Mercedes-Benz 600S

Published on
March 7, 2021
Review Author(s)
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$47.50
Product / Stock #
3638
Company: Italeri - Website: Visit Site
Provided by: Italeri - Website: Visit Site
Box Art

The S class cars from Mercedes have always been the luxury flagships of the company's line and the 600S is the king among them. Although not particularly appealing, at least to my eye, these cars feature state of the art technology including self-driving capability and absolute luxury in every interior detail. Near as I can tell this model represents the 2000 model year but Mercedes have released a completely revised 600S for 2021. Oh, and don’t be fooled by the mundane appearance, these cars have very respectable performance with powerplants ranging up to a twin turbo V-8. In an age taken over by SUVs, the Mercedes S series reputation as the luxury sedan standard will maintain a steady customer base for the foreseeable future.

Italeri brings us a rebox of the Protar kit molded in silver, black, clear and satin chromed parts. This being a curbside model, the underside details are sharply molded but minimal. As is their standard, the decal sheet is well printed and gives you the option of several European license plates to pick from. A couple of corrections were needed to finish the kit. The hood line needed scribing to extend it all the way to the windshield and the top of the door panel lines needed smoothing. If the taillights were installed as clear parts, there would be a dark line around the outside and top where the bumper and the rear quarter panel assemble with a gap. I will address that later. Highlights for me were the chrome plate that is a subdued satin finish that looks great on the front grill that is molded open. The seats have a nice texture that reproduces the plush soft leather in the real cars. The kit provides the parts to open up the sun roof if you choose.

I used Humbrol (Matt 62 and 74) tin paints on the interior as I thought the finish was perfect for leather. A slightly darkened wash helped pop those details out. The decals for the instrument panel and wood trim went in very easily and conformed with a little decal solvent. The rest was picked out with a brush. The exterior was done with Dupli color Radiant Silver Metallic followed by clear coat from the same brand. Make sure you prime the plastic before you apply the color coat as it will spider over bare plastic. These paints produce a surface that you can wet sand and polish to a smooth finish. The glass comes as a single piece and requires masking on the inside and out to recreate the black frame on the inside and the lower wiper shield under the windshield. Fitting the body over the chassis requires a bit of shoehorning but it fits in place without glue once it is positioned correctly. The taillight problem I mentioned before was solved by using Alclad Chrome followed by their black base on the inside in essence applying their process in reverse. The trademark red and clear tail light lens was then done by masking the strips and shooting Tamiya clear red over them. The rims come chromed with the aforementioned satin chrome finish. My sample had rough spots in them so I sanded the imperfections out and painted them with Alclad RAF High Speed Silver. The rubber tires have some nasty attachment points but those are on the inside of the rims when installed.

So, you might have gathered that this type of vehicle doesn't do much for me and it made it a bit harder to get through this one. The kit is not bad. It could actually be built right from the box sans paint and look quite nice. I wish more manufacturers would go to this type of chrome plating as I think it just looks better and is easier to remove if the modeler so desires. The decals are what decals should be, thin, in register and conforming. The tri star hood emblem says it all, this is a Mercedes luxury sedan and like it or not, that is what the S series will always represent. Thank you so much to IPMS for providing the sample. I was glad to help keep the backlog in check. Special thanks to Italeri for providing the sample of this significant vehicle.

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