A_Model Car Hub 43rd and More

The place for model cars, plastic kits, die-cast, how-to's, galleries, communities, and more!
	Back Home - - - New On Site

MotorCities.com - Our Mission: To have at least one picture of every vehicle that has ever been produced in the history of this planet!

NEW! - Model Car Hub Product Showroom
Preview over 1400 kits and die-casts from:
AMT - Auto-Art - Classic Metal Works - Code 3 - Corgi - Ertl - Italeri - Jakks Pacific - Liberty Classics - Lindberg - Maisto - Minicraft - Model Master - Polar Lights - Racing Champions - Revell/Germany - Revell-Monogram - Road Champs - Tamiya America - Testors - UT Models - Universal Hobbies - Yat Ming and MORE!

The reviews shown below are available in the Archive - Click Here for more info.

	Highway Traveler Bonneville Special 3/10/00
	MiniChamps '99 BMW V-12 Le Mans 3/10/00

	Starter Toyota GT-One 2/22/00
	MiniChamps 1998 Porsche 911 GT-1 2/22/00

CMC Mercedes 300SL Carrera Panamerica
1/26/00 Wayne says..."this is an absolutely stunning model!" in 1/24 scale. - Now Shown Below

	Formula Models 1996 Toyota Eagle CART 1/26/00
	Provence Moulage Panoz GTR1 1/26/00
	Provence Moulage Panoz LMP1 1/26/00

	Brooklin Chevy Cameo 12/20/99
	Kyosho Cobra Daytona 12/20/99

	1980 Renault RE-20 Turbo F. 1 by Exoto 11/29/99
	Mini-Marque "Clark Gable" Duesenberg Rollston JN Convertible Coupe 11/29/99

	Marsh Models McLaren M1b 11/11/99
	Carousel Kurtis Kraft 500K Zink 10/23/99

	Exoto's 1/18 Scale Corvette Grand Sport 10/23/99
	Provence Moulage Bugatti-Powered Boat 10/23/99

	Bruce Arnold Models 1953 Cadillac Series Sixty Special 9/28/99
	Minichamps 1998 BMW V-12 LeMans Car 9/28/99

In the first years after World War II, Daimler-Benz was too busy simply trying to make anything like an automobile to worry about selling them. But by the early part of the 1950's just making a better car wasn't enough; there was enough competition to make advertising necessary. Most of D-B's top-level executives had been with the company before the war, when unbeatable racing teams proved to the world that cars carrying the three-pointed star were the fastest and most reliable in the world. It worked in 1939, and it would work in 1952 as well. Of course, the unbeatable pre-war Formula One cars had been built with substantial subsidies from the German government, and those were not forthcoming in '52!

With neither the time nor the money to field an unbeatable F.1 team, D-B's management turned to the next best alternative, the rapidly growing arena of international sports car racing. Engineer Rudi Ulenhaut was given the assignment to design and build a sports car using an engine based on the Mercedes 300 series powerplant and with as many "production" (i.e., inexpensive) pieces as possible. Weight would be a critical factor in the car's success (lack thereof was not an option!) so Ulenhaut designed a very light but stiff space-frame structure built up from small-diameter tubes. There was only one problem; cutting holes for doors through the wide side torque boxes would destroy the rigidity of the chassis. Ulenhaut's solution became the most recognizable design characteristic ever applied to an automobile; small doors, hinged almost at the roof centerline, lifting up far enough to allow the driver to step over those wide boxes. The first two prototypes were built with doors that came down only to the bottom of the fixed side windows, but drivers complained that getting in or out took too much time. Ulenhaut extended the doors down to the top of the torque boxes on the third car and someone noted that the doors, when lifted, now looked like the wings of a seagull. Although Daimler-Benz designated the car as the Mercedes 300SL (Sports, Light) to make it seem part of the 300 series, the world would forever call it the "Gullwing Mercedes".

Ulenhaut had provided what was almost literally an unbreakable car, now it was up to Racing Director Alfred Neubaurer and a team comprised of pre-war Mercedes drivers to make it unbeatable. The 300SL made its racing debut in the 1952 Mille Miglia; no, it didn't win but Karl Kling led at the halfway point and finished second to Bracco's Ferrari in what most Europeans then considered the world's toughest race. A few weeks later four Gullwings started the Grand Prix of Bern; Caracciola crashed with injuries that would finally end his long career, but the remaining 300SL's finished 1-2-3. At Le Mans, the C-Type Jaguars were heavily favored, but last-minute modifications made to (hopefully) match the speed of the Mercedes caused overheating problems. Kling's car retired with electrical problems (one assumes the Bosch representative was properly chastised) but the remaining Gullwings finished 1-2. Drivers had complained of vision problems during tests at the Nurburgring, so Mercedes introduced new topless 300SL Roadsters for that race. Four Gullwings started the race; they finished 1-2-3-4! Mercedes had won the 1952 World Championship of Makes for Sports Cars.

But there was one more race left on the international calendar, even though it didn't count for points. Daimler-Benz hadn't planned on entering the Carerra Panamerica, better known as the "Mexican Road Race" but Mexican Mercedes dealers pleaded for the factory to show their buyers just how fast and reliable a Mercedes could be. The fact that the Mexican Road Race was drawing a lot of attention from American racing magazines probably didn't hurt, either, as the American market for sports cars (and luxury, err-- high-quality sedans) was starting to become a factor in the world market by 1952. So Mercedes shipped three cars to Mexico, two Gullwing Coupes for Kling and Lang and a Roadster to be driven by the American driver, John Fitch, which would guarantee that those American magazines would give Mercedes lots of exposure.

A couple of hundred cars hurtling along what passed for roads in southern Mexico guaranteed lots of roadkill, and on the afternoon of the first day Kling rounded a corner at well over 100 mph to encounter a buzzard who badly underestimated the Gullwing's approach speed. Fortunately the big bird came through the navigator's side of the windscreen, stunning Hans Klenk and inflicting minor injuries. Kling kept control of the car and made it to the next refueling stop where the windscreen was patched and the interior was hosed out (both crew members reported that the smell was worse than the windblast). During the overnight stop the glass was replaced (spares for everything, right?) and the two Gullwings were fitted with "Buzzard Bars", vertical steel bars from the cowl to the roof outside the glass. Apparently nobody figured that either wind or the smell would be a problem in Fitch's open car. The Gullwings duly finished the race in (what else) first and second place; Fitch actually finished the race in third but was disqualified because he'd returned to the starting line (he backed up about 100 feet) on the third day to have a steering problem fixed. Fitch always maintained that an official gave permission, but to no avail.

Four wins out of five races, including what the Europeans now knew was the world's most difficult race. Sixteen 300SL's started those races, with four wins, five second places, two thirds, and a fourth with only two DNF's, a crash and a disqualification. The 300SL's never raced in international competition again (Mercedes was getting ready for bigger things, but that's another story) but in that one season of only five races, they restored Mercedes reputation of building the fastest, most reliable cars in the world.

CMC, a German company, has been making some of the best 1/24 scale models (and some pretty darned good 1/18 scale ones, too) in the world for the past few years. Most of their models have been (surprise, surprise) Mercedes, and when I heard that they were going to do a 300SL I knew that it would be good! I assumed that it would be a production Gullwing (there are lots of differences between the 1952 race and '55 production 300SL's)-- after all, that's much more familiar to most Americans, and probably to Europeans as well. I was wrong about that-- the first model released is Karl Kling's 1952 Mexican Road Race winner, complete with Buzzard Bars, but I was right about the quality. CMC says that this 1/24 scale diecast model is "hand-assembled out of 250 parts" and that's very easy to believe. It's also assembled with great care; this is an absolutely stunning model!

The heavy metal body is quite literally flawless, and the smooth glossy metallic silver paint is equally good. All the Carerra Panamerica markings are hot-printed so alignment is perfect and there's no decal film anyplace. They're also very complete and photos show that they are 100% accurate. Both "Gullwing" doors, the hood, and the trunk all open and fit so well when closed that they can be difficult to open. Of course, you have to unbuckle the functional hood strap before you can open the hood! By the way, the hood is fully detailed with structure on the underside. Up front, the grille has chrome bars, a photo-etched three-pointed star, and p. e. mesh behind that, just like the real thing. The windows have hot-printed black "rubber moldings" and thin chrome surrounds as well as those "Buzzard Bars" protecting the windshield and the vents in the fixed side windows can be opened, too. There are photo-etched chrome 300SL badges on the trunk, which can be opened to show not one but two spare tires.

Back up front, lifting the hood allows you to examine the laid-over six-cylinder engine and its fuel injection system. The block is molded in "aluminum" plastic, while accessories are in the proper black, brass, and blue colors. Of course all the visible wiring and plumbing is there, in scale, although the authentic and very nicely detailed full-length belly pan keeps you from seeing the left side of the engine. With the doors open, it's easy to see the light olive fabric upholstery, and you have to admit that the traditional Mercedes red, white, and blue plaid fabric (real fabric, too, naturally) racing seats do clash a bit. All the gauges have detailed decal faces and chrome bezels; all the switches and knobs are equally well detailed and there's the tiny photo-etched "Mercedes" script on the navigator's side just as photos show it. You can see (I hope) that the steering wheel is fully detailed and yes, all the pedals are up under the dash. You can't see the chrome grab handles on the inside of the doors, but they are there, too, along with the big "key" on the console that was used to unlatch the hood-- I guess the strap was a backup. The Continental tires-- all six of them-- have what appears to be the correct tread pattern and sidewall details include legible "6.50-15/6.70-15" sidewall logos. I spent a lot of time looking at photos; if there are any inaccuracies of line, detail, and proportion I certainly can't find them. One noted authority writes that Kling's '52 MRR winner was one of the two early cars with small doors, but I found a photo taken on the first day showing a scratched, dazed Klenk and grimy Kling standing in front of a 300SL with a hole in the windshield. The doors are open and they're the later doors just as CMC has modeled; so much for noted authorities!

All in all, that's one heck of a model, right? OK, now turn it over and remove the three tiny screws in the afore-mentioned full-length belly pan. Carefully remove it and there's the rest of the tube-frame chassis the left side of the engine with all the spark plug wires, the complete drive train and exhaust system. The front suspension is functional with real coil springs but no, the rear swing axle doesn't swing. What do you expect for $139.00?? There are some small mold lines on a couple of these "hidden" pieces but after all, they are pretty complex plastic moldings.

After all this, I don't imagine that you'll be surprised to hear that overall length, wheelbase and track are all very precisely (maximum deviation is a whole 0 03") 1/24 scale, too. If this isn't the best "mass-produced" model in this scale that I've seen, I certainly don't remember what was. And for those who believe that bigger is better, CMC will release a 1/18 scale version of this beauty "in a short time". Oh boy!

CMC's Mercedes 300SL Gullwing is a very accurate, authentically detailed, and superbly made replica of Karl Kling's 1952 Mexican Road race winner.

And it just happens to have a fully detailed engine bay, even better interior detail, and two big spare tires crammed into the trunk.

Now that's what a steering wheel and instrument panel should look like. There's lots more interior detail and that's real fabric on the seats and upholstery.

CMC wasn't content to give the model an authentic, very well detailed belly pan. It can be removed to show that all the chassis, suspension, and drive train is in there, too.

New Title!!!

Books For Model Car
Building & Collecting
We've selected the best model books, as well as
the best photo-reference books for you.
Take a look at our selection!

All content on this site, including the site design, is copyright Scale Sports 1998. May not be copied or reproduced or redistributed in any form without written permission of the copyright owner.