Not lengthy after I pre-ordered the set, I acquired a field within the mail and at last had what I believe is among the coolest Lego units ever in my possession. Because it usually occurs, I used to be too caught up with every day life to construct it straight away, however I finally set just a few days apart to construct it all through my children’ spring break. My colleague Adam Ismail additionally acquired one however he constructed his in a single sitting, which is commendable. Then once more, he is a little bit of an overachiever.
Both means, I totally loved the meeting course of, however as soon as I used to be achieved with the set, I could not assist however discover just a few areas the place Lego actually dropped the ball. At the beginning: the tires. The entrance ones are okay, however the issue is that each one 4 tires are equivalent, so the rears find yourself being extremely slender and lower than snuff. The MP4/4’s rear tires have been 5 inches wider than the fronts—11.5 versus 16.5. This can be a huge miss for an in any other case handsome set.
Then there’s the entrance fairing, which has that huge crease or kink because it will get to the tip of the nostril of the automotive. I do know, I do know, it is a Lego set and it is nonetheless going to be blocky, however I really feel like one thing may’ve been achieved to match the McLaren’s easy, sloping entrance.
Final however not least, there’s the sticker set. I absolutely perceive why Lego cannot simply print everybody’s brand from again within the day. There are licensing points, the willingness of different firms to cooperate within the challenge, and the truth that the largest sponsor of the automotive is a freaking cigarette firm. I get it. However you recognize, with out all of the sponsors, the automotive simply seems a bit bare.
Shortly after I nestled my construct into its personal acrylic field and located it a pleasant little spot on my bookshelf, the reply to my prayers emerged in a Lego Fb group I am in. It seems just a few Legoheads who’re artful with vinyl and stickers had provide you with a full duplicate livery of Senna’s F1 automotive. Not lengthy after that, MattsBrickMocs—a widely known Lego accent firm from the U.Okay.—rolled out its personal super-legit sticker set for 18 GBP. It even supplied a Prost sticker set, in case you needed to show your Senna automotive right into a Prost automotive for some cause. Or possibly you’ve gotten two Lego units and wish to construct the pair. That’d truly be form of cool.
It solely took a few weeks for the decals to reach from England, and by chance they have been fully intact. They sat round in my workplace for just a few weeks as a result of once more, busy life, however I lastly acquired round to placing them on this weekend. The result’s fairly improbable. I am a lot happier with the MP4/4 mannequin now that it higher resembles the true deal.
It solely took me about an hour to get the entire thing achieved. About half of that was dedicated to the tire decals alone, which I largely did one letter at a time as a result of I take pleasure in struggling. I lastly grew impatient after three tires, so I used the included switch tape to wrap up the final one. The tires nonetheless look off, however they’re barely extra realistic-looking with the Goodyear Eagle decals. General, I could not be happier with the way in which my Senna McLaren F1 automotive seems now.
E mail the writer at jerry@thedrive.com