Tamiya Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 1/24. Photographs.

Tamiya Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 1/24 completed May 24th, 2020

Background:

For a long time I thought this car was ugly. For some reason last year that opinion took a 180, and now the Mercedes-McLaren SLR is in my top 10 fantasy garage. Fortunately there's a model kit of it, and very fortunatly, that's by Tamiya. I didn't want to make the kit silver as there's no contrast with the remaining silver parts, - and most other people have done silver - and after considering quite a few colours, I decided on the "dark silver" that is Tamiya TS42 Light Gun metal, and to do something original/unique, I went with olive green seats.

Pros:

Perfect shape and proportion, great moulding with no cleanup required. Opening doors! Opening bonnet and semi-engine (3 parts only). Front and rear windows can be clicked into place - no messing with glue on these transparent parts. Likewise rear brake light covers. Great wheels and tyres - usual Tamiya high standard. Lots and lots of thoughtful details to make assembly both (mostly) easy and impossible to get wrong. Some of the interior parts such as the door fabric are moulded seperatly to aid painting and save some masking - likewise it has seperate brake calipers too. Last but not least - a die cast undertray. This really give the model a solid weighty feel. This kit is awesome, Tamiya at their most Tamiya.

Cons:

The engine bay could benefit from a bit more detail, especially the backside of the lights. The front windscreen is hard to snap into place, requiring an amount of force that made me a little nervous. I also struggled with the fit of the passenger-side exhaust. The much-documented "bonnet did not sit properly" problem was not present in my build - it goes where it should. Doors are a tight fit when closed. I think they prefer to be open. The headlights seem a perfect fit before the front bumper is applied, but a bit vague if attached after. Some real-life number plate decals would be nice, I had to rob one from the parts box.

Verdict:

Fantastic. Body, doors and bonnet *just* fit together and with a wealth of detail and room for more, it's a really nice kit which I enjoyed building all the way through. No faffing to be done and no fighting the kit either. Sure the doors and the bonnet are a bit fiddly to asemble but don't let that put you off. It's less fiddly than it looks.

Build notes:

Completed in two weeks in May 2020, there's nothing like a lockdown for making a lot of spare time. xterior is Tamiya TS-45 Light Gun metal and the seats/interior Tamiya AS-14 USAF Olive green. Seatbelts are added, seatbelt retainers, carpets (sprayed sandpaper as usual), bonnet heat shielding and some extra hoses and decals under the bonnet. Plus there's some aluminium-fibre on the dash, seats and centre column. This kit spent only 10 months in the stash, a lot less time than some of them have waited.