Mazda MX-5

Kit: Tamiya 24085

Scale: 1/24

Kit finished: 09 / 2003

I built this kit to present my own '92 Mazda MX-5. Tamiya has had two versions of MX-5 kits, the US-version with left hand drive and soft top (kit no 24082) and the Japanese Eunos Roadster with right hand drive dash and hard top (kit no 24085). For some reason Tamiya produces only the Eunos kit these days, so I made the model from that kit.

Making a MX-5 from the Eunos meant some extra work as I had to convert the dashboard from RHD layout to LHD. My car is a European version, so I had to make the rear registration plate recess wider and add a red foglight on the rear bumper. The foglight was made from a piece of plastic and a clear lens I found from the parts box. The registration plate recess was sawed to size and then the hole was blanked with plastic card. The radio antenna is a piece of metal wire from a Sakatsu rallycar antenna kit. I also added day time running lights in the front of the car. The wheels were stripped from the chrome plating and painted with Alclad 2 aluminum paint to give them a proper clear coated silver look. The body was painted with Mazda Classic Red touch up paint and polished after the paint had cured. Exhaust pipe tip is a piece of polished aluminum tube and there are chassis braces added in the front and rear of the chassis. Registration plates were drawn with PSP and printed with computer.

Tamiya's Eunos/Miata is a nice and simple kit and the body captures the look of the real car better than the Revell-Monogram Miata kit. However interior and chassis details are better in RM's kit and RM kit also includes an engine. Tamiya's interior door panels are really below Tamiya's standards and they need detailing. As usual, wheels, tires and clear parts are a lot better in the Tamiya kit. Some day I might build a more detailed MX-5 model from the RM kit, but I think that's not going to be finished any time soon as I'm quite pleased how this model turned out.

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14.9.2003