ICM 1/35 Typ 320 Cabrio (35542) Build-Review

In this article I will tell you more about my experience of building ICM 1/35 Typ 320 Cabrio (35542). Car kit comes in popular scale and looks quite nice out of the box, so I decided to get it together. Moreover, parts count is not crazy, so it can be quite fast assembly, at least I thought so. Overall idea is simple - Mercedes cabrio with full interior and even engine included. There are some limitations in form of closed trunk, bonnet, and doors, so it will be part of the build to find out what can be shown on the finished model. Let's start with the video-report first.

By the way, here you can read review with new version of this kit.
Don't forget to like our Facebook page, so that you can get fresh articles on time.
You can help us get the new camera - just press "Donate" button on the right panel.

Watch this video-review where I show all steps in even more detailed way.

Main chassis is assembled out of separate bars. Here I would recommend to use fast-setting glue in order to keep the alignment right.

Floor panel is molded as one-piece element, what should make installation easier. You can also try to mask some areas and paint them prior to interior assembly.

Out of the box you will get nicely detailed engine. It looks fine, and it might be possible to add some wiring, but I decided not to.

The reason is the closed bonnet, so once you have this powerplant on chassis it won't be visible or possible to show on your car.

Here you can see chassis with installed fuel tank, engine, drivetrain and airbrushed into black color. Whole process is quite easy, and you can paint some of the elements separately without the need to use masks.

As I said before, floor panel can be painted separately, and here you can see the result. Fenders were polished with dremel, as later it will be a section which is difficult to reach.

Next step is to connect two together and start installing various interior bits. This assembly looks interesting too, can be a good base for some hot-rod project. :D

In my opinion ICM did a great job with design of this kit as it is possible to paint panels first and then get them together. You can see how it goes on the above.

Assembled and finished model can be seen on the next photos. I decided to keep the clean look, so that car would look a bit more focused on the civil appearance.

For the next builds I might try the chrome foil, so that finish would look a bit more convincing. As you can see on the large parts it is not as shiny as it could be.

Dremel polishing turned out to be fund, but you have to remember about thin layers of paint and lacquer. It is also good idea to have suitable polishing paster for this.

I am still not sure why my car has raised frontal section, even though everything is assembled up to the manual. Photos of the real thing don't help either.

Rear lights could benefit from clear lenses, but we get those parts only for the headlamps. Here it would be also good to pick out trunk panel line with grey wash, what I didn't do.

Whole car can be also assembled in German military colors, but for me it was interesting to play with classic look.

It could be good to get some resin wheels, as those are quite noticeable parts of the whole build.

Molded-in doors and bonnet are another things which could be separate for even more advanced look. It is a shame to hide whole engine inside.

Roof comes as one-piece, so it is not difficult to have it installed.

There are no masks for clear elements, and you will have a problem trying to find aftermarket set for this.

All this might sound like a minor problems for experienced modelers, but I think it could make whole assembly even more engaging for beginners.

What could be also good to add here is at least one figurine so that it would be possible to see the size of this car.

I enjoyed whole assembly and absolutely recommend this car to all modelers who would like to have German cabriolet in popular scale. Moreover, price is quite reasonable for what you get here out of the box. :)