McLaren

Subject:
McLaren M23
Formula One Car
Kit Used: Tamiya 1/12

Review & model by:
Mark Huhtala
Pictures: R. Forys

[The M23 Formula One car designed by Gordon Coppuck.]

History: In 1958 Bruce McLaren left New Zealand to go to England and start his professional racing career. In 1959 he signed with the Cooper Formula One team, and at the end of the season, he won the U S Grand Prix. At only 23 years old, he was the youngest to ever win a Formula One championship event. He formed his own team in 1963, which is still racing to this day.

[McLaren formed his own team in 1963, which is still racing to this day.]

The first real McLaren racecar was the M-1A, a two-seat sports car. It was very successful with many orders received. In 1968, McLaren built the M7A Formula One car powered by the new Ford Cosworth DFV (double four valve) engine. With Bruce at the wheel, this car won the first race it was ever entered in, and that year, Bruce finished fourth in the points while his teammate Denny Hulme finished third.

In 1970, Bruce McLaren was tragically killed in a testing accident in Goodwood England. The team however, decided to continue on. In 1973 they produced the M23 Formula One car designed by Gordon Coppuck. Drivers Peter Revson and Denny Hulme finished fifth and sixth in the driver's championship with this car, and Team McLaren also finished third in the manufacturer's championship.

The Kit: The model represents the car as driven by Denny Hulme in the 1973 Argentinean Grand Prix. The kit is the Tamiya 1/12 scale kit released in 1974. As far as I know, it has not been re-released in this version since then. I purchased the kit in 1989 from the vendor room at Columbus for $80.00, and since then I've seen the same kit selling on line for over $200.00!

I put off building the kit because the decals were badly yellowed. Recently, a company called Studio 27 came out with an after market set of decals for the kit, so I decided it was time to build it. Overall, fit on the kit was very good, and it was finished fairly close to out of the box, but a few areas were enhanced. The seatbelts are surgical tape with buckles made from sheet styrene painted silver. I added wiring to the instrument panel, and I also added screens for the injectors, made from brass screen, using a homemade punch and die set.

[All of the bodywork was top-coated with Future]

The white paint is Model Master pure white, in the new lacquer sprays. The red is Testors gloss red in the little square bottles thinned with lacquer thinner. The decals from Studio 27 went down well with a little Microsol. All of the bodywork was top-coated with Future to give it a high gloss.

It was a fun build, and a welcome addition to my collection of 1/12 scale Formula One cars.