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General => Report & Review => Topic started by: Captain Henry on July 15, 2006, 21:40:31

Title: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: Captain Henry on July 15, 2006, 21:40:31
A little time ago, I was able to acquire some of the Herpa Playcars. I was able to arrange for three sets of three cars to make their way to the US (thanks Rob! ;)). They ended up being an early birthday present (even though my children each claimed one of the cars, leaving me with just one. :D:D:D)!

I got the blue BMW Z4, the orange Z4, and the white Mercedes SLK.

All of the cars are well-made, although perhaps just a hais below the usual quality we expect from Zirndorf (they are made in China). The BMWs came with a pair of klickies, though the Mercedes did not. Instead, it came with a Santa Claus figure, and a miniature (HO scale) version of the SLK. despite this, the steering wheel is clearly designed to be held by a klicky, and they fit in the car perfectly. In fact, they are all wonderfully made to scale. They look great!

Other than that, the cars are quite similar. All have opening hoods, and the engine inside is fairly well detailed. The Mercedes, however, also has an opening trunk, while the trunk on the BMWs does not open. None of the doors open. The wheels roll well on all the cars.

The interior detail on the cars is very nice. They all have a shifter, and the console looks very realistic. I'd love to own a 12 inches to the foot scale version of ANY of these cars.

So, without further ado, the photos. First up, the orange BMW Z4.
Title: Re: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: Captain Henry on July 15, 2006, 21:42:04
The blue Z4 - which is now the modern Captain Henry's personal vehicle. (I am going to print some miniature piratey bumper stickers for him to personalize the car.)
Title: Re: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: Captain Henry on July 15, 2006, 21:47:49
The white SLK.
Title: Re: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: Captain Henry on July 15, 2006, 21:50:58
And now some more on the white SLK - this time with Sirena's policewoman (the SLKs new owner) and her canine companion. (I tried to explain that it is a little too much car on a police salary, but.... ;)) And finally a pic of the dog playing with its own "toy" car... Sirena set that shot up herself. :)
Title: Re: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: Tiermann on July 15, 2006, 22:28:51
Those are great cars. I really like my BMW. The Mercedes looks pretty cool too. :) I liek the shot with the dog playing with his car - very realistic. :)
Title: Re: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: playmofire on July 16, 2006, 01:31:23
Thanks for the review, Cap'n.  Great photos, especially the last one.

I didn't know the Merc gad finally made it, although having said that Im a bit disapppinted in what it offers, espcially when you consider the quality of Herpa's HO (1:87) scale models.
Title: Re: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: tiger1983uk on July 16, 2006, 13:45:35
Great pictures ;D
I also have the blue BMW Z4 but have yet to find a klicky of high enough status to drive it :lol:, I didn't know the SLK had come out, thanks for the review.
Title: Re: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: Richard on July 16, 2006, 18:52:28
Thanks for yet another really GREAT review, Cap'n Henry !!!

Do you know whether or not Herpa will be producing any other Mercedes cars for Playmobil ... ???

I really prefer the "SL Class" over the little "SLK" ... :lol:

The new ML or GL SUVs would also be nice to see in Playmobil scale ... ;)

Or even an X5 BMW SUV ... ;)

Or, a VW Touareg ... Or, any Porsche ... Or ... :lol:

Thanks again and all the best,
Richard

Title: Re: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: Tim_w on July 16, 2006, 21:22:46
Hello  CH  :wave:

These are great !! Thank you very much for taking the time to share them with us  :).

Kindest Regards  Tim  :)9
Title: Re: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: Little Jo on July 16, 2006, 21:32:40
Thank you for this infos. I also didn't know that the Mercedes was out there (but I already ordered one on eBay a few minutes ago after reading this thread  ;D)
Title: Re: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: playmogal on June 28, 2011, 16:13:13
Good to see that others have these Herpa cars. Though a bit disappointed that they are made in China.

We had hoped that the doors would open and that there would be a hardtop with the convertible Mercedes SLK and BMW Z-4, but no luck.

We picked up the pearl white and dark red MB and light blue and orange BMW's off eBay this week, and love the cars. The seller had no clickies, but did throw in the tiny SLK that is shown in the SLK trunk.

It was fun going through all the Clickies to find suitable drivers and passengers. Can't put just anyone in cars this fine.

Hubby is laughing because now we can say we own 3 BMS's! (The neighbors just have two in their driveway!) And the low cost of maintenance is a real plus....no auto insurance or tanks of gas either. Must be the cars of the future.

We, too, hope that they will issue new colors and models and nominate the Toyota Prius, Hyundai Sonata, and Honda Element. These two models (BMW and MB) are so much cooler than the clunky cars PM has sold in the past.

Anyone know much about Herpa's plans for Playmobil sized models?

Cheers, Pgal :wave:
Title: Re: Herpa Playcars Review
Post by: playmogal on June 29, 2011, 14:02:42
By the way, it is possible to buff the finish of the non-metallic paints with a cloth buffing wheel (coated with a fine polishing compound called a jewelers' polish) on a grindstone. Hubby polished the light blue and orange cars to get rid of scratches, and then hand polished them using Nu Finish car polish (or any high gloss polish.)

They look better than when they were new. We did notice that the paint on the hoods of the light blue cars is not a perfect match with that on the rest of the car. Hard to show this in a photo.
 
Cheers, Pgal :wave: