Mazda 787B-002 No. 55 1991 Le Mans Winner

[Lobo2me]

I really enjoyed building this 1/24 scale Tamiya kit box stock. Of course, I had to add a few PE parts, plug wires and plumb the engine, add some after-market decals, and various paints and finishes. Starting with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer and Mr. Surface 1000 Gray, I used many of the usual Testors automotive brush paints, plus Rust-oleum Chrome Metallic Finish spray, and duplicated the iconic race car’s paint scheme with Tamiya TS-22 Light Green and TS-96 Florescent Orange and topped it all off with TS-13 Clear.

No one expected Mazda 787B-002 to be competitive. After all, the relatively small Japanese manufacturer had been competing in the most grueling endurance race on the planet, the 24 Heures du Mans, for 20 years with few positives. 

But in 1991, with a lot of stick-to-it-iveness, creative engineering, a clever interpretation of the rulebook, and a little luck, No. 55 became one of my favorite race cars for these three reasons. First, it would become the first Japanese car to win the prestigious race. Second, this 787B-002 has been the only pistonless rotary internal combustion engine-powered race car to make to victory circle. And, Thirdly, and most importantly, I was there to see it live!

Thanks for looking…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by Lobo2me
Well...posted some of the wrong pics. Shot them in three batches. Posted a few I didn't mean to post. Darn!

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi Steve!

Wow, great work with impressive details. And the livery just pops. Bravo!

CT

[Lobo2me]

18 minutes ago, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Steve!

Wow, great work with impressive details. And the livery just pops. Bravo!

CT

Thanks Claude. Can't wait for your next creative project. Happy modeling!

[Jim B]

Great looking Mazda. Sure is bright!

[Lobo2me]

2 minutes ago, Jim B said:

Great looking Mazda. Sure is bright!

Thanks Jim. The livery pays ohmage to Japanese sportswear brand Renoun. And yes, it sure is bright!

[Jim B]

17 minutes ago, Lobo2me said:

Thanks Jim. The livery pays ohmage to Japanese sportswear brand Renoun. And yes, it sure is bright!

Definitely see that coming down the track.

[Dave B]

Great build Steve, and to be there, the sound must have been fantastic!!

Dave B

[Lobo2me]

1 minute ago, Dave B said:

Great build Steve, and to be there, the sound must have been fantastic!!

Dave B

The cacophony was truly amazing. A wide range of decibels and pitches depending on whether straight sixes, V8s, V10s, V12s, and Rotary engines.  The Wankels really screamed!

[Pete75]

Nice job - and a cool memento to have!

[Rich Chernosky]

Steve...That is a tough paint job to master but you nailed it. Great job....engine and interior are pretty cool too.  And to be there and see it run...priceless.

[absmiami]

Yup

[Mittagskind]

Yeah, looks great.

[ChrisR]

Nice.

[Lobo2me]

On 8/9/2023 at 4:43 PM, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Steve!

Wow, great work with impressive details. And the livery just pops. Bravo!

CT

Thanks Claude. Mazda says inspiration for the bright (almost shocking) livery came from the Charge line of sportswear offered by primary sponsor Renown. After my initial post I realized I had inadvertently mixed up a couple photos with others taken in several batches during construction. I rerplaced those last night, not that anyone would notice, but I slept better!

[Gramps46]

The late Wayne Moyer of this magazine once told me the winning Mazda's color and graphics were actually a wrap.  

[Can-Con]

That's pretty complex looking kit but you did an excellent job on it. Very impressive.

I picked up the Hasegawa 767 curbside kit in the same livery last summer and even though it will be my first attempt at one of these race cars I'm looking forward to it. I think that full kit you did would be a bit too much for me to tackle. 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Can-Con

[Lobo2me]

14 hours ago, Can-Con said:

That's pretty complex looking kit but you did an excellent job on it. Very impressive.

I picked up the Hasegawa 767 curbside kit in the same livery last summer and even though it will be my first attempt at one of these race cars I'm looking forward to it. I think that full kit you did would be a bit too much for me to tackle. 

Thanks Steve. Best wishes on your 767. The level of engineering and execution in most Tamkia kits make things considerably less intimidating for me. But there are always a few surprises like the occasional omission of a few parts, attach point vagary, paints not on the paint list, etc. There always seems to be something left to one's imagination a little more than it should.

Funny story...when I first decided to try and re-create the car I saw run in 1991, for some goofy reason, I could not find a Tamiya 787 kits. Blame that on operator error on my part, I have since found many. But originally, I thought I'd have to go with the Hagesawa, extensively modify the body and source aftermarket decals. So I ordered the 767 kit and no. 55 decals from studio 27. Then after they were well on their way I found the Tamiya kit. So...before attempting the 787 I built this Hagesawa 767. But not wanting two cars with nearly identical liveries, I decided to change things up a bit.

[Lobo2me]

On 8/9/2023 at 5:27 PM, Jim B said:

Definitely see that coming down the track.

 

On 8/9/2023 at 8:42 PM, Rich Chernosky said:

Steve...That is a tough paint job to master but you nailed it. Great job....engine and interior are pretty cool too.  And to be there and see it run...priceless.

Thanks Rich. As you probably know, the Tamiya kit has a great decal sheet. All of the green sections are complete skins. But I decided the best way to accurately duplicate this complicated livery was to tape off sections and hit them with Tamiya TS-22 Light Green and TS-96 Florescent Orange. I am very happy with the results.

Edited August 13, 2023 by Lobo2me
Can't spell....

[PappyD340]

Very nice!

[Rattlecan Dan]

That's a great job of detailing. Really striking build.