1/43 Model Review: 2002 World Champion Michael Schumacher (Ferrari F2002)

Background

The Ferrari F2002 would see Schumacher deliver the third Drivers' Championship with the Scuderia, his fifth in total matching that of Juan Manuel Fangio. This would be Schumacher's most dominant season, with McLaren and Williams unable to match the dominance of the Prancing Horse, scoring 11 wins (10 in this car and a new record), scored the most points between himself and second, secured the Championship with 6 races to go and finished every Grand Prix on the podium.

The F2002 was one of the few demonstrations models I've seen and touched at a show once and one of the first F1 cars I had the privilege of seeing.

Hot Wheels (Mattel)

Hot Wheels 54618

The F2002 was quite a departure in shape from the 2001 car. The nose is sleeker, the bargeboards more developed, the sidepod is more shapely, and the rollover bar is also much sleeker. The rear of the car is much more tightly packaged with the exhausts now protruding out of the top of the sidepod.

Hot Wheels B7022

The final car of the 3 car World Champion set is the car based on the Canadian GP, this time with a single fist raised. The cars are of a very similar standard to when Hot Wheels took over, it would have been nice to see some improvements on their models year on year.
Score: 6/10

Mattel Elite

Mattel Elite N5603

The Mattel car is also based on the Canadian GP. This car features additional winglets on the side of the nose, nice radiator grills, a better aerial and a bit more attention taken in the cockpit.

Mattel Elite X5513

There is a French GP version. This features a new front and rear wings, with multi elements as opposed to the single element wings on the French GP and other Ixo versions. The new front wing looks a bit more clumsy, but the rest of the car seems more refined like the aerials and a decal overhaul. Also the tip of the nose is rather bulbous on this model, where as the Hot Wheels car is much better defined.
Score: 5/10

Formula 1 Car Collection / Ixo

The rear of the front wing has an extra support on this model, and the front suspension area is not particularly neat either. It is otherwise the same model as the Mattel Elite version so this model receives the same score.
Score: 5/10

BBR

BBR BBRCS002

This BBR version is based on the French GP, though I do believe there are other versions available. It's another nice kit from BBR, but I think they've done better, like the F2001 was a better model than this one. The proportions don't seem quite right, though I can't exactly put my finger on what exactly, but I think it is just a little bulky.
Score: 7/10

Tameo

Tameo TMK305

The season opening Australian GP saw Ferrari bring an updated version of their 2001, which raced until the start of the 'European season'. The 2001 car being so dominant it would still be competitive enough for the opening rounds of 2002 giving the team even more time to work on their F2002 challenger.

Tameo TMK308

This is based on the San Marino GP. Tameo have done another excellent job on this Ferrari model and you can get various versions featured below.

Tameo TMK310

Here is the Canadian GP version, with added winglet on the side of the nosecone, less rear wing elements and a low downforce trim front wing. The bottom of the bargeboards also have a saw-toothed shape.

Tameo TMK317

The 2002 German GP was the first Grand Prix on the modified circuit. No longer blasting through the forest on full throttle punctuated by a variety of chicanes. The front wing endplates have been updated, but not much else is new on the car from what I can see. Tameo continue to produce excellent Ferrari replica models.
Score: 10/10