Review: 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna
Posted by CapnRex101,
LEGO has produced a variety of Formula 1 sets this year, ahead of the even broader selection coming in 2025. I am certainly anticipating their impending release, which has finally prompted me to open and build 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna!
This set was launched in March and looks excellent on whole, although a few problems are apparent too. Nevertheless, with the similar 10353 Williams Racing FW14B & Nigel Mansell arriving next year, I think it is worth examining Ayrton Senna's classic 1988 McLaren.
Summary
10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna, 693 pieces.
£69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99 | 10.1p / 11.5c / 11.5c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
The issues are frustrating, but are outweighed by the model's many authentic details
- Realistic bodywork shape
- Attractive livery
- Detailed engine
- Many printed elements
- Useful display stand
- Inaccurate rear tyres
- Poor colour matching on certain printed parts
Minifigure
Ayrton Senna is among the most popular and successful Formula 1 drivers in history, winning three world championships before his death at the infamous 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. This minifigure depicts Senna in his 1988 championship-winning season, so features an accurate red racing suit, decorated with stitched patterns and advertisements.
Though certain brands are understandably absent, the overall design is authentic and I like the addition of Senna's logo on the front. In addition, his yellow and green helmet is highly detailed and these vibrant colours have become synonymous with Ayrton Senna, reflecting his Brazilian nationality.
A unique head has been produced for the racing driver, capturing his cheekbones well, but the freckles are a bit too prominent. Both expressions look good though, especially his determined smile, shown above. The minifigure comes with a trophy and a dark bluish grey ice cream cone to hold his helmet, which is a welcome inclusion for displaying the figure.
Reference
Source - carpixel.net
The Completed Model
A display base for the minifigure is also provided, taking inspiration from the angular podium at the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix. I like this idea, but its execution leaves something to be desired, as the podium looks strange with a 4x4 tile attached. Similarly, the stickered quotation is a nice idea, although the actual quote is an awkward translation from Senna's native Portuguese.
Excellent though the minifigure is, the highlight here is obviously the McLaren MP4/4. Winning fifteen of the sixteen races in 1988, this car was incredibly dominant and is a perfect choice for an Icons design, especially since LEGO has rarely explored this period of F1. The car's red and white livery looks superb and I love its display stand, taking advantage of the model's relatively light weight.
The car is only connected to the stand with two Technic pins, but it feels completely stable and presenting the model at an angle definitely improves its display value. In addition, the dark and light bluish grey colours work well and the simple mechanical texture suits Formula 1, alongside a chequered design on the information plaque.
Of course, the McLaren can also be displayed without the base. Its proportions are generally realistic and the length of almost 33cm matches other Icons models, notably including 10353 Williams Racing FW14B & Nigel Mansell. Moreover, the bodywork shaping is accurate on the whole, albeit with a few conspicuous compromises.
Chief among them is the nose, which should curve in multiple directions. Unfortunately, that is near-impossible to replicate without specialised parts, so tiles are used instead and look much too flat. The 2x2 rocker plate under the 2x6 tile on the nose is awkward too, especially given its grey colour. I am inclined to replace it with a black piece.
However, the front wing looks fantastic, complete with the MP4/4's unusual end plates. These are decorated with stickers, but the other decorated pieces in this area are all printed. Only 11 stickers are actually included, which is surprisingly few, relative to many LEGO Formula 1 cars. Unfortunately, the white printing on the 4x8 curved wedge slope looks pretty awful.
The new wheels are stunning though. While the tyres are not removable, the moulded texture seems very realistic for slicks and they are surprisingly heavy. Also, I like the new suspension elements, which are specialised enough to look accurate on the McLaren, but could easily be adapted for many different cars.
Additionally, the steering rods are integrated neatly, sandwiched between the suspension arms. The wheels are therefore connected to the steering wheel and this feature works well, although there is some play in the steering, admittedly. Nevertheless, considering the limited space in the body, I think this mechanism is effective.
The cockpit is rather basic, but all the essential features are included. I like the black seat and headrest, as well as the printed windscreen, accurately adorned with Tag Heuer branding. The red bodywork around the windscreen is disappointing though, since red stripes should continue down either side. Swapping the white 2x4 curved wedge bricks for red ones would be better.
Otherwise, the cockpit also contains a proper steering wheel and a generic printed tile for the dashboard. However, my favourite internal feature is the sextant representing the anti-roll bar controls because the shape of this accessory is perfectly accurate, compared with the original lever inside the car.
I am pleased with the smooth bodywork behind the cockpit as well, only interrupted by small snorkels on top of both side pods, highlighted with black stripes printed on 1x1 plates. These were removed for the second half of the season and you can also detach them here, although 2x2 tiles are not supplied to replace the 1x2 jumper plates.
The shaping along the sides is equally impressive, recreating the inward curvature where the Shell branding appears. These pieces are stickered, while the 2x4 curved slopes with cutouts above the engine are printed, as is the 4x3 curved wedge slope towards the back. Once again, the colour matching could be better, but much of the red pattern is brick-built.
You can remove this section of bodywork to reveal the engine inside. This is another highlight, capturing as many details as possible from the original V6. Pearl dark grey ingots and multiple metallic silver pieces are used to brilliant effect, with a white flower forming the oil reservoir cap. The green, yellow and dark blue colours of the Brazilian flag are a nice touch too, in honour of Senna.
Unfortunately, this brings us to the weakest area of the model. The rear tyres should be much wider than those at the front, but all four are identical instead. The upcoming Williams FW14B rectifies this problem, which is obviously a positive, although it only makes the fault here more frustrating. After all, if the correct tyres were going to be produced anyway, why not make them for the McLaren?
The rear wing is nicely designed though, with clips anchoring the panels on either side, so the whole assembly feels strong. The shape is accurate and I like the printed McLaren tiles on top, across 2x6 and 1x8 elements. Of course, the real car displayed Marlboro branding here, but its omission was inevitable and makes complete sense.
A black 1x2 grille slope adds some texture at the rear of the car, underneath the trans-orange warning light. Maybe the gearbox could have been a little more detailed, although focusing on its red housing was probably sensible, as the 1x2 panels on each side look absolutely faultless.
Overall
10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna comes close to greatness, which actually makes the model quite frustrating in some respects. The overall shape and colour scheme looks superb and the designer clearly paid close attention to minor details, especially inside the cockpit and the engine bay.
Unfortunately, the few issues are extremely obvious. The narrow rear tyres look totally wrong, while the nose desperately needs more opaque printing to match the white bodywork. One of these flaws will soon be rectifiable, at least, as 10353 Williams Racing FW14B & Nigel Mansell contains improved tyres. On that basis, I would recommend the set, despite its shortcomings.
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26 comments on this article
Wish they had done the 1993 McLaren MP4/8 instead,my favourite non-Schumacher F1 car, looks wise. Not a brilliant car due to the engine, Senna finished 2nd winning 5 races with it (including Donington in the rain), but a thing of beauty.
I'm glad to see a Brickset review for this set. I got it a few months ago, and the review pretty much sums up how I feel about it. I'm going to buy a set of the FW14B wheels so I can mod this.
This scale looks quite good. I hope they continue to add to the two sets at this scale in the future.
I've been wondering this for a while, is the issues with print qualities, brick thickness and/or color variation an issue with one factory, or multiple? Because Lego makes the profit to fix these issues, they just don't and frankly we do deserve the high level of quality that Lego says it holds itself to.
Now we need a tribute set for Denny Hulme, a New Zealand driver.
A have been a passionate non-smoker all my life, but even I think the car looks strange without the Marlboro branding.
I also found it funny as a child when tabacco advertising was banned in Germany and the West sponsored Mercedes touring car team changed the branding to "East". It defied the ban yet everyone knew what was meant.
https://www.artcraftmodel.com/de/minichamps-1-18-mercedes-benz-190e-25-16-evo-2-no7-dtm-1991-kurt-thiim/p-61719/?kat=4-6
@ItisNoe said:
"I've been wondering this for a while, is the issues with print qualities, brick thickness and/or color variation an issue with one factory, or multiple? Because Lego makes the profit to fix these issues, they just don't and frankly we do deserve the high level of quality that Lego says it holds itself to. "
I think the issues with print quality are similar in all factories. In this case, you can actually feel the difference between the printed surface of the 4x8 curved wedge slope and the bare red plastic, so I think they have tried to increase the thickness of the ink and achieve a stronger finish. Unfortunately, it is still not enough and there is a clear difference between the white printing and neighbouring white plastic.
LEGO could definitely improve the situation, but I get the impression it would require major investment and changes to how printing is applied. Honestly, I think I underestimated how dramatic this change would need to be. In the past, I have thought it could be as simple as adding more layers of ink, but perhaps not, based on this set.
That being said, LEGO has the financial means to improve and I hope they do.
@AustinPowers said:
"A have been a passionate non-smoker all my life, but even I think the car looks strange without the Marlboro branding.
I also found it funny as a child when tabacco advertising was banned in Germany and the West sponsored Mercedes touring car team changed the branding to "East". It defied the ban yet everyone knew what was meant.
https://www.artcraftmodel.com/de/minichamps-1-18-mercedes-benz-190e-25-16-evo-2-no7-dtm-1991-kurt-thiim/p-61719/?kat=4-6"
I think those of us of a certain age always think Marlboro McLaren.
Along with JPS Lotus et al.
The other issue with this set is the helmet. It is missing the blue stripe.
I was so happy to get this set when it launched.
I was a huge F1 fan, back in the days. Senna's passing was a huge blow to the teen me. I was also a big fan of the Villeneuve family, who are from my part of the world. I was too young to withness Gilles' accomplishments, but I really enjoyed Jacques' short run as a top driver.
Anyway, I got the set, I built it, and it did nothing to me. And I mean, nothing.
So I took it apart and put it for sale on my BL store.
I will not be getting Williams FW 14.
(I do love the speed champion F1, however, and may get a couple of the new ones)
@CapnRex101 said:
" @ItisNoe said:
"I've been wondering this for a while, is the issues with print qualities, brick thickness and/or color variation an issue with one factory, or multiple? Because Lego makes the profit to fix these issues, they just don't and frankly we do deserve the high level of quality that Lego says it holds itself to. "
I think the issues with print quality are similar in all factories. In this case, you can actually feel the difference between the printed surface of the 4x8 curved wedge slope and the bare red plastic, so I think they have tried to increase the thickness of the ink and achieve a stronger finish. Unfortunately, it is still not enough and there is a clear difference between the white printing and neighbouring white plastic.
LEGO could definitely improve the situation, but I get the impression it would require major investment and changes to how printing is applied. Honestly, I think I underestimated how dramatic this change would need to be. In the past, I have thought it could be as simple as adding more layers of ink, but perhaps not, based on this set.
That being said, LEGO has the financial means to improve and I hope they do."
Seeing how alternative brands like Cobi, CaDa, Pantasy, BlueBrixx or Kiddicraft (in the case of the latter the parts are made by Panlos) among others manage to achieve perfect light-on
-dark-colour printing, it can't be rocket science. But it will require some investment, an investment LEGO is clearly unwilling to do, as long as customers don't vote with their wallets, believing the Danish quality to still be the best and everyone else just being a "scammy clone brand", to quote another Brickset member who recently used that exact term to deride legitimate competition. It's exactly that kind of attitude that makes LEGO get away with subpar quality at premium prices.
Seems like this is a rare case where a sticker would have worked better than the print.
@AustinPowers said:
"A have been a passionate non-smoker all my life, but even I think the car looks strange without the Marlboro branding.
I also found it funny as a child when tabacco advertising was banned in Germany and the West sponsored Mercedes touring car team changed the branding to "East". It defied the ban yet everyone knew what was meant.
https://www.artcraftmodel.com/de/minichamps-1-18-mercedes-benz-190e-25-16-evo-2-no7-dtm-1991-kurt-thiim/p-61719/?kat=4-6"
That got me looking back at the Tamiya models of F1 cars that I was a big fan off back in 80s, where they came with the alternative non-tobacco decals (which may have been a UK thing), so it was straight on the secondary market to get Marlboro and Camel decals.
As an aside, looking at pictures of the Tamiya McLaren MP4/4 shows how totally off the front of this model is, in both shape, which is probably fair enough for a Lego version, but especially in colour/design, which is much less understandable.
Reminds me a bit of 5540.
While I have no intention of getting this set or any other at this scale, I'd love to see them do more historical Formula 1 sets. As I said in the comments on the reveal article for 10353, I'd love to see some from the early days of F1.
@AustinPowers said:
"A have been a passionate non-smoker all my life, but even I think the car looks strange without the Marlboro branding.
I also found it funny as a child when tabacco advertising was banned in Germany and the West sponsored Mercedes touring car team changed the branding to "East". It defied the ban yet everyone knew what was meant.
https://www.artcraftmodel.com/de/minichamps-1-18-mercedes-benz-190e-25-16-evo-2-no7-dtm-1991-kurt-thiim/p-61719/?kat=4-6"
The build is actually shockingly close to Marlboro branding, much more so than any de-branded car toy has been allowed in the last 20 years. Transformers got in a nasty last-second change where they had to modify the red chevron on an adult collectible a few years ago (Masterpiece Exhaust, based on the Lancia Stratos). I'm surprised Lego was even allowed to release something with obvious Marlboro branding, even with the logo removed.
The only alteration to the red chevron is beneath the windscreen, where it doesn't continue to the wheels and is slightly rounded... a much less drastic alteration than Transformers Exhaust having to cut a whole square out of the pattern.
What would be awesome now, is that Lego releases a service pack with the right tires ans parts to fix the McLaren.
Or at least I Hope these will be available AT pab but since they are branded I don't think they will...
We should all write to Lego about it.
It was sad to read "San Marino - 1994" here :(
The discussion of crappy Lego quality, the old image of this car, and it box-like livery make me want to smoke a cig.
Disagree that the helmet is highly detailed. The two stripes (green AND blue) on the yellow background are fundamental to three iconic Senna look and the Senna brand. Leaving one stripe off was a very odd choice. Mansell's helmet had a similarly iconic design and I'll going to need to see it faithfully replicated before buying the next set.
I saw this on display at a Lego Store and it is such a poor excuse of a set. The printed cone piece looks pink instead of white AND the print does not extend to the bottom of the piece, and the tiny rear wheels make this look like a F3 car. I don't know how long fanboys will excuse such low quality from Lego, but that is not even acceptable from knock offs.
I think Lego thought they could get away with using the four identical tyres on this set, but have taken the criticism onboard, and rectified it for the 10353 FW-14.
To me at least, it seems like it would have been better to use a white 4x8 curved wedge slope and print the red parts instead of the sub-par white over red print we got. (Or as some have said, use a sticker!)
That said, I love this set, and with a few modifications it makes a great display. I have a second I'm working on as a 'body-off' version, showing the carbon-fibre monocoque, engine details, and cooling arrangements. (Need 11 badging for Prost's car too!)
Definitely looking forward to adding the FW-14 to the display...
@Nuclearxpotato said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"A have been a passionate non-smoker all my life, but even I think the car looks strange without the Marlboro branding.
I also found it funny as a child when tabacco advertising was banned in Germany and the West sponsored Mercedes touring car team changed the branding to "East". It defied the ban yet everyone knew what was meant.
https://www.artcraftmodel.com/de/minichamps-1-18-mercedes-benz-190e-25-16-evo-2-no7-dtm-1991-kurt-thiim/p-61719/?kat=4-6"
The build is actually shockingly close to Marlboro branding, much more so than any de-branded car toy has been allowed in the last 20 years. Transformers got in a nasty last-second change where they had to modify the red chevron on an adult collectible a few years ago (Masterpiece Exhaust, based on the Lancia Stratos). I'm surprised Lego was even allowed to release something with obvious Marlboro branding, even with the logo removed.
The only alteration to the red chevron is beneath the windscreen, where it doesn't continue to the wheels and is slightly rounded... a much less drastic alteration than Transformers Exhaust having to cut a whole square out of the pattern."
Ah, Exhaust, also known as "Marlboor Wheeljack." No, that's not a typo, they spelled it "Marlboor" so as not to infringe on the trademark. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Marlboor_Wheeljack
Frustrating set. So much is good, but the few things that are wrong with it are VERY wrong. Those rear tires indeed, but to me the worst bit is that slope piece on the nose: Once again showing Lego has probably the worst printing quality in the business, but even apart from the lacking opacity, the shape of the print is completely off. And maybe there are legal reasons of why they couldn't just do the chevron shape, but considering that's absolutely essential to this livery, well, maybe they should have picked another car. Still intending to replace that piece with a white one and paint it properly....
Add to that the much simplified helmet, the maybe not so many but as usual way too white stickers, and a few more questionable details, and I feel pretty bad having paid full RRP on this clear case of Lego putting maximum profit over any sort of quality.
The incorrect rear tires are, quite frankly, just baffling seeing as the FW14 is due to be released. LEGO ought to offer some parts pack replacement. They could perhaps include the parts for Prost’s car.
As for the nose, yeah, a bit more design time could have probably made this look better. No question.
Overall though it’s not a bad set. I think sometimes we forget that LEGO is a toy company first. And with that comes limitations due to this mantra and the bricks themselves.
I sold 300 of these back in March - June, never seen such a successful product locally.