Big Announcements Come In Small Catalogues
Today there was a bit of excitement as we received the Minichamps 2008 ‘Edition 2’ catalogue, which is a small 24 page ’update’ to the mammoth tome published at the beginning of the year.
We were very surprised to see two brand new 1:12 Valentino Rossi figure that haven’t even been officially announced yet, as well as sample images of some of the other figures.
The first new figure replicates one of the most famous moments in Rossi’s career. It is called ‘The Kiss’, and is from the South Africa Moto GP in 2004, when Vale won his very first race with Yamaha (PO40246). On the slowing down lap he got down on his knees and kissed the front of his new YZR-M1. It is that pose that the figure replicates, so it is bound to be immensely popular.
The second new figure is of Rossi riding his 2002 Honda RC211V sidesaddle with both arms in the air (PO20146), as he did when he crossed the line to win the British Grand Prix at Donington Park that year..
The most exciting sample image was of the 1999 Aprilia riding figure (P990146). It’s of Rossi with his knee down, so he actually looks like he’s taking a corner on his 250cc bike!
The 1997 riding figure (P970146), which we will see in a couple of weeks, is similarly imaginative, as it comes complete with the blue ‘Superfumi’ cape that Valentino wore on the slowing down lap after one of his victories that year.
There were also two ‘live’ photos in the catalogue, so giving us a hint as to what two more forthcoming Rossi figures will look like. It looks like the 2003 Valencia riding figure (PO30186) will be in a burnout pose and the 2007 Assen riding figure (PO70166) will be of Valentino stood up on the footpegs as he was on the slowing down lap following his victory in the race.
I never fail to be impressed with Minichamps’ imagination when it comes to their Rossi figures. They could have just gone for one mould and then decorated each one differently so that it would be correct for each bike. Instead, they have chosen to really capture the personality of Rossi by replicating some of the most famous moments from his career. Credit where it’s due!
