Mattel: Running with the Elite F1
January 13, 2010
In 1951, just one year after the official Formula 1 Championship series was begun, Ferrari won its very first Formula 1 victory at Silverstone with the car you see here in model form: the 375 F-1 piloted to victory by 29 year old Argentinean Froilan Gonzalez.
Many long-time 1:43 collectors will know that this car has been modeled by many specialist hand built makers over the years. For those not having the budget or desire to spring for a more accurate, more expensive hand built, the crew at Mattel have come to your rescue.
Lately, it never ceases to amaze me at how well they can make some of these models, offering a good amount of detail at a great value. True, not all the Elite models are equal, but this one is pretty darn good, especially when the low price is factored in. The model comes mounted on an angled base with minimal info supplied (actually, all it says is “375 F1 1st Victory”). The box has tons of legalese in multiple languages, but nothing at all about the model. I’m complaining because even as an experienced collector, I found the complete lack of information surprising and disappointing.
This model has a high gloss paint finish and excellent fit of all parts - looking far better than the real car could ever have hoped to. The cockpit is very well detailed, and only suffers a little from its generic steering wheel. The model is a funny mix of really well thought out details - and some not so well thought out ones. For example: The two side scoops on the body in front of the cockpit have their simulated openings carefully painted in black, yet the much larger hood scoop does not. The beautiful multi-piece chrome wire wheels should be painted silver, a common mistake these days, and the excellent treaded tires should be larger at the rear. There’s a good deal of perfectly applied photo etched bits, including simulated sprung hood hold down latches, though the center ones from each side have not been added.
The end result is a very nice model that looks great - and with just a little more attention from Mattel could have gone from good to excellent. With this being such a significant race car, it deserves a little more attention. Gripes and all, it’s still a good value for the money.
Mattel Elite 1951 Ferrari 375-F1, item n5600, $40.00. www.mattel.com.
Comments (3)
These are nice cars for the money! Hot Wheels is thankfully getting further away from making toy cars to making serious and realistic adult collectibles with their Elite series. I’ve been collecting over 13 years and in that time I have acquired a Ferrari collection in many scales. During those years I’ve watched Mattel jump in, buy the rights to the Ferrari name and begin making model Ferraris. Finding 1/18th scale Ferraris at Walmart for under $20 was a thrill but much detail was lacking. Fortunately, I’m handy at detailing and with reference books aplenty, it’s fun. But the Elites, with lots of photo etched parts, are saving me lots of time in detailing although they are pricier. And the variety of cars being produced is great! I want to post some pics soon as I’m proud of my collection but I’m still working on it. As it is now, I have over 90 1/18th scale Ferraris in wall mounted plexi cases and many more in 1/43rd, 1/24th, 1/32nd slot cars! even 1/87th scales. I have 1/18th scale Ferrari models by many companies including: BBR, Exoto, CMC, Kyosho, Bburago, Mattel, Jouef, Maisto, Mira, ERTL, Revival and two cars sold by Shell which came with diecast fuel pumps! I have so many in 1/43rd with very many dif companies from Italy, France, USA, etc. I’m so glad for The Car Room; keep up the great work! P.S. one thing I would like to see is other peoples collections. There was a model car magazine (that went under) that used to put pics of somebody’s collection every month. Maybe you guys could do something like that? Thanks again! PPS: I really like Joe as Ozzy, that was cool!
Oops, that was me not Marshall
Yes, it is I, Joseph Lena! lol
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