Imai Austin FX-4 London Taxi

The Austin FX-4 is one of the most iconic cars in the world. First introduced in 1958, the car eventually outlived Austin and was produced by London Taxis International right up until 1997. While you would expect there to be a kit of such a well-known cultural symbol, the kit is a bit of a mixed bag. The kit itself has led a long and interesting life- first released in 1979, it was also released in a Revell Of Germany box in 1986 and 2011, and was most recently released by Aoshima not long after the second RoG version.

The body certainly captures the look of the 1:1 FX-4, though it is perhaps a tad more "chunky" here and there than needed. Though not readily apparent in the pic, the model is listed as 1:24, but it is noticably larger- more like 1:22 scale. Next to a 1:24 scale BMC Mini it is an absolute giant- in fact, the Mini body shell will fit inside the FX-4's!

Yes, this old Japanese kit was motorized, so the chassis is just there as a foundation, and only a cursory attempt at engraved detail was made. The round hole at the top left corner of the photo was there for the on/off switch, and is marked as such.

The front suspension is separate, and looks convincing enough despite being a tad simplified. The dash and inner firewall are cast as one flat piece. The radiator and some interior parts are also provided here.

Here we have the hood, it's hinges, and all four wheels. The wheels don't look like much, but the separate chrome hubcaps do liven them up quite considerably.

The interior floor has both seats molded in place. You would need to have exceptionally short legs to drive this thing! The divider and engine bay are also provided here- that weird thing in the bay is supposed to be a BMC diesel. Imai does supply some small bits of wire for detailing this engine bay, though I'm not really sure why when it's so far from convincing.

The chrome is nicely done, and the detail on the grille and on the hubcaps is particularly nice. The headlight bezels have large holes to make room for grain-of-wheat bulbs, but the holes give the lights a "googly eye" look once the lenses are in place.

The glass is thin and reasonably clear, though it does exhibit some degree of fogginess. I'll have to see if some plastic polish, such as Meguiar's Plast-X, will cure that.

Yes, the tires actually say "Maybop Royal". Not to be confused with the famous "Maypop" tire, made popular by the Texas heavy metal band Pantera. They're presentable enough.

The decal sheet features decent gauge faces, plates, Taxi sign, and licence.

Though the electric motor is not included in this version of the kit, some of it's components are still there along with some wire, tubing, metal axle and front spindle pins, and that tube of glue nobody ever uses.

The instruction sheet is clearly laid out, and even has an overview of the parts on the sprues.

The Imai London Taxi is far from perfect, but it's the only game in town if you want a reasonably convincing plastic kit of this transportation icon. Revell of Germany sold a version of this kit, and they trotted out that amazing Routemaster double-decker bus a few years back.... who knows? Maybe one day we'll have a proper 1:24 full-detail kit of the legendary Black Cab, but the Imai kit will do for now... provided you can find one.