Hi All,
This is my review of the Model Factory Hiro Mazda 787B full detail kit. I have to thank my amazing wife Sarah for this, a gift for my fiftieth birthday in the middle of September. The 787B has long been my favourite racing car. In 1991 it was driver to victory in my favourite race, the Vingt Quatre Heures du Mans. The team of drivers included another of my favourites – Johnnie Herbert. The story of his rehabilitation after his awful F3 accident at Brands Hatch is incredible, and during the 90s I followed his career in F1 very closely. In 2011 I was present at Le Mans when Mazda demonstrated the restored car, driven by Johnnie.
My three favourites all combined.
I’ve long had my eye on this kit, but it’s eye wateringly expensive. Sarah asked what I wanted for my birthday, and I jokingly sent her the link to Hiro Boy. Imagine my reaction when she agreed it was an appropriate gift. I contacted Hiro Boy to see what the lead time was and they replied immediately that they had one in stock, as far as I know the only one in the UK at the time. A week later it was in our front bedroom while I counted the days to my birthday like a child waiting for Christmas.
Anyway, on to the kit. It all arrives packed in a large and very sturdy cardboard box. It’s too big to go in my photo booth so here’s a shot of it on shed floor.
The parts come separated in to two compartments. All the large resin is in the top, wrapped in bubble wrap, but I’ve already spent several days poring over the kit, so it’s all unwrapped here. The (many) metal parts are in zip lock bags, all under the cardboard insert and each bag cling film wrapped to an insert, so it can’t move around in transit. I’ve found no issues with the parts being damaged.
This card folder protects the decals and instructions, along with the PE sheets.
It also serves to show several corrections / clarifications of the instructions, and provides some useful templates for the vac formed side windows and internal detail
The instructions are very good, with clear diagrams and notes.
The main construction of the model is in large resin parts. The resin is a tough type I’ve not encountered before. My copy of the kit has no warping or distortions, and I’ve found no more than two air bubbles. The parts are covered in small depressions to show where to drill out the holes for many screws used during the construction of the model.
Here’s the nose area, which can be posed removed or fitted, with two magnets holding it in place.
There is no compromise when it comes to detail. I don’t think it shows here but the access covers in the back of the light recesses are molded in the underside.
These are the side pods.
The massive under tray.. There is another part that the nose mounts on.
The four tyres feature printed Dunlop logos, and no central mold seam!
The wheel rims are turned in aluminium, very nicely done, with no hint of burring or machining marks.
There’s a small bag of metal parts, with springs and screws contained.
Another with wire, heat shrink tube, and hoses.
The thinner PE sheet contains the radiator grilles and air intake meshes. This is very finely done, and attachment parts so one part came away with just light handling.
The thicker PE provides wing end plates and various brackets, and the seat belt buckles.
The decals for the green areas and dashed lines. I’m hoping to use these to make masks and paint all this.
The main sheet, with some handy blocks of the colours should any patching be needed.
The white metal splitter.
Some of the smaller resin parts come on molding trees.
This is the massive collection of white metal parts that I, frankly, couldn’t be bothered to lay out to photograph. There’ll be plenty of chances to see them during the build. The metal parts are very well cast, with a lovely smoothly textured surface.
In the box, the kit exudes quality. If it builds as well as it looks it’s going to spectacular fun to work on. Is it worth the high price tag? That’s a very subjective judgement, but I intend to build this over a very long time, one stage at a time, and savour the process. I think the ratio of expense to fun will be favourable! (The 1/24 version I'm building at the moment now seems like a rehearsal or recon build!)
Thanks for looking in, look out for a WIP as soon as I start.