Alternative Background

Interested readers of HO World were probably expecting the prev.- predicted article comparing the FALLER VW Beetle in an all-out scale competition with the Aurora version. As everyone was left hanging after our last episode, when (you may recall) FALLER’s Jaguar E-Type blew the figurative plastic doors off Aurora’s rather chubby version, I was all set to jump into the VW thing, getting to the final score (eventually) in the Aurora vs. FALLER shoot out. All that was “Thrown out da winder!” as they say in the Ozarks (did I mention that I’m from Missouri?), when the F1 cars landed. I would say “Put on the back burner,” but I don’t like the mental image that conjures, esp. when speaking of small plastic cars!

In Defense of the VW

Ignoring for the moment that “Ozark” sounds more like the name of some Alien species than that of a hill-billy mountain range, we find our plans nonetheless thwarted by the arrival of two Formula One cars from our friends at Mattel. You remember Mattel? They’re the ones who bought our friends at Tyco. Now you may be wondering just what I was thinking to find the introduction of two (almost) current Formula One cars more fascinating than the comparison of two aged VW’s. If so, then wonder no more, because the fact of the matter is that I find Formula One to be the most fascinating form of 1:1 motorsport. Should there come a time when the full scale and the “H.O.” scale (my favorite scale of model motorsport) are embodied in the same piece(s), as we see here . . . I find myself pulled inexorably in that direction! Not that I don’t like think VW’s are popular, mind you. The venerable air-cooled Beetle became the largest selling passenger car in the world, surpassing the prev. record of one Model T-Ford, and only recently surpassed itself by the far more inconspicuous Toyota Corolla!

And you mention this . . . why?

What a world we live in. These days, I only see any great numbers of Model T’s when the Old Geezers have their “Classic Old Ford Days” celebrations, paraded up one side of the street, only to return, traveling in the opposite direction several hours later. Lord knows what they do in the meantime, but in any case it is rather wondrous that the old chuffers manage to propel themselves at all, and look rather stately (if not royal) while doing so! VW Beetles (the air-cooled type) are still numerous enough in the U.S. of A. that they aren’t yet a novelty, while I seriously doubt that Toyota Corollas will ever be either stately, or much of a novelty. I might also note that, popular as the aforementioned automobiles may be (or may have been . . .) neither the Model T nor the Toyota Corolla has found itself modeled in our favorite scale!

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And your point is . . . ?

Regardless of all that excessive wandering off the subject, . . . earlier this year (2001), Mattel released a 2nd edition of the Formula World Tour set. The prev. year’s example had the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher doing a heated scale battle with a similar looking car (yes, painted differently), the McLaren of Mika Hakkinen. As those of you who follow the sport of Formula One know, Mika and Michael had quite the close Championship Battle in 2001, with Michael grasping the Trophy with but one race remaining. Very appropriate, then, that Mattel should feature them in their set. For the collectors out there, I should also mention that the cars contained in this set were not what we know as “set only” since they were readily available packaged separately. For 2001, the set does indeed contain “set only” cars, (at least as this is written) in this case the McLaren Mercedes of Mika Hakkinen (once again) and the Jordan Honda of Heinz Herald Frentzen. If you are a Constant Reader of HO World, you may recall that I left a question about these cars at the end of our prev. expedition into the World of Mattel Formula One! Fortunately my question was answered in a positive way. Frustrating as it must be for you (loyal HO World reader), I cannot tell you exactly how I managed to come about this fine pair. I must protect the folks responsible lest they be suffering an eternal barrage of email requesting yet more of these cars. I can tell you that I tried e-toys and that didn’t work! They just sent me the prev. year’s set and promptly went out of business. Imagine my surprise!

What Season Is This (and Jordan notes)?

Please keep in mind that these are supposed to be the cars of the 2000 season, with Mika Hakkinen’s sporting the prized number one (1), while Heinz Herald’s car’s number eight (8) reflects the somewhat more mundane ’98 season experienced by the Jordan Mugen-Honda team. So, oddly enough, here we have the McLaren with Mika’s number from the 2000 season, and the Jordan with Heinz Herald’s number from the ’99 season. If my Jordan collection is complete (in this context the “yellow” Tyco-Mattel sort), we now have a numbers 5, 8, 10 and 12. While the earlier Tyco Jordans were very up-front about their Peugeot power, the later ones don’t seem too proud of the Mugan-Honda power plants! Among the otherwise complete and assorted selection of sponsors, Honda gets but a tiny “H” logo on the nose! The 2001 cars are completely Honda, of course (without the Mugan name or association), so we’ll see if they get that part right when we see the Mattel cars in 2002 (hopefully). The rest of the car is very nicely done, and if you are a Jordan fan (and who isn’t!) you must have this one for your collection. The other reason you will want it is that it may well be the last Heinz Herald Frentzen Jordan we see in our favorite scale. It seems that Mr. Frentzen and Eddie Jordan had a serious falling out before the German GP this year, with Heinz Herald being shown the door. The dedicated test driver, one Mr. Zonta (whom you may remember as a BAR driver from the prev. year) took his place at that event. Late breaking news suggests that Jean Alesi will be sitting in that Jordan seat in the near future, if not (in fact) by the time you read this! Should you really care about the latest news in Formula One to that extent and detail (I know I do!), may I recommend you consult www.dailyf1.com on (as the name suggests) a daily basis. Well, ahem, anyway . . . the point was (do you remember?) that things are changing quickly at Jordan, so you had better pick this one up quick, esp. if you are a Heinz Herald fan! My usual complaint is unfortunately valid once again, as the driver’s suit is the wrong color (black) when it really should be yellow. If someone from Mattel F1 is reading this (yeah, Rick, fat chance!), please take note!

The Big News (McLaren)

The Big News and the reason these sets (and consequently the cars) are in such demand is the fact that the McLaren has Mika’s name on the side-pods, the upper body panels, the nose, both front wings and the rear wing. In addition, the graphics are applied with Mattel’s new method and look absolutely brilliant. Yes, you can see a pixel or two if you stare at the details most intently, but overall the look is excellent, and quite an improvement over the older method. All the minor sponsors are there too, in more or less the right places, colors and relative size (Mercedes, Mobil, Bridgestone, Computer Associates, etc.).

A lovely car, really, and even the driver’s fire suit is getting closer to the real color (silver). As it is, a kind of medium grey color, I would give it half points. I might also add that Mika’s helmet really is blue and white (not silver), but that’s asking for too much detail in a production (dare I say “toy”) car! I would give it nine and a half guide pins (out of ten), and overall a job well done by our friends at Mattel F-1.

And the Reason is . . . what?

In the full-scale world, the reason for having Mika’s name on the car is that it takes the place of the “West” cigarette brand advertising that is usually found on the McLarens. This is for races (mostly in Europe) where cigarette advertising is prohibited on TV. Well, you might say, TV cigarette advertising is prohibited in the U.S. too, and you would be mostly right. The exception here is that its okay if it’s a sporting event and the cigarette advertising is not a commercial, per se, but merely some writing on the cars (and sometimes the bill-boards). In Europe, if the race is on televised, well, there you have a cigarette advert. on your screen and we all know how offensive those can be! Its for this reason that the Benson & Hedges on the Jordan are changed to Buzzin Hornets (alternatively Bitten and Hisses), and the West on the McLarens is replaced with the first names of their drivers, i.e. Mika and David.

And, in Conclusion . . .

I could go on and on about what a poor charade this is, since any racing enthusiast in their first year of grade school can recognize cigarette box liveries, even if the name isn’t printed on! Instead, I will merely rejoice in the fact that we have yet another variation in the Mattel Formula One series, and quite nicely done examples at that. Good luck finding these, as I know they aren’t easy to come by, but neither are they “impossible to find.” I heard Axel had some for awhile, but these were quickly sold out. You might check with him occasionally at http://www.ho-slotcar.com/ and/or if you do find a bunch for sale please contact HO World so he can spread the happy news. Until next time, and the Attack of the Killer Beetles . . .