The first petrol-engined car was a Benz in 1885, Mercedes has a long and prestigious history. Here in Tbilisi there are more Mercedes on the road than any other make, many have been imported secondhand from Europe. Georgians like brands and Mercedes is an esteemed brand. For a long time the only model from the Majorette Premium Cars series, we could see on the pegs in XS Toys was the Mercedes G63, a nice casting with slightly opening bonnet but, personally, I prefer more variety.

As a child collecting diecast cars, I went through a phase of collecting just Mercedes, I don’t remember how long it lasted maybe 3 or 4 months, I even bought a vinyl one, an unusual purchase to put amongst my diecasts. I don’t have any of my childhood collection but have picked up a few in the past ten years, around 40 in total.

A few Mercedes I find difficult to resist: the gull wing 300SL from 1955, the C-111 experimental car with a rotary engine and the 280SL “Pagoda”. I’m still looking for other examples, I’d love to find the Corgi Rockets 280SL “Pagoda” from around 1970 and the Matchbox Speed Kings C-111, to line up next to my Norev and Corgi models.

Mercedes is a popular choice for emergency vehicles. The Mercedes “Binz” ambulance by Matchbox brings back many childhood memories.