Faust Posted June 6, 2018 Posted June 6, 2018 For those who grew up in the ‘60s or ‘70s, big cars were just the norm. For those, like me, who grew up in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, large cars were still quite plentiful, but they weren’t being replaced as they died. No, instead, we got to see them replaced by much smaller, imported cars, with transverse engines and none-too-exciting two-box hatchback body styles. At the time, these newcomers looked positively ridiculous in comparison. However, most of us never knew that things got much, much smaller than that! Given that I love everyday cars, weird cars and loser cars (or at least those that suck due to inherent non-excitingness), it’s not a surprise that I have a goodly number of weird kits in my stash. I’m also a bit of a 1/20 lover, although I’ve never built one, I have a lot of them, and I’m always on the lookout for more. Thankfully, I managed to find one that isn’t going to suck up much shelf space! If you want small, quirky and outright laughably non-aggressive, check out my recently acquired 1/20 Subaru Rex Combi! Don’t tell me I don’t bring you the weirdness in spades! https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/out-of-box-reviews/1-20-aoshima-1981-subaru-rex-combi-out-of-box/
Faust Posted June 6, 2018 Author Posted June 6, 2018 I can see that, and it has some Ford Fiesta in it too. Thing is, this is smaller than either of those, well, at least the Rabbit, I think.
ranma Posted June 7, 2018 Posted June 7, 2018 Eventhough it's a four door, That kit reminds me of these Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon .
niteowl7710 Posted June 8, 2018 Posted June 8, 2018 I'd say that review is a hair on the harsh side given this kit was tooled up in the late 1970s/early 1980s, and is basically a motorized toy broken down into a model kit. It's not exactly a fair representation of a even run of the mill shelf kit from the 1990s let alone currently. That said I always get a chuckle out of your reviews of this off the wall stuff. Aoshima just reissued their 1/20 Honda Life Step Van which is a Kei toaster on wheels which would make a fine companion piece for this Subaru.
Faust Posted June 8, 2018 Author Posted June 8, 2018 (edited) 16 hours ago, niteowl7710 said: I'd say that review is a hair on the harsh side given this kit was tooled up in the late 1970s/early 1980s, and is basically a motorized toy broken down into a model kit. It's not exactly a fair representation of a even run of the mill shelf kit from the 1990s let alone currently. That said I always get a chuckle out of your reviews of this off the wall stuff. Aoshima just reissued their 1/20 Honda Life Step Van which is a Kei toaster on wheels which would make a fine companion piece for this Subaru. I can see that, but I have more fun being harsh than kind. Also, I have some of the newly reissued Aoshima kits from the late '70s ('78 Gloria/Cedric and '78 Chaser - I think it's a '78) and they're FANTASTIC. Also, regardless of what it IS, it's being marketed as a kit. So, I think it's better to let people know that it's not a great kit. It is a fun and lame off-the-waller, though! Man, I gotta get me that van. Epic! Oh, and no... the Rex wasn't sold in the US, Peter. At least, not to my knowledge. The Justy was, though, and they do share some DNA! Edited June 8, 2018 by Faust
niteowl7710 Posted June 8, 2018 Posted June 8, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, Faust said: I can see that, but I have more fun being harsh than kind. Also, I have some of the newly reissued Aoshima kits from the late '70s ('78 Gloria/Cedric and '78 Chaser - I think it's a '78) and they're FANTASTIC. Also, regardless of what it IS, it's being marketed as a kit. So, I think it's better to let people know that it's not a great kit. It is a fun and lame off-the-waller, though! Man, I gotta get me that van. Epic! Oh, and no... the Rex wasn't sold in the US, Peter. At least, not to my knowledge. The Justy was, though, and they do share some DNA! Yes, yes you do. It looks mundane on the box but this reissue comes with all of the previous variants parts so it has surfboards, and a beach party setup replete with a Era "appropriate" entertainment center. The warning on these kits in the past used to be that "Best Car Vintage" label. In these modern reboxings they're adding a "warning" on the side in the kit description that the tooling is from the long ago and far away and isn't going to be a modern build experience. Edited June 8, 2018 by niteowl7710
Faust Posted June 8, 2018 Author Posted June 8, 2018 Dude... that is so ugly it's awesome. I want two. One for the blah-commercial utility version, and one for the rockin' beach van! The Cedric and Chaser I have have that warning too. I don't know why: those to kits blow most Tamiya cars I have out of the water for completeness and moulding.
Mike999 Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 Another fun and interesting review of a...well, not-so-interesting car to me. Here's one of my favorite Aoshima kei car kits, also from the "Best Car Vintage" line: the Subaru Sambar van. It comes with all those great extras shown on the box: rubber raft with paddles, SCUBA gear, small surfboard etc. The red-and-white Japanese Post Office version also has all that stuff, but it's not shown on the box top.
Mike999 Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 4 hours ago, alexis said: Want Sambar!! HLJ? Hobbylink Japan does have most of these in stock. With the warning that the kit was "molded in the 1970s." But Aoshima did add a set of new wheels. I'm having to stop myself from getting this snazzy, bright-yellow Sambar with the roof rack and accessories, at the link below. If Hobbylink should be out of them, go to eBay and try Tokyo-Hobby, also in Japan. They have decent prices and shipping. https://hlj.com/product/AOS05422
lordairgtar Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 On 6/8/2018 at 7:00 AM, Faust said: Oh, and no... the Rex wasn't sold in the US, Peter. At least, not to my knowledge. The Justy was, though, and they do share some DNA! No, it wasn't. The US did see the Subaru 360 however which falls into the same class I think. Malcom Bricklin of the Bricklin car imported and sold these.
Faust Posted June 15, 2018 Author Posted June 15, 2018 On 6/13/2018 at 1:49 PM, lordairgtar said: No, it wasn't. The US did see the Subaru 360 however which falls into the same class I think. Malcom Bricklin of the Bricklin car imported and sold these. Man, that's not much of a resume...
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