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Ferrari F2002

 

Revell Germany
 

S u m m a r y
Catalogue Number and Description: 07439
Scale: 1/12
Price: 100 Euro
Contents and Media Injection molded plastic, rubber tires, metal screws and steering shaft, and plastic wire
Review Type: FirstLook
Advantages: Cheaper than the MG Models mixed media kit
Disadvantages: Simplified detail for large scale, incorrect wheels and harness. Quality of prepainted parts varies.
Recommendation: See below

 


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Reviewed by Dave Williams

 

Background

 

One of the most successful Formula One cars in history, the F2002 won 15 of the 17 races of the 2002 racing season. The domination of the F2002 and the duo of Michael Schumacher and Reubens Barrichello allowed Ferrari to amass as many Constructors’ points (221) as the sum total of all the other teams combined. In addition, the performance of the vehicle was strong enough that the F2002 was used for the first four races of the 2003 Championship Season. The career of the F2002 ended on a high note with a win for Schumacher for the 2003 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.

Although modern F1 cars still tend to be popular with mainstream model manufacturers, most appear to be produced in 1/20 or smaller scales. While the newer Tamiya F1 kits are quite excellent, there remains a demand for seeing current vehicles produced in the potentially more impressive 1/12 scale. Tamiya previously did a number of F1 cars in 1/12 scale, however they were 1980’s era and earlier cars, and Tamiya seems to have abandoned making new car kits in the large scale. With Tamiya out of the picture, Revell Germany has answered the call of Ferrari fans and released the championship-winning F2002 in injection molded form.

One of the first things that one notes about the kits is the large size of the box (something to consider if ordering from overseas). The box is considerably larger than the box for my Tamiya 1/12 scale Lotus 78 J.P.S. Mk. III kit. Opening the box, the reason for the size is apparent as one half of the box space is occupied by a styrofoam tray that contains the four rubber tires and the main body parts (nose, monocoque, and engine cover). This tray is presented for viewing under the box’s flip up cover and the remaining part sprues are packed conventionally in the remaining box space.

 



The next notable item is that the appropriate parts are prepainted in Ferrari red. Combined with other parts molded in white plastic, black plastic, or chromed in a satin finish, little painting is necessary is one wants to just slap this kit together out of the box. The prepainting on the main body parts is fairly decent with a few dust specks and some paint buildup along the part edges, issues that can be easily corrected by rubbing down the finish. The painted parts on the sprue are more of a mixed bag with items like the front wing endplates showing a fair degree of orange peel in my sample. The undertray is painted in both red and black with the demarcation line between the colors being somewhat rough in places. Also, areas like the underside of the engine cover remain unpainted, which may need to be addressed if one chooses to display the car with the cover off. The jury is still out on whether prepainting the parts is a good idea, however it is likely that those willing to pay the high price for this kit may desire a better finish than what you get in the box. This means extra time must be spent stripping off the paint that Revell worked to put on in the first place. Fortunately, it appears that the underlying plastic is white, which is good news for those repainting the red color. Moving on to the other sprues, the satin chrome finish seems a little thin and my kit had some of the chrome rubbed away by the surrounding plastic bag. Again, more repair work for the serious modeler.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Overall, the detail and quality of the parts is a little disappointing for this large size, being somewhat less than recent 1/20 scale Tamiya kits like the Williams FW24 and the Ferrari 2001, IMHO. The engine detail, what there is, seems a little soft and the engine bay is missing most of the various electronics boxes and associated wiring which is noticeable in this scale. The only wiring included is the ignition wires that run above each cylinder head. The cockpit detail is somewhat light with the various small knobs on the steering wheel being represented only by decals instead of being molded in 3-D as in the smaller Tamiya kits. Speaking of the cockpit, the kit contains a harness that is molded in a soft flexible so that it can draped in the seat, however the harness release and the buckles are simplified and rather unconvincing. Some of the sprues have a significant amount of flash, which is surprising in a new kit, however there is little flash on the actual parts. However, there are some noticeable mold seams on some of the chromed exhaust piping and seams still visible on the red painted parts. Again, this provides more rationale for the modeler repainting the parts as eliminating the seams will damage the finish.

The kit features a number of working features. The wheels turn and the front wheels steer. A metal shaft is provided to link the steering wheel to the steering bar so the steering wheel turns as the front wheels are moved side-to-side. The fuel filler flaps on both sides are operable and the brakes are designed so that the discs correctly rotate with the wheels while the calipers remain stationary.

The decals are the highlight of the kit, being printed by Cartograf in Italy. Markings are provided for the Magny-Cours race where Schumacher clinched the World Championship that year. As France outlaws tobacco advertising at sporting events, no Marlboro logs are provided. Car numbers and names are provided for both drivers, although the kit does not model the slight differences in car configuration between Reubens’ and Michael’s cars. In addition to the bodywork decals, a second decal sheet is provided which contains carbon fiber decals for the suspension parts.

Accuracy seems generally good (i.e. it looks like a Ferrari F2002), however there are a couple of notable errors. Firstly, the wheels are the ten spoke BBS wheels fitted to the F2001 car. The F2002 car used wheels with only seven spokes. Replacement wheels are about the only way to fix this error. In addition, the harness is only a four-point harness (shoulder and lap). For a number of years, the standard F1 harness has been a six-point harness with two crotch straps.

If the car is to be built as it was raced at Magny-Cours, there are some other issues that may need to be addressed for accuracy by the truly nitpicky. Refueling at the French Grand Prix is performed from the left side of the car. Unfortunately, the insert with the fuel connector is designed to only fit under the right filler flap. The easy fix is to glue the filler flaps shut. In addition, the kit features a nose camera on the right side of the nose. Photos from the French Grand Prix show that neither car ran with this configuration during the race. During the race, Michael had a nose camera on the left side and Reubens has a rearward facing camera in a long fairing in front of the cockpit. Finally, the bodywork fairing around the exhaust outlet pipe was cut back for the race at about a 45-degree forward angle and both cars featured a small air scoop in the oval panel on top of the nose. The previous items are not meant to be criticisms of the kits, but addition guidance for those who use the kit decals and want to make the car more representative of how it appeared in the race.

I have mixed feeling on providing a recommendation for this kit. There are some errors and quality issues that some people may feel that should not be on a kit that costs approximately 100 Euros. On the other hand, others might really want a large scale modern F1 car that isn’t a super expensive multimedia kit and be willing to work through issues with Revell kit. It all depends on each individual’s viewpoint and the best defense against being surprised is in knowing what you are going to get.

Sample kit courtesy of my ever dwindling bank account.

Dave Williams
IPMS/USA 19050

Review Copyright © 2003 by Dave Williams
Page Created 10 November, 2003
Last updated 10 November, 2003

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