released in April 1988
rereleased in July 2011
This Tamiya kit is based on Tamiya's excellent GT Limited (aka Turbo II) kit.
It shares all of the details but comes with a new body, interior tub and a choice of
raised or lowered soft tops on the transparent parts tree.
Still there are no pedals on the floor and the wheels are only right for a Japanese
car, most export cabriolets came with lightweight 15in BBS wheels instead.
Fujimi did a set of 15in BBS RS wheels (cat.nr. GT1) that come close, but the method of
attachment to the axles is incompatible with the stub axles Tamiya uses.
The new interior tub includes Mazda's innovative "Wind Blocker", a panel behind the seats that can be raised to reduce air flow in the interior at speed.
The problem with an open car with a steeply raked windshield is that air flowing over the top of the windshield curves down into the interior, hitting the occupants from behind. The Wind Blocker panel counters this.
Nowadays similar devices can be found in many convertibles and cabriolets, but the Mazda RX-7 Cabriolet was the first production car to feature such a device.
The Wind Blocker panel in the kit comes as a separate part and can be fitted in either lowered or raised position.
The kit retains all features of the GT Limited kit: there is a choice of left- or righthand drive, front wheels are steering and the headlights can be flipped up and down. The raised and lowered versions of the top can be swapped.
Body parts are molded in white, interior and chassis parts are molded in medium grey and windows and tops are molded in clear polystyrene. Wheels, intercooler and mirror faces are satin plated. Tires are 15in Pirelli P5 205/60 with authentic thread pattern.
Decals offer some engine bay decals, a choice of dealer plates, Japanese plates and Californian plates, instrument panels with a choice of speedometer ranges and a choice of white or black Mazda and Cabiolet emblems.
This kit was rereleased in 2011 as cat. nr. 24074 as part of a number of limited rereleases in a 'Tamiya Masterpiece Models' series, this was indicated by a round gold/black sticker on the box.
The box and instruction sheet also underwent some minor layout changes, but the kit parts were identical to the earlier release.
ZoomOn Model makes a number of aftermarket sets for the Tamiya RX-7 FC that also can be used on this model kit.