Mazdaspeed RX-7 GT-C “Unicorn” Custom

Hello all,

I’m a new poster here, but I’ve actually been reading this forum for a few months now. I grew up building model cars like a lot of kids, but never stuck with the hobby. Somehow, I was led to this forum and after checking out some of the amazing projects that many of you have done, my interest in model building has been renewed and I started building again.

This is my first auto project in years. and I’ve never done anything beyond what was “in the box”. So, for what I have planned, this is and has been so far a pretty big leap for me in my limited experience.

This car in particular is a special one. Ten years ago, I had a cashier’s check in my hand and I was on my way to pick up a 1994 Mazda RX-7. Up to that point, I was a huge FD fanatic, joining all the forums, playing Gran Turismo, buying the HyperRev magazines, attending 7Stock, etc. For months, I had been checking listings waiting for the perfect FD and finally found it. I had big plans for my future RX-7 and the dream was about to come true. Long story short, the cashier’s check instead became part of a down payment on a new townhouse and the FD got away… Now married and with a 5 month old, this kind of car is no longer suitable for my lifestyle and the dream is pretty much over. (Though not equal, I have found a WRX wagon to be a nice and suitable compromise).

This 1/24 RX-7 represents most of what my 1:1 was going to be. Why do I call it Unicorn? Quoting, Donny Astricky from “Gone in 60 Seconds”, “You know – the horse with the horn? Impossible to capture?.. Every time you get close, something happens.” Well, this FD3S turned into my unicorn.

Anyway, sorry for the long read. Here she is so far. Not Eleanor, but Ayame:

The base is the Aoshima RX-7 GT-C kit.

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/AH42175.jpg

My biggest mod is the Mazdaspeed Aero Scoop hood. It’s from the Fujimi RX-7 B Spec kit. The Aoshima and Fujimi bodies are actually quite different so you can’t do a direct swap. I had to cut up the Fujimi hood and graft it into the Aoshima body. This was my first time doing something like this, so it was quite a challenge. Many mistakes were made along the way.

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/123.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/127.jpg

I used Tamiya Epoxy putty to secure it in place.

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/IMG_0546.jpg

Here is the body after being sanded and primed.

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/231.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/235.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/251.jpg

The spoiler is the stock jdm version found on all ’99 and later RX-7s - also taken from the B Spec kit. It looks a little larger than it is supposed to be as others have noted, but it works well.

The back of the car sports rear under wings from the Aoshima Veilside Combat II kit. However, they’re actually the Combat I wings. If you look at the 1:1, there are subtle differences. CII is rounder while the CI has harder lines.

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/247.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/244.jpg

As you can see, I'll be using Aoshima's 20in. Volk Racing G2 wheels.

The interior was painted with semi-gloss black. The dash and center console was detailed with Scale Motorsport carbon fiber and a few coats of future, and PE guage face rings and pedals are from the Acu-Stion Mazda Roadster set. The Mazda steering wheel logo is from the Crazy Modeler metal transfer logo set. Sorry, it's so dusty. I should have swabbed it down before I took the pics.

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/258.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/259.jpg


That's it so far. I do have a question though. These Aoshima wheels are not compatible with this kit. They have the polycap housing in the wheel whereas the kit comes with male wheels. I'm also going to be using the Crazy Modeler brake rotors. I've read some different writeups on converting the wheels to male which involves shaving down the polycap housing and I know there's a way to convert the suspension to accept the wheels as they are. But if I do that, the brakes look like they're so far from the wheel. What would be the best way to approach this? Thanks!

The mockup looks good. Also the hood looks really smooth.

Keep us posted and welcome to AF.

Really good start,you definately have the skills to make this a nice model!
I will be watching this thread with interest..

the hood came out looking awesome man, good job.

Thanks guys. Should have an update soon. I don't have a good indoor workspace for painting so I always have to wait for good weather so that I can paint out on our balcony. This week looks awesome though, so I'm hoping to have the body and undercarriage fully painted. :grinyes:

looks fantastic. I did this model but I did it OOB. haha

As I hoped, I was able to make some progress this week. Here are some shots of the body painted in Mazda's very own Copper Red Mica as seen on the current model MX-5. :iceslolan

http://images2.auction123.com/StockPhotosEvox/color_0640_032/6218/6218_cc0640_032_32V.jpg


Here it is before clear coat:

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/10RX-7GT-C.jpg

And after generous coats of TS-13. I've never clear coated from a can before so I was a little scared.

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/26RX-7GT-C-1.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/18RX-7GT-C.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/19RX-7GT-C.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/23RX-7GT-C.jpg

I'm looking forward to polishing/waxing this. The pics really don't do this paint justice. This is my new favorite shade of red. :naughty:

till next time..

Looking good, very nice colour.

looks awesome man, great choice of color, you know what would go realllllly good with that? some carbon fiber :) :) :)

Thanks! You know, I actually did intend to make subtle use of some CF on here, but we'll see how it goes. :)

looks really good in that color. :evillol:
i would look good with some carbon on there.

Coolness. :sunglasse
sam-r350 UP.Browser/6.2.3.8 (GUI) MMP/2.0

Quick update. Progress has been slow, but here are a few more shots:


These are Recaro Spirit-R style seats from a Fujimi kit. Painted them Copper Red Mica like the body. Used Mazdaspeed metal transfer decals on the front of the seats. The backs were CF'd and coated with Future.

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/015RX-7GT-C.jpg

Here is the body after sanding, polishing and waxing:

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/013RX-7GT-C-1.jpg

and lastly, here is another mockup of the body after painting the window trim. I used CF on the door handles and the window corners where the side mirrors are. Sorry, bad lighting. I put the interior in place, but no chassis and obviously the spoiler is still unpainted.

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/025RX-7GT-C.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/020RX-7GT-C.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/023RX-7GT-C.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/022RX-7GT-C.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/021RX-7GT-C.jpg

This is really sweet! Very tasteful color!

Top Job mate!

Sweet man.. where did you get your paint from?

I hAve a 93 Cadillac seville It will Not Start everytime I try to Start it . It ticks Close to the Starter And In the inside the gas Line and speedometer Goes Down Everytime I try To Turn It.
Like I have A bAd Voltage So I was Wondering What Could Be My Problems From Not Cranking

Sweet man.. where did you get your paint from?

The paint is from here:

http://www.paintscratch.com/

Nice site. Kind of expensive, but their stuff is really good.

That's a beautiful color. It looks like the mica size is suitable for models too. The flakes don't look weird, or too big on 1/24 like you see with some automotive metallics.

that is very nice color and good job on the clearcoat. for the seats, I would suggest a semigloss or flat clearcoat to give a better effect :)

Update! Had some quality time over the long weekend to get some work done.


Hobby Design brake calipers:
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/Mazdaspeed%20RX-7%20GT-C%20Unicorn%20Custom%20-Ayame-/calipers.jpg

Finished underbody with crazy modeler rotors. Just need to attach the cat and exhaust:
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/Mazdaspeed%20RX-7%20GT-C%20Unicorn%20Custom%20-Ayame-/undercarriage1.jpg

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/Mazdaspeed%20RX-7%20GT-C%20Unicorn%20Custom%20-Ayame-/rotors.jpg

I finished two spoilers. One done in the body color and another in CF with TS-13 over it. Here is the CF version:
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/Mazdaspeed%20RX-7%20GT-C%20Unicorn%20Custom%20-Ayame-/spoiler.jpg

Here is the top view:
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/Mazdaspeed%20RX-7%20GT-C%20Unicorn%20Custom%20-Ayame-/top.jpg

Close up of the rear with tail lights painted and decals applied.
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/Mazdaspeed%20RX-7%20GT-C%20Unicorn%20Custom%20-Ayame-/tail.jpg

Here is the front with the light covers on. I detailed the light assemblies with CF and outlined the covers in black as close as I could to the real thing. I'll probably darken them as well:
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/Mazdaspeed%20RX-7%20GT-C%20Unicorn%20Custom%20-Ayame-/front.jpg

Lastly here are the Aoshima VR G2s. As I said in an earlier post, I really liked the look of the Advan wheels that come with the CWest kit so I painted these for a similar look in Model Master Brass metalizer and cleared with TS-13. You can see the exhaust there too. I sprayed it with Aclad Chrome.
http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/Mazdaspeed%20RX-7%20GT-C%20Unicorn%20Custom%20-Ayame-/wheels.jpg

That's all for now. Thanks for looking and I hope to be posting in the Completed board very soon. :biggrin:

Very nice work, I have the same kit waiting on a shelf, you're just giving me the motivation to start it.

Finished!!

http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae123/jonasvea/Mazdaspeed%20RX-7%20GT-C%20Unicorn%20Custom%20-Ayame-/IMG_6060.jpg

Completed thread is here (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=1017960).