fumi

Did you hollow out the rear grille? I remember the kit part is molded solid.

IMO these are the best in the market, bar none. https://www.facebook.com/fernandopintomodels/ No you don't need a Facebook account to check it out. The wheels are in the photo section. You can e-mail Fernando directly from his Facebook page without logging in. Here is one sample: https://www.facebook.com/fernandopintomodels/photos/a.1505388936361803.1073741845.1474802286087135/1906561089577917/?type=3&theater

I found one in Taiwan Ruten online marketplace listed for NT $1,990 with one left. https://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21203036277418#qa&p=1 You will definitely need to find a proxy buyer if you intend to purchase. The shop seems legit but they probably won't deal with foreign buyers.

The Ghibli is long out of production. SMP24 releases their kit by batch of 50 kits, after that he will retire them. I wish I got wind of the X1/9 and the 365GT4/2+2 when they came out, I have been looking for those for a very long time. Of all the kits he made, the Lancia Montecarlo, the Navajo, the Mangusta and this Espada can still be found in the market. I am not sure about the Montreal. According to the flyer inside the Espada kit, their next release will be the Ferrari Rainbow, targeted to be released in September.

Any chance for a decal set for the Revell 1991/2 Mercury Cougar? The tail lights are driving me nuts.

I am not too worried for the market on a whole. The Chinese market is booming and it is just at the beginning, there is plenty of potential for growth. Ditto for the Southeast Asian market, it appears to be on an upward trend. The old markets may have stagnated but new markets are emerging. Airfix seems to be doing ok, Hasegawa is on a run, Aoshima has slowed down a bit but it is to be expected after the huge amount of new releases in the past 10 years. Kyosho is turning its focus on drones, it may work out for them. There are also new-comers like Modelers, Beemax and Belkits who play to a less mainstream, more highend niche market and they too are doing fine at this moment. Tamiya is actually more of a uncertainty. They have a monopoly on Mini-4WD, but that market has been on decline for over 20 years. While they still release new RC cars (mostly new body on existing chassis), new tools for scale model have slowed to a halt. Their diversification to female-oriented decoration series also doesn't seem to work out as good as they expected.

I think SMP24 aims to make resin kits for the cars he likes that have no chance to be released by major manufacturers. He also has a liking to the so called "B grade" supercars that are less prolific but sold more in the market. The 400GT and in particular the pagoda Benz are exactly the kind of projects Hasegawa would do. Better mail bomb them if you want one.

Seems to me that they agreed not to bid over $10,000 beforehand, and the husband went over it anyway. Maybe he shouldn't have made that bid he couldn't make and the staff shouldn't have thrown oil to the fire, then nothing would have happened.

SMP24 has released the Espada in resin. http://smp24modelcars.blog.fc2.com/ As usual Keystone is probably your best bet if you want one. While Taka-san can converse in perfect English, FC2 does not take non-Japanese private messages. http://keystone-models.com/

I really wish Hasegawa would release these as wheel set separately. Back then Isuzu made so many of these cars that a lot of them became part source for their BBS wheels and Recaro seats when they were scrapped.

That is a very nice car. I've always loved cars from the mid '80s to the mid '90s, they made the best sports car in that period. Cars made nowadays may be faster but they pretty much drive by themselves. I really don't get cars that are undriveable without all those electronic gadgets.

Why not just set up the forum to use https? As is now the logins are in plain text.

The Handling by Lotus package will be released in August. It will have new bumpers, tail lights, dual tailpipe muffler and BBS wheels. https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10541213

Aoshima makes these metallic sticker sheets for their 1/32 decorated trucks. https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10192561

Sorry to hear that. Take care.

It is the MSRP. Most shops in Japan sell below that price.

I have a bigger feeling that Internet Hobbies is just pulling their usual scam again. You will never get the items that are on their "low pricing". They never update the stock status of those items but just list them at their old price anyway. They will happily take your money but they will not deliver those items, because they do not have any to deliver in first place.

It doesn't matter, you will never hear from Internet Hobbies after you have paid until you dispute it with Pay Pal. And god forbid you shun the evil Pay Pal and pay them by cheque or money order, you will never hear from them again. Makes me wonder if it is their scam run again. https://www.google.com/search?q=internet+hobbies+complaints&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 And for the record, they never had good prices to start with. They do list a lot of hard to find, out of production kits that they have no intention to deliver.

It really just shows most people who participate in this forum are over 50. FWIW there are far more people in their teens or 20s in the Facebook model groups I am a member of. I have been trading parts with guys who are still in school.

Interesting choice for the Starion, I'd have expected the Group B rally variant to go with the Audi and the Lancia instead of the Group A road racer. If Beemax is going to release significant cars that raced in Macau then the next logical subject should be the 190E Evo 2.

I don't know how much was lost in translation from European to American but that was entirely different from the 2010 Fiesta 1.4 I had: light, no-frill little car that was fun to drive. Not a lot of power but with sharp steering, responsive chassis and a nice, firm ride. Mine didn't even have that mobile phone inspired infotainment system, just the basic radio with USB input, but boy was it a fun little car. Sold it to my friend 5 years ago and they are still loving it to this day.

It is safe to say that anything Tamiya made since the mid 80's would have better fit and finish over their peers. Detail-wise it is kit by kit, but Tamiya would almost always have an upper hand on ease of build.

Try driving in the many rural roads that are barely wide enough for one car but has two way traffic with buses and big trucks coming towards you, and you will quickly appreciate the nimbleness of k-cars. Big cars make zero sense in Japan other than perhaps in Hokkaido. Gas is expensive and living with a big car is a nuance.

The Tamiya Evo VI was made before the simplification period, and around the time they started to do platform style interior. It still has the detailed chassis with pin style wheels. For Evo VI it is the best choice. The simplification period started in 2001 with the 350Z and the Bugeye WRX and lasted until around 2010. As for the Evo I and II, I would not be surprised if Hasegawa re-issue them in the very near future. They are on a run with model cars right now and even the unthinkables like the entire XJS series got reissued. The Evo IV was reissued not long ago and the Evo III is just around the corner.

Here is one. Not my listing, but I have bought from him before. https://www.ebay.com/itm/TAMIYA-F-Parts-24154-1-24-Jeep-Wrangler-Open-Top/151721978188?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649 You will need to come up with the rest of the parts. The black sprue was sold out a while ago.