Mercedes Benz 300SL-24, 1:24 from Revell

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Mercedes Benz 300SL-24

1:24 plastic kit from Revell

The Mercedes Benz SL class is the light weight grand tourer of the Mercedes car range, the SL stands for Sport Leicht, or Sport Lightweight car, the SL moniker was first applied to the 300SL gull wing..
The model that has been kitted by Revell came into production in 1989, and production continued until 2003, this car hosted some new safety and comfort features for Mercedes, including an automatically deployed roll over bar, and a massive choice of engines from the 2.8l, through to the mighty V12 in the AMG equipped model, with a choice of automatic or manual gearboxes.
In 1994 there was a minor facelift of the model featuring new head and tail lamps and some new engine options. The SL300-24 was a mid range model equipped with a 3l 24 valve engine producing 228hp, and this model had a production run of only 3 years between 1990, and 93.

The first part to come out of the end opening Revell box is the single part body, this covers the main shell minus the bonnet/ hood. This means none of the doors or boot/ trunk open on the kit so should you want this you will have to crack out the saw. A quick check with some dimensions on line and the shell looks to be a good scale size and to my eye a nice shape. There is a large sprue that runs between the windscreen pillars and back to the front edge of the boot in a T section to give some strength and support to the part, take lots of care when removing this as the windscreen pillars have no support and would break very easy.

The monocoque chassis is formed in a single part and has some nice detail on the underside, some parts for the 6 cylinder engine are included on this sprue also. A quick test shows the shell and chassis to fit together well. There is a little flash in places but it’s thin and will be easy to sand off.

The rest of the engine is found on this sprue, and is a good likeness to the six cylinder found in the car, there is some good detail on the parts and with some careful painting a nice block can be made, but as always a bit of wire, or some aftermarket bits will give a fantastically detailed engine that could be seen under the open bonnet/ hood. Also on this sprue are the 2 part wheels, copies of the Mercedes 16inch wheels. The suspension sub frames are well detailed with the multi link suspension being captured both front and rear

There is only a left hand drive dashboard included in the kit, come on Revell think of us who drive on the correct side of the road please! Other companies include both dash boards in there kits....
Anyway, whinge over the dash is in 2 parts and is a good copy of the real cars the various dials, switches etc are moulded onto the surface, and they look to mirror the dash well, careful painting and dry brushing will let these details pop out, important in an open top car. The steering wheel also captured the shape and loom of the car and when glues to the column will slip into the dash nicely. The bracing for the underside of the bonnet/ hood is also on this sprue, a nice touch as when painted it should contrast, with the underside of the bonnet/ hood being black to simulate the sound deadening material and the bracing being the body colour. Lastly of note on this sprue is a choice of gear knobs, either for an auto or manual gear box.

The 2 front seats on the 300SL-24 are like big comfortable armchairs, and feature sporty side supports should you want to push through the corners and inbuilt seatbelts. Looking at shots on the web Revell have captured the look of the seats, and they have some finely engraves seatbelts along with the clips moulded in situ, you can of course paint these or some will want to sand them off and add aftermarket bits. The rear wheel drive axle has the pressings in the differential and the gaiter boots being moulded on the kits plastic, the shape and the detail on the mountings is well done and again mirrors the 1:1 parts. The 3 cooling fans come next and it’s nice to see them moulded separately to the radiator this makes it easy to paint in the contrasting colour as seen on the real engine.

The main interior tub comes as a single part, needing the side panels gluing on. The rear seat has engraved moulding to simulate the stitching lines on the car, and there is some moulded detail on the centre transmission tunnel for the gear leave surround and the cubby holes on the car. The internal door cards are a bit sparse on detail so you may want to put some time in on this as if you build with the roof off it will be very easy to see. The bumpers front and rear follow the shape of the car, and the grill on the front bumper is open. The bonnet/ hood is also on this sprue, and again follows the cars lines and a quick try shows it to be a good fit should you want to glue it shut on your build. There is some raised detail for the washer jets, and the Mercedes badge on the front I personally think this is a little big so Ill sand it off and use the kits decal.

There is a small chrome sprue that contains the cars grill, this will benefit from a wash to give some depth to the grill and badge, also included in the shiny stuff are the headlamp bowls once they have the glass over the front they give a nice deep effect as a real lamp does. Some chromed parts are also supplied as the mirror glass for the wing mirrors, there is some flash on these but should clean up quickly and give a good effect on the model

There is an optional hard top to give a closed roof for your build, when built and painted if you don’t glue it down you should be able to add and remove at your leisure. I can’t comment on the final fit but a test fit on the review bench suggests a little work with the sanding stick will be required to get a nice finish.

There is a clear sprue that includes the windscreen; you will need to mask the screen carefully to paint the black trim around the glass. The windscreen has the driver and passenger sun visors in place and there is some flash present on the review kit that will need cleaning up. The rear window is moulded as an insert for the optional hardtop, and extends to include the rear side windows, but this doesn’t reach the full length of the roof so you may want to trim it back to save a step on the inside of the roof section. Again you will want to mask it off to paint the black seals and trims on the windows. Also included are the head and tail lamps, the tail lamps will need backing with some silver or chrome and then painting with clear reds and Orange to suit the standard or ‘tuner’ version of the 300SL with is clear indicator lenses.

4 rubber tyres come in their own little bag, they are some low profile Dunlop sports, the tread looks very realistic but I feel the detail on the side wall is a bit heavy, but would probably settle once sanded and weathered.

A small decal sheet is included, it contains decals to simulate the fabric seats available on the 300SL, I don’t think it looks great, but as the vast majority of cars I’ve looked at while researching this review have black or grey leather I wouldn’t use them, I’ll be painting the seats to simulate leather upholstery. There are various European registration plates with the UK plates looking wrong, they carry the wrong font looking more German than UK but I have had show plates on my Golf in a German font! You get some wood effect sections for the dash and centre console as well as a choice of stock or custom dash dial pods, either black or white clocks lastly you get a selection of badges.
Conclusion
A nice model of an SL Mercedes, will be a nice stock build, or lowered with some nice alloys tucked under the arches, can you see where my build is heading.....

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit