FSW Weekly Edition #42/2026

Jabouille at Hockenheim

Spark's Elf 2 BMW (Alpine A367) 1st F2 Hockenheim 1974 #11 Jabouille in 1:43 scale records a victory for one of the most important figures in French motor racing at a formative stage of his career. In the early 1970s the French oil company Elf set about building a national motorsport programme almost from the ground up, and its Formula 2 project brought together a chassis designed and built by Alpine, known within the factory as the A367, and the potent BMW four-cylinder engine that powered so much of the European Formula 2 field of the day. Run under the Ecurie Elf banner, the car was entrusted to Jean-Pierre Jabouille, an engineer as well as a racing driver, and in the Rhein-Pokalrennen at Hockenheim in 1974 he brought the #11 car home in first place, a win that underlined the promise of the partnership between Elf and Alpine. That relationship would go on to shape a great deal of what followed, for Jabouille later became the driver at the heart of Renault's pioneering turbocharged Formula 1 programme, which grew from those same French roots, and at Dijon in 1979 he gave the turbo engine its first Grand Prix victory, changing the direction of the sport for a decade to come.

Spark's resincast interpretation captures the #11 Elf 2 as it ran at Hockenheim, with its slim single-seater bodywork, exposed suspension and the Ecurie Elf identification all cleanly resolved at 1:43. Formula 2 cars of the 1970s are a rather neglected corner of the hobby, yet the category was the proving ground for almost every Grand Prix star of the period, and a model that links Elf, Alpine, BMW and a future Grand Prix winner in one small car is one that will sit very happily in any French motorsport, Formula 2 or wider single-seater collection. It is available to pre-order now at a discounted pre-order price, with delivery expected during December.

The Elf heads a strong week for the single-seater collector. Spark's latest shipment is heading our way packed with motorsport legends, and alongside a fascinating collection of historic Formula 2 machinery in 1:43 it brings Jo Siffert's Lotus 49, while larger-scale collectors can look forward to Jackie Stewart's Matra MS10 in 1:18, the car that carried the Scot to second place in the 1968 World Championship for Ken Tyrrell's Matra International team. For those who collect the drivers as well as the cars, a fresh selection of 1:5 Formula 1 helmets is included too. This is the last chance to try and secure models from this shipment, so get your orders in sooner rather than later.

There is a good deal more to look forward to besides. Minichamps has made additional race selections for its 2026 Formula 1 catalogue in 1:64, 1:43 and 1:18, with Kimi Antonelli featuring strongly through his Mercedes W17 winners from Belgium, Italy and Spain and his second-placed car from Bahrain in its turquoise decoration, and a 2-car set of the same in the small scale. Max Verstappen's Red Bull RB22 winners from Bahrain and Singapore and Lando Norris' McLaren MCL40 victories in Hungary and Holland join them, along with the Williams FW48s in their throwback "FW07" decoration from the Madring and the Audi R26s in the blue livery from Singapore, and most will come with a combination of animated driver, trophy, pitboard and position board. Looksmart will model Charles Leclerc's second-placed Ferrari SF-26 from the Singapore Grand Prix in 1:64, 1:43 and 1:18, with his Singapore skyline metallic black helmet and Lewis Hamilton's chromed gold version to follow in 1:5, and in December Ixo has Scuderia Ferrari's 2000 Formula 1 Transporter due in 1:43, a fine backdrop for any Maranello single-seater display.

Elf 2 BMW (Alpine A367) 1st F2 Hockenheim 1974 #11 Jabouille - SPKF2012

Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 1st Monte Carlo 2026 #99 Solberg/Edmondson - IXORAM1025A

Solberg's Master Class at Monte Carlo

Ixo's Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 1st Monte Carlo 2026 #99 Solberg/Edmondson in 1:43 scale records a victory that set the tone for Toyota's entire 2026 World Rally Championship campaign. The opening round of the season was run in some of the most brutal and unpredictable Alpine conditions the Monte has seen in recent years, with pitch-black nights, heavy fog, rain, snow, ice and slush turning the mixed-surface stages into a lottery for the unwary, and it was Oliver Solberg and his British co-driver Elliott Edmondson who mastered them best of all. Son of 2003 World Champion Petter Solberg, Oliver arrived at the Monte at the start of his first full season with the Toyota factory team and immediately showed that he belonged at the very top level, holding his nerve through the treacherous final days to take one of the most demanding wins on the calendar. Behind him Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier completed a Toyota one-two-three, and with Evans going on to claim the drivers' crown this season, the Monte result now looks very much like the first chapter of a championship-winning year for the Japanese team.

Ixo's diecast interpretation captures the #99 car as it ran to victory on the Monte, with the GR Yaris' compact, aggressive Rally1 bodywork, its substantial rear wing and the full Toyota Gazoo Racing livery and event identification all well presented at 1:43. Ixo's models have long offered collectors a well finished and very competitively priced way to build up a complete field, and as the winning car from the opening round of the season, this is the natural place for any 2026 rally collection to begin. It is available to order now.

The Toyota heads a strong week for the rally collector. Ixo's latest delivery is dominated by the 2026 Monte Carlo Rally, with the second and third placed Toyotas of Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier joined by the further Toyota entries of Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari, while Hyundai is represented by Adrien Fourmaux's fourth placed i20N and Thierry Neuville's fifth placed car, and the Ford Puma Rally1s of Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean complete the line-up. With the newly crowned World Champion's car among them, it is a superb opportunity to put together almost the whole of the Monte Rally1 field, and all of the models are available to order.

Historic rally collectors have been every bit as well looked after. Spark's incoming shipment brings three of the great rally favourites of the 1980s in 1:43, the Ford RS200, the MG Metro 6R4 and the Renault 5 Turbo, while in 1:18 it offers the Monte Carlo winning Lancia 037, about as fitting a partner to this year's winning Toyota as anyone could wish for. The spectacular 1:12 Ken Block Hoonipigasus Porsche 911 is another standout, and a fresh selection of 1:5 rally helmets rounds off a delivery with something for every rally shelf. As with the rest of the shipment, this is the last chance to try and secure your models, so do not leave it too late.

There is a good deal more to look forward to besides. Ixo has a December shipment on the way that includes the 1982 and 1983 Monte Carlo winners complete with figures, both of them Walter Röhrl victories, along with 2025 World Rally Championship cars of Serderidis, Ogier and Rovanperä in 1:43, and in 1:18 the 2025 Fords of McErlean and Munster and the Toyotas of Solberg and Ogier. DSN 43 has a brand new set of master parts in its early November issue for the 1970s Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV, with the first release being the Larrousse and Delferier car from the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally, alongside the #68 Opel Kadett GTE from the 1977 Portugal Rally, and Trofeu has Mark Duez's Euro Racing Ford Sierra RS Cosworth from the 1988 Boucles de Spa ready for November.

A Prince's Bentley

Matrix's Bentley 4¼ Litre DHC Vanden Plas 1939 HRH Prince Bernhard in 1:43 scale brings together two of the great names of pre-war British motoring and a royal owner with a well known passion for fine cars. Following Rolls-Royce's acquisition of Bentley in 1931, production moved to Derby, and the cars that emerged combined Rolls-Royce refinement with a sporting character that earned them the title of "The Silent Sports Car". The 4¼ Litre was the ultimate development of the Derby Bentley before the war, and its rolling chassis was supplied to the finest coachbuilders of the day, none more respected than Vanden Plas, whose elegant drophead coupé bodies represented British coachbuilding at its very best. Prince Bernhard, who had married Princess Juliana of the Netherlands in 1937, was a keen and discerning motorist, and his choice of a Vanden Plas bodied 4¼ Litre in 1939 says a great deal about the standing these cars enjoyed among the most fortunate drivers in Europe, making his car a particularly interesting subject among the coachbuilt Bentleys of the period.

Matrix's resincast interpretation captures the Prince's car in its two-tone black and grey finish, with the long bonnet, flowing wings and the graceful lines of the Vanden Plas drophead body all beautifully presented at 1:43, and the maker's usual excellent casting quality and high standard of paint finish suit a subject of this calibre very well indeed. A royal provenance gives this Bentley a story that sets it apart from the more familiar colour versions, and it will sit perfectly in any collection of classic British motoring or coachbuilt luxury cars. It is available to order now.

The Bentley heads a strong week for the classic road car collector. Matrix's delivery also brings the 4¼ Litre Vanden Plas Drophead Coupé in classic black and in silver, so collectors can enjoy this magnificent pre-war tourer in three very different moods. Cult Scale Models' latest delivery stays in Britain with three beautifully detailed 1:18 resincast versions of the 1949 Aston Martin 2 Litre Sports, better known as the DB1, one of the earliest post-war Aston Martins and the first model produced under David Brown's ownership, offered in classic black, metallic blue and metallic green. To complete the picture, Ixo's delivery includes a striking black 1979 Mercedes 500 TE V8 AMG estate in 1:43, and all are available to order.

There is more to come on the road car shelf as well. KK Scale has two new colours, gold and metallic green, for its 1:18 1965 Maserati Quattroporte I, both due in November, and BBR has a new colour collection coming for its 1:18 Ferrari 296 Speciale, while the colour choice for its 1:18 Ferrari 849 Testarossa in both standard and Assetto Fiorano specification is being expanded, with every model in both ranges delivered with a display case included. Spark tells the Porsche 911 RS story in 1:64 and all in white, starting with the 1973 2.7 RS Carrera and continuing through the 2.8 RSR, 3.0 RS, 3.0 RSR and the 964 and 993 3.6 RS, all expected during the first quarter of 2027, and for those who would rather build than buy, Tamiya's new 1:24 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Clic Loc kit needs no glue or paint, its realistically pre-coloured parts allowing a newcomer to the hobby to finish a sturdy and highly detailed model to the highest standards. Ixo's December shipment adds the BMW 6 Series Alpina B7 Turbo and the Ford Maverick in 1:43.

Bentley 4¼ Litre DHC Vanden Plas 1939 HRH Prince Bernhard - MTX50201-181