Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman

So here is the finished product - and black certainly suits this model well. The steering wheel is in place and the wipers still work. I did have doubts about the switch as I could not see how it worked to disable to cogs from meshing. There is a metal cam on the switch spindle but it doesn't appear to do a great deal until the base is re-affixed. Then it works so I shall not bother about that too much!

Rather than attempt to paint the headlamps and small horizontal lines at the front, I simply scraped off the paint but I haven't yet completed that task and need to removed a bit more yet and then polish the mazak to make it brighter. The small horizontal bits of 'chrome' will be fine, however. I am also trying to think of what I might have that could be used as the missing emblem.

All in all I am pleased with this. The original model would probably not have found a buyer in years and even then only at £20 or so if I was lucky. This is definitely worth that to keep.

The Mercedes-Benz might have sat well next to the recently rebuilt Bentley but there is a scale problem. They'll need to stay apart, but maybe not the regulation 2 metres!

Mercedes Benz 350SL

This is a scarce item. It may be Whizzwheels but it is one of the better Whizzwheels as Corgi did a good job with the Mercedes Benz 350SL. You will find plenty of metallic blue and solid white editions and pretty much as new at very reasonable prices still. This metallic green one, however, is very unusual.

There is a range of box types, too, starting with the red and yellow type (with or without the Technocrats addition) and through to the black 'rainbow' type as this model had a long run from 1972 through to 1979.

During that period the wheels also got changed and you will also find some darker shades of blue with a more solid and shinier style of wheel, similar to those on the green edition shown here.

With prices for most editions low and lots available in excellent condition with quite a few variations these can make a nice collection that should not break the bank.

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.

Mercedes 300SL

Here are models I had never really looked at very closely before. For some reason I didn't have them in my collection nor recall seeing them in anyone else's apart from one that had been battered so much that it was silver but more base metal silver than any paint silver!

The first versions came out in Summer 1958 in open top form with the hard top following in Spring 1959. In 1961 #303 and #304 became #303S and #304S with addition of  suspension. This wasn't always obvious as it wasn't the type of suspension you'll have been accustomed now to seeing. The base was still a black tin plate and a casual observer would think it was the first version. It does work well, though, and a lot better than some later types! 

Because many people selling these without much of an idea, however, you may need to check carefully before buying.

The #304S is also one of the very few models which had flat hubs that were free-spinning and not fixed. It will also be found with the hubs the other way round, probably the more commonly encountered in later models.

The hardtop never did get an interior. Supposedly, it got wire wheels in 1964 but I have yet to find one. The same with the open top which appears in catalogues with wire wheels too and they look great. My version has cast spoke effect wheels which must be quite a late edition. I didn't realise that they made this wheel design at the time these were being produced but clearly they were or this is a very end of run version.

I am pretty sure that all the silver ones will be the S models. Drivers were added to the open top in around 1962 so you'll find them with or without a man. #304 can be found in all yellow (scarce) or yellow with a red top. #304S came in white as well as silver, both with a red top.

#303 could be white, cream or blue and interiors change between blue, yellow or brown. #303S could be those colours or silver and, I believe, all the silver ones had a brown interior. 

Both models are listed in the 'Competition Cars' section of catalogues. I suppose that suits the ones with stripes (most have them affixed) but it really doesn't look like the right category with that chap in a sports jacket behind the wheel!

Nice models of a truly classic car. Many real ones are still around too.