I was going to have my son build it, but then I thought I might as well have some fun, so I ended up building it.

Like the Lotus, this car is of two parts. The first part (i.e. the base) was pretty straightforward.

The second part (i.e. the front) took more patience. Lots of unique parts and also the front design. Having said that I really enjoyed building it, especially when the car was finished. The Ferrari really looks superb.

It took me about an hour to finish. It was good fun. And the car looks beautiful.

The 1970 Ferrari 512 M is a set that I was on the fence about getting, but I decided I wanted it because of its unique design.

Building experience:

This took me about an hour to build, but I was going very slowly, making sure not to mess up the stickers. There were around 15 of them in the set, and they felt pretty manageable and were not annoying during the build. The building techniques used were fantastic; the entire front section of the car was angled using clips and hinges. Some bodywork on the sides of the car were attached with bars shoved into hollow studs, as well as a 2x1 curved slope piece clipped upside down to form the smooth angle around the rear wheels.

The minifig:

The minifig is pretty simple, but I find the torso design to be very attractive with the collared race suit and sideways zip pockets.

The finished product:

The final model looks fantastic from almost every angle. In particular, the side profile is very accurate and distinctive. The red colour pops and the white stickers and highlights help complement it. The various wedge and slope pieces in LEGO's inventory help form the brick-built details of air intakes on either side of the vehicle. Jumper plates used behind the cockpit help to widen the vehicle to 9 studs at the rear. There are even 2 red 1x1 plates with the Ferrari logo printed on the side that add more accuracy and authenticity to make this model as close to the real thing as possible. I only have a couple of nitpicks about the overall look of the set. The prints used for the windscreen and the side of the headlights don't match the red shade of the bricks. That doesn't detract from the look too much, it just is a minor complaint. In addition, the cockpit piece doesn't seem wide enough and the rear looks kind of plain, but other than that, this set is pretty much as perfect as I can ask for.

Value for money:

This set retails for $20 in the United States, just like every other 8-wide single pack from the Speed Champions line. I think that is a good value considering it contains a detailed minifig and also has more parts than average for a single Speed Champions vehicle (291).

Overall:

Classic race cars like this 512 M may seem a bit odd-looking to some people, but if you like the appearance of Le Mans racers from this era, I definitely think it is worth buying because of the awesome build and the eye-catching final model. Even if it isn't perfect, it's as close as is reasonably achievable and its unique shape will definitely stand out in your collection.