Found a very (extreme?) rare modelkit, dare I say it?

[The Creative Explorer]

This is about the 1/12 Hasegawa Mazda RX-7, but wait for it! There is more........

 

It can’t be a secret anymore that I love big scale modelkits, I have a strong passion for them and love the oddball kits in larger scale.

One of the harder to get modelkits is the Hasegawa Mazda RX-7 in 1/12 scale. Not a model I have been looking very hard for, since they cost a small fortune. But I do like it and wanted one eventually.

Funny story: My wife and I have been looking for a new(different) house and we stumbled upon a house, after looking at the pictures, I noticed something odd on the cupboard. The pictures were lo-res, so it was a bit of an search, but I could conclude very quickly it was the big scale RX-7. So far for that.

 

A few months later, a 1/12 RX-7 came on a local website for sale, the seller posted from the same town as the house was for sale, so it was easy to conclude it would’ve been the same. The only thing now, was to land the modelkit. The seller was asking a hefty, but somewhat reasonable price. I was fortunately able to get it a bit cheaper, since the seller was very reasonable to deal with.

Today, I went to collect the kit. Together with the seller, I went through the box and soon I had to conclude that it was missing it’s windshield and backwindow. Even though the rest was in the box, some things looked different than I am used to, but figured that it was me, since I never seen this kit in real life. These are some pictures of the box:

So far so good

This is different, I thought it was supposed to be plated?

The manual was also different, but it happens with Japanese modelmanufacturers.

And from this point on it get’s interesting. Accordingly to this letter, this model was not a consumerkit, but a pre-sale test-shot, possibly send to only a handful importers over the globe for review and sales. It also states which sprues are different and some things might be off, or not correct.

Interestingly, it also tells that the windshield (and I figure back window, since it is the same sprue) was not in the box.

 

I can not conclude any different than this must be a very rare version of already a rare modelkit. I would not be suprised if there are less of these still around than fingers on one hand.

 

But, what to do with it? I am definately not a collector and the collectors value does not say anything to me. I rather build the RX-7. My wife came with a practical solution: trade with a collector. He wants collectibility and I want buildability….

[iamsuperdan]

Cool story!

And I agree with your wife. There must be someone willing to trade for a "builder."

 

 

[vamach1]

Probably one kit Norm Veber does not have.

[peteski]

Probably one kit Norm Veber does not have.

Is Norm a big collector of rare models?  I know he is an excellent resin caster, but I didn't know he collects models.

[LDO]

Put a small block Chevy in it.

[martinfan5]

Put a small block Chevy in it.

Yawn, so boring

[afx]

Is Norm a big collector of rare models?  I know he is an excellent resin caster, but I didn't know he collects models.

The best collection I have ever seen.

[Dragline]

If you saw Norm's collection you'd need to sit down to catch your breath.

[niteowl7710]

I like the last line - "We expect good reactions and a large-sized orders from you".

It would be interesting to know who got this test shot in the first place.  There really aren't any large scale Hasegawa importers (in terms of volume, not kit size) in the U.S. other than the reciprocal agreement that Hasegawa and Revell have.

[fumi]

It would be interesting to know who got this test shot in the first place.  There really aren't any large scale Hasegawa importers (in terms of volume, not kit size) in the U.S. other than the reciprocal agreement that Hasegawa and Revell have.

Dragon?  Their relationship with Hasegawa was good enough to share toolings back then, and I think they have reciprocal distributorship in Japan, Hong Kong and the US for a long time until last year.

Edited August 15, 2017 by fumi

[Xingu]

The best collection I have ever seen.

I have not had the chance to see it, but have heard about it from several people and it sounds impressive.

[niteowl7710]

Dragon?  Their relationship with Hasegawa was good enough to share toolings back then, and I think they have reciprocal distributorship in Japan, Hong Kong and the US for a long time until last year.

Possibly by Revell and Hasegawa have a distribution relationship still where Hasegawa imports Revell kits to Japan, and Hobbico carries all of Hasegawa's kits.

For example Steven's International - one of the bigger distributors in the U.S. carries 19 Hase automotive kits.  Hobbico has 63 listings which include the stuff Hasegawa just announced for reissue on Thursday.

EDIT

All of this is moot, I just looked at this on my laptop which shows more info than the mobile version, and I'm reminded that Erik is in The Netherlands.  Alright so who's Hasegawa's distributor in Europe?

[peteski]

The best collection I have ever seen.

And I thought that since he was so busy with resin casting he had not time to build or collect model kits.

Speaking of RMCoM, I hope he keeps it going for the foreseeable future. We lost Modelhaus, losing another top-quality resin caster would hurt really bad!

[The Creative Explorer]

I like the last line - "We expect good reactions and a large-sized orders from you".

It would be interesting to know who got this test shot in the first place.  There really aren't any large scale Hasegawa importers (in terms of volume, not kit size) in the U.S. other than the reciprocal agreement that Hasegawa and Revell have.

Thanks for the replys guys.

 

Yes, I live in The Netherlands and I did buy that kit in The Netherlands, I asked the previous owner where he got his kit from, but no more response. So I don't know.
It can't be other than one of the European importers, but it would be only guessing at this point. But it is interesting for sure.

 

Other than the mystique (which I love!) of the kit, I have no idea what to do with it. Or should do with it.

 

Building this would be a deathsin, basically. I've never stumbled upon a big scale, pre production/testshot modelkit. It has a different content than the consumerkits, but I need to go through the kit in detail. And will point out all the differences.
When I build this, all goes away and it will turn into a ordinary build modelkit. It's uniqueness is gone. Other than the letter from Hasegawa.

 

Mind me, I am not into making bucks on this kit. The most sensible answer came from my wife and trade it for a builder. But due to it's uniqueness, I also have a hard time letting it go hahaha.

[Tom Geiger]

 

 

Yes, I live in The Netherlands and I did buy that kit in The Netherlands, I asked the previous owner where he got his kit from, but no more response. So I don't know.
It can't be other than one of the European importers, but it would be only guessing at this point. But it is interesting for sure.

Other than the mystique (which I love!) of the kit, I have no idea what to do with it. Or should do with it.

Building this would be a deathsin, basically. I've never stumbled upon a big scale, pre production/testshot modelkit. It has a different content than the consumerkits, but I need to go through the kit in detail. And will point out all the differences.
When I build this, all goes away and it will turn into a ordinary build modelkit. It's uniqueness is gone. Other than the letter from Hasegawa.

Mind me, I am not into making bucks on this kit. The most sensible answer came from my wife and trade it for a builder. But due to it's uniqueness, I also have a hard time letting it go hahaha.

There is someone out there who would pay dearly for this kit... 

Is it a large scale collector?    An  Rx7 owner who is collecting every possible kit and variation?   A  collector in Japan?   Probably not someone on this board, as we are mainly US car builders.   Put it on the Japanese equivalent of eBay for 10,000 Euro?  So what happens?   

[ChrisBcritter]

Put a small block Chevy in it.

 

Yawn, so boring

Boring indeed. How about a 1/12 scale supercharged Cord V8?

Edited August 17, 2017 by ChrisBcritter

[martinfan5]

 

Boring indeed. How about a 1/12 scale supercharged Cord V8?

I could be down with that

 

[The Creative Explorer]

I wonder; how can a V8 engine be more special in this car than the 2 'cilinder' rotary engine of the Rx-7? Compared to that, the V8 is quite mondane hahaha (sorry guys ;-)

 

So, it almost is heading towards a curse.... I really don't know what to do with it. I asked someone who has more big scale modelkits (the guy from Best Balsa) and he qualified this kit as 'scrap'. due to the missing windscreen.

I could agree with him, if it were a production kit. But since this came without the windshield from the factory and with the letter of Hasegawa and parts/sprues that are definately different than the production. In my opinion, the missing parts of the production kit are not relevant to it's uniqueness.

 

But, it did make me wonder who would be able to appraise such an thing? With most kits, I base my appraisals on my own experiences and knowledge of the modelmarket, but this goes beyond me. I am not at home in the collectors world.

[styromaniac]

And I thought that since he was so busy with resin casting he had not time to build or collect model kits.

Speaking of RMCoM, I hope he keeps it going for the foreseeable future. We lost Modelhaus, losing another top-quality resin caster would hurt really bad!

I've seen his basement casting operation & model collection  as well, and it is impressive. He is pretty much a one man operation....so when he decides to hang it up and retire it will be a tremendous loss to the hobby. Thats why I have stocked up on as much of his stuff as I can....for my own retirement days.

[LDO]

The small block Chevy comment was a joke.

I would contact Norman Veber. He apparently is an avid collector and a great guy. He does a lot for the hobby.

[The Creative Explorer]

The small block Chevy comment was a joke.

I would contact Norman Veber. He apparently is an avid collector and a great guy. He does a lot for the hobby.

I know, haha ;-) But since 'you americans' put a V8 in basically everything..... just kidding

 

I will contact him, I don't really know him, but like to know his opinion about the matter.

[niteowl7710]

I wonder; how can a V8 engine be more special in this car than the 2 'cilinder' rotary engine of the Rx-7? Compared to that, the V8 is quite mondane hahaha (sorry guys ;-)

 

So, it almost is heading towards a curse.... I really don't know what to do with it. I asked someone who has more big scale modelkits (the guy from Best Balsa) and he qualified this kit as 'scrap'. due to the missing windscreen.

I could agree with him, if it were a production kit. But since this came without the windshield from the factory and with the letter of Hasegawa and parts/sprues that are definately different than the production. In my opinion, the missing parts of the production kit are not relevant to it's uniqueness.

 

But, it did make me wonder who would be able to appraise such an thing? With most kits, I base my appraisals on my own experiences and knowledge of the modelmarket, but this goes beyond me. I am not at home in the collectors world.

Knowing the pricing schematic of the Best Balsa guy he'd tell you it was scrap and then try to sell it for about 200% more than the value. Or maybe that's just how he sells Studio27 decals and parts.

[The Creative Explorer]

Knowing the pricing schematic of the Best Balsa guy he'd tell you it was scrap and then try to sell it for about 200% more than the value. Or maybe that's just how he sells Studio27 decals and parts.

No, that is basically how he sells all his inventory. The 1/12 '08 Mustang was in stores 50 euro's, he asked 100. Once you get to know him a little bit, he is not a bad guy and everybody is free to ask what he wants, Except for buying a AMT 1/4 engine, I never bought anything from him and I don't think I will.

 

Haven't got anything back from Norman yet, so still waiting on that one.

But a friend from South Africa has the production kit and soon we will go together through our boxes to point out the differences. That will be interesting.

[The Creative Explorer]

In addition to the Best Balsa guy: I know stories of mass-production 1/25 kits with a few parts different/wrong or something and collectors go bazurk for it. You can't tell me that a manufacturers one-of-a-kind is scrap-value

[Tom Geiger]

You can't tell me that a manufacturers one-of-a-kind is scrap-value

I agree. It's worth money to the right person.  The problem is finding that person.