1/43 Model Review: 1994 Ferrari 412T1B

Having spent the last couple of months staring at endless pictures of the 1994 Ferrari car for my GP4 model, I thought I'd give a mini review of some of the models I had of the B spec car. The 1994 Ferrari, to me, is one of the nicest looking cars from that season, and is probably in my top 10 good looking cars from the 1990s.

Background

The Ferrari 3.5 Litre 4 Valve engine, with 12 cyclinders and a transverse gearbox which gave the car its name 412 T1, was designed by John Barnard. The early season car featured heavily sculpted and rounded sidepod inlets, but the car went through many outward changes oweing to greater aerodynamic efficiency and mid-season rule changes which led to the 412T1B. The car would make the Scuderia a regular podium finisher, and its V12 power advantage helped Berger win the German Grand Prix, Ferrari's first race win since 1990. The car was marred by reliability issues, almost costing Alesi a podium finish at Canada, retiring on the last lap in Germany when running in 2nd and retiring from the lead in Italy. Berger also retired from the lead at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Alesi injured his back in a testing accident in Mugello after the first race, where he finished on the podium. Nicola Larini, the team's test driver, replaced Alesi for the next two Grand Prix, earning a podium finish at the San Marino Grand Prix.

Berger took two pole positions that year at the German Grand Prix and the Portuguese Grand Prix. Berger finished 3rd in the Drivers' Championship, whilst the team were a lonely third in the Constructors' Championship.

Mattel Elite: British Grand Prix (Alesi)

Mattel Elite - T6284

I am increasingly disappointed by this model from Hot Wheels/Mattel. It's the 1994 Ferrari 412T1B from the British Grand Prix (the 2nd race with the B spec car) driven by Jean Alesi. That nose is just way too big and too high, the sidepods don't sweep forward, and the logos on the sidepods are massive. I do however like the wheel rims and the engine cover isn't bad at all, but perhaps more importantly the price is not extortionate!
Score: 5/10

Tameo: German Grand Prix (Berger)

Tameo - TMK189

I did replace it with this handbuilt Tameo model a little while back, but quite a few pieces fell off in transit and I haven't had a chance to repair it yet. This is the German Grand Prix version, where Gerhard Berger took it to victory. The shape of the sidepods could be more curvy along the top edge, and the rear of the engine cover looks like an after-thought, but overall, a much nicer model. The nose is nicely shaped too. With Ferrari boasting a powerful V12 engine, they did not need to run the extreme low downforce setups as the other cars, so this model gets away with having a slightly deeper rear wing.
Score: 7/10

Onyx

Onyx - 212

I have never owned the Onyx version of the 412T1B, so again this is not my photo, but in an era when they simply did texture updates to existing models, Onyx put a bit more effort into making the shape updates. New front wing, updated sidepods, added bargeboards, updated engine cover and new diffuser. That covered off the majority of the changes, although I would have liked to have seen the curved lower rear wing. But for Onyx standards, this was a great update, so I think I may have to add this car to my collection. It's a shame that other cars did not get the same treatment.

Some versions of this car even come with wet tyres, which although it was lovely to see the threads, the overall diameter of the tyres shrunk compared to the slick tyres, and it led to Onyx cars sitting on the plank rather than on the wheels.
Score: 6/10

BBR - French GP

BBR - MET24

Again, not owned by me, but this version from BBR is for me the best of the lot. All the contours around the nose cone is just right. The engine cover shape is the best out the lot as well. BBR even made an attempt to put the hole in the engine cover for the bit of rear suspension that sticks out. The additional quality and detail comes at a price, and finding a factory built version is very, very rare.

Score: 9/10



With the increase in 1994 cars from Spark and Minichamps in recent years (not including re-packaged models from 20 years ago), I hope model-makers will revisit this one.

For more 1994 Model Reviews, click here: https://fongugp4.blogspot.com/p/1994-model-review.html
You can see my GP4 model of this car here: GP4 Ferrari 412T1B