New From Platz/Beemax -1/12th Mazda 787B

[martinfan5]

Announced at the All Japan Hobby & Model Shop

Edited October 12, 2024 by martinfan5

[Justin Porter]

While we're all still waiting anxiously for Tamiya to reissue the 1/24th scale kit, seeing this 1/12th scale announcement is a huge joy! The 787B is one of those cars that tends to transcend builders' typical interests so it's ripe for a fresh kit.

[niteowl7710]

2 hours ago, Justin Porter said:

While we're all still waiting anxiously for Tamiya to reissue the 1/24th scale kit, seeing this 1/12th scale announcement is a huge joy! The 787B is one of those cars that tends to transcend builders' typical interests so it's ripe for a fresh kit.

Given the absolute joke show of the previous reissue of the Tamiya 787B where they didn't even make enough to ship them out of Japan and screwed over everyone who had them pre-ordered at places like HLJ.

[Ben Brown]

Cool! Just as I’m putting the finishing touches on the Tamiya kit.

Ben

Edited October 11, 2024 by Ben Brown

[Chuck Kourouklis]

WAY more interesting to me in 1/12 than in 1/24, gotta say...

[Zoom Zoom]

Knowing the history of their release schedule, I wonder if it'll be the 40th or 50th anniversary of the LeMans win when it's available? ??

[niteowl7710]

2 hours ago, Zoom Zoom said:

Knowing the history of their release schedule, I wonder if it'll be the 40th or 50th anniversary of the LeMans win when it's available? ??

I'd guess 75th...

[jaymcminn]

On 10/11/2024 at 7:36 PM, Zoom Zoom said:

Knowing the history of their release schedule, I wonder if it'll be the 40th or 50th anniversary of the LeMans win when it's available? ??

We should take bets as to whether this comes out before the Italeri 1/12 Stratos that's been "coming soon" for two years now!

[Zoom Zoom]

3 hours ago, jaymcminn said:

We should take bets as to whether this comes out before the Italeri 1/12 Stratos that's been "coming soon" for two years now!

It could so easily become a drinking game ?

I actually would be interested in this kit, especially in the Mazda white/blue color scheme that finished 8th. I'm currently restoring two 1/4 scale wind tunnel models for Jim Downing in his shop nearby, the '89 RX7 GTO that he drove, and the RX-792P that he has two 1:1 examples in the shop. One of the 792's is a running back up car assembled from parts (and is for sale w/a likely buyer from Japan) and the other is the rolling full-scale model that was used for auto shows and promotional materials, that one is 100% owned by Jim and he's keeping that, and the wind tunnel model will be decorated like it, and the RX7 will be decorated as well (it's in primer, the 792 was white gelcoat, never more than wind-tunnel workhorses). He also has (in the same orange/green color scheme as the 787B LeMans winner) the class-winning open cockpit 3-rotor LMP2 Kudzu he drove at LeMans in '96. I'm like a kid in a candy store every day I'm over there working ?

[The Junkman]

I'm sure you must cover your ears when they fire it up.

[Zoom Zoom]

4 hours ago, The Junkman said:

I'm sure you must cover your ears when they fire it up.

I have not been too close to it when it's running, the techs that work on it/around it wear ear protectors. I can say from the body shop (next room over from the main races shop) you can feel the car running at idle. When they rev it out it sounds absolutely wicked. There is a Mazdaspeed wizard that's been to the shop and has upgraded the electronics on it so it runs better than when the cars were campaigned originally, plus the electronics are much smaller/lighter. The other running 792 with Mazda corporate in CA also has those upgrades. I might be able to share the video I took while the 792 was running while I was in the body shop working on the models.

[Don Sikora II]

Ok, now you have my attention! I saw the RX-792P run at Road America back in 1992, and I will NEVER forget the sound of that car at full tilt! About ten years ago, I participated in a Mazda drive event for the original CX-5 intro at Laguna Seca and they had one there on static display. It was an unexpected treat to see it up close, but unfortunately it wasn't fired up the day I was there.

[Zoom Zoom]

15 hours ago, Don Sikora II said:

Ok, now you have my attention! I saw the RX-792P run at Road America back in 1992, and I will NEVER forget the sound of that car at full tilt! About ten years ago, I participated in a Mazda drive event for the original CX-5 intro at Laguna Seca and they had one there on static display. It was an unexpected treat to see it up close, but unfortunately it wasn't fired up the day I was there.

Do you know if the static display was one of the 3 actual running race cars or perhaps the Mazda static display 1:1 car used for promotional purposes? I guess 10 years ago it was either the running race car that's in Mazda's west coast collection, or the static display car (never had an engine, just a roller w/partial interior, a seat and steering rack, tube chassis). The static display car is at Downing Atlanta and the wind tunnel model I'm working on will be decorated like the static display car. The running 792P is likely going to a collector in Japan, but he'll donate it to the Mazda museum in Japan. He bought the Gatorade RX3 that Jim had and restored, I helped get some photos of it for Mike Quarterman who did a run of decals for it, I have two sets for future builds. One might go to Jim.

1:1 static model used for 1992 promotional materials. In the poster in a photo below this is this actual car.

As the model sat in Jim's front-room-of-shop museum:

After I got the body off the wind tunnel chassis, displayed with my poster that's been on the wall in two different houses. It's a full size poster, so that gives an idea of the size of the 1/4 scale model (body is fiberglass w/white gelcoat). 

[Don Sikora II]

It's been a long time, but I think it was an actual race car. I almost certainly would have taken some snapshots of it, but I'm pretty sure that's before I had an iPhone and I have no idea if they are still on a memory card around here someplace.

[YellowHound]

Have just found this thread. I do hope that kit isn't too far into the future.

It looks fantastic and the 787B is one car I'd love to build, especially in that scale.

[niteowl7710]

7 hours ago, YellowHound said:

Have just found this thread. I do hope that kit isn't too far into the future.

It looks fantastic and the 787B is one car I'd love to build, especially in that scale.

Given the already existing kit logjam I'd guess it'd be the end of 2025 before there's a chance to see it.

[YellowHound]

Can't get this 787B out of my head.

I've been looking for further news but have found nothing.

Does anyone have an inside line on it?

[niteowl7710]

12 hours ago, YellowHound said:

Can't get this 787B out of my head.

I've been looking for further news but have found nothing.

Does anyone have an inside line on it?

Sure...it'll be out February 31st...

In seriousness the Shizouka Hobby Show next month would be the next chance to see if they've made any progress on it. It's in a rapid prototype format in the original picture, and the BMW M4 GT3 that's sitting to the left has been in perpetual "Coming Soon!" for about a year now. Sooooo again end of 2025, maybe 2026, probably definitely possibly 2027...

[SpeedAndViolence]

Keeping a close eye on this thread...