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Another cute little kit from Bburago (#59210) to fill out your Porsche collection. The 356B was introduced in 1961 and remained in production until the introduction of the 911 series in 1965. The B series offerd certain improvements over the original 356. A new front bonnet to increase luggage space gave it a sportier line. THe 1582cc flat 4 produced 90bhp @5500rpm which gave this car a max speed of 160km/h.
This is a newer Bburago kit which means less opening panels (doors and engine cover only) as a tradeoff for more detail, a better finished casting and better paint. And the paint is rich, smooth and brilliant. This is the only Bburago that I either didn't have to refinish or repaint. The lights are well modeled with real lenses and no locator pin "bullseyes". The exterior required little but stripping the paint from the door handles, rocker panel molding, lower intake grills and side window frames. They polish easily to a chromelike finish. This moldel sports period Porsche wheels, separate hubcaps with the Porche emblem at the center, and are shod with 15" Continentals.
The interior is nicely modeled and textured. Some paint and BMF on the hardware and it looks great.The engine is simple but convincing.
The livery reproduces an entry in the vintage 356 Cup Race. The decals are Cartograf and are a pleasure to apply and once sealed, look like tampos. A nice looking diecast that can be found around so I'm assuming it's still in production. I was lucky enough to score mine on eBay for $1.49. Although labeled 1/24, it appears to me to be a bit larger when compared with a 1/24 911 but definitely smaller in scale than the 1/20 Cobra also in the picture. It could be 1/22. Anyone have an opinion?
(07/25/2004)
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