Hot on the heels of the Spark release of the Mercedes W10, or the Mercedes AMG Petronas W10 EQ Power+ to give it's full title, Minichamps have released their model. It's not a resin model, so it won't be as detailed as their resin cars, but let's delve into the review.
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| Minichamps 410190077 |
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| Spark S6072 |
Now to compare it to the Spark model, and I think the difference in the finish on the silver in particular is better on the Minichamps car. The blend from silver to black on the engine cover is quite different, I think Minichamps have a better blend and better shaped blend, but there is a bit too much black in my opinion. I complained a bit about the length of the nose on the Spark car, whereas Minichamps have produced a car of similar length, but the endplate on the front wing is a little larger, and for me that looks better proportionally.
It's hard to spot any real differences between the two models, I think Spark have a better treatment of the pitot tube, but that is clutching at straws. The bargeboard area I can't see well enough in these shots to have a proper opinion, but I do have the Minichamps car on order. It appears Spark has more refined detail on the floor, but then I do prefer the Minichamps helmets. The rear wing on the Minichamps car has some very dark edges, I think that's a bit over emphasised, and I prefer Spark's more subtle approach. I like how both models include the sensor that hangs on the inner edge of the front wing endplates.
Both rear wing endplates look almost identical, but the Spark does include the little opening just behind the halo, whilst the Minichamps have nice grills. This is an area that changes from race to race so I'll give both model makers the benefit of the doubt.
Without looking at the metal Minichamps car in detail, it's hard to find much difference between this and the Spark model, so I will have to give it the same score.
Score: 8/10
Race Specific Editions
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| Minichamps 417191844 |
Minichamps have released a US GP version of the same model, commemorating when Lewis drove into a painted spot at the end of the GP reserved for the 2019 World Champion. This means the car is facing the other way in the box.
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| Minichamps 417191877 |
Bottas also gets a model from the US GP as he took victory in the W10.
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| Minichamps 413190244 |
This is the Bahrain GP version, which only has a 219pcs limited edition run.
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| Minichamps 417190344 |
This is the Chinese GP, an early season win for Lewis at the so called 1000th GP. You can see the early season version of the front and rear endplates as well as the bargeboards area.
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| Minichamps 417190644 |
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| Minichamps 447190644 |
Lewis sported a Lauda red helmet, and the halo was coloured red, in tribute to the late Niki Lauda who was known to wear a red cap. Hamilton won ahead of Vettel who was also wearing a special Lauda helmet. There's a limited 500pcs tall box edition available.
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| Minichamps 417191044 |
Lewis won again at his home race and waved the Union Flag on the cooling down lap. The flag handily rests on top of the t-cam for additional support.
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| Minichamps 417191144 |
It's rare to speak of a Mercedes flop, but with cars decked in a heritage livery, as well as team personnel in classic clothes, the race was a disaster, with Hamilton feeling under the weather too. To compound things, the Netflix documentary crew were there to film it all. Despite all that, this model looks great.
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| Minichamps 410191746 |
Just as a bonus, we have a Mercedes W08 in the 2019 livery (which I think is my favourite livery of all this era of Mercedes), with MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi sampling the car in a 'ride-swap' with Hamilton.
