Greetings and welcome to Forty 3rd which focuses on models within the 1/43 - 1/50 scale.
The 2nd model we will be looking at is the Mercedes 180D by Premium X.
Premium X is just one of the many brands that are made by PCT Collectibles Industry LTD which is located in Macau. Their website does not indicate the history of its beginnings nor the founder of this company.
Here we have an unusual Mercedes 180D. Why unusual? Because most people associate the Mercedes 180D with sedan but this one happens to be Bakkie. More on that later.
One of the major tasks of Daimler-Benz after the war was the rebuilding of their factories and the increase of export business. South Africa became one of those countries. However in the mid 1950s it became increasingly difficult to import foreign made sedans, as the South African government had applied strict import quota. This way the country wanted to convince international car manufacturers to establish local assembly and production facilities. To avoid the strict import quota system imposed on sedan, cars were imported as half-cars which were models with the body section going only up to the B-pillars and made as pick-ups which are classified as commercial vehicles.
The next task was to find a coach builder that can build load box with the same quality as the rest of the car. A company called “Morewear Industries” located in Germiston was found to be able to fabricate the load box as desired and the end result was convincing not only quality- but also design-wise.
The word Bakkie is a generic South African/Namibian term used for any light duty pick-up vehicle. So the complete name for this is called Mercedes Benz 180D Bakkie. This model does not come with any opening features.
As you can see on the photos this I would say is one nice looking model and this company did a good job.
I give it 5 out of 5 in detail, 5 out of 5 in quality control and 3 out of 5 for playable. Of course as with this kind of detail, caution in handling is required.