released in December 1983,
rereleased in May 1998,
rereleased in December 2000,
rereleased in May 2002
Tamiya was the only model kit company to bother doing a 'face-lifted' version of their 1st generation Rx-7 model kit and I for one am very grateful for that.
Tamiya did a thorough job updating the body, the new tail light cluster is well represented.
Tamiya also included a choice of sunroofs: a solid one and a transparent one, the latter even comes with a translucent brown decal for tinting it to 'Moon Roof' specs.
Also new is the rear wiper and the optional rear spoiler, which were introduced on the 1980 model.
To make room for these new parts on the parts frames, Tamiya had to throw out the floor panels, so this kit comes without pedals.
The model kit depicts a japanese SE Limited (top of the line) type. Being a japanese version, the rear view mirrors are mounted on the front fenders, not on the doors.
A driver figure and a slightly oversized rear spoiler are included, the original release also came with an electric motor and with lightbulbs for the head lights.
There's a choice of two sets of authentic alloy wheels, one depicting the 'rotary wheels',
the other are street versions of the eight-spoke 'Speed Star Mk.III' racing wheels that were fitted to the factory team race Rx-7's of the time.
Unlike the oversized wheels in the original kit, the new wheels look like the proper size (the diameter of these actually is 14 scale inch instead of 13in, so still a bit too large).
In real life, the rotary wheels came as standard on full-option models in Japan and Europe,
whilst the Speed Star wheels were available through Mazda's Mazdaspeed race support outlets.
The headlights can be raised and lowered by operating a push rod that sticks through the radiator shroud on the floorpan.
Body and A-parts are moulded in white, chassis, interior parts and Speed Star wheels are moulded in black, the D-parts frame with the rotary wheels is satin plated, tires are 14in Michelin XVS 195/70 with authentic thread pattern.
All rereleases of this kit have cat. nr. 24016 instead of 2416.
The 1998 rerelease was made by Tamiya's factory in the Philippines.
In 2018 'DiOlex Production' created some resin replacement wheels for this kit.
released in January 2026
This is an updated release of the Rx-7 sunroof SE Limited kit listed above.
New are revised decals, now with emblems and instrument cluster, and self-adhesive paint masks for the rear side windows (which are the only windows with black borders).
The instruction sheet is also revised, making no more mention of the optional electric motor and light bulbs and now mentioning Tamiya paints for all colors, including TS spray and LP lacquer paint matches for the body colors.
For Stardust Blue a mixing ratio of 2pts LP-11 Silver with 1pt LP-41 Mica Blue is listed, but the actual color is a closer match to Tamiya enamel X-13 Metallic Blue.
The decal for the instrument cluster is for the wrong type (1978-1980 white-on-black type with the tach doubling as a volt meter, instead of a 1981-1983 yellow-on-black cluster), however the decal does match the raised instrument details on the dashboard. If you also have the Revell kit you could swap the instrument decals !
The optional 'Speed Star Mk.III' wheels are no longer included, the optional clear sunroof is still included but not used (the clear brown tint decal is also no longer included).
Body and A-parts are moulded in white, chassis and B-parts frame are moulded in black, the C-parts frame with interior parts is now moulded in tan, the D-parts frame with the rotary wheels is satin plated, tires are 14in Michelin XVS 195/70 with authentic thread pattern.
