The Ferrari F2001 was first introduced in the Australian GP 2001 with a total of 39 starts, 10 wins and 14 pole positions. It finally went into retirement prior to the Brazilian GP 2002 (San Marino for Barrichello).
For the start of the 2002 season the new car (F2002) was delayed due to concerns regarding reliability and the F2001 was given 5 more starts (2 for Michael and 3 for Rubens). Worrying for the rest of the teams Ferrari took 1st and 2nd places on the grid for the Australian GP with Barrichello pipping Schumacher by 5/1000's of a second to take pole. Following an horrific looking accident at the first corner between Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher, the lone Ferrari went on to win with relative ease with only Montoya and Raikkonen on the same lap at the end.

The Kit

The model comes with the usual superb full colour instructions. In this kit there are two double sided A4 sheets with computerized graphics and one side devoted to photographs of the real car which is very useful for confirming decal positioning etc. The white metal parts include the body, chassis, front wing, rear wing support, barge-boards and seat. The front wing thickness would be better scaled in photo-etching, but the current curved shape makes recreating this almost impossible. However the white metal replacement is excellent and appears to have all the extra aero-dynamic pieces incorporated into its production.

There are four photo-etched sheets, unfortunately the suspension sheet is produced in silver even though all the parts on that sheet end up being painted black. Many of Tameo's kits in the past have come pre-blackened but this is something that seems to have been abandoned of late.

The kit comes with a spare decal sheet which takes away the worry of making a mistake and ruining one. Everything has been thought of even down to the tiny circuit map decal of the Melbourne circuit for the centre of the steering wheel. Lastly a 2 piece mould is supplied to shape the 2 intricate curved flaps for the sides of the airbox.

This is superb as it would be extremely difficult to shape these pieces of photo-etching by hand.

The Build

I started as usual by cleaning up the body, filling where necessary and drilling all the holes. As with all the recent Tameo kits the mould lines are negligible. There was a bit of filing required around the radiator inlet and some filling after the lower part of the nose section was fitted.

Next the body was prepared for spraying by adding the mirrors and the small body mounted rear wings. The front wing was also prepared at this stage as this was the only other major part being sprayed red. I used the recommended colour (Tamiya TS49) and this seems to be a perfect match for the real car. After spraying these parts were left to dry for a few days.

The rear wing was constructed, painted and decaled next, followed by all the black parts; the steering wheel, seat, chassis and all suspension parts. I used the suggested colour (Tamiya X18) although this may be a little too glossy, however most of the visible parts are carbon-fibre decaled later so its not too much of a problem. The wheels, hubs and brake assemblies were constructed next and these all look superb, its just a pity that most of this detail is hidden when the model is complete.

When all parts were completely dry, the decaling was started. The decals for this model are as good as I've seen, absolutely no colour shows through from underneath on the white decals and all fit exactly. Unfortunately the 'Marlboro' decals are not supplied with the kit due to European tobacco sponsorship laws. This is a great shame, but suitable after market decals are available if you want to totally replicate the real car. When all the decals had dried out a thin coat of gloss clear-coat was applied to seal them in position.

Now all the parts were fitted to the body. First the seat with its excellent seven piece seat belts is fitted into the body, then onto the suspension. I had a few problems with the fiddly rear suspension, where you need to fit the upper wishbones, the drive shafts, a large carbon fibre piece each side from the hub to the floor and the rear wing all at the same time, but eventually I managed to get it all in place. Next the beautifully crafted front wing is fitted to the body via its supports. Then onto the wheels, barge-boards, camera and aerials which all went smoothly and finally the tiny cockpit windscreen (fortunately you get 4 of these for when you drop a couple on the floor with no hope of finding them ! )

Conclusion

I'm pleased to say that the final model looks superb and I cannot see any differences from the real car apart from the obvious missing Marlboro decals which are out of Tameo's hands. All the parts fitted perfectly without exception and my only gripes concern the fiddly rear suspension and the necessity to paint some parts black which used to come pre-coloured. Overall this kit is another superb offering from Tameo and a great addition to my Ferrari collection.