fumi

I once ordered a Fujimi Trans Am kit from them, a very limited re-release that could be found nowhere else in the rest of the world, not even in Japan, but they listed it in stock. I e-mail them about the availability, and they promptly replied that yes, they indeed had it in stock. After placing the order, they stopped answering my e-mail. That went on for a month, until I threatened to report them to PayPal, and they promptly refunded my money. Their list prices are already bad, but they do list many items that could be found nowhere else. Not that they have those items to start with.

Comparison of Tamiya, Fujimi and Revell Enzo: http://modelcarshirobom.syanari.com/033-enzo/comparison.html It is all in Japanese but even if you cannot read it, there are some photo comparisons. The general photo layout is Tamiya-Fujimi-Revell from left to right, or top to bottom. If you want opening doors then Tamiya is the way to go.

I have had good experience with Model Empire. https://modelempireusa.com/

Forward Resin casts the pony wheels, they list them from time to time in their eBay store. https://www.ebay.com/sch/forward_resin/m.html

Nice build. If anyone is interested this car was donated to the Tochigi Prefecture Police by the local co-op of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives in 1973 for highway patrol duty, when the Tohoku Expressway was opened, and was in service until 1984. It had a reputation of being very fast, but also very thirsty. Another famous highway patrol car of Tochigi was the first gen NSX, donated by Honda.

The Aoshima S13 body was fudged around to fit the S15 chassis. The proportion is strange, not just the wheelbase but also the greenhouse. You can see the comparison here, the wheelbase is noticeably longer and the rooftop appears to be in the same length, to compensate for this the top seems to become taller. http://modelcarshirobom.syanari.com/021-s13/s13-comparison.html So it looks like Nunu got the 935, Volvo 240 and the Lancia Delta S4, it says new tools and "being seriously developed". Makes me wonder if the rest of the Beemax line will follow suit.

They stopped doing the engraved bathtub interior and provided proper door panels starting with the Galant coupe and R31 Skyline. I guess engraved interior would have been great if it were their bread and butter 1/48 and 1/72 jet fighter kits. But at least they realized it is a bad idea for 1/24 car kits and changed it.

My guess for the next variation would be the rally homologation model SSS-R with hood scoop and grille mounted fog lights.

I think only Revell made the C5 Corvette in notchback form.

MFH also makes these. https://www.mediamixhobby.com.sg/shop/mfhp965.html

Is there any concrete evidence that "Red China" seized Danbury Mint's tooling other than some vague statement in a mailing list and innuendos on some forum that are being regurgitated all the time? The official statement from Danbury Mint was that their primary sub-contractor closed in 2012 and their secondary sub-contractor also closed in 2014, and they were no longer able to cost effectively produce diecast model cars. At the time the $200 diecast market had all but collapsed and the cheap labour in China who was willing to move all the way to the southern provinces to work for minimun wage had vanished. Pulling out of the diecast market was a logical move for Danbury Mint.

That would be the Group A evolution model, exactly what this kit depicts. The 500 cars were homologation special for all the neat parts you listed, over the 5000 "regular" model produced in a year.

They can always buy Japanese kits from aboard.

The US economic growth after the oil shock rode on the cheap labour of offshore manufacturing, you cannot really say one is taking advantage of the other. If you want other people to buy your goods, you actually need to export something desirable first.

1/24-ish, with a motorized chassis and half interior plate. First came out in the 70's.

Those Beemax easy kits (280zx/M1/RX-7) seem to have shifted to Nunu now. I'm not sure if the Beemax 911 SC RS is a standard kit or easy kit.

Username/password will always be a problem, and let's not assume everyone will use a separate username password combo for every web site they sign in to. Can't we just get a Let's Encrypt cert? It is free.

Tamiya's "model to watch out for" turned out to be the R/C GR Supra. No word on 1/24 scaled kit as of this moment.

It was available in hobby shop here 2 weeks ago, direct import from Japan. Sold out when I reached the shop after work.

This is the exact wording from Tamiya: 今回のホビーショーで発表する TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 車両のモデル化と合わせてご注目ください！ Literally, "please pay attention to (the Supra) together with the announcement of the modelization of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing vehicle to be made in this hobby show!" We will know soon. The show is only 1.5 week away.

Tamiya announced in their Facebook page that they will have the GR Supra in their booth and asked people to "keep an eye for it and the announcement of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing car kits".

Speed City Resin makes some pretty good parts. http://speedcityresin.com/

The American series started out as cloned bodies of period Johan and AMT kits for slot cars in the 60's and 70's, then got a generic chassis and interior in the 80's, so my guess is that they are closer to 1/25. You can see the content of the original Impala kit here (site is in Japanese). Note that the original package states that the kit is 1/25. https://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/240223/blog/41365783/

For the fender side mirror issue, both of your points apply. Before 1983, the Japanese traffic law stipulated that all outside mirrors must be mounted on the fender for locally produced car, but imported cars were exempted. The law was changed after years of protest from the Japanese manufacturers, but they remain popular choice for the taxis and company/official cars on the believe that the driver can keep the eyes on the road ahead, and more importantly avoid peeking at the passenger, when checking the mirrors. Uber's insurance terms are quite murky. The driver's own insurance will be voided when they accept fare from the passenger. Uber promises to cover the injury or death insurance to the passenger or 3rd party only from the time when the ride is taken in the app to the time the passenger arrives at the destination. They specifically exclude damage to other vehicles or properties in an accident, and injury or death to the drivers. Incentive-wise, the fare is simply not enough to cover fuel and maintenance cost. Keeping a car is a major chore in big cities like Tokyo or Osaka, parking spaces are at a premium and you cannot register a car without proof of it. It is also far more convenient to take public transit, most major cities have a very extensive subway and train network, the smaller ones have very good bus or tram service. Meanwhile in the countryside everyone has a car and the demand for hired driving service is very low. And when the public transport stops running at night, taking a cab is actually a pleasant experience. The drivers are courteous and polite, they charge by the meter, and they don't deliberately take a longer route than necessary to drive up the fare.

There is one major point with fender mirrors on taxis and particularly chauffeur driven cars: the driver does not need to look over the passenger side to check the mirror. You won't find them on regular cars any more. Uber and Lyft will die in Japan before real taxis do. Even if we put away the legality and liability concerns, the incentive to drive for them is very low, especially in the cities. In here, unless you drive a Tesla you will not be able to breakeven.