Meccano Ferrari SF71H

Meccano Ferrari SF71H (sent for review)

It’s no big secret that I’m a huge Ferrari fan and have watched Formula One motor racing since I was a child.  My son has grown up with the sport in the same way I did with my Dad.  We recently received the Meccano Ferrari SF71H set from Spin Master UK and I have to be honest, my son hasn’t had much of a look in with this build!

Meccano Ferrari SF71H

Aimed at those aged 10 years and over, the Meccano Ferrari SF71H is part of the Engineering and Robotics series of sets. The set contains 362 parts (metal and plastic), 2 tools, a sticker sheet and instruction booklet.

Meccano Ferrari SF71H

We’ve built a number of Meccano sets over the last couple of years so have got to know the build technique well.  Although my son is slightly under the recommended age for the Meccano Ferrari SF71H I think he’s confident enough that he could have built it himself with only minimal assistance.  But just for once I decided that I’d build this one myself.

The instruction leaflet gives you step by step build instructions, and identifies each part required. Screw sizes are also shown to scale for easier identification.

Meccano Ferrari SF71H

The key to any Meccano build is to ensure that nuts and screws are securely tightened and that you re-check them throughout the construction.  The screws have an allen key hole head and then the nuts can be held in place with the spanner as you tighten.

As the build progresses you will also need to incorporate stickers to the design of the Meccano Ferrari SF71H, with some fitting over metal components (including covering some holes).

Meccano Ferrari SF71H

As the build comes together the hole covering starts to make sense, and actually this is such a clever design.

Meccano Ferrari SF71H

It’s a great set for any fan of the sport, but also just from the engineering point of view, to see how Meccano have overcome design issues to provide builders with a very realistic model.

There are some parts of the build which are quite tricky, I’ve got quite small hands, but even I struggled a little putting elements of the airbox together.  Patience is definitely required and as my son looked at me building the Meccano Ferrari SF71H it took me right back to my own childhood watching my Dad making his racing car models.

I do wish Meccano would find a more logical way of bagging their components.  The main nuts and screws are conveniently packaged in one bag, but all of the other components are rather randomly packaged so you do spend a bit of time hunting for pieces as the build progresses.  Our sticker sheet was also a bit crumpled when we opened the box, but it didn’t actually cause any issues when it came to placing the stickers on the model thankfully.

Meccano Ferrari SF71H

Other than that, the Meccano Ferrari SF71H was a joy to put together and I really enjoyed watching it come to life.

Meccano Ferrari SF71H

Of course it wasn’t long before my son had to put the Meccano Ferrari SF71H to the test with a spin around his own circuit.  He gave it the thumbs up.

We both agreed that the Meccano Ferrari SF71H has a very good likeness to this year’s car.  I took this at the British Grand Prix in July.

Meccano Ferrari SF71H

I’ve included my Amazon Affiliate link below for your reference in case you’d like to try this build for yourself.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

disclosure:  we were sent the item mentioned in exchange for an honest review

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