ARII 1/32 scale RX-7 FD3S

At 1/32 scale these RX-7 FD3S are neat little kits. Unlike the Aoshima 1/32 kits, the ARII kit is loaded with details such as a fully detailed interior. Small parts include a separate shift knob, rear view mirrors and wipers. Transparent parts are even provided for the turn signal lights, making this kit as well detailed as most 1/24 kerbside kits.
The chassis is neatly done with detailed suspension assemblies and a separate full length exhaust system.

One thing to watch out for is that for some time wrong sized tires were included in these kits, I have yet to find a patrol car kit containing the proper size tires.

RX-7 FD3S, Wangan Midnight Series Nr.4

released in June 1999

The kit depicts an FD3S RX-7 tuned by 'Racing Gang Ota', from the 'Bay Shore Midnight' manga and the arcade racing game 'Wangan Midnight' that was based on the stories.
The interior includes beautiful racing seats and even a full roll cage.
Rear wing is correct for the '99 RS type although the (separate) nose piece is a custom item with big additional lights.
There are no decals and no plated parts, probably to keep the costs down (it's only 800 Yen) but some very nice rubber-like tires are included and the BBS-style wheels look cool in black or dark gray metallic paint too.
This kit is about as much bang-for-your-bucks as a real-life FD3S !

'91 Enfini RX-7, Owners Club Series Nr.36

released in August 1999
rereleased in October 2023

Only 3 things differ between this kit and the Wangan Midnight Series kit mentioned above: the box art, the instruction sheet and the price which at 600 Yen is even 200 Yen cheaper.
There is a small copyright sticker on the Wangan box, so the price difference could probably be explained by a license fee for using the 'Wangan Midnight' name.
The kits themselves are identical down to the colors of the parts (white body, black parts).
Again no decals are included, but I love these kits anyway !

'91 Mazda RX-7 Patrol Car, Owners Club Series Nr.58

released in June 2004

ARII modified the RX-7 FD kit to a stock version and added patrol car parts, the roll cage has been deleted.
New parts are :

• front bumper
• stock seats
• stock wheels and tires
• stock door mirrors
• patrol car lightbar, debris shield and antenna

This release is a bit of a mixed blessing in that the new stock nose piece and seats are nicely done, but the wheels are a scale inch too small and come with huge narrow tires. Also the debris shield and the light bars are molded in white rather than transparent plastic, this spoils the effect a bit.
A small decal sheet is added with decals for license plates, instrument cluster, police badges and names for Kanagawa prefecture for the sides of the body (note that, as far as I can tell, Kanagawa prefectural police never had an RX-7 FD patrol car).
No instructions are given for painting and decal placement, but the box art shows most of this.
At 600 Yen this kit is still great value.