CaDA F1 model kits: from the Alfa Romeo C42 to the KICK Sauber C44 and Alpine A525

For those who collect Formula 1 cars as building block models, the range of options has grown steadily in recent years. Yet one manufacturer is trying to distinguish itself in a striking way: CaDA. Not by releasing as many different F1 cars as possible, but by producing relatively few models and taking another step forward with each one in scale, technology, detailing and finish.

This development began with the Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, CaDA's first major officially licensed Formula 1 building set at 1:8 scale. This was followed by the KICK Sauber F1 Team C44, with which CaDA not only took a major technical step forward but also introduced a first: a large F1 building set in which the complete livery was applied using prints instead of stickers. In 2026, the range was expanded with the BWT Alpine Formula One Team A525, which continues this new standard.

Three different Formula 1 cars, three different seasons and three models that clearly show how quickly CaDA has developed in just a few years.

Where it all began: the Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42

The CaDA C64005 Alfa Romeo C42 marked the beginning of the range. The real C42 competed during the 2022 Formula 1 season with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu at the wheel and was instantly recognisable thanks to its red-and-white Alfa Romeo livery. CaDA translated the car into a 1:8 scale model consisting of 1,868 parts and measuring a whopping 66 centimetres in length.

This was certainly no cautious first attempt for CaDA. From the outset, there was already a considerable amount of technology beneath the bodywork. The C42 features fully functional suspension, steerable front wheels and an adjustable DRS rear wing. Officially licensed Pirelli tyres were also developed for the model.

This made the C42 much more than just a large display car. Especially in 2023, when large licensed F1 building sets were still far less common, it was an impressive package. You didn't just build the recognisable bodywork, but also a technical chassis in which the suspension, steering and aerodynamic functions actually played a role.

Yet in hindsight, it is also clear that this was the first generation. The biggest limitation was not even the technology, but the finish of the bodywork. A modern Formula 1 car is covered in sponsor logos and other graphic details, and on the C42 many of these still had to be applied with stickers. This ultimately results in a recognisable model, but it does require a lot of patience and precision during construction. Moreover, a sticker will always look slightly different from a directly printed part.

This is precisely where CaDA would take a huge step forward with its next F1 model.

KICK Sauber C44: much more than just a new colour scheme

At first glance, you could see the CaDA C64010 KICK Sauber F1 Team C44 as the successor to the Alfa Romeo: another Sauber racer, again at 1:8 scale. But as soon as you place both models side by side, you can see that much more has changed.

The C44 consists of 2,553 parts, almost seven hundred more than the C42, and also grows considerably in size, measuring 71 centimetres in length. Those extra parts were not simply used to make the model larger. CaDA completely redesigned the entire technical construction.

The suspension is a good example of this. The C44 uses a tie-rod suspension system that is explicitly based on the construction of the real Formula 1 car. There is also a convenient steering knob behind the cockpit with which the front wheels can be operated without having to rummage around in the cockpit with your fingers. Beneath the removable engine cover is a more extensively built engine with moving pistons. The front wing is also modularly constructed and can be easily removed from the car.

Then there is the rear wing. The C42 already featured an adjustable DRS function, but this system was further developed in the C44. The rear wing is operated via two mechanical connections and the DRS can be activated directly from the cockpit.

Even the wheels received more attention. The C44 has, just like a real modern F1 car, wider rear tyres than front tyres. That may sound like a minor detail, but it changes the proportions of the entire model. This makes the C44 look much more like a real Formula 1 car, especially from behind.

And then we come to perhaps the biggest step forward: the prints.

With the C44, CaDA replaced the complete sticker livery with directly printed parts. All visible team logos, sponsors, numbers and colour details are already applied to the bricks. No large sticker sheet, no risk of crooked logos and no stickers that may come loose over time. The result looks immediately much sleeker and more premium.

In addition, CaDA includes parts that allow you to choose between the #77 of Valtteri Bottas and the #24 of Zhou Guanyu, including matching printed nameplates.

All this makes the C44, in our opinion, the model on which CaDA truly showed what it had in mind for its F1 series: not a simple building version of a race car, but a large technical collector's model in which even the smallest details are taken seriously.

Alpine A525: the formula further refined

In 2026 came the third major F1 building set: the CaDA C64012 BWT Alpine Formula One Team A525. And while the step from the C42 to the C44 was particularly large, the Alpine feels more like a further refinement of everything CaDA had learned with the C44.

The A525 consists of 2,173 parts, measures 71 × 23 × 14 centimetres and is once again produced at 1:8 scale. The striking blue-and-pink BWT livery immediately creates a completely different look from the dark Sauber, but here too all the decorations are printed directly on the parts. Stickers are once again completely unnecessary.

Technically, however, CaDA has certainly not stood still. The model features rear-wheel drive with a working differential, linked steering and real pushrod suspension. In such a construction, the movement of the wheel is transmitted via rods to spring elements placed further inside – exactly the principle that is also used in modern Formula 1 cars. 

The V6 engine is also functional. When the model drives, the internal engine parts move with the drivetrain. The engine cover can be removed, as can the front wing and even the sidepods. This allows you to actually view parts of the internal structure after building.

This is precisely where it gets interesting. Beneath the exterior, CaDA has not only hidden a frame, but has also tried to make elements of real aerodynamics visible, including Venturi channels and parts of the cooling system. That is a detail that could easily have been omitted in an F1 building set, because you can hardly see most of it once the model is fully built.

DRS also returns. Just like with the C44, the rear wing can be opened and closed mechanically, making one of the best-known aerodynamic systems in Formula 1 an actual part of the model.

CaDA also includes parts for two drivers. You can configure the Alpine as the #10 of Pierre Gasly or the #43 of Franco Colapinto. With this, CaDA follows the same principle as with the KICK Sauber: not only is the team officially licensed and built, but you can also actually choose which race car you display.

From C42 to A525: three models, three steps

When you look at the three cars side by side, the development only then becomes truly visible. The Alfa Romeo C42 laid the technical foundation with its scale, official license, working suspension and DRS. The KICK Sauber C44 then took the biggest leap: a more extensive chassis, many more parts, more realistic tyres, more refined suspension, better access to the technology and, above all, the switch to a fully printed livery.

The Alpine A525 builds on this and places even more emphasis on the technical construction of a modern F1 car. The pushrod suspension, working differential, removable sidepods and visible aerodynamic channels make it much more than simply a C44 in different colours.

In short, the development looks like this:

• Alfa Romeo C42 – C64005: 1,868 parts, 66 cm long, working suspension, steering, DRS and Pirelli tyres; the foundation of CaDA's large F1 series.
• KICK Sauber C44 – C64010: 2,553 parts, 71 cm long, tie-rod suspension, moving engine, cockpit-operated DRS, removable wing and engine cover, wider rear tyres and for the first time a fully printed livery.
• BWT Alpine A525 – C64012: 2,173 parts, 71 cm long, pushrod suspension, working differential, moving V6, functional DRS, removable front wing, engine cover and sidepods, visible Venturi and cooling elements and once again fully printed parts.

This is precisely what makes the three sets so interesting as a collection. They not only show three Formula 1 cars from different seasons, but also three phases in the development of CaDA itself.

Why the prints are such an important step

There is a reason we mention the fully printed parts multiple times. Especially with a Formula 1 car, this makes more of a difference than with almost any other type of building model.

A modern F1 livery consists of dozens of small sponsors, lines, race numbers and colour areas. On a model over seventy centimetres long, these details are decisive for the look. When dozens of stickers have to be applied individually, even one sticker placed slightly crookedly can stand out.

With the C44, CaDA completely changed that principle. Since then, the graphics on the premium F1 models have been applied directly to the parts. CaDA itself now also presents this step as one of the most important features of its premium F1 series.

For the building experience, this means fewer interruptions. For the final result, it means a sleeker finish and better durability. And for collectors, it ensures that a model can still look the same years later.

As far as we are concerned, this is precisely one of the reasons why CaDA has clearly managed to distinguish itself with the KICK Sauber C44 and Alpine A525.

Three officially licensed F1 cars for the collection

In addition to the technology, there is, of course, another important component: all three models are officially licensed.

This means that CaDA does not have to work with fictional team names or colours that only roughly resemble the original. Alfa Romeo, KICK Sauber and BWT Alpine are actually recognisable as they appeared on the circuit, including team identity, sponsors and driver-specific details.

We find this particularly important in Formula 1. An F1 car is more than just the shape of its chassis. The livery tells you which team, season and sometimes even which specific driver the car belongs to.

And at a scale of 1:8, these are certainly not models that disappear in the back of a cabinet after building. The C42 is already 66 centimetres long and both the C44 and the Alpine A525 measure approximately 71 centimetres. Place them side by side, and you have almost two metres of modern Formula 1 history standing there.

CaDA has built a clear F1 identity with three sets

What began with one striking Alfa Romeo has now grown into a recognisable line of its own within CaDA's range.

The C42 was the beginning: large, officially licensed and technically ambitious. The C44 then showed how much more seriously CaDA could take the concept, with a more complex construction and a completely stickerless finish. The A525 proves that this step was not a one-off outlier and once again adds interesting F1 technology.

This is precisely why we find this series so interesting. CaDA is not just trying to recreate a car that looks like a Formula 1 car from a few metres away. The brand is also trying to translate why such a car is technically special.

You may not ultimately see all the working suspension, DRS, differentials, moving engine parts and removable bodywork parts when the model is on the shelf. But during construction, it is precisely those functions that make the difference.

And in the meantime, we at CarBrick are, of course, especially curious about what CaDA will come up with next. The bar is now quite high after the KICK Sauber C44 and Alpine A525.

Which officially licensed Formula 1 car may be yours next?