gami8630 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 I am Japanese and live in Tokyo, Japan. I built my first plastic model more than 50 years ago, and since then, plastic modeling has been one of my most important hobbies, almost uninterrupted. I have built models of many genres, including airplanes, ships, science fiction characters, and automobiles, but I am especially fond of racing cars, especially NASCAR stock cars. I was first drawn to stock cars as a child when I watched the "Daytona 500" on Japanese television, where large American cars raced around an oval track in a scene that was indescribably cool. In the past, and still today, NASCAR fans are in the minority in Japan. In the past, it was not easy to obtain AMT, MPC, or JO-HAN stock car kits, and there were few books to serve as documentation. Later, when I purchased a NASCAR kit released by MONOGRAM in 1983, I was impressed by the greatly improved reproduction of the body, chassis, and interior all, and since then, I think I have purchased more than 100 kits including those from manufacturers other than MONOGRAM. And now, with the spread of the Internet environment, it has become easier to obtain not only NASCAR kits but also numerous decals and afterparts, and to view many wonderful examples, videos, and images of actual cars, making it possible for me, a Japanese citizen, to enjoy NASCAR in Japan in a much more fulfilling environment. I am very happy to be able to enjoy NASCAR in Japan. I will do my best to introduce my kit in the Model Cars Magazine Forum here. In addition, I am running a web site about my hobby, which has contents summarizing NASCAR kits. If you are interested, please take a look. However, since it is written in Japanese, I would appreciate it if you could translate it using your web browser's translate function, etc. summarizing NASCAR kits of My Web Site Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vamach1 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Welcome. There are modelers on this website from all over the world and we all love model cars. I am sure the members will enjoy seeing more of your builds up close. Many builders post in progress projects to show how they get from a box of parts to a finished model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps46 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Excellent models and web site. I am glad you have joined us and our adventures in modeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LL3 Model Worx Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Looks like you have some very nice models there Yoshimi! Glad to have you here. This is a wonderful place to display your work, view others, and both learn and share your experiences in modeling. You are among friends here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Welcome to the forum Yoshimi!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Street Rod Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Welcome to the forum, Yoshimi! Those are some great looking models, look forward to seeing more of your builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Welcome aboard Yoshimi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Welcome, Aboard,Yoshimi! Very nice stock car models! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gami8630 Posted October 26, 2022 Author Share Posted October 26, 2022 Thanks for the welcome, everyone. I'm glad I visited this site, even though my English is not very good. First, here are some of the kits I have made. They are all just assembled straight from the kits. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainford Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Welcome to the forum, Yoshimi. That is a fine looking collection of stock cars you have built. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy grumpy Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Welcome to the forum Yoshimi, you're in the right place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Welcome Yoshimi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugatti Fan Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 Nice to welcome you to this forum Yoshimi. Your English is actually very good. I too have been modelling for over 50 years and there are also modellers from many different age groups on this site to exchange information and experience with. As you like Nascar there are plenty of kits available and a big following of enthusiast modellers on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gami8630 Posted October 27, 2022 Author Share Posted October 27, 2022 Thanks for the welcome, Trevor, Mario, Jim, Noel Smith. Having discovered this site, my desire to build NASCAR model kits has grown even greater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gami8630 Posted October 27, 2022 Author Share Posted October 27, 2022 Well, I'll end my introduction by showing you another kit I built. This JO-HAN "Superbird" is the oldest kit I have in my collection of completed kits, built probably about 35 years ago. I made some modifications to the roll cage and instrument panel, and cut the wheel arches to fit racing tires. I waxed and polished it for this photo, but it is not so beautiful. The next kit to be built is either Camaro (#9 Chase Elliott) by Salvinos, OLDS (#33 Harry Gant) by MONOGRAM, or BUICK REGAL (#11 DW). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 Looks good to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Nunes Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 Welcome to the forum, Yoshimi! You have presented some very nice models for us to enjoy.👍 Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Welcome to the forum, Yoshimi. For good or bad the internet has made the world a much smaller place with almost instant responses. It allows all of us to share our passion for scale models of any shape and size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeatMan Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Welcome Yoshimi! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gami8630 Posted November 1, 2022 Author Share Posted November 1, 2022 Thanks, Jim. I'm glad I polished it up before posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gami8630 Posted November 1, 2022 Author Share Posted November 1, 2022 Thanks, Joe. I too enjoy seeing all of your wonderful models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gami8630 Posted November 1, 2022 Author Share Posted November 1, 2022 Thanks for the welcome, John. When building a NASCAR kit, I used to have a hard time because of the limited materials available. Nowadays, we can get a lot of information through the Internet, which is really convenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gami8630 Posted November 1, 2022 Author Share Posted November 1, 2022 Thanks for the welcome, Dennis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete J. Posted November 1, 2022 Share Posted November 1, 2022 Welcome Yoshimi! I've been to Japan twice as a guest of Taimiya and have always been amazed by the state of modeling there. So many models and stores to pick from, but you are indeed in the minority. I don't recall seeing NASCAR anywhere. We share a common problem(but a mirror image) in that my prefered build is either non-USA cars or F1 both of which are in the minority here. Hot Rods, muscle cars and NASCAR are the bulk of the auto building community. I still order most of my models and parts from Hobby Link Japan. Welcome and I am sure you will see much here that fits your interests. I look forward to seeing your builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gami8630 Posted November 2, 2022 Author Share Posted November 2, 2022 Thanks for the welcome, Pete. Japanese plastic model manufacturers have also released many kits for racing and rally cars, but unfortunately few kits for American cars have been released. The Toyota Camry is currently competing in NASCAR, and if Tamiya were to commercialize it, it would make a great model kit, though. Indeed, you and I share exactly the same mirror image problem. I understand that you order your kits from HobbyLink in Japan, but I order many of my NASCAR kits, decals and customization parts from Mike's Decals in the US. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.