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Here is a car that, to many, was as coveted as thy neighbor's wife; a true icon of Hollywood's richest and most famous. Bette Midler even drove one home from Elizabeth Arden's with fingers flailing as her nails dried under the warm California sun in "Down & Out in Beverly Hills." Now, FM has come up with a neat replication of this much adored Mercedes and it is, indeed, a most well done replication! The car represented here is an early SL and, as this car was in production for nearly 18 years, lacks the tech refinements that would appear in the later models. The 1/24 version is loaded with excellent detail and it's built in the new FM quality mode...tight doors and gapless seams, nice paintwork, body detail and proportion all yield a model that accurately reflects the ambiance of its 1:1 prototype.
All details are done to a fine science...with the exception: the famed Mercedes "sport" grille. Near perfect in shape, demeanor, and contour, the grille unit falls short due to an easily remedied lack of dark gloss aluminum on the background grille bars. Without this added touch, the whole model exudes a disconcerting toy-like quality. Fortunately the remedy, Tamiya Dark Gloss Aluminum, is available at most reputable hobby outlets. The fix takes but a few minutes and does wonders for the car's dramatic appearance. EDITOR'S NOTE: FM is aware of this problem and is correcting it as we speak. Wonder if the "error" version will be worth more now?
Nice car, great model, this one's a star (and a very historically important Mercedes). A must for a Mercedesophile and any resident of Beverly Hills, West Palm Beach, or the Hamptons....
The same car in silver is being released in Europe. This blue version is not simply a color variation of the silver model. It has a different front end (with air dam), rear lights, and rear bumper than its continental counterpart. Both come with clever accessories to stow in the trunk or display by the car. The issue price is $135.
(03/15/2000)
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