and disaster is staring you in the face. Still ignorance is bliss. And as someone else said what a waste of a conversion. To do it properly you need extend the chassis, add another axle and set of rear wheels and fit a very heavy duty adjustable suspension system and have a minimum of a V8 engine.
It is a botch up of a job .
Certainly , in the past , conversions of large saloons , Rolls-Royces even , have been used for this kind of work , even by major film studios ( look at 'behind the scenes' documentaries of even some of the early Bond movies for evidence of this - plenty of shots of a 'Silver Ghost' pick up truck) .
These cars are usually chosen for high mass and compliant suspension to provide a stable platform .
Unfortunately , as the previous poster has mentioned , this is a bodge job since the centre column is not level , which for any kind of cinematography is a no-no due to the camera going off level as soon as you pan in either direction . The issue of camera shake is another matter , particularly at longer focal lengths .
It would probably have been simpler/better to have sat an operator on the roof with a Steadicam , apart from being able to translate up/down with the crane .
As for the car - obviously it is a conversion since there were no factory W126 estates . Why they didn't pick a car with SLS since it was standard on the 560 and optional on the lesser models I don't know - an estate conversion pretty much requires SLS as a prerequisite . The 500 is , of course , a V8 .
Note in the pictures with the rig on the front of the car , it is nose down - so too much for the car's suspension .
Certainly , in the past , conversions of large saloons , Rolls-Royces even , have been used for this kind of work , even by major film studios ( look at 'behind the scenes' documentaries of even some of the early Bond movies for evidence of this - plenty of shots of a 'Silver Ghost' pick up truck) .
These cars are usually chosen for high mass and compliant suspension to provide a stable platform .
Unfortunately , as the previous poster has mentioned , this is a bodge job since the centre column is not level , which for any kind of cinematography is a no-no due to the camera going off level as soon as you pan in either direction . The issue of camera shake is another matter , particularly at longer focal lengths .
It would probably have been simpler/better to have sat an operator on the roof with a Steadicam , apart from being able to translate up/down with the crane .
As for the car - obviously it is a conversion since there were no factory W126 estates . Why they didn't pick a car with SLS since it was standard on the 560 and optional on the lesser models I don't know - an estate conversion pretty much requires SLS as a prerequisite . The 500 is , of course , a V8 .
Note in the pictures with the rig on the front of the car , it is nose down - so too much for the car's suspension .
