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)!
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.