AutoArt 1:18 2006 Mazda MX-5 Roadster Retractable Roof, LHD

Can there be any car enthusiast that doesn’t know the story of the Mazda MX-5 Miata? It’s highly unlikely! In 1990, this unpretentious little car turned the automotive industry on its ear and proved that there existed a market hungry for a fun-to-drive, simple, two-seater sportscar, a market segment the safety mavens and marketers had convinced the manufacturers wasn’t worth pursuing. Apparently it was, as the Porsche Boxster, BMW’s Z3 & Z4, Mercedes Benz SLK, Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, all arguably owe their existence to the Mazda MX-5 Miata. Although it’s added a few pounds over its eighteen years, it has been given more than commensurate horsepower to keep it on an ever-improving performance curve. And, although it has gone through three iterations, it still remains amazingly faithful to the original concept and is as loved and admired today as it was when introduced back in 1990.

AutoArt has brought us a beautiful black version of the 2007 MX-5 with its new-for-2007 Power Retractable Hard Top (PRHT). And as we’ve come to expect from AutoArt, when they do something, they do it right! This car is a beauty! The rich, deep paint is as good as any I’ve seen on a diecast and is a product of their “lapidary style” polishing system that prepares each diecast body piece before they go to prep and paint.

The unique feature of this car is its articulated two-section top that works just the way the real 1:1 top works albeit manually (your fingers) rather than the powered system of the real car. The engineering of AutoArt’s MX-5 top is really nice. Whether in the full-down, intermediate, or full-up position, the pieces move together as they should and beautifully intermesh with each other.

The rest of the car competently represents the look of the real car, but suffers because most of the pieces of the real car that are visible when inspecting the car’s interior or raising its hood are made of some form of plastic. This isn’t AutoArt’s fault, it seems that the whole automotive industry is determined to cover and cloak the mechanical pieces of their creations to make them look less imposing. As for the interior, it is a combination of black plastic, dark tan vinyl and black carpet with a sprinkling of silver/chrome all adequately rendered. The underside of the car is a mass of black with the raw aluminum suspension components and stainless steel exhaust painted silver.

Overall, this is a very nicely done piece and AutoArt should feel justifiably proud. Although not done at the level of detail seen with the Mazda 787B, anyone fond of the MX-5 Miata should make this an addition to their collection.

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