The Mercedes-Benz 320 (W142) was a German luxury vehicle designed as a touring car used to cover long distances. Not a sporty vehicle, it handled well and was reportedly pleasant to drive. No wonder the German military during World War II used them as staff cars.
The new ICM 1/35 scale Mercedes-Benz Typ 320 (W142) Cabriolet WWII German Staff Car plastic model kit abounds with fine, crisp, raised and recessed details. You will not use some parts, hinting that other variants may be in the works. The kit includes a decal sheet that contains license plates, staff pendants, and gages for six different cars. You’ll also find two, full-color WWII German “Signal” magazines, which can be cut out, folded, and placed in or on the car. Such a cool touch!
Construction starts with the engine. The fully detailed 3.2-liter, inline, six-cylinder engine has separate drive belts, starter, generator, air cleaner, fuel pump, and distributor cap.
The body panels are solid, with no option to open the hood or the doors. An experienced builder could tackle cutting open the doors and hood open, but the body panels are thick, so some scratchbuilding would be required.
I had no problems keeping the multipart chassis square, and it assembled without any issues. All the suspension parts are well-detailed and molded separately, and you’ll also find inner fender supports included.
I did deviate from the instructions regarding the method of piecing together the body panels. The lower pan with front and rear fenders is a single piece. The instructions suggest assembling all the individual panels on the lower pan. Instead, I glued all the side panels and the rear deck as one piece, separate from the lower pan. This made painting easier than trying to paint each panel and then assemble them individually.
The well-appointed interior features a separately molded brake handle, two-part steering wheel, gear change lever, and dashboard with decals for the gauges. The decals for the gauges appear a bit clumsy, with big, black rectangles for the oil temp and speedometer instead of numbers.
The door handles, window cranks, front grille, and headlight bezels are all molded in gray; no chrome-plated parts are included. I used a combination of paints for all the chrome bits. I would have liked to see photo-etched metal parts for the front grille, but that shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Hopefully, an aftermarket company will make a set.
For me, the vinyl tires are the biggest issue with this kit. Mine came with a bit of flash on the sidewalls. I attempted to scrape it off, which did remove some but not all of the flash. A closed top is shown in the instructions, but one did not come in the box, so expect another version someday.
You can model one of six different cars with this kit: two civilian (one black and the other in two-tone blue), two black staff cars, and a German-gray car belonging to the Nachtjagdgeschwader (NJG) 1.
The ICM 1/35 scale Mercedes-Benz Typ 320 (W142) Cabriolet WWII German Staff Car plastic model kit builds well with excellent parts fit and plenty of detail. With research, you can use this kit to model any number of Typ 320 autos that aren’t covered with the markings in the kit. Use your imagination! Now, if only I could convince ICM to make one in 1/24 scale.