Behold Crème brûlée.
In finer restaurants, this mixture of 25 cents worth of heavy whipping cream and 10 cents of other ingredients caramelized with a blow torch will cost you approximately $6.95.
Behold the Hostess Twinkee.
What we have here is 5 cents worth of sponge cake wrapped around 3 cents worth of some type of cream filling. Somehow this is all worth $1.89 for a package of two at your local gas station.
So why in a review of car models done in tribute to possibly the greatest race driver in the history of motor sport, am I conjuring up images that will make your sweet tooth envious? Because diorama types of models are the sum of their parts – they represent a specific experience or moment in time-not a challenging diecast engineering effort.
Hot Wheels has put together many Michael Schumacher tribute dioramas, with those from his last season of racing being the most hunted as it’s branded with the Retirement Series logo. The reason is simple: seven World Driving Championships (the last in 2004), 91 wins and 154 career podium finishes. He has set marks unlikely to be broken at least until Lewis Hamilton starts getting (or even losing) grey hair. The fact that Michael has stayed retired adds to the aura of the last season legacy. Ask fans that purchased Mark Martin farewell gear a couple years ago how that investment is working out for them.
The Shanghai “Last Victory” and Sao Paulo Brazil “Farewell” dioramas are at opposite ends of the price spectrum for this sort of thing. Both models feature premium custom outside packaging, one flap featuring the Scuderia Ferrari logo on a field of corro rosso and on the other Michael Schumacher’s trademark signature cloaked in a dragon. In between is art and photography worthy of some of Exoto’s best packaging. It should be pointed out that the edition numbers on these models represent a worldwide edition – a relatively small slice of the pie is allocated to the USA because F1 is still a boutique sport here. The spelling of "tyres" on the Shanghai base seems to indicate more of a sensitivity to non-North American markets.
At around $130, the Shanghai diorama features a heavy faux road surface base. A brushed photo engraved metal plaque features a stamped serial number. The race fatigued model with driver is secured to the base. The model has all the basic stance and shape right but is missing some winglet elements around the driver compartment. Since all HW F1 models are sealed monocoque, there is no fiddling with the engine bits, but there are remarkable features such as the steerable front wheels which cause the highly detailed steering wheel to travel easily within the figure’s “grip” and the shiny appearance of the full wet Bridgestone rubber. It was a crucial change to wets that allowed Schumacher to overtake Alonso for his final F1 win. The paint, on the helmet and car, looks great with the only major missing visual element being tobacco markings. Decals for these are readily available for the Ferrari F2006 from multiple dealers.
If you’ve given yourself a bit more of a budget to celebrate Michael’s legacy, then maybe the Sao Paulo “Last Race” diorama model is for you. It has a similar but less articulated race fatigued model but this time it’s mounted on a heavy “Executive of the Year” quality Lexan base, complete with gold leaf-effect detailing and engraving. Instead of Michael piloting the car, you have a quality resin figure portraying him standing beside the car waving to the Ferrari Tifosi at Interlagos...or whoever happens to be sitting across the desk from you. There’s also a competently detailed out of scale rendition of Michael’s helmet. We don’t discuss model helmet reviews on DZ much which is probably a miss because they are often the only individual artistic expression the driver influences within any race series but especially in F1. As this is more a Schumacher collectible then a diecast piece, its inclusion here is a personal touch, as is the letter which accompanies the model thanking fans for their support.
If breath taking precision diecast modeling is your only passion, these diorama sets aren’t for you. There is so much more going on here – they engage the casual fan who happens by it that doesn’t know (and could care less) about the design and engineering of the car. Both dioramas are a tribute to, and an expression of, the individual achievement that will always remain Michael Schumacher’s singular legacy. And that's pretty cool.
-Rusty Hurley