Tamiya Honda Fit / Jazz

[galaxyg]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. Here's the last of my year in 1/24.

 

Background:

I bought this kit in a small town called Kitakata a long long way from Tokyo. Walking along the Kitakata streets in the pouring rain I saw a toy shop on the other side of the road and thought "there are stacks of white boxes at the back of that shop, I wonder if they are model kits?" Almost like some kind of kit radar. The shop was run by an elderly Japanese couple who were no doubt surprised by the sudden appearance of a foreign tourist and given the location and conditions, perhaps the only customer that day. A happy discovery as they had one of the kits on my list - this Honda Fit; I didn't see another in any other shop on the entire trip. It was here - by lucky chance - or nothing.

The Honda Fit / Jazz is something I'd describe as both a quintessential Japanese car and a quintessential Honda. Small and clever. There was a time when it was Japan's best selling car. The kit itself is something of an oddity for Tamiya - released in both motorized and non-motorised versions (only the chassis is different, and the motorized version has a driver figure), the engineering of the kit is certainly not their usual style even if it is their usual quality. Even the box is different, using different fonts and without the usual front/rear/side elevation illustrations that Tamiya boxes have along the sides of the box. This seems to be the the last ordinary everyday car that Tamiya made a kit out of.

Pros:

Good proportions - looks exactly like a Honda Fit / Jazz. Very easy to build and comes with it's own fuzzy carpet for the interior. In particular the headlights are a joy to assemble, they're so well thought out for the builder. Very well moulded, little cleanup required. Rear lights are moulded in red, another plus.

Cons:

Curbside - no engine. The front wheels don't steer, and there's a lot of masking to be done for the windows although masking seals are provided although not die-cut ones, you have to cut them out youtself from the printerd pattern. The body is moulded in red as are the number plates - ugh. No real-life number plate decals supplied either.

Verdict:

It's a quick and easy build, looks exactly like a Honda Fit once completed. Great stuff.

Build notes:

Built over the course of only 6 days in December 2023, painted in Volvo Orinoco Blue, clearcoated with Mr Hobby Premium Gloss. Aside from the front and rear Honda emblems and swapping the number plates, the rest is out-of-the-box.

 

[hgbben]

That turned out great. Always have been curious of this kit.

[ChrisR]

Very nice!

[Spottedlaurel]

Nicely done Michael. Sometimes it's good just to build them OOB and enjoy how the kit was designed and engineered.

[Kah puts]

As a proud owner of one of these ( bought new in 2007) wonderful little cars I can say you’ve done a swell job and I’m looking forward to getting one of these now that I see good they look in scale ?

[Phildaupho]

I know a number of people who love their Fits so very nice to see your model which is also very well built

[happy grumpy]

Beautiful color. I also built that kit and I own a 2007 fit , I really like that car. Looks like the real thing.

[Dave Van]

Nice clean work......I bought a 09 Fit which my son has now 3000K miles!

[slusher]

Looks great!

[1991MN12]

Hey good work, I love everyday cars and this is an amazing example of one!!!

Keep it up!!!