1/43 Model Review: 2019 Mercedes W10 (Spark)

Mercedes came into the season thinking they were underdogs, but dominated by taking victories in the first eight races of the season. At one stage we were thinking they could finish first and second all season, and then maybe they could win them all. As the season progressed, there was no chance for Ferrari to catch up, and Bottas also faded away in his chase of the Drivers' title.

But in Austria, they couldn't get their tyres working properly, the first chink in the armour of a team operating at the top of their game this season. Then in Germany, an ill Hamilton made numerous mistakes and ended and Bottas crashing out the Grand Prix. After the summer break in Belgium and Italy, Ferrari made the most of their high speed power unit and low downforce car to narrowly take victory from the Mercedes who had better race pace and tyre management, but Ferrari shocked the world in Singapore by winning on a tight and twisty track, where they were so poor in Hungary. The title hasn't been won yet at the time of writing, and the season has produced some cracking races in the middle part of the season, we hope the more competitive 2nd half of the year.

Spark have released their Mercedes models, with both Bottas model based on the Australian GP which he won, and Hamilton who won the so-called 1000th race at the Chinese Grand Prix, the model featuring the winning trophy.

Spark S6072

Spark S6071

With Ferrari and Red Bull having gone down the matte paint route to save weight, it's interesting that Mercedes have reduced their blue swoop to a single line for a similar reason. The addition of the transition from silver to black with the tiny Mercedes logos is something I really like, and it's recreated nicely on this model. For me the nose is just a little too long. The front wing on the real car also sits quite a way forward from the front wheel, but I think Spark have exaggerated the gap a little too much.

So far in 2019, I've been impressed by Spark's latest generation of cars and the comparisons with Minichamps have been pretty on-par, the differences being on the colour of the paint or the quality of the decals. There's also a difference in the driver model and helmet too. The front wing is really nicely done, good definition to each element of the front wing and the simplified endplates for the 2019 rules also features their curved slot gap on the top trailing edge. Mercedes have tweaked their cape for this season, and how it integrates with the tip of the nose and is nicely modelled on this Spark model. There's good definition on the sidepods, with that aggressive triangular shape forcing the air down towards the floor. The floor has good details on it, include the little EQ Power decal, with nice slot gaps, turning vanes and contours.

From other angles you can see the high mounted front suspension that Mercedes have been perfecting the last few years, including the deliberately off-centre mounting points that mechanically lower the front of the car on turn in. The bargeboards are also nicely modelled,  as is the rear end, they've done a good job on that rear endplate. The halo also includes the additional fin along the top, and the opening at the rear of it along with the grills, all good details. There's also some nice detail on the rims of the car.

This is a good solid model from Spark of the Mercedes. I was going to drop it down a mark because of the length of the nose, but there are other redeeming features on the rest of the car for me to give this car a higher score of 8.
Score: 8/10

Spark S6087

Spark have released the Monaco GP version with a tribute to Niki Lauda with the red halo and updated front wing endplates.

Spark S6089

We also get a British GP victory of Hamilton's car, which features his arm raised and holding a rather twisted Union Flag. 

Spark S6092

The German GP livery looked fantastic, even though the Grand Prix for the team was a disaster. The front end of the car is white, as the Mercedes cars were pre-war years, and even the team dressed up in novelty pre-war costumes. Still a great model, and yes, I love a bit of wet tyre. 

Spark S6099

This is Spark's US GP version where Lewis clinched the Championship. Like the Minichamps base, it has the words written in the pitlane where Hamilton parked his car. It also comes with various pitboards and trophies in Spark's large box.