McLaren Mercedes MP4-26, 1/43 Spark

This car was driven by Lewis Hamilton, in 2011 German Grand Prix, which Lewis won that time. This is a scale model of that car, made by Spark in 1/43 scale. The model is beautifully made, but it has a few flaws. After all this is Spark and it is a nice model.

Ovo je auto koje je vozio Luis Hamilton na Velikoj Nagradi Njemačke 2011 godine, i na kojoj je pobijedio. Model tog auta je proizveo Spark u razmjeri 1/43 i mi ćemo danas malo pisati o njemu. Model je odlično urađen, naravno kao i svaki ima part mana ali da ne dužimo, lijep model svakako.

Prvo malo o bolidu, ovo je MekLaren iz 2011 godine, auto pravljen za tu sezonu, u kojoj je bio dosta uspješan. Na njihovu žaost ne dovoljno uspješan, pa je tako bio na drigom mjestu i u kategoriji konstruktora i u kategoriji vozača sa Džensonom Batonom za volanom. U autu se nalazio Mercedesov V8 motor zapremine 2.4 litra koji je imao instaliran KERS sistem. Ako nekoliko prethodnih sezona niste bili mnogo zauzeti gledanjem Formule 1, onda ne znate što je KERS. Skraćenica dolazi iz engleskog jezika i znači K- Kinetic, E-Energy, R-Recovery i S-System u prevodu znači sistem za povraćaj kinetičke energije ili ako bismo mi to skraćivali bilo bi SPKE. Ovo omogućava autu da skuplja energiju kretanja i onda je oslobađa u momentima kad je to dozvoljeno i potrebno. Ovom sistemu su se mnogi protivili ali eto ipak se koristi u F1. Sve u svemu te godine je ovo bio dobar auto koji je uspijevao da se uključi barem malo u trku za titulu koju je na kraju izgubio, od nadmoćnijeg Red Bula i fantastičnog Sebastijana Fetela.

Something little bit about the actual car, this is McLaren Formula one car for season 2011, with Mercedes engine. It was 90 degrees V8 engine with capacity of 2.4 liter and KERS installed. If you were not that much into Formula one for few previous seasons, than you don’t know what is KERS. KERS stands for Kinetic Energy Recovery System which allows car to collect and reuse energy of motion. This practically made F1 car hybrid cars. This car made six victories in 2011 season and was second in both constructors and in drivers championship, with Jenson Button as a driver who collected 270 points during the season. So this was good car, but not good enough, Red Bull cars are too good, especially with Sebastian Vettel in driver position. 

So now something about the actual model. It is a nice one, I would say that the biggest problem with it is missing Pitot tube, or it is just antenna. However part that exist on real car is missing on model. It is not something that is unrecoverable but definitely it is a big flaw. Next thing that I would like to point out as bad is cockpit. Seat belts are not that well made, and those are just a decal, which is unacceptable for Spark model. This is thing that we see on Altaya Ixo models, or RBA magazine models, but definitely not on Spark. I will say that not just that part is bad, but whole cockpit could be better, but never mind, it is nice model after all. Have to say that everything else is great about the model. The car has proper tires, so these are the Pirellis that were used on German GP (the yellow ones). The paint is, as always on Spark models, great. Parts are carefully molded and very correct. The model is so detailed that something you didn’t saw on an actual car you car spot on model. The nose cone is one thing for example. This model has characteristically designed nose cone, with some parts I didn’t noticed on a car while watching on TV. And when I got the model I was surprised that “there is something black on its nose”. After looking for that part online I was informed that is part that improves aerodynamics of a car. So as expected, Spark made no, or just a few mistakes and, as always, made good model. The one thing I have to say is this is a resin model. And I will use this text as announcement for text about resin and metal models.

O samom modelu ima dosta da se kaže. Dosta dobar model koji ima svojih par mana. Neke su ne popravljive, dok su neke možda i zanemarljive, ali sve u svemu su svakako prisutne. Možda problem ovog modela je taj što model dolazi od renomiranog proizvođača i od takvih ne očekujemo greške. Ali ipak ih ima, prva greška koja vam pada u oči je nedostatak pitotove cijevi, ili je to neka antena. Nije na kraju ni važno, jednostavno neji dio koji postoji na stvarnom autu nije tu na modelu. Nije nešto što se ne može ispraviti ali je nešto što jako smeta kad pogledate model. Sledeća mana je to što na modelu kokpit nije nešto previše dobro napravljen. Mislim da nalijepljeni pojasevi nisu nivo koji Spark održava, i mislim da je to nešto što možemo da očekujemo od Ixo Altaya modela ili od RBA modela, ali nikako od Sparka, koji radi fantastične rezinske modele. Cijeli kokpit je mogao da bude malo bolji, nekako mi nedostaje detaljnosti. Mada moramo imati u vidu da Spark rijetko radi modele kod kojih je kokpit prazan pa tako mislim da se možda nijesu izvještili sa izradom unutrašnjosti kokpita modela F1. Što se ostatka modela tiče, fantastičan model, sve u svemu je sjajan. Farba je odlična, jako dobro dočarana ta hrom boja MekLarena, sa crvenim detaljima, izgleda jako dobro. Neke djelove koje niste mogli da uočite na pravom auto na modelu možete da vidite, i to je jako dobro. Na primjer, ja sam bio iznenađen vrhom modela, i mislio sam da je nešto promašeno. Nakon gledanja slika auta na internetu sam shvatio da sam bio u krivu i da je model zapravo dobro modelovan i da je taj model na koji sam tada gledao kao na „nešto crno ispod nosa auta“ zapravo aerodinamički dodatak koji se te godine našao tu da poboljša prilijepljivanje bolida za asfalt. Pohvala za točkove modela, jer su ispravne gume stavljene, taj žuti Pireli je korišćen tada na VN Njemačke. Sve u svemu, sjajan model, veoma dobro urađen, ne bismo ni očekivali manje od Sparka. Ovaj tekst bih iskoristio da najavim u budućnosti tekst o rezinskim modelima, i o tome da li su bolji i u čemu su bolji od metalnih modela.

 This is Lewis winning car, but interesting is that today is Jenson birthday, and he had three victories with this car, he was one who won the longest race in F1 history with this car. So, happy birthday Jenson, and wish you many more victories, especially more victories against Red Bull and Vettel!!

Ovo jeste auto Luisa Hamiltona, ali danas je Džensonu Batonu rođendan pa bih iskoristio da kažem, Srećan rođendan Džensone, i želim ti mnogo novih pobjeda posebno mnogo pobjeda protiv Red Bula i Fetela!!!