fumi

Not a Urraco but if you are interested in an Espada, there is one SMP24 resin kit left in Sports Cars Modeling's web store right now: http://mizorogiscm.shop-pro.jp/?mode=cate&cbid=2315812&csid=0&sort=n It is expensive, and it is worth every yen. The Urraco is slated to be reissued some time in the future. The next kit in line will be the 308 GT4.

Depends on what shipping service is chosen. If I ship to the US by e-Express (under 2 kg) or Speedpost the packages are fully trackable. If I ship by registered or air parcel then it is not trackable once it leaves Hong Kong. As for why registered is untrackable, you can thank USPS for that.

My personal experience is that packages sent to me from the US by First Class International will take around 10 days to leave the US from the time USPS received the package, and delivered to me within 3 days after it arrived Hong Kong. Packages I send to the US by e-Express will take 3 days to leave Hong Kong after I posted it, and moves around within the USPS system for up to a month before the recipient receives it. While your package is sent from Taiwan, I would expect similar delivery time for you as Winit is using Chunghwa Post as its forwarding agent.

It appears the seller is using a cargo forwarder which groups packages together and ship once a week. It is Christmas season now, expect longer shipping time than usual. Given that Chunghwa Post picked up the package on Dec 10, you will probably receive it the week after Christmas.

There were no major sheet metal changes throughout the production run, so most likely Aoshima is preparing for flared fender versions.

I second for Tamiya. The size goes from 0.2 mm to 3 mm, and the new ones up to 1.2 mm has a thinker shank that make them less likely to break. I am linking to Hobby Search as the Tamiya online catalog is difficult to use, but you can get them anywhere. https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/search?typ1_c=107&cat=paint&state=&sold=0&sortid=0&searchkey=tamiya+drill+bit

I think the model companies are smart enough to obey the laws of the countries they intend to sell their goods to and comply to the requirement to omit the tobacco markings, so you and I can get the kits sans the decal. Do I care? As long as I can get the kits and the missing decals from the aftermarket, I don't. It's a fact of life, and I respect that some countries take a strong view against any form of tobacco advertisement. Even when I never took a smoke as a result of all the car races I watched or the model kits I built with factory tobacco markings throughout my childhood.

Tobacco advertising is illegal in many places, and the swastika is illegal in Germany. Those decals simply cannot be placed in the kits Alcohol advertising is still legal.

You expect them to shoot themselves?

These days they just get on stage in front of cameras, bow profusely, and life goes on as usual. My guess is Ghosn will get a slap on the wrist, publish a memoir or two, and probably get back to the business scene in Europe. As of now Renault is still keeping him as CEO and chairman.

"le cost cutter" was synonymous with Nissan since 1999, when Renault sent him to restructure Nissan. While I agree that cutting the redundant models and dealership channels which were a legacy of the bubble economy was inevitable, he went further with an un-Japanese move and cut all contracts with their long time suppliers which he deemed "unprofitable". This drove a lot of the small and middle sized OEM suppliers, many of them partners with Nissan for decades, to bankruptcy and the quality of their cars took a nosedive. After the effect of cost cutting waned, design and development took a hit and models were left to languish for 10 years and more without refreshment. Engine development was cut up particularly bad, to the point where most of the engine lineup dates back to 2010 or older. But he did turn around the company and people worshipped him so much that a manga was actually written that showcased his life. He eventually took over the CEO job of Renault as well and became chairman of Mitsubishi when Nissan got a controlling interest. I guess his ego ultimately took the better of him and he believed he could to anything.

Carlos Ghosn, former CEO of Nissan and soon-to-be-ex-president of Nissan and CEO/president of Renault and Mitsubishi, was arrested in Japan for securities frand. Apparently he falsified securities reports and underreported his salary by 5 billion yen and appropriated company money for his personal use. His alleged compliance in the Nissan board of directors is also arrested. After killing off all the fun and saddling the lineup with long in the tooth models in the name of cost cutting for almost 20 years, I am not sad to see him go. I am hoping for a change of direction, but with Renault still holding a leash on Nissan, I am not holding my hope up.

Not sure if it has anything to do with any new kit announcement, but Tamiya will have a real TS050 on display.

C4 Corvette IRS from AMT and Revell are all over eBay.

These were Hasegawa's very first car models. The bodies were supposedly pantographed from Johan and AMT kits and were meant for slot cars. They tooled up a generic chassis for the bodies afterward.

Type T is just around the corner. No word on the type B, type W or the type I yet.

Hobby Search has it in stock now. https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10556867

Here you go. https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/m/10001672

Nice colour indeed.

I don't get why people are so worked up over it, personally I think it is great to see these old cars being modernized with new powertrains. Can't be worse than a flathead or a small block if you ask me. The 49-51 Mercury isn't even such a great car if not for Rebel Without a Cause. Design wise the same period Ford was much more innovative and technologically the Hudson was more advance.

Didn't Revell change direction to those simplified full detail kits that are not so great at either end in 2014? Sales for the Camaro was probably good enough for them to tool up a new mold for the ZL1, along with that 2014 Mustang GT. The Challenger didn't make the cut, however.

Resin Realm is out of business. Star Model, which is hosted inside resinrealm.net, is still in business. I just ordered from Steve 2 weeks ago. As for the resin offering, he sells Flintstone as well as his own line, which I believe were Hendrix before. They are not top notch, but still very workable.

That is exactly what Steve Boutte did with his excellent custom coupe. I lack his skill and don't have confidence in maintaining a uniform curved interface and a straight crease across the ridge, so I chose to preserve the curve/ridge and extend the flat part in the middle of the body side instead.

Having built 2 of these and having a sealed white box version still lying around, my view of this kit is not as glowing. 3 major issues jump out of my mind right away: - The "ridge" on the bottom of the body went up 3 scale inches too high. The easiest way to fix it is to cut out the lower half of the body half way across and around the rear fender, trim off the part along the lower door line completely, rejoin the body with the trimmed side as the new bottom, fill out the space in between, and rescribe the door line just below the crease of the ridge. You will also need to trim the floor pan where it joins the body, but fortunately that area is conveniently recessed, so you just need to grind out the step along the floor pan and not have to reshape the whole thing. - The mating area along the hood and the front fender is very vague. With the hood warped it would not conform to the fender. Use extra care if you want to fix the hood as it is very thin and can easily deform beyond repair in hot water. - Both grilles are too angular. They designed the front fender as a one size fit all deal and fit both grilles around the opening, but the 46 grille and the 47-48 grille are very different in shape. In the end the 47-48 grille is too thin and square while the 46 grille is so misshaped it is unusable. To make either grille look right you will probably need to scratch build it. All in all it can be made into a good looking model with some effort but it would take major work to fix the body issues. If you must have a 47-48 Chevy they are the only game in town, but I would not pay Tamiya money for them.

I think no skirt is better, they make the body look too thick.