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The BMW 328 is one of the most
iconic cars of the last century. Always wanted one in my collection, and thank
to my loving girlfriend, I finally have one. Probably the most gracious of them
all, the 1940 Streamline Roadster #72 that raced in that year's Mille Miglia.
The 328 was a great car, and a coupe version of this car won the race that
year.
The model is as always a 1/18, it is
made by AUTOart and forms part of their ever growing Millenium line. The
exterior is just superb. Lights are perfect, no stubs in there. The grills are
all perforated. The paint job feels thick and the livery is made out of
tampos. I am only a bit disappointed with the silencers at the back, the
end is quite visible.
The car has a number of opening
features. The doors open suicide style. The hood opens and stays up by itself,
there is also a small fragile support. The rear wheels are hidden for
aerodynamic reasons, but these covers can be lifted as they turn with the
upper hinge. They stay secure in the downward position though, as they are
held tight with magnets. Same goes for the rear tyre compartment, the whole
piece can be lifted but instead of clips, AUTOart used magnets.
The cockpit is quite well made. The
seats have a real leather look, they are however made out of hard plastic. The
dashboard is quite superb. It is all chromed and the gauges are well defined
under separate lenses. The steering wheel looks so cheap and toy like, but that
1:1 was no different.
The engine was a bit of a shock. I
expected a much larger powerplant, but it is 1940 afterall. The car had 80BHP
and could reach a top speed of 115km/hr. The overall feeling
is great. It's all wired up and connected and the little hinge is quite a
nice touch. The three meshes on the top are really perforated.
The wheels are quite realistic. They
are not branded but they are lightly threaded. The style completely hides the
axle detail which can only be partially seen from the undercarriage.
The undercarriage is quite
realistic, however, I couldn't find any pictures of the real car. It looks
to be well detailed and made from a number of different parts. Sadly though,
most of the parts are hidden. For example, the brake detail can only slightly
be appreciated. I cannot make up if the brake detail is good or not as it is
mostly hidden. But since it really cannot be seen, I couldn't be bothered.
On the whole, the model is quite
good exterior wise. The only problem I found is the slight paint mismatch
between the body and the rear wheels cover. Other than that, the model is
superb. The dashboard is excellent and the engine is very well made. I am
begining to like these old roadsters more and more and this just made another
lovely addition. Thank you Claire!
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