50's euro racers

[flynstyrn]

Anyone buy the new kit from Model Roundup of the 2 racing cars,Alfa Romeo and a Lago Talbot? It's a 2 in 1 1/24 scale kit.Neat looking cars and on the box it says "With engine details". Limited to 500 kits world wide.I'd like to snag these two but at $34.90(a little salty) I thought I'd check with you guys.Worth the $ or not?The manufacturer is Classic Plastic.

[Roncla]

i've never sighted these but believe they are a re pop of the old Merit kits from the 1950s.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Ace-Garageguy]

These are repops of vintage Merit / Smer kits from the late '50s. The kits have clean, sharp engraving and two-piece bodies that need a seam finished down the center. The parts-count is low, and the details are a little crude, but there are a few guys who have super-detailed these kits into spectacular models. The wheels / tires are hard plastic, with odd clear-plastic centers. The original kits had a "wire-wheel" decal that added some realism, but you really need to go to PE wheels / soft tires to get a current-day looking build.

I have both the Merit and Smer versions on the shelf, and if you REALLY want me to, I'll post photos of the contents.

The prices MR is asking aren't bad, as they're a little less than originals bring, and they CAN make beautiful models.

Talbot-Lago, pretty much OOB...

A more detailed engine bay in another modelers effort...

(Photos taken from internet sources, used under the "fair use" definition in copyright law)

[bigphoto]

They aren't bad and would benefit nicely with a set of Herb Deeks wire wheels!!

[sjordan2]

They aren't bad and would benefit nicely with a set of Herb Deeks wire wheels!!

Absolutely. And here's the Talbot-Lago build journal that Bill was referring to:

http://www.arcair.com/Gal1/501-600/gal558-Talbot-Dalton/00.shtm

If you want to see an astonishing scratch-built 1/8 version of the car go here (you'll find good links to a multitude of reference pictures of a 1/1 version):

http://www.scalemotorcars.com/forum/large-scale-cars/18730-article-motm-29-winner-tie-1-8-talbot-lago-t26c.html

Edited September 30, 2013 by sjordan2

[ChrisBcritter]

I picked up eight of these at an estate sale several years ago; not the type of cars I usually would collect but they were very nicely built (and cheap). Can you identify them? I mean besides the Mercedes and Vanwall and Talbot-Lago, of course...

Edited October 1, 2013 by ChrisBcritter

[RancheroSteve]

Here's something from the GPMA site that might answer some questions: http://gpma.org/blog/?p=69

[ChrisBcritter]

Thanks for the link - that identified seven of the eight cars. First photo, L-R:

22 - Connaught

15 - Maserati 250F

6 - Simca-Gordini

4 - Mercedes W196

Second photo, L-R:

8 - Vanwall

7 - Maserati 4GLP

24 - Talbot-Lago

4 - ? (Edit: BRM P25)

I guess $10 each wasn't too bad a price after all, since they're nicely built.

Edited October 1, 2013 by ChrisBcritter

[Matt Bacon]

These were built for a "gee maybe old kits weren't so bad" display at Scale Model World a few years ago. I bought them as Smer reissues from the Czech Republic for about €20 including postage, and they arrived three days after I placed the order...

Partly because we were showing what the old kits were really like, and partly because I didn't want to spring more for a set of wire wheels than I'd spent on the two kits together. Be sure, you are buying some very old plastic, but it's pretty good. These two are the only "full detail" kits in the Merit range -- the rest are basically just body shells and wheels, ideal for slot conversion, which I why they've never made a return, I suspect...

Driver figures would be a big help, I reckon!

bestest,

M.