Formula 1:43

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My brother’s been hunting down 1:43 scale F1 models for a few years and has built up a collection of around 100.

Here are some my favourites – the most historically interesting cars and the nicest models.

Have you got a Formula 1 related collection – models, programmes, posters…

Alain Prost Williams-Renault, 1993

Alain Prost had a substantial technical advantage in the Williams-Renault FW15 when he won his fourth and final title in 1993. It was an Adrian Newey-designed aerodynamically effective rocket, packed with technological innovation.

Damon Hill Brabham, 1992

In 1992 Brabham were in their death throes, and Williams test driver Damon Hill was promoted to the race team in place of the sport’s last female driver, Giovanna Amati. The ghastly pink paint scheme did nothing to improve the car’s ugly appearance.

Nonetheless, Hill got the car into that year’s British Grand Prix and finished, six laps behind Nigel Mansell.

Ferrari F2002, 2002

The Ferrari F2002 won both championships and was one of the most successful cars of all time. But Ferrari improved on the stunning success of that season two years later with the wickedly fast F2004.

Gillles Villeneuve Ferrari, 1982

The Ferrari 126C2 was an attractive car – but a dangerous creation. With skirts down the side to generate ground effects and a V6 turbo engine it won the constructors’ championship but not the drivers’.

Gilles Villeneuve was killed in the car at Zolder in Belgium, then later in the season Didier Pironi almost destroyed both his legs in a similar crash at the Hockenheimring. By the end of the season Mario Andretti and Patrick Tambay were doing the driver, despite the car’s vicious handling injuring Tambay’s back.

Jacques Villeneuve BAR, 1999

The first BAR was nothing if not conspicuous. After a row with the FIA in which they were blocked from running the two cars in different liveries, the two colour schemes were clashed together creating the worst paint job until this year’s Renault.

The car was a dog as well – usually off the pace and exceptionally unreliable. It didn’t score a point all season.

Jacques Villeneuve, BMW, 2006

Seven years later Villeneuve was on his way out of Formula One, BMW squeezing him aside in favour of Pole Robert Kubica halfway through the season.

Johnny Herbert Benetton, 1989

Despite suffering a terrible crash in F3000 at Brands Hatch in 1988, Johnny Herbert bravely made his F1 debut at Jacarepagua in Brazil the following year, despite still being in tremendous pain.

The car was a beauty too, bearing one of the most attractive colour schemes even seen in F1.

Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren, 2005

Today it bears more than a passing resemblance to the 2007 Red Bulls and Toro Rossos. That is, of course, because they share the same designer in Adrian Newey. His characteristic taut, sweeping curves gave it elegance – and speed.

Mika Hakkinen Lotus, 1991

The underfunded Lotus team was not the best place for any driver to make a debut, and Mika Hakkinen struggled to make an impact in his first Grand Prix season.

Nigel Mansell Williams, 1987

One of the all-time greatest turbo cars. The Williams packed Honda power and stormed to both championships in 1987. But, because boss Frank Williams wouldn’t take Saturo Nakajima on board for 1988, Honda took their engines off to McLaren and Williams spent a year in the doldrums,

Pacific, 1995

Yet another of the tiny teams that briefly appeared and quickly went to the wall in the early 1990s.

Tyrrell, 1977

The famous P34 six-wheeler that won only one race, but passed into F1 lore for its dramatically ungainly appearance.

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Tags: f1 / formula one / formula 1 / grand prix / motor sport

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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11 comments on “Formula 1:43”

  1. “Have you got a Formula 1 related collection – models, programmes, posters…”

    Not die cast models(too expensive for me), got some posters but doubt they are valuable.

  2. Way back in the early eighties, I used to build F1 models for use in slot car racing. It’s a long story but basically a friend and I held our own little Scalextric GPs after the real thing (Malcolm was the track specialist – he kept our combined track pieces and could build a replica of each circuit). I became frustrated with the limited range of Scalex cars on offer and the fact that they were always out of date, so began to build them from scratch.

    Of course, once you start building models, you get very picky about detail and very soon I was painting helmets in exactly the right colours with advertising included, reproducing tiny details on the cars, etc. My later models I would put up against any of the shop-bought stuff for accuracy.

    The models were surprisingly tough – rear wings would break off in a really bad crash but that was easy enough to fix. And I learned a lot about handling and how to tweak it (giving away no secrets, the longer the wheelbase, the better the cornering – until you reach the point where the car is too long to go round the tight stuff!). So I could design the real performance into the models and an Osella would be slower than a Brabham, a Tyrrell would handle nicely but not be as fast as a Ferrari, and so on.

    I still have most of the models I made but they’re in storage back in England, otherwise I could take a few photos for you. Ah well, now everyone knows what a sad case I am…

  3. Ah chucks, I can’t let this one pass………’92 Brabbham (ugly), ’99 BAR (worst paint scheme), 77 Tyrrell (ungainly),
    ’05 McLaren (elegant), ’89 Benneton (attractive)…….any one see a trend here? Sorry my friend, let’s paint ALL the cars BLACK and start over……generally race cars are graded by how well they RACED. Ah, but I’ll give you a pass this time, the subject was MODELS! I too have some 1:43rd scale models, about 255 at last count, a WIDE variety of interests but the crown of the collection is the 1950 B.R.M. Mk.1 V-16 complete with a spare engine! 1:43rd scale and REAL WIRE WHEELS! I also have the full team of 1954 Bristol 450s on their transporter heading to LeMans. Now that you’ve caused me to review the display shelves……it looks like a few of the road cars should be sent to the car wash !
    Number 38

  4. I currently have one model car (Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s 1995 Sauber) as well as a model of Valentino Rossi’s 2004 MotoGP bike. Most of my collection consists of low-priced Jordan-related stuff, ranging from three hats (2002, 2003, 2005) to a 2005 Jordan/Tiago Monteiro shirt. The rest of my collection consists of a wide selection of F1-related books and magazines (one shelf worth and counting).

  5. Clive – I think it’s cool that you created your own models and I’d love to see them!

    #38 – 255! Tom will be jealous. Like the sound of the BRM…

    Alianora – Tom has a stack of Jordans too (which I think he will be adding to his site above) including the short-lived 1996 gold colour scheme, and the gorgeous ’91 car which I really should have included in the above.

  6. There a price to pay in numbers.
    I’ve 10 display shelves of 1:43rd
    120 USA road cars 1930 to 1960; 30 Buicks up to 1960; 30 British road cars up to 1960; 40 pick-up trucks to 1960; 15 British LeMans entries to 1960 and 20 racers, British and Indy cars open wheelers up to 1960. It has taken 35 years to acquire these and I still add one or two a year.
    I still restore Dinky Toys if you’ve a need to refresh some of these oldies. Number 38

  7. You’ve done it now, Keith – I’ll see if my son can dig some of them out of storage and send me a few photos.

  8. Wow seems like a ready made ebay store to go. I couldn’t imagine how much that would return. Well done. It would be great to have such a collection.

  9. I’m just now starting to collect models. I have a 1:43 248 F1 and a 1:16 F2005. Interestingly enough, I have a 1:16 F2004 made out of Lego. I’m a Lego lover too, so when I got that for Christmas a couple of years back, I went absolutely nuts.

    As for other merch, I’ve got an autographed JPM shirt and cap from 2003 (thanks to a fellow F1 friend of mine), and a couple of Schumi DVMB caps from 2004 and 2006. But the biggest part of my collection are the season VHSs (from 1990-2002), DVDs (from 2003-2006), and a bookshelf full of books! (mostly from the Schumi-Ferrari era, but I’ve also made bargains on great books on Senna, Prost, and other F1 coffeebooks)

    When I have more money (and space for them), I’ll invest more money in them. But in the meantime, I’ve gotta be picky. :)

  10. well at the last count i had just short of a hundred, i collect a lot of the more obscure models like the pacifics and minardis, but my last one was Sennas 1984 Toleman Hart, but now i have run out of cabinet space.

  11. im considering selling my model collection now upto 900 mainly 1/43 scale.
    includes many F1, RALLY, GT’s, TOURING CARS, SENNA COLLECTIN and SHUMACHER.
    Also 9 display cases.

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