fumi

For China or Hong Kong based brands like Hobby Design or MSM Creation I would use Hobby Easy. Much closer to the source and the shipping is cheaper. https://www.hobbyeasy.com/ ZoomOn, Eighty One and S.K. Decals will also sell direct. http://www.zoomonmodel.com/ http://www.eightyone81.com/ https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Games-Toys/Skdecals-1557454941209426/

Interesting that if you were to compare the 1980's AMT 280 ZX and the 1970's Tamiya 280 ZX kits, eventhough the Tamiya one is motorized, the fit and finish is still far superior to AMT until you pick them up and look at the chassis. As far as 1/24 car kits are concerned, you would really need to go back to the 70's to find a bad Tamiya kit. By 1983 Tamiya was already producing exquisite full detailed kits like the Honda Prelude XX.

You are more likely to get your kits from overseas than from Internet Hobbies. They are a known scammer.

Panda N2, that is an interesting combo. Will the fenders be black or body colour? So Splash ships overseas? How long did it take?

These lenses from Barchetta are very nice. https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/m/10375903

I find this most useful with bodywork where waviness and high/low points may not be obvious even after primer coat.

Exactly. Rather than saying all modern cars lack style, it is more like we mostly identify with things from what we perceived as "better times". I grew up in the 80's. The cars I like the most are made between mid 80's and mid 90's. To me luxobarges made in the 70's are the worst, but someone growing up with the big Lincolns and Cadillacs would probably think the exact opposite.

I really don't understand the hate on back up cameras around here. The fact is you will never be able to see what is lurking in the area below the trunk line with your rear view mirror no matter how careful and attentive you claim you are, be it a dog or a cat or a kid running out just as you are backing up your car. It just makes sense to have that extra visibility there. As for "interesting" colours on new cars, they are always great when someone else own them. People loved my lime green Fiesta. Yet no one wanted it when I was trading for a new car. Dealers flat out refused to take it. I was lucky enough to have a friend taking it off my hands just as I was about to give up. And you know what cars look the same? Take out any GM catalogs of the same model year from the 60's and 70's. The cars all look the same. They are practically the same car with a different grille.

Hobbico's demise has nothing to do with Revell tooling too many new car kits too fast. Quite the contrary, Revell was supposed to be Hobbico's few bright spots.

Awful. There are substantial parts fitment issue, and the version I bought had the tint on the entire clear sprue so dark that the windshields could not be seen through and the headlights were black. Ended up throwing it away.

I found this build log from a Japanese Yahoo blog. This is how the chassis looks like: https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/flat2ak/34532617.html https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/flat2ak/34537958.html Interior: https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/flat2ak/34535470.html Finished model: https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/flat2ak/34540635.html

I also have a feeling that the Hasegawa "American Lowrider Type C" and "American Lowrider Type T" will be a Japan-only offering, and the only way to get them outside Japan is by mail order.

It's the Irmscher 1.5 Turbo, the precursor model for the 1.6 DOHC. New parts are a new hood with the NACA cooling duct for the intercooler and turbo model specific steering wheel. I am still hoping for the Irmscher RS. It has the same body kit as the I-Mark RS and maybe they will see fit to offer the LHD dashboard as well.

Turns out Beemax also has a Metro 6R4 in the works. Wonder how it will turn out.

Curbside, yes. Toy-like, no. The Japanese market had spoken, they prefer a nicely proportioned and crisply molded car body over details that cannot be seen on display, and the Japanese manufacturers delivered. These kits are also selling well in overseas markets.

The bubble economy burst in 1990. Since then tooling up EM style kits do not make economical sense. It could be worse. Gunze no longer produce model kits, Marui denies having anything to do with model cars to these days, and Rosso's factory and warehouse burned down mysteriously.

When shipping for a kit cost $40 it suddenly makes a lot of sense to just buy the parts you need, even for the same price as the whole kit. I bought several sets of AMT 1970 Camaro front subframes from eBay. I could have bought entire kits for a few bucks more per set but the shipping will be at least $50 more, and I have zero use for the rest of the stuff.

https://www.highlightmodelstudio.com/en

Not related to the Lancer, but the Beemax 935 was released earlier this week. Wonder if you ordered it.

There are different versions, and all have issues.

Some of the Cammers that went into Mercury cars don't have the Blue Oval cast into the valve covers. TDR Innovations has an excellent Ford Cammer. https://sites.google.com/site/tdrhtmllearn/home/engine-shop/ford-engine-selection

Really nice work, especially on the head lights and the door cards. Shame that Fujimi never even pretended to do anything on the interior, but anything they made between the mid 90's to mid 2000's was like that. I'd probably replace those sofas with some GT-R or aftermarket seat as well but the door cards are already an immense improvement.

I'd definitely want one. I have the Road & Track Supercar issue on it. I remember many of the interior bits were sourced from the 928.

Yep, after $130 of aftermarket parts, you will have something may or may not be 1/24 that is just as good as a $130 resin kit. What's your point?

Well, the official rate for shipping 1 kg from China to the US is $20 plus register and tracking. Whether they ask Hobby Easy or any other partner in Hong Kong to ship them for $10 is at their discretion.