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Shizouka Hobby Show 2017


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Aoshima have done it to me again! After waiting years for them to do the LB GTR I gave up & brought the Eightyone LB transkit ($75USD) & The Tamiya Kit ($66us) to make what I wanted, glad I finished it last year, although now I can go & buy the Aoshima for 30% of the cost & do another one....

Not trying to pour salt in the wound,   but the way Aoshima was posting stuff on their FB page, it was pretty clear that were doing it,  they made an announcement that they made an agreement or something on those line with Liberty Walk.   Sometimes you gotta read between the lines to understand what they are doing, but they really do just post what they are doing with out actually saying that is what they doing.

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As of now, Tamiya has nothing for us (I used Google translate for the link):  http://www.tamiya.com/japan/cms/newstopics/4693-hobbyshownewitem.html?platform=hootsuite

Nope looks like the civilian vehicles for the show are a "Tamiya Factory" assembled version of the 2016 NSX (in white should anyone care).

They sank their first 1/2 half tooling into a new 1/6 Honda Motorcycle, which isn't exactly NEW-new news as they announced it at Nuremburg in February.

tamiya-nuremberg-2017-09-1.jpg

Edited by niteowl7710
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And...your right. I am going top gripe about the 2002tii being a curbside.  Why?  Because that little motor was a gem, maybe a better reason to like the car than the sheet metal that surrounded it.  RoG (and every other manufacture) has had a long time to do this kit and a driveline should come with it.  It also wouldn't surprise me to find there will be a die-cast with underhood detail, if there isn't one already.

And speaking of die-casts, they have really taken over from where the annual/promo's used to be. If you don't think so do a search and see how many of the current generation BMW's (for example) are already on the market. The quality of the plastic detail parts has gotten very good along with the accuracy and really good paintwork. It would be interesting to know from any of the industry experts if the cost for tooling a die-cast is very much different than for a plastic kit.

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I'm not an industry expert, not I play one on the forum, but here are my thoughts: Diecast models have lower parts count (than full-detail plastic kits), so the would make them less expansive to produce. I don't think that making a mold for a die-cast body is much different than for a plastic body. They need to use slide molds in either case. Diecast models usually have opening hood, doors, and sometimes trunk. So that is more complex than a typical plastic model with an opening hood.  Also don't forget that diecast models still use many plastic and vinyl/rubber parts.

But plastic kits and diecast model cars are like apples and oranges - diecasts target totally different market.

The big selling feature of diecasts is that they are fully painted ans factory-assembled. And some are very impressive with lots of details (hand-assembled bu some lady in China). They target the collector marked and/or the owners of the 1:1 cars, not model builders. Sure, some model builders are also collectors and they will buy diecasts, but I guess that the majority of people buying diecasts are not model builders.

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Running plastic through a diecast mold is feasible and has been done before, however the results can be at any end of the spectrum.

Take Revell as an example.  The '58 Impala is a pretty nice kit despite it's diecast roots, the '70 Challenger is a slab-sided disaster area.

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I'm not an industry expert, not I play one on the forum, but here are my thoughts: Diecast models have lower parts count (than full-detail plastic kits), so the would make them less expansive to produce. I don't think that making a mold for a die-cast body is much different than for a plastic body. They need to use slide molds in either case. 

Not en engineer but...a diecast body can't flex over the core when ejected, therefore the sometimes the slab-sided design. or when not, much more use of material on the body sides to prevent undercut.

Therefore shooting plastic through a diecast tool can cause problematic sink marks, and who know what else..

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Not en engineer but...a diecast body can't flex over the core when ejected, therefore the sometimes the slab-sided design. or when not, much more use of material on the body sides to prevent undercut.

Therefore shooting plastic through a diecast tool can cause problematic sink marks, and who know what else..

Having done product development in the field of diecast miniature cars, Luc is  right on the money here.  While the multi-slide tooling that's used for molding one piece bodies for model cars is pretty much universal, from diecast to styrene, there are limitations with both.

Art

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So it's getting to be around that time of year again.  The actual show itself is May 11th-14th, but the pre-orders for new products are starting to trickle out, starting with Hasegawa.

In addition to several off the shelf reissues, including the AE101 Corolla Levin Gr. A race car with corrected race suspension, there are three kits that merit a quick overview do to tooling variations.

 

Honda N360T (aka NII Touring) - The next variation of the N360 tooling, the only new piece here is the front grille.

10460295a.jpg

Next up the Suzuki Jimny JA11-1.  This is the next variant of this tooling, which is actually a back-dating to 1990 (the first issue of the kit was a 1995).  Getting a new front grille & bumper, new mirrors, along with a new stick shift & steering wheel.

10460297a.jpg

Last but not least is the NEW tool kit for the show.  What was it again...oh right the double deuce to Revell of Germany for dragging it's feet forever on this subject matter

BMW 2002tii

10460288b.jpg

Now I'm sure that the griping will begin as soon as I hit "Submit Topic" that it's a curbside.  But it will include two different style bumper guards, tail lights, and mirrors to make an early('71) & late('73) version.  Also know as we sit here in talking about these, that N360 is the THIRD variant of that tooling, so there will be additional 2002s in the pipeline - like the post-'73 Turbo.

This is one of the kits I've been waiting for years - now I can sell off my Metro/Leo Models and Welly 1/24 die casts which I bought to convert them into a rally car and a touring car championship version.

A plastic kit will make this much easier, and from Hasegawa you can expect right proportions and crisp detail!

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  • 2 months later...

The BMW 2002tii kit was released this morning.  Now being able to see the instructions, you can appreciate the subtle engineering work that went into the kit to provide for subsequent versions with little fuss.  An example of that is the lower body side trim are separate pieces.  This allows them to make a Turbo version - and I'd bet dollars to donuts with the back seat being it's own part, a racing version - very easily without any body modifications.  Plus if you look up pictures of 2002s, it seems the first thing that anyone does when "customizing" one of them is strip that lower side trim off for a cleaner look.

Edited by niteowl7710
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