Mercedes 350SL in three colours, and counting.

The Mercedes 350Sl, #393, may be a Whizzwheels model and even has a Mazak stamp on the base but it is one of the nicer models from the late years. This was a long-lived model presumably because it was popular.

The first colour available was a bright mid blue metallic with a pale blue interior. It had the type of wheel that, whilst fitted to quite a few other models, was not as ubiquitously dreadful as the first type of black plastic rubbish. These wheels actually looked quite smart.

A white version was also available in the early days but this is noticeably more difficult to find and I can only assume that it was not produced in great numbers. Both the white and blue look great and really quite accurate models of the real thing. Perhaps the real 350SL was a bit wider and flatter but this certainly looked the part. The white version also had the pale blue interior and that worked well.

Corgi added some chrome surround to the windows too. It was a bit thick but not too disastrous although I would have probably said forget that addition if I'd been in any position to be listened to!

There is, however, a third shade that is not often seen. It is a fairly tedious pale metallic green and is coupled with an awful brown interior. Now the brown interior may well be an accurate depiction of the leather but it simply looks a bit dirty when viewed next to that particular shade of green.

This example came from someone in Canada and the only other I have seen for sale was in the States so perhaps most of these green ones were shipped abroad. It is a later version too as you can see from the more detailed and generally much better produced wheels.

My white Mercedes went almost as soon as I got it and I am not sure how long this green one will stay in stock either. The blues are more common but there appear to be quite a few variations to look out for. As well as later wheel types there are also distinctly different shades of blue, one in particular being a lot darker and which I think is a late edition which I am looking out for.

At the moment these seem very reasonably priced. Whizzwheel models, of course, are either liked or hated but seldom loved. So the apparently run-of-the-mill models like these in blue are still going for very modest prices. Some, especially those where people have realised how short a life span they had, are now beginning to command prices similar to the rest of the range. The white and green versions of this model are worth collecting and, so too, I think, could some of the shades of blue.