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In
1934,
Germany
was
struggling
to
recover
from
The
Great
Depression.
Sympathetic with the times, Mercedes-Benz used the drawing
board to point toward a brave new future. A document from their
archives defines the 500 K’s exuberant nautical styling: "The lines
of the 500K are meant to symbolize the rebirth of the German
Navy. The radiator represents the stem of a ship, the fenders are
the waves playing around the bows. And astern, the Mercedes
demonstrates a flat rear shape reminiscent of a gunboat." Between
1934 and 1936, Mercedes-Benz produced 354 Special Roadsters
and Sports Roadsters. CMC has captured some of that magic in
their 1936 500 K Special Roadster. This second installment from
CMC lives up to the value standard set by the first. The red paint
looks similar to the original car. The application is nearly flawless.
The chrome is all there, too. The handles and levers are in place
and, more or less, correctly shaped. The windshield is actually
better than the Black Prince. The doors open and close with a
perfect "click". The gauges are accurate and legible. The writing on
the gear shift knob is correct. Even the starter button is in place.
With such remarkable attention to detail, it is surprising to find the
spark advance lever missing from the steering wheel and other
niggling imperfections: Seat upholstery is incorrect. Front license
plate looks too big. Horns are incorrectly shaped and rotated from
their correct vertical position. The star on the front of the radiator is
distorted. Windshield wipers are molded into the chrome
windshield frame (practically invisible). The chrome spokes look
like those on the FM Harleys (etched flat) whereas the spokes on
the Black Prince were done quite nicely. Perhaps worst of all,
some of the metal parts have bits of flash and glue and casting
seams--somewhat distracting for a model that is done so well on
the whole.
Even with the flaws, however, the model is a standard against
which FM and DM should measure themselves. The 500 K is an
important automobile. It is exciting to see it done this well, for such
a reasonable price. I recommend it highly. The issue price is $149. (06/29/1998)
(02/15/2000)
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