I received Tameo's latest release in the mail yesterday and after exploring the contents of the box, felt compelled to write a review.
Firstly, to be clear, this is an 'in box' review. I haven't started to build the kit yet, and indeed haven't even completed one of the curbside versions of the F248, so I'll need to get back to you on how it builds up...
Anyway, back to the model. TMK 363 represents the Ferrari 248F1 as it raced at the Chinese Grand Prix of 2006. This was of course Michael Schumacher's last win in formula 1 and Tameo have decided to mark this occasion with a full detail 1/43 kit.
This kit builds into a model of the 248 with the engine cover off and two spare nose cones are included to display separately. Importantly, the kit is not designed for the engine cover to be fitted over the engine. As modern engine covers conform to the mechanical parts of the car so closely, in 1/43, an engine cover would need to be thinner than a layer of paint to be accurate. It is probably possible to shave the parts slightly and eventually fit everything together, but this is not the intention of the designer.
So enough introduction, what's in the box???
In summary, there are:
- major white metal parts for the monocoque, engine cover and undertray
- approximately 50 other white metal parts of various sizes
- turned parts for wheel rims, brake hubs and a couple of other detail parts
- several photoetch frets, including a number that are pre-formed with required curves
- rubber tires with pre-printed logos
- a neat little chrome sticker for the rear brake light
- clear sheet for the wind shield
- a complete decal sheet, including all carbon fibre decals (pre cut) and various marking options for both drivers
- Tameo's usual, clear and informative instruction sheet, including many (exterior) reference photos of the real car.
Stepping through some of the parts in more detail, we'll start with the body parts.
The body shape is based on data provided by Ferrari as part fo the licensing agreement and certainly looks to be spot on. There is some flash around the mould part lines, but this would be easy to remove. Overall, this is a very impressive casting.
Similarly, the gearbox is supplied as a single casting, including the lower rear wing elements and the track rods with uprights attached. Clearly the intention here is to allow modellers to simply spray this part semi-gloss balck and glue it to the undertray, ensuring an accurate ride height and perfect symetry through the rear suspension. This part will look stunning covered in carbon decal and with all the minor detail parts attached. The rear suspension parts which build onto this are awesome and a significant improvement on the layout used on Tameo's F2004.
The key components of the engine are shown in the photo below. As with all these pictures, this is exactly as they came out of the box. For illustrative purposes, I have sat the airbox and the upper and lower parts of the engine together for this picture.
Some more of the larger white metal parts are shown in the next picture. All are well cast and highly detailed.
Its also worth highlighting the pre-formed photoetch parts. These include the wheel centres, the rear wing end plates and other aero parts. This a wonderful technique that Tameo has started using in some kits and the parts will look very good on the model.
Finally, I felt it was worth highlighting the tires in this kit. I didn't cut open the bag as i want to keep these clean until they are needed, but suffice to say these tires are totally new and a nice improvement on previous models. The logos are well printed and the rubber on the side walls is extremely smooth. Most interestingly, the tires appear to come 'pre-sanded', with no visible mould separation line on the tread. This is most impressive.
So the verdict?
Well, its hard to know how to explain this... TMK 363 is simply sublime. Everytime I feel that Tameo has 'maxed-out' on product development, they find new ways to push the product forward. This kit is absolutely awesome.
If I had to pick a fault with this kit, it would be that some of the white metal parts have a bit of flash around them. While I'm not an expert on casting by any stretch, it seems this may be related to a shift in casting techniques about 2 or 3 years ago. While the flash on the kits increased a little, the detail and complexity of the parts cast increased markedly. I for one, think this is a reasonable trade-off, but it is the one area of the kit that could be improved.
The comments above need to be seen on context. This is a kit that I would recommend to anyone. It is very highly detailed, but has been engineered in a way that will allow it to be built as simply as possible, straight from box, yet with wonderful cast detail and limitless potential for super-detailing, it should appeal to modellers right across the spectrum.
Bravo Tameo!!!
Feel free to post any questions etc.?
