1/43 Model Review: 1971 World Champion Jackie Stewart (Tyrrell 003 Ford Cosworth)

Background

Jackie Stewart had won the 1969 championship with Ken Tyrrell who ran customer Matra cars at the time, but for 1970 they spent most the year designing and building their own chassis and fixing initial problems. Come 1971, Stewart returned to winning ways winning six races on his way to his second Drivers' Championship.

Francois Cevert ran the 002 and Stewart the 003 during the season, though they were minor differences between the cars. Both retained their chassis for the majority of the 1972 season, but were outclassed by the Lotus 72, only winning races when the Lotus retired. The Tyrrell 003 would be the team's most successful car.

I've recently moved near Edinburgh, and the actual 003 is currently residing at a museum there, so I look forward to making a visit soon.

Minichamps

Minichamps 430710011

The original version 1/43 from Minichamps was a nice model that I think is based on the German Grand Prix. No real complaints for the quality produced at the time, but the models produced today are much more detailed and so this is starting to look a bit dated.
This model was quite rare and you could get one between £50-£75. Despite the success of the Tyrrell 003, it is actually the Tyrrell 005 (by Minichamps) of that era that was harder to purchase second hand.
Score: 7/10

However the value of this car has dropped since the updated World Champions Collectors Version arrived...

Minichamps 436710002

The same model is used again for the World Champions Collection, even though the releases are well over a decade apart. This is from the German GP where Stewart won. The blue is a bit closer to the real thing, the decals are a bit sharper and more consistently applied. The mirrors look improved too. Minichamps have a habit of charging modern day prices for something that was a third less on original release. Without updating the model, it looks a bit simple compared to the modern resin models, the shapes are not quite as pronounced and sharp. But for what it is, it's a nice model of the car.
Score: 7/10

Other Versions

Quartzo 4046

I did own an Quartzo version from the British Grand Prix, but unfortunately I don't have particularly good photos of that car to show you. The shape did have more pronounced contours, but the additional plastic parts, like the mirrors, take away from it. The driver model is not particularly good either.
Score: 5/10


So with that, I am quite happy to stick with the Minichamps version.

For more from this series of World Champions, click here: https://fongugp4.blogspot.com/search/label/World Champions