Mazda Miata (Revell)

[bh1701]

I completed my Revell Mazda Miata kit. This is a replica of my neighbor's car. I presented them with this model the other day. I also worked on their life-size Miata recently since the paint was flaking off on the fenders and doors. The paint on the real one isn't perfect, but it's a great improvement over what it had looked like!

The Revell kit has a lot of good detail, but it definitely took a lot of patience and some swearing to get this to go together. A lot of trimming and shaping of many parts to get them to fit cleanly. For example: front and rear bumpers, windshield wiper frames to get the hood to sit flat, radiator, mounting tabs on the bottom of the engine, trimming the dash and interior side panels to get the interior to fit flush (another option is to trim the bottom of the windshield and vent windows, but I had those glued in by the time I noticed the problem).  Also a lot of clamping when gluing the chassis to get it to fit tight with the bottom of the engine compartment, and clamping on the front and rear bumpers to eliminate as much of the gaps between them and the body, too.

Thanks for looking!

Bart

[cobraman]

Your model looks good.

[espo]

Great looking Miata. I like how you detailed the engine area. This is something I enjoy and appreciate when I see it done to this level. Your friends 1:1 Miata looks like the factory had the body some how contaminated before they painted it. 

[kelson]

Cool build!,i'm sure your neighbours were thrilled when they saw it!.

[PappyD340]

Very nice Mazda!

[peteski]

Nice job Bart (both the model, and the 1:1 CAR)!  If you were building it as a replica, you could have also replicated the 1:1 license plates.

[bh1701]

9 hours ago, peteski said:

Nice job Bart (both the model, and the 1:1 CAR)!  If you were building it as a replica, you could have also replicated the 1:1 license plates.

Thanks, Peteski!

I decided to go with a "vanity" plate in place of the actual plate that's on the car. In Texas, your plates are automatically replaced every 7 years and you will be assigned a new plate number. So the plate on the model would have eventually fallen out of synch with what was on the real car. ?

Good to see you on this forum and the Railwire forum,  too! 

Bart

[peteski]

6 hours ago, bh1701 said:

Thanks, Peteski!

I decided to go with a "vanity" plate in place of the actual plate that's on the car. In Texas, your plates are automatically replaced every 7 years and you will be assigned a new plate number. So the plate on the model would have eventually fallen out of synch with what was on the real car. ?

Good to see you on this forum and the Railwire forum,  too! 

Bart

Hey Bart, so it's you here too?  Nice!

Plates in  TX change every 7 years?!   That's nuts!  Just when you start remembering your license plate number, they stick you with a new one?  Weird!  Are there vanity plates available in TX?  For 7 years only?

[RAMBENNA]

nice job, looks great

[bh1701]

4 hours ago, peteski said:

Hey Bart, so it's you here too?  Nice!

Plates in  TX change every 7 years?!   That's nuts!  Just when you start remembering your license plate number, they stick you with a new one?  Weird!  Are there vanity plates available in TX?  For 7 years only?

Yes, I am here, too! N Gauge trains and Model Cars - 2 of my hobbies!

I did some internet research on TX plates and discovered that my info was out of date. Back in 2015, the plates on my 2007 Mustang hit 7 years and I got new plates sent to me with a new number. This is what I found for the current process:

• As of November 1, 2016, the State of Texas will no longer automatically replace your General-Issued plates after 7 years. However, you may still apply at your county tax office for replacement plates if the license plate needs to be replaced for cosmetic or readability reasons.
• Specialty license plates (vanity plates)  with personalized numbers are issued for a one, five, or ten year term. At the end of each term, prior to expiration, your annual registration renewal notice will remind you that it is time to renew. If your specialty plate selection is not renewed within 60 days of expiration, the TxDMV system will automatically cancel the specialty plate selection, making it available for anyone to order.

Looks like vanity plates remain the same as long as you remember to renew them at the specified interval. The vanity plates are not cheap - otherwise I would have tried to get some for my Mustang! The rate for the 5 year subscription is $495.

As far as the "replacement" plates for the general issued plates, I couldn't determine if the replacement has a new number on it or if it stays the same.

Bart 

[peteski]

Very interesting. Thanks for doing the research.  Those rules are totally different than in Mass. or New Hampshire. Sounds like something in TX really eats up license plates if they want to replace them this often.  In Mass. I can request duplicate (new) plates at any time, but if I don't the DMV does not ever replace them automatically.  Replacement plates have the same number as original, and they don't cost much.  Vanity plates are also expensive here - about $100/year.

Anyway, back  to the topic: maybe you should have modeled your friend's car in its weathered condition.

[slusher]

Sweet clean build!