Model Universe Newsletter – 1 May 2025

Dear Collectors,

Unbelievably, May is upon us! Some English sunshine provided a glorious backdrop to the British GT at Silverstone last weekend, and some Spanish sun drenched the dramatic Rally Islas Canarias, in Gran Canaria – great scenes on the mountainsides.

It was an incredibly busy April. Too much to cover in full, but here’s a few snippets of what went on and what is to come in May.

Launch of Diecast Model Club 

Our sister site, diecastmodelclub.co.uk, was launched in April to provide collectors with unbeatable deals on pre-orders for upcoming releases from the major car model brands, including Spark, Minichamps, Norev, KK Scale, GT Spirit and many more.

For a membership fee from as little as £5.99 per annum collectors can pre-order upcoming releases with up to 15% off.

If you want a great deal on pre-orders you can join at https://diecastmodelclub.co.uk/collections/membership-plans

Stirling Scale’s Aston Martin V8 Vantage Décor Sample Decos

The first Décor samples of the Aston Martin arrived in April for review. In impressive boxing, and in striking red, silver and green, the V8 Vantage in 1:18 scale certainly caught the eye. We were very impressed with the quality and detail at this price point and think collectors will appreciate the value they are getting.

Having circulated the samples among some collectors for review we have provided feedback to Stirling Scale who are very keen on taking on board suggestions for improvement and we look forward to receiving the next iteration of this model soon, and look forward to the actual release later this year.

Check our website and social media for further updates on the V8 Vantage.

Announcement of another Exclusive Special Edition: Jenson Button’s BrawnGP Brazil 2009 in 1:18 scale

Off the back of the success of our exclusive Minichamps model of Nigel Mansell’s 1992 Championship winning Williams FW14B, we are excited to announce the next one, being Jenson Button’s 2009 Championship winning BrawnGP.

It is being produced by Minichamps in 1:18 scale exclusively for Model Universe collectors with a specially designed giftbox showcasing Brawn’s striking livery. Each model is individually numbered and limited to 333 pieces worldwide.

It was a remarkable formula 1 season and the story was well told by Keanu Reeves in the Disney docuseries “The Impossible Formula 1 Story”. With a Brit, Ross Brawn, at the helm and another one in the cockpit, Jenson Button, we anticipate a lot of interest from UK collector’s. Pre-orders are now accepted via diecastmodelclub.co.uk, our sister website.

May’s Motorsport Calendar

The races continue to pile up thick and fast, here’s a list of May’s major motorsport events for your diary:-

Formula 1 – FIA Formula One World Championship

• May 2-4 : Miami Grand Prix
• Location: Miami international Autodrome, Miami, USA

• May 16-18 : Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
• Location: Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari (Imola), Emilia-Romagna, Italy

• May 23-25 : Monaco Grand prix
• Location : Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo

• May 30-1 June : Spanish Grand prix
• Location: Circuit de Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain

World Endurance Championship (WEC)

• May 8-10 : 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
• Location: Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium

GT Racing

• May 3-4 : GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
• Location: Brands Hatch, England
• Notes: Round 2 of GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with top GT3 teams.

• May 16-18 : GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
• Location: Zandvoort, Netherlands
• Notes: Round 3 of GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with top GT3 teams.

• May 30-1 June : GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
• Location : Monza, Italy
• Notes: Round 4 of GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with top GT3 teams.

• May 23-26 : British GT Championship
• Location : Oulton Park, England
• Notes : Rounds 3&4 for the British GT series, featuring a mix of GT3 and GT4 cars.

Rally – World Rally Championship (WRC)

• May 15-18 : Rally de Portugal
• Location : East and South of Porto, Portugal
• Notes: Rally de Portugal is ranked as one of the WRC’s classic events with challenging gravel stages.

Other Notable Events

• May 10-11 : British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)
• Location: Brands Hatch, Kent, England
• Notes : Rounds 3,4 & 5 of the BTCC, plus Porsche, Mini & Caterham events.

• May 9-11 : Monterey Sportscar Championship
• Location: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, USA
• Notes : featuring GTP, GTD PRO, GTD classes; Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Mustang Challenge, Weathertech Championship, Michelin Pilot Challenge.

F1 Academy will be racing at F1 weekend in Miami.

F2 and F3 will be at Imola, Monaco and Spain.

Head Turner Transporters

Team transporters continue to be incredibly popular amongst collectors. Our restock of the Ecurie Ecosse Team Transporter from CMR soon went, more on the way!

The Mercedes Benz team transporter arrived from Werk83 and has attracted a lot of interest. Complete with its cargo – Stirling Moss’s Mercedes W196 winner of the British GP 1955 –  the 1:18 scale combo represents tremendous value and is a great display piece. Check out our article about the ‘Blue Wonder’ if you want to learn more.

We are delighted to announce we’ve secured a further allocation of CMR’s Bartoletti Ferrari Transporter in 1:18 scale and look forward to the arrival of those soon too. 

Our first NZG Scania V8 730S transporter in 1:18 scale also arrived – It’s a lot of metal and makes a great set piece.

There have been many more exciting arrivals in April, with many more to come in May. Too many to detail here, so please do check our website for updates or even better, if you don’t want to miss out, sign up to our Collectors Club. Until next time – good luck out there and happy collecting!

Best wishes,

MU