FSW Weekly Edition #43/2026

Norris' Number 1 in Melbourne

Spark's McLaren MCL40 5th Australia 2026 #1 Norris in 1:43 scale records a landmark moment for one of Formula 1's most famous teams. Lando Norris arrived at Albert Park for the opening round of the 2026 season as the reigning World Champion, and with that title came the right to carry the number 1 on his car, the first time a McLaren has featured the champion's number since 2010, when it was driven by reigning World Champion Jenson Button following his title-winning season with Brawn. The Melbourne race was also the first outing for Formula 1's new generation of cars, built to an all-new set of technical regulations with more compact chassis, active aerodynamics and power units drawing a far greater share of their performance from electrical energy, and the opening weekend was as much a voyage of discovery for the teams as it was a contest. Norris brought the papaya MCL40 home in fifth place, a solid start to the defence of his crown, and a result that ensured the first number 1 McLaren in sixteen years scored valuable points on its very first appearance.

Spark's resincast interpretation captures the #1 MCL40 as it ran in Melbourne, with the slimmer proportions of the new generation car, its distinctive papaya livery and the champion's number all neatly resolved at 1:43. A car carrying the number 1 is always a special subject, and with a McLaren last doing so in Button's hands back in 2010, this is a model that marks a genuine moment in the team's history and one that will sit very happily in any McLaren, Norris or modern Formula 1 collection. It is currently in stock and ready for immediate dispatch, and stock is very limited.

The McLaren heads a strong week for the Formula 1 collector. Spark's bumper delivery also brings Kimi Antonelli's Japanese Grand Prix winning Mercedes W17 in 1:43, a particularly timely arrival with the young Italian on the brink of the title, along with the Alpine A526s of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, while in 1:18 there are Max Verstappen's 2025 Red Bull victories, Oscar Piastri's Belgian Grand Prix winning McLaren and George Russell's Canadian Grand Prix winning Mercedes, with a 1:5 Antonelli helmet and new 1:64 Sparky F1 models completing the line-up. Looksmart's Ferrari delivery offers the SF-26s of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton from this year's Japanese Grand Prix in 1:43, where they finished third and sixth, the 1:18 SF-25s from the 2025 Italian Grand Prix at Monza with Leclerc's fourth placed car and Hamilton's sixth placed entry, and three 1:5 helmets, Leclerc's special designs from Monaco and China 2025 and Hamilton's 2026 Formula 1 helmet. For the historic collector, Tecnomodel has a beautifully detailed 1:18 resincast Shadow DN8, the #16 car in which Riccardo Patrese finished sixth at the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix, a machine from the closing stages of Shadow's 1977 campaign and an early chapter in a Grand Prix career that would go on to become one of the longest in the sport's history. Models are in stock or available to order.

There is plenty to read about as well. Among the new book titles that have caught the eye recently is "Formula 1 Champions Car By Car: Every F1 World Championship Car Since 1950", an ideal companion for a week in which Kimi Antonelli stands on the verge of adding a new name and a new car to that illustrious list, and a book that will sit as comfortably beside a shelf of championship winning models as it does on the coffee table. "Motorsports Mavericks" is another recent issue worth seeking out for those who enjoy the characters behind the cars.

McLaren MCL40 5th Australia 2026 #1 Norris - SPK9378

Lancia Delta S4 Corsa 1986 Black - ATC90XX8

Group B in Black

Masterpiece's Lancia Delta S4 Corsa 1986 Black in 1:43 scale celebrates one of the most extraordinary machines ever built for the special stages. Conceived to replace the rear-wheel drive 037 as four-wheel drive took hold of Group B, the Delta S4 shared little more than its name and its silhouette with the road-going Delta hatchback, for beneath its composite bodywork lay a tubular spaceframe chassis, a mid-mounted 1.8 litre four-cylinder engine that was both supercharged and turbocharged, and a sophisticated four-wheel drive system. The S4 won on its debut on the 1985 RAC Rally in the hands of Henri Toivonen, and the Finn followed it up by winning the 1986 Monte Carlo Rally, but the car will forever be associated with the end of the Group B era, the category being outlawed at the end of 1986 following the fatal accident of Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto on the Tour de Corse. The Corsa designation identifies the full competition car, as distinct from the Stradale road version built for homologation, and Masterpiece's model depicts a Corsa example finished in black following its restoration by classic car specialists Girardo & Co.

Masterpiece's resincast interpretation captures the S4 Corsa in its purposeful all-black finish, a striking alternative to the familiar works Martini colours that lets the car's muscular, wide-arched shape speak entirely for itself, and Autocult's usual high standards of casting and paint finish suit the subject very well indeed. Masterpiece is a range made by Autocult for the German market, with each model accompanied by a descriptive leaflet covering the history of the subject and an individual issue number, and with production limited to just 333 pieces, this is a model that will sit perfectly in any Group B, Lancia or wider rally collection. It is available to order now.

The Lancia heads a strong week for the rally collector. Spark's bumper delivery brings another of the great Group B machines in 1:18, the MG Metro 6R4, Austin Rover's mid-engined, four-wheel drive contender that made its debut on that same 1985 RAC Rally, where Tony Pond brought it home in third place behind the two works Delta S4s. Place the Metro alongside the Lancia and you have the story of one of the most significant rallies of the decade, and the 6R4 is available to order now.

There is a good deal more to look forward to besides. Ludor Models has confirmed that its second 1:43 release will be Jos Verstappen's Red Bull sponsored Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 from this year's Ypres Rally, and although the former Formula 1 driver failed to finish the event, it is a fascinating subject from a driver who has made the switch from circuits to special stages. Model Car Garage has four unusual 1:18 classic rally cars listed for production during next year, led by the Mazda 323 4WD in which Ingvar Carlsson and Per Carlsson won the 1989 Swedish Rally with the #7 car, and joined by three Volkswagen Golf GTIs, the seventh placed car of Bohne from the 1979 Hunsrück Rally, and Stock's sixth placed car from the 1981 Hunsrück Rally and his second placed entry on the Städte Rally in the same year.

The Silver Arrows' Road Crew

Spark's Mercedes Actros Transporter 2024 Mercedes F1 Team in 1:43 scale shines a light on a part of Formula 1 that most spectators never see. Long before the cars take to the track on a European race weekend, a fleet of articulated trucks has already made its way across the continent carrying the race cars, spare parts and the vast amount of equipment needed to build a fully working garage and hospitality area in the paddock, and for a team bearing the three-pointed star, the Actros, Mercedes-Benz's flagship heavy truck since its introduction in 1996, is the natural choice. In 2024 the fleet supported Lewis Hamilton's final season with the team, a year that brought his emotional British Grand Prix victory at Silverstone, as well as wins for George Russell, and the Actros transporters in their Mercedes F1 Team and Petronas identification were as much a part of the team's presence at each European round as the cars themselves.

Spark's resincast interpretation captures the full articulated tractor unit and trailer in the team's 2024 colours, with the long, slab-sided trailer, the Actros cab and the Mercedes F1 Team and Petronas branding all cleanly resolved at 1:43, and weighing in at around one and a half kilograms, it is a substantial and impressive piece. A transporter brings a Formula 1 display to life like nothing else, providing the perfect backdrop for a line-up of Silver Arrows, and this is a model that will sit very happily in any Mercedes, Formula 1 or commercial vehicle collection. It is currently in stock and ready for immediate dispatch, and stock is very limited.

The Actros heads a strong week for the road-going collector, commercial and classic alike. Spark's delivery includes a second Mercedes Actros transporter in 1:43, this one in Goodyear colours, while in 1:18 there is an impressive selection of Porsche road cars and in 1:12 a further five Porsche sports cars for those with the space for something larger. KK Scale's latest arrival is a 1:18 diecast 1963 Lincoln Continental Sedan in elegant metallic grey, the fourth-generation Continental with its distinctive slab-sided styling and imposing proportions remaining one of the most recognisable designs of the 1960s. Autocult's delivery brings the elegant 1936 Aero 30 Coupé with Sodomka coachwork in blue and silver, the striking 1969 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Coupé Speciale by Pininfarina and, for collectors of historic commercial vehicles, the unusual 1924 Škoda Sentinel flatbed in green, a fine distant ancestor for the Actros. The Aero 30 is in stock, with the remaining models available to order.

There is more to come on the road car shelf as well. BBR has listed an all new 1:18 1983 Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole Cabriolet for pre-order, along with new colours for its 2025 Ferrari 296 Speciale Aperta and its 1955 Porsche 356A, while KK Scale is reissuing its 1:18 1967 Cadillac De Ville Convertible in bronze and metallic blue, the perfect companion for this week's Lincoln. Rather closer to home, Matrix has added the 1974 Austin 1100 Mk3 for release sometime next year, a car that once filled every British high street and that many of us will remember from the back seat. What a thrill!

Endurance racing fans have been every bit as well looked after this week. Marsh Models celebrates Ferrari's remarkable 1972 sports car season with an extensive selection of 1:43 Ferrari 312PB models, available as hand-built miniatures or as a resin and metal kit, including the winning cars from Buenos Aires, Daytona and Brands Hatch driven by Jacky Ickx, Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson and Tim Schenken, along with podium finishers from Sebring, Brands Hatch and Buenos Aires and the cars of Clay Regazzoni and Brian Redman. Spark's delivery adds the Suzuka 1000km winning BMW M4 GT3 Evo and the Genesis GMR-001 Hypercar in 1:18, two 1:12 Aston Martin Valkyries from Le Mans 2025 and new 1:64 Super GT models, and for the bookshelf the latest books are "Le Mans: 50 Moments That Defined The World's Greatest Motor Race" and "The Art of Endurance: WEC 2025", with all available to order.

Mercedes Actros Transporter 2024 Mercedes F1 Team - SPK9512