Fernando Alonso's McLaren MP 4/30

[1961redlegs]

I finished this morning this replica of the McLaren MP 4/30 Fernando Alonso drove at the Canadian GP in 2015.

The season of 2015 saw a reunion of McLaren and Honda, a combination which saw phenomenal success in their first collaboration. The McLaren Honda effort didn't see that success in 2015, mostly due to the teething problems of Honda's engine. McLaren finished ninth in the Constructor's Championship, the worst for the team in 35 years.

Fernando Alonso came back to McLaren from Ferrari in 2015, and the two-time World Champion's best finish was a fifth at the Hungaroring. In the Canadian GP, Alonso retired on the 44th lap due to exhaust problems, another in a string of disappointments on the season for the Spaniard.

I built this from the mid-season version of the Ebbro McLaren MP 4/30 kit. The car went together as good as the best Tamiya kits, absolutely straightforward. I painted it Gravity Colors McLaren Honda Graphite, the paint went on well and sticks really well to the body. I used a combination of kit decals and Tabu Design decals to make the graphics as accurate as possible. I also made extensive use of carbon fiber decals on the body tray and the suspension.

I enjoyed the build a lot, it was a cakewalk! Thanks for looking!

[Calvin]

Really cool! You did a nice job on it. I've never really thought about it, but the Mclaren body style was actually pretty neat looking for this era of F1 cars. I hope Mclaren can turn around their program more this year....Im a pretty big Mclaren fan.

[clm1545]

Nice job, Jerry. It looks super.

[russd]

Yes, I agree, that is a really nice job?
Rusty

[Deleted]

WOW! I almost never post on this form but the scuff/sheen on those McLaren MP 4/30 tires is about as realistic as it gets. Nice!

[indy]

The color looks good and the red sidewall choice blends in well with the McLaren scheme. 2015 was really an awful year for us McLaren fans but I always suspected the chassis, too, since the MP4/29 had been only the third best Merc car in 2014. At least the MP4/30 looked better than the 29

Jordan

[quattro]

This one got me thinking about getting hold of the MP4/31 (Spanish GP).

Just took delivery of it and was happy to see it includes the decals for Waffle Van Dorne.
The Mrs is Belgian you see and its for her. Big fan since his mega GP2 campaign.

What gets me is does anyone ever recall a kit of a car being available so soon after it has raced?
Especially at 1/20th.

I think Tameo and HI FI used to chuck out mid 80s 1/43 Ferrari F1 cars almost as soon as they were launched, but Ebbro has gone mad.

Three 1/20 versions of car per year and all released before the year is out?
And all this for a car that can hardly pull its own weight out of the pit box.

Those Japanese. Just love their love of Honda.

[quattro]

Going on with this Ebbro McLaren theme.

Working on a second MP4/31 (I will tell you about the first one when this one is done.....)

Go away for a few minutes and come back to find a part not shown in the instructions sitting in the box.

He is part of the reason I am doing a second model. Again I will tell you all later.

There is just something about this Ebbro kit he loves. Never even looked at all the other stuff I built.

Maybe he is looking for the bits that make up the mouse that powers the wheel in the Honda engine.........

[harveythedog2]

Great stuff. When I first got married my wife came with a cat. I made the mistake of leaving my spare decal box on the floor next to my chair. That cat got in my box too except he decide to mark his territory. Cat pee and water slide decals do not go together very well...