The Schuco 18th Mercedes ladder arrived from Burbank's House of Hobbies this afternoon -- BIG box, about the same size as the 1/16th Die-Cast Promotions Chevy. First impressions -- nice! In fact, super nice!!! I know that a lot of you are not into European apparatus, and the size and cost will put off a lot of people, but this one is really really worth it. Among other things I noted on quick review -- the ladder is diecast aluminum and extends to about 45 inches. There is even a functional braided wire to extend the ladder. All of the brake and hydraulic lines are there. Even a key in the ignition and a coiled cable to the telephone (!) on the dash. The price, incidentally, was not a bad as I expected -- $279 including tax and shipping. On the web, the cheapest I had seen was about 200 pounds, which would have been abot $350 plus shipping. Great service as always, too, from Burbank's House of Hobbies.