It’s another gloomy rainy Saturday here, a good time to look at an unusual model. This is a 1:43 Mercedes 220 SE (W111), made by Norev in the 60s. Norev makes some nice 1:18 material now, but 50+ years ago, seemed to specialize in smaller hard plastic vehicles. This would have been in the same model range as vdubyajohn’s Alfa from the yesterday. It’s a nice little car:
As one can see, the plastic has warped a little over the decades, which is common for old plastic material. This gives the car a funny stance, with the rear end a little high - like a 70s hot rod. I am not sure what to call the color, some kind of pastel off-white. The car sits on wide whites, as were optional on early fintails. There’s decently accurate casting line detail, including an acceptably accurate interior with correct steering wheel and instrument cluster shape. Some of the proportion seems a tiny bit off, which gives it a cartoony presence to my eyes - maybe because of the headlights. From all angles, there’s no mistaking what it is:
Front and rear have similar detail. I suspect the 1961 on the French plates is the year the model entered the range. The headlight lenses and cast-in trunklid badges are a nice touch:
The base is basic, typical for Norev of this vintage. One can see the front wheels have a steering function:
Definitely a model I am glad to have, even if it isn’t boxed. I found this at a local toy show last year. As I have a 1:1 of this car, and didn’t yet have a Norev, I couldn’t pass it up. I have since learned Norev made these in a number of colors, including a couple colors somewhat similar to my real car. More to casually search for:
A couple of 1:1s, first is a relatively similar color car with “lichtenheiten” from swva.co.uk, and the second is my car, pic taken last weekend:
Speaking of toy shows, there’s another local show next Saturday, I plan to attend. Maybe I will get lucky - I am not exactly easy to shop for. There’s also a show in Seattle, and that will be it for me for the year in terms of local shows, as the other two take place when I am out of town (never fails).
That is all.