1/43 Model Review: 1997 Jordan 197 Peugeot

Background

The 1997 season was all change for Jordan, signing rookies Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher, although Fisichella had driven for Minardi for a few races the previous season. Gone was the gold livery, and the start of various nature inspired liveries. The snake livery remains the most striking and memorable of the 5 liveries it ran up to the 2001 season. The teams fortunes seamed to have turned for the better, being a regular points scorer, which included three podium finishes and scoring its highest haul of points at the time. Fisichella was particularly impressive in the car, scoring a second place at the Belgian GP, and being in contention for the win at the German GP before a puncture dropped him down the order. Schumacher recently claimed that he could have won the Argentine GP if he hadn't tangled with his team-mate.

Minichamps 

Minichamps 430970012

Minichamps 514974311

Minichamps 402109798

The model is based on the early season car, with the shorter sidepods. The livery seems to be a mish-mash of non-tobacco liveries they ran during the year. The team ran mainly yellow wings in France with some extra ribbons rather than text, whilst at the British GP they amended the snake on the nose, and they had various one-off sponsors for that race too. The sidepods were the same for both races, but at Silverstone they ran with Bitten & Hisses written instead of Benson & Hedges. In Germany, they ran with the nicknames of the drivers with a large number of 'S's for the hissing of a snake.
Score: 7/10

Tameo

Tameo TMK243

This is a model of Fisichella's Jordan from the Monaco GP. The Monaco GP that year was a wash-out so this car comes with rain tyres. This model is another beauty from Tameo, for me replicated perfectly.

Score: 10/10