BVC500

Or just use Fujimi Mercedes wheels, or the wheels from Tamiya's 500sl. They might be a bit wide, but you could narrow them. I have a spare set if you need.

I went through 3 bodies and 3 bumpers (all ordered from Revell-Germany/Revell USA) to get the right fit, and from my own observations, I think the problem was the body being slightly warped at the tail end. I also noticed that the affected bodies had a slightly different yellow molding color than the unaffected bodies.

Can't wait to see more! How does your rear bumper fit?

If there is no one in the states, you might want to contact on Facebook Misha Samarsky, proprietor of USCP-Ukrainian Scale Car Production, for a custom 3d printed project. He's the front office guy, and his friend Dmitry does the designing, I believe. I requested and was behind the financing the production (about $60) of these wheels, and worked with them to get them just right. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-24-wheels-18-inch-AMG-I-Monoblock-with-tires-for-Tamiya-Aoshima-Hasegawa/253786578724?hash=item3b16dbdf24:g:zIAAAOSw1fha4LSD

Excellent, thanks!

Make a production suggestion to Plamoz for a non-endurance conversion? Though I note Plamoz has been pretty quiet recently. I hope the company continues to release new products. The proprietor did say that he wants to group development of new items to achieve some costs savings. I did suggest the Aperta version to him (and I think Hobby Design). As for different versions of kits...Tamiya doesn't do that anymore like they used to. I would think a 300SL roadster would sell well, as people would buy them to accompany their gullwings.

Nice to see another paint company start up with an emphasis on maintaining good service. Although Scale Finishes or Gravity Colors paints are great, their customer service degraded over time for many modelers. Fortunately, Zero has been consistent. Query: how does the metallic flake size of Splash compare to Gravity Colors? I know Gravity made a big deal of this when they first opened, and their flake size is small, at least compared to Scale Finishes (and maybe even Zero)?

Lemme make some edits in brackets: I wonder what Tamiya will have to offer [IF ANYTHING AT ALL]? I feel like something vintage should be up next, since the past two new releases have been a modern road car (NSX) and a race car (AMG GT3).

Can't wait to see the Rosso Bia on this!

Like I said on automotive forums' car modeling page, SMP24 does beautiful work, it's just the subjects don't interest me. I wish they would kit some more mainstream classic cars, like the Lamborghini 400GT, or Ferrari SWB California Spider (yes, Renaissance does one, but its not as nice at SMP24 work), or Mercedes Pagoda SL or later W107 450sl.

They came from the Tamiya Mercedes S600 coupe - no modifications needed to install them on the 500SL. You can also use the 500SL kit tires since they fit the wheels just fine, even if the side wall is a bit thick.

I totally understand your frustration. From my extensive investigation and interchanging 3 different bumpers with 3 bodies, I came to the conclusion that the issue is a slightly warped body, around the leading edge of the trunk (it's pushed down), that causes the bumper to not fit correctly, especially when trying to line up the sides after you've lined up the center. I ordered replacement bodies for my two kits, and finally got them to fit right. I think there was a bad batch of molds, especially early in production. The yellow finish looks good!

Thanks! I saw a picture on FB about an Aoshima Toyota 2000GT? Any info on that?

Looks great!

Awesome work! Love this livery.