[Model Team] Mazda MX5 1:17

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

I have a new car model to share. Designed on commission in December, parts for this first generation MX5 arrived over the last couple of weeks and it has come together nicely. Less exotic than my last vehicle at this scale (Ferrari LMP1), it nevertheless features lots of pleasing functions and detail. (Click any image for the full Flickr set.)

The doors open, as does the rear boot and front bonnet, and the pop-up headlights can be raised and lowered. Fitting in the functioning headlights was particularly challenging given the limited space between the hood, front wheels, radiator, and angled front bumper. Under the hood is the 1.6L four cylinder engine, which can be removed with a little effort (i.e. after detaching the radiator and front bumper). The most challenging aspect of the build though, and the most satisfying to see in the brick, is the detailed transmission running from the engine through the center of the chassis to the rear axle. Also included is an exhaust line running from the engine to the muffler at the rear. There is only one plate thickness between the top of the center console inside the car, and the transmission line underneath, so connecting the two halves of the chassis in a sturdy manner around this cavity was critical.

Inside the car are the two seats, which can be tilted forwards to access the limited luggage space behind; a center console with handbrake and gear lever; and the dashboard with radio, air vents, and adjustable steering column. The windshield is attached by mixel ball joints, which, with the inwards angle set on the A-pillars, limits the rearwards tilt to the desired angle. One other detail worth mentioning is the iconic tail-light design, which uses 1x1 taps to angle out the outer set of lights.

Although built to commission, the design is not exclusive to the customer, so I will be able to offer instructions through my website (www.bm-mocs.com) just as soon as I can find time to make them. (I will be rather busy for the next few weeks with another commissioned project). This particular model was based on a specific MX5, but it should not be hard to modify to different colours and configurations. Anyway, let me know what you think.

Edited January 16, 2017 by BrickMonkeyMOCs

[peedeejay]

Nice! Looks very accurate! The exhaust pipe under the car adds a nice detail.

[t-brick]

Looks really good! A very sleek design, rounded and sloped parts perfectly integrated! 

[KlodsBrik]

This is looking very good. Also some quite nice piece usage for shapes I must say ! 

Well done! 

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

18 hours ago, peedeejay said:

Nice! Looks very accurate! The exhaust pipe under the car adds a nice detail.

 

18 hours ago, t-brick said:

Looks really good! A very sleek design, rounded and sloped parts perfectly integrated! 

 

13 hours ago, KlodsBrik said:

This is looking very good. Also some quite nice piece usage for shapes I must say ! 

Well done! 

Thank you all for your comments. The exhaust and transmission were fun elements to include, and made the build much more interesting than the standard flat plated floor. A few useful new(ish) parts found their way into this build, including the Bar Tube w/ Handle (23443) used inside the doors and on the wing mirrors, the 1x1 Round Plate w/ Handle on Side (26047) used to mount the front bonnet hinges, and the 1x2 Inverted Curved Slope (24201) used on the rear underside. External shaping was aided by working digitally in LDraw, as this allows the unsupported floating of external parts during shaping, before working inwards to support the desired shape and functions.

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

Just a brief bump to mention that I've finally finished instructions for this model which are now available through my website for a modest fee. Instructions are available in both LDraw and PDF format (99 pages).

[Seasider]

That's beautiful, do you know if the exterior parts are all available in Yellow ... if so I see a MOC purchase and Bricklink order coming on !

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

8 hours ago, Seasider said:

That's beautiful, do you know if the exterior parts are all available in Yellow ... if so I see a MOC purchase and Bricklink order coming on !

Hi Ian. Thanks for your interest. You should now have received the access code for downloading instructions. Overall, yellow should be much easier than blue. Part 32028 (1x2 plate w/ door rail) was rare and expensive in blue, but is widely available in yellow. You can also use 93606 (curved slope 2x4) instead of 61678 (curved slope 1x4) on the front hood, as 93606 is available in yellow but not blue. The only part I know you won't get in yellow is 98138 (1x1 round tile) used for the fuel filler cap, but you can easily substitute a flat silver part instead.

[Seasider]

Thanks I'll download them tomorrow. I'll be doing a few mods. Mines a J Limited 2 and so is yellow with a black screen surround. Also running on black wheels and being a eunos I also have a square rear plate but a uk front one, so a couple of mods there. Oh and it has the separate headrests and some Audi TT style hoops to try and add too.

 

once again great model. Looking forward to building it

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

Just now, Seasider said:

Thanks I'll download them tomorrow. I'll be doing a few mods. Mines a J Limited 2 and so is yellow with a black screen surround. Also running on black wheels and being a eunos I also have a square rear plate but a uk front one, so a couple of mods there. Oh and it has the separate headrests and some Audi TT style hoops to try and add too.

once again great model. Looking forward to building it

You're welcome. That sounds great. I hope you will be able to share pictures when it's done, as I'd love to see the end result.

[Seasider]

I'll definitely share my pics when done. This means I'm abandoning my Technic 40th Anniversary Chassis reverse engineer project.

 

Another question, how easy do you think it will be to make all the "body" parts of the car car coloured as opposed to black. I mean the interior of the boot, engine bay and the underbody, but without effecting how much colour seeps into the cabin area ?

 

oh and another one, is the use of the 2x2 gray turntable discs because they are nice and shallow

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

7 hours ago, Seasider said:

I'll definitely share my pics when done. This means I'm abandoning my Technic 40th Anniversary Chassis reverse engineer project.

 

Another question, how easy do you think it will be to make all the "body" parts of the car car coloured as opposed to black. I mean the interior of the boot, engine bay and the underbody, but without effecting how much colour seeps into the cabin area ?

 

oh and another one, is the use of the 2x2 gray turntable discs because they are nice and shallow

Recolouring the body but not cabin interior looks possible. The trunk interior is fully separate from the cabin, however the technic frame (step 4) is visible in the cabin, engine bay, and from the underside. Some parts in the dashboard/firewall are visible in both the cabin and engine bay, but only just. Several parts I've used in black are also less available in other colours - see these BrickLink links for availability: 24201, 26047, 99206, 99207, 99780, 23443, 11476. And yes, the turntable tops are used to connect or reinforce without using a full plate's thickness.

[Seasider]

Thanks for the info on the colours, might have a play with them. I think for some of the turntables I might try the clear discs instead.

 

its going to take me a while as I'm busy with work. So could be at least a month till my version

[Seasider]

Well it's finished ... sort of it's like a real project car after all

I made a few tweaks to the original set, first of all the colour scheme ...

... removed front and rear number plates, changed the backing of the rear lamps to red ...

... changed the seat headrest shape, added the "Radio" tile, and some roll hoops ...

... some nice custom coated bricks in aluminium (rocker cover, pedals, brake discs and radiator) and chrome (exhaust) ...

... side by side with the Caterham ...

and the reason for me doing this ...

 

 

Edited April 3, 2017 by Seasider

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

Thanks for sharing your pics, Seasider. My only suggestion would be that the rollbar hoops could be a little higher, but I really like the look of your metallic engine block.

If you're interested I have substantially modified my Caterham model (here), and can share LDraw file with you once I get around to making it.

[SirBlake]

This is a spectacular build. Don't know how I missed it before, but seriously great work. 

[Seasider]

9 hours ago, BrickMonkeyMOCs said:

Thanks for sharing your pics, Seasider. My only suggestion would be that the rollbar hoops could be a little higher, but I really like the look of your metallic engine block.

If you're interested I have substantially modified my Caterham model (here), and can share LDraw file with you once I get around to making it.

Yes the roll hoops are a little low compared to my real car so that's on the list of planned mods.

i also want to put a black 1x2 behind the upper part of the headlamps so you get a consistent backing to them.

but I'm trying to work out how to mod the boot lid, still not happy with it.

theres a few other little tweaks to do too and some parts to hope that they one day appear in the colour I want.

the aluminium parts in the engine bay do look good. I wanted the rocker cover to look distinct. The car also has Alu pedals, radiator core and a chrome exhaust box and exit pipe. All bought off a store on bricklink. Weren't cheap but I think they were worth it.

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

33 minutes ago, Seasider said:

Yes the roll hoops are a little low compared to my real car so that's on the list of planned mods.

i also want to put a black 1x2 behind the upper part of the headlamps so you get a consistent backing to them.

but I'm trying to work out how to mod the boot lid, still not happy with it.

theres a few other little tweaks to do too and some parts to hope that they one day appear in the colour I want.

the aluminium parts in the engine bay do look good. I wanted the rocker cover to look distinct. The car also has Alu pedals, radiator core and a chrome exhaust box and exit pipe. All bought off a store on bricklink. Weren't cheap but I think they were worth it.

What's your concern with the boot lid? The version I built seemed to work fine.

[Seasider]

@BrickMonkeyMOCs it's this gap I don't like. My car doesn't have the wing or luggage rack and I wanted to put a bit more crown on the rear end rather than being totally flat. But now I'm left with a chasm above the boot hinge. I think it needs revisiting for how to hinge the boot up and try and fill this gap, must be possible just haven't got around to it.

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

Ah, I see. I would just raise the hinge parts by one plate, but you might find a better solution.

[Seasider]

Raised it by a plate and it looks better, but I'd still like to find a covered hinge solution like the bonnet

Edited April 5, 2017 by Seasider

[snxwdan]

This has been the best model I have seen while searching! If I wanted to change the steering to the left side would there be much change from having it on the RH side? Or does it all just shift over?? 

Also, see that you have an instruction guide on how to build, which will come in handy! Thank You! 

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

16 hours ago, snxwdan said:

This has been the best model I have seen while searching! If I wanted to change the steering to the left side would there be much change from having it on the RH side? Or does it all just shift over?? 

Also, see that you have an instruction guide on how to build, which will come in handy! Thank You! 

Hi. Thanks for your interest in the model. Yes, the instructions are available on my website for a small fee (lot's of free stuff there too). They also now include a BrickLink XML parts list for ease of ordering parts. Changing the steering should be a simple matter of L-R mirroring the dashboard and pedals while building.

[snxwdan]

Hey there! 

I do like what you did to the rear and took the rack off of yours. Would you mind me asking what 2 tiles you used for that part?? 

On 4/4/2017 at 5:53 AM, Seasider said:

@BrickMonkeyMOCs it's this gap I don't like. My car doesn't have the wing or luggage rack and I wanted to put a bit more crown on the rear end rather than being totally flat. But now I'm left with a chasm above the boot hinge. I think it needs revisiting for how to hinge the boot up and try and fill this gap, must be possible just haven't got around to it.

Hey there! 

I do like what you did to the rear and took the rack off of yours. Would you mind me asking what 2 tiles you used for that part??

[Seasider]

@snxwdan the boot lid is made up of four 2x4 tiles and one 1x8 tile. Mounted to a 4x8 plate. I haven’t touched the model in ages so I still haven’t finished creating a better bootlid, space behind the seats and hiding the boot hinges. Here’s my bootlid at the moment