#17 Mercedes Benz 220SE

[ogedei2]

Somehow managed to miss this thread, sorry Reg

Heres my only 220SE

l1.JPG (31.47 KiB) Viewed 868 times

Red, Red interior, Silver painted base.

[fixer]

no worries mate
i love that model wish i'd found it before you know who , congrats on getting it

[robertnewson]

My metallic red Mercedes has the casting changed to remove the jewelled headlights - as was done for all the Flyers models, of course, but I haven't noticed this change affecting any other Impys.

LoneStar-17-02.jpg (87.54 KiB) Viewed 815 times

There is spray-painted silver trim on the cast headlights, and the baseplate is the normal riveted type with "IMPY" cast.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Sounds like a cross-over or Transition type version where the bodies had been retooled (removal of the recess for the jewel units), for the Flyers, but has inadvertantly been built up on the old base, much in the same way as various Matchbox models that have been found, because we often forget the different ranges are not introduced at definitive moments, there will always be a number of tail-enders of the old range lying around.

Nice variation to have, thank's for showing it Robert.

Ghosthunter.

[robertnewson]

Presumably it is a very late Impy version, but more than a straightforward cross-over, because the body casting has been modified to delete the jewelled lights, but it still has the usual base rivet. A further modification would have been necessary to delete the rivet and accommodate the screw-fitted Flyers baseplate.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

It is conceivable the decision to delete the jewelled headlamps was taken before the forced Flyers conversion to cut down on costs and the Mercedes having double the amount was the first in line.

If we could now find another example to help confirm this, this would be another interesting part of the Lone-Star story.

Ghosthunter.

[Idris]

We have seen with Lesney that forward planning was honoured more in the breach than in the observance, resulting in short runs of models with only the first of two casting variations which were previously assumed to have occurred simultaneously - models which Joe terms 'code busters'. (If memory serves, we have seen this on the 2c and the 10c'). If a large organisation like Lesney couldn't get it's act together, it seems probable that the same would be true of other, smaller concerns.
However, we are talking about the change from realistic wheels to low-friction wheels here:something requiring a major retooling program, and that would require careful planning. It therefore seems odd that the headlights were modified without the modifications to the baseplate attachment pillars being made at the same time. So, although it could be a representative of a very short production run, there is always the possibility that it could be a development piece.
Time will tell.

[robertnewson]

Here are some more photos.

Impy-17-red-1.jpg (90.56 KiB) Viewed 785 times

Impy-17-red-2.jpg (68.66 KiB) Viewed 785 times

Impy-17-red-3.jpg (169.73 KiB) Viewed 785 times

It is a fully-finished model in a production-line colour with spray-painted silver trim.

As I understand it, a "development piece" (at least in the case of Matchbox) would more likely have base rivets that were unfinished or crudely chiselled.

[fixer]

great model Robert
it looks like a different casting to the Flyers , the headlights are narrower than the usual Flyers ones and appear to be equal in size to the jeweled lights one would expect on Impys
do you have another Impy and a Flyers example so all 3 could be seen together
looks like the same lovely red as Si's