1/43 Model Review: 1997 Prost JS45 Mugen-Honda

Background

Alain Prost returned to F1 as team owner taking over from the Ligier team. The team was in transition for 1997 as Prost looked to build an all French team. The team retained the Mugen-Honda engines and Olivier Panis who was partnered by Shinji Nakano at Mugen's request. The team was amazingly competitive for the first six races, Panis offering a true title challenge, but a crash at Canada broke both of his legs, and he would not return until the end of the year. Prost quickly hired impressive Trulli from Minardi and they continued to show good speed. He finished 4th in Germany and lead much of the Austrian Grand Prix.

Minichamps

430970014

This model was one of the earliest models I owned, with reasonably good midfield runner, Panis making an unlikely title challenge. Truth was he was in the best position to make the most of the new Bridgestone tyres that were particularly strong during the race. It's a shame Panis had his accident, I doubt he would have maintained the points scoring rate for the rest of the season, but I certainly think he would have added to his two podiums he had already secured. I remember the particularly long nose on this car, and compared to other cars, the rear wing endplates were as small as they could be. Other than that, the shape of the car is a development of their 1996 car, but I did like the simple all blue livery. The Minichamps model was reasonably well done, no real problems with the dimensions, and they've done a reasonably nice job at the rear of the car where the detail is.
Score: 7/10

Tameo

Tameo TMK246

This Tameo model is based on Trulli's Italian GP car, with low downforce wings, and it also comes with a removable engine cover. The detail underneath is fantastic and a plus for me is the asymmetric detailing, and you can see more it opens up more than on the Stewart car. I have to say, I'm a little disappointed by the rest of the model, the nose and monocoque section looks too square. The front top edge of the sidepod should be more rounded. The rear wing endplate looks like the normal season one, but the Italian GP version was even more cut down and minimalistic than this model.
Score: 7/10

1/43 Model Review: 1997 Minardi M197 Hart

Background

Minardi had an all new driver lineup  after several drivers were used the previous campaign. Ukyo Katayama joined after 4 years at Tyrrell, bringing Mild Seven sponsorship with him, and reigning F3 champion, Jarno Trulli. When Trulli was promoted to Prost half way through the season, Tarso Marques rejoined the team in the second seat. Though helped on occasion by the better Bridgestone tyre, the underpowered Hart engines meant the the car struggled around the back of the grid.

I personally really liked the 1997 Minardi for some reason, with a slightly refined version of their previous M195/M195B and the addition for yellow in the colour scheme.

Onyx

Onyx X302

Onyx's shape is pretty basic, but I think it's one of their better ones. They produced some nicer 1997 cars in my opinion compared to some of the lows of previous years. Minardi ran a tiny extra flip up on the front wing endplate, which is at least acknowledged with a square bump in this model. The nose is a little bulky and could be better defined, but it includes the wing just in front of the suspension. The sidepod and engine covers have a reasonable enough shape, perhaps a little oversimplified and the rear wing is also nice enough for a budget model. Onyx have generic cockpits and generic dashboards, but they do include a nice bump in front of the cockpit and a nice aerial on the monocoque. Onyx cars are not going to score highly against the likes of Tameo, but for an Onyx car, this really isn't bad at all.

Score: 6/10

Tameo

Tameo TMK245

Tameo have recreated the Italian GP version, with it's skinny wings and reduced aerodynamic appendages. Obviously the Tameo model has much more details than the budget diecast version by Onyx, but their attention to detail is second to none and they've really nailed the shape. It would be nice to get a higher downforce version, but I'd be more than happy with this model.
Score: 9/10

1/43 Model Review: 1999 Prost AP02 Peugeot

Background

After a disappointing 1998 campaign, the new Prost AP02 Peugeot was more competitive. Trulli managed a podium finish at the European GP, but Panis' season was more disappointing with only two sixth placed finishes, though there were promising qualifying performances, but strategic errors and bad luck hampered good results.

It's perhaps telling that both drivers left the team at the end of the year, looking for a better team more suited to their obvious talents, with Panis taking a test driver role at McLaren and Trulli heading for Jordan.

The car features unique front sidepod design with flaps on the top, however this design never caught on and was dropped on the AP03.

Minichamps

Minichamps 430990018

At the time, I thought the Prost was one of the longest F1 cars and I wondered whether there was quite enough space to fit it in the old smaller Minichamps box. Obviously it did, but Minichamps had to make longer boxes from 2010 onwards.

Minichamps 400990119

At the end of 1999, Jenson Button tested for McLaren and Prost before taking up a race seat at Williams for 2000. This car was updated for a 2017 release in a limited edition run of just 648. The updates are on the colour which is metallic blue now, and sharper sponsors, though there are no barcodes, but a blank space for you to apply your own tobacco decals.
Score: 7/10

1/43 Model Review: 2009 Toyota TF109

Background

This would be the final Toyota F1 car, having been competing in F1 since 2002, the team threw a massive amount of money into it and saw little fruit for their labours. As the recession hit and a lack of sustained competitiveness, the manufacturer decided to pull out of the sport at the end of 2009. The season began quite strongly, with new rules being an opportunity to catch up with its rivals. The opening race saw Trulli end up in third and Glock in fourth after a penalty to Hamilton and a crash between Kubica and Vettel before the pair crashed out in tandem in the following corner. The first four races saw three podium places, thanks in large to its double diffuser. However the competitiveness dropped dramatically, and they only regained enough speed at Singapore and Japan to claim two more podiums. As Glock crashed out and injured himself at the Japanese GP, it allowed young Kobayashi a couple of races with the team, which impressed enough to keep him in F1 for a number of years following.

Minichamps

Minichamps 400090009

Toyota came into the sport with a huge budget, but never created a particularly competitive car. Second hand prices for Toyota models have always been readily available and cheap. That's not to say that the models are bad, this Australian GP version being another nice model from Minichamps.

Minichamps 400090110

There is quite a rare Kamui Kobayashi version of the Toyota from the season finale at the Abu Dhabi GP, Toyota's last race. Out of all the Toyota models, this is the only one to gain some value.

There are a couple of special editions around, but I've chosen to just feature two of them, the first, a Kyosho edition from the Brazilian GP and the second from the Suzuka Circuit series from Free Practice at the Japanese GP with wet tyres. The Kyosho edition has an updated rear wing endplate whilst the other late-season offerings do not.