ICM Holding has put out a new model of their Type 320 (W142). This rendition is a Cabriolet B, a pre-war period German passenger car.

The box art for the kit is first-rate and lends itself well to the actual kit. The box is compact and will fit well in any stash until you decide to build it. Although the box is small, no damage was noted when breaking out the materials from the box.

An overview of the sprues once removed from their respective plastic covers reveals crisp moldings with no short shots, and minor mold lines on the smaller parts such as the door handles and window hand cranks. Some of the sprue connecting points are at points where caution is needed when removing the part so as to not damage the part or result in clean-up issues. Although the box art depicts the car with chrome bumpers and other small parts, be aware that none of the sprues are chrome plated.

This review covers packs 10 and 11 of the Agora Models Jaguar build. Please see parts 1, 2, and 3 of this review for the first 9 packs and more information about the kit.

Originally, this was going to be the final review for this build. But there was so much ground to cover that I decided to split Pack 12 into a separate review.

Pack 10 begins by finishing off the hood and fenders. First the “valances” (inner wheel wells?) are installed on the underside of each fender, and then the headlight covers and chrome trim are installed. This is, I believe, the first place that the instructions actually call for some white glue to hold the covers to the trim. I used Model Master clear parts cement, but any type of white glue would do the job so long as it is used sparingly. Once the covers are installed in the trim, the trim snaps into the fenders. Following this, the stone guard is assembled and installed to the underside of the hood, and the front underpanel is installed.

This is a reissue of the Monogram original from the 1980s. Done in an odd 1/32 scale, this kit is a trip back in time for me because I didn’t build car models back then. The kit is very basic by today’s standards but there are a few areas where the detail is quite good. I found the interior had very good texture on the seats and especially the dash. Trans Ams had a brush rotary finish in metal and the texture molded on the kit part looks convincing once painted.

I did use some plastic card stock to fill the front seat backs since they come hollowed out. Chassis detail is acceptable for the scale, but the engine is too small for the engine bay. The “Shaker Hood” sits too low if installed per the directions, so I glued it to the bottom of the hood. The only other part I wrestled with was the glass.

I expect that all of us have seen ads from various companies for large-scale, highly detailed kits that can be purchased as a monthly subscription. One of those companies is Agora Models, which is based in the U.K. They recently offered the IPMS the opportunity to review one of their kits, and I had the immensely good fortune to be chosen to do the review. I was allowed to choose the kit I wanted to build, and as a life-long car modeler and lover of classic vehicles, I chose their 1/8 scale 1961 Jaguar E-Type. The kit contains over 500 parts, has working headlights and brake lights, windows that roll up and down, and opening hood, doors, and trunk. The steering wheel turns the front wheels, and the brake pedal operates the taillights. The completed kit is over 22 inches long.

Because of the complexity and the unique format of this kit, I will be doing the review in several parts. This first part will cover the “unboxing” and the building of the first 3 packages of the kit.

The Mercedes-Benz 770, also known as the "Großer Mercedes" (big Mercedes) was a luxury car built by Mercedes-Benz from 1930 to 1943. It is probably best known from archive footage of high-ranking Nazi officials before and during World War II, including Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring but also Six and a Quarter as was the nickname of The Reichskommissar of the Netherlands Arthur Seyss-Inquart.

The 770 was extensively revised in 1938, resulting in the new internal designation W150. The all-new chassis was made with oval tubes and was suspended from coil springs all around, with independent suspension at the front and a de Dion axle at the rear.

The engine had the same basic architecture as that of the W07, but was tuned to produce 155 braking power (116 kW) at 3000 rpm without supercharger and 230 rempk (170 kW) at 3200 rpm with. The transmission now had five forward gear ratios with a direct fourth gear and an overdrive fifth.