I seem to have trouble finishing a model, I have 5 models about 25-30% done, and another 5 about 90-95% done. I only have one finished model, it’s a curbside gunze Austin Healy Sprite. So when I saw Fujimi was releasing this kit, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to try and get a second kit finished. Mainly out of the box, I can’t help but add a few details here and there where needed.
This is how I plan to build mine. Light gun metal (TS42) for the body, and tan/black for the interior.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/mazda-mx5-bigg-front.jpg

The kit arrived two weeks ago, but I have only been able to start it now. Fortunately this is a great kit, and the first time I have bought a Fujimi kit. Much nicer than some of the older tamiya kits I have worked on of late. All parts have nice detail, and there is virtually no flash, or sink marks. The best body I have come across to date. The body is made up of 6 main pieces, The doors and wheel arches, bonnet, front and rear bumper and left and right sills. I am guessing the last 4 parts are separate so Fujimi can easily add some body kits.
The layout is similar to the new Tamiya merc with the suspension and lower part of the engine/transmission attached to the floor, while the upper part of the engine bay attaches to the body. Some people may not like this, but for today’s cramped engine bays you really can’t tell once it’s assembled.
Here is a shot of the floor of the car. Most parts are detailed flat black, however, the diff and transmission were given a light coat of X32 (titanium silver) to save me having to wash it. Sorry about the pics, the lighting was bad and I was in a hurry.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/DSC00944_edited.jpg

The various braces were coated with MM buffing aluminium and given a worn look before being sealed. The exhaust system was given a light coat of aluminium before being treated with kosutte gin-san (metal powder) to bring out a dark shine. All the finishes look similar in the pics, but you can see the differences in person. Much of the detail gets covered with various braces. This must be one stiff car.

The other interesting point to note is the suspension which can move and has separate metal springs. I wouldn’t test it too much, but it adds some extra realism, and will make it dead easy to lower a car. You can just set the height of the car and then glue the sliding shocks in place where they stick out of the wheel arches.

There is a lot of nice detail in the suspension (particularly) when you aren’t going to see most of it. There only disappointment comes from some of the simplification that occurs on the back suspension and means that the rear rotors are not a separate piece.

Here is a shot of the body with a coat of primer attached to the floor. I have glued the front and rear bumper in place, however, the sills are not attached.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/DSC00955_edited.jpg

I am going to leave them off to make polishing a little easier. The details and proportions of the body look very good from all angles. The front and rear bumper don’t line up perfectly so a small amount of sanding will be required so there will be no problems when it come time to polish. The bonnet is also a tight fit, so you will need to be careful to make sure that it sits flush.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/DSC00949_edited.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/DSC00951_edited.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/DSC00952_edited.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/DSC00950_edited.jpg

The wheels look very good, they are well proportioned and detailed, the tyres also look great. I checked the rims and they correlate to 18inch. The finish is also good, however, for some reason the silver appears to have run on one or two of the rims. Not too noticeable until you get close, but I may have to strip them if I am not happy.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/DSC00953_edited.jpg

Here is the top portion of the engine which attaches to the body. The surrounds have been painted light gun metal and the engine was painted X32.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/DSC00942_edited.jpg

The other smaller components were painted flat black and white. There is a good number of parts that make up the engine, however some masking is still required for both flat black and flat white. Overall the final results is good given the small amount of effort that went in, and the fact that the model will be displayed with the bonnet shut.
The plan is to make this a quick build, and to have it done in a couple of weeks. So far there have been no real problems, and I have got past the 25% barrier, now I just need to make it past the 90% one. If you are thinking about getting this model, do it. I don't think you will regret it.

wow, I think it is a very good idea desining an engine bay this way, but make it much harder to work with. Do you have any pictures of the interior?

looks great so far!

I might have to get this kit now.

i love this car and am planing to have this kit,everthing is perfect but the headlight is a little bit too big in scale.

This is another kit i'm waiting for :grinyes:

I'm definitely in love with these cars, so I will anxiously await your every update! It looks beautiful so far!

Here is another quick update. The body is now almost ready for paint, just a few more areas (such as round the lights) need some sanding. I used Mr surfacer 1000 for the primer and airbrushed it on. I think I might do this more in the future as the results are good when properly thinned.

The interior is still in the process of being sanded and painted. As with the rest of the model all the details are nice and crisp, and there are even some nice touches like stitching on the seats. I have to say that I don’t think the seats look too bad in red, but I will still paint them tan. A lot of filling and sanding is required to remove the joint between the seat front and back. The seat also includes the seat belt locator, however, it is not drilled out in the centre so I will have to do this as I want to run a belt through it.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/IMG_8467_edited.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/IMG_8469_edited.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/IMG_8471_edited.jpg

Here is a shot of the front light with the light housing and cover in place. Auw12 I think the previous pictures may have been a little misleading as I think the lights look well proportioned. The light housing is well detailed and has a nice chrome finish, with three separate bulbs

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/IMG_8474_edited.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/IMG_8472_edited.jpg

I also took a couple of pics with the top half of the engine in place.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/IMG_8477_edited.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/IMG_8478_edited.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/IMG_8481_edited.jpg

Still have to do a bit of work on my photography, It's hard at night to get the right lighting.

nice!very nice!the stitchings are gorgeous!i will order this kit right away!thanks buddy!

The steering wheel look gigantic! Could just be the pics.

-Chris

Parts look really good for a fujimi kit... :licka:

Fujimi has really turned it around lately, their latest kits are stellar.

Your MX-5 is coming along great. I looks like it's going to look awesome just as a box stock (mostly) build. I can't wait to see it put together by your hands, so we can have an idea of it's true potential.

Great progress on the model work so far, your metal painting is perfect, ill have to try some of your techniques, the work with the powder is great.
Keep up the great progress!, i hope you finish this one. :D

that sure is a novel way to do engine bays...sorta like reverse curbside. :lol:

LOL, the steering wheel does indeed look big,

Maybe an aftermarket steeringwheel?

The car has now been given about 5 light coats of light gun metal (TS42) and about 5 light-medium coats of clear (TS13). There is some orange peel as usual, and once I have finished curing the paint for 50 hours at 50 degrees I will polish it out.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/IMG_8549-1.jpg

When I saw the steering wheel on the sprue I also thought it looked a little big, but then I forgot about it as it was sitting at the bottom of the box. I measured it with some calipers and it came out as 18mm, which scales to 430mm. That sounded a little big to me, so I check the wheel of my Miura and it was 14mm, which scales to 336mm. Any ideas on roughly how big the wheel should be?

the color is taking my breath,nice work!

The car has now been given about 5 light coats of light gun metal (TS42) and about 5 light-medium coats of clear (TS13). There is some orange peel as usual, and once I have finished curing the paint for 50 hours at 50 degrees I will polish it out.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f188/scudera1/MX5/IMG_8549-1.jpg

When I saw the steering wheel on the sprue I also thought it looked a little big, but then I forgot about it as it was sitting at the bottom of the box. I measured it with some calipers and it came out as 18mm, which scales to 430mm. That sounded a little big to me, so I check the wheel of my Miura and it was 14mm, which scales to 336mm. Any ideas on roughly how big the wheel should be?
380mm is a standard i belive

This is nice for a Fujimi kit! This may have to be in must buy list of late... Keep up the good work

This isn't necessarily useful information, but the MX-5 steering wheel looks a little big in real life too.

Great build! I hope to get one of these once I finish the 2nd-gen Miata that'll sorta look like my real life one (as far as I know there isn't a model of the '01-'05 Miata with the slightly modified front bumper and headlights.)

Any progress on this?? I love this car!!!!

Yes I have made some progress, I would have had it finished but I polished through the paint in a couple of spots and haven't decided what to do. So it go put a side. I am in the process of moving house, however, i may be able to take some photos over the week end if all goes well

I have to strip mine also!!! I got a little to anxious and cleared it to soon and the clear ate through the paint in some spots!!!! Oh well, The plastic is so brittle though......would DOT3 be okay to strip it in?

I'm guessing it should be ok, but you might want check on some sprue first. I've used oven cleaner and brake fluid before and both have worked (but it wasn't on a fujimi product).

Engine detail seems to be a bit poor, but you made it look very good!