Are tamiya models and other foreign models good?

[ERIK88]

I know Tamiya is a very well known company that produces high quality models. I have never bought a kit from them, i've always bought AMT, REVELL, Lindberg, and MPC. I have been curious to build one however, but often ask myself if the expensive price on them can be justified by the quality of the models?. Is it true some of them do not have motors or much detail?

[Casey]

Some are full detail, some are curbside (no engine and simplified underside details), but Tayima kits in general are of excellent quality. Clean, crisp molding with few mold seams, no flash, and nicely detailed bodies is what you'll find inside a Tamiya kit box.

[ERIK88]

oh ok sounds good , will have to give one a shot someday.

[dantewallace]

I'm with Casey,Tamiya and the other Japanese companies are some of,if not the best out there quality wise. I disagree on some of the prices of their kits though,especially the curbsides. Today I was looking at the new Toyota 86 kit and it's $40-50. No thanks. I have a database saved on my pc that shows a few of Tamiya's kits and designates which are curbside, and which are not. Maybe it will help you choose what you want in the future? It has certainly helped me with a few purchases.

http://italianhorses.net/tamiya.htm

[Bigfordguy]

Yes, Tamiya models are great and as much as I like the detail of revell and AMT, I find myself frustrated with final assembly of them but, with Tamiya kits they seem to go together very nicely

Edited September 5, 2013 by Bigfordguy

[RonO]

I'm working on a couple of Aoshima motorcycles. They are highly detailed, very little flash and minimal mold lines. Not the easiest to build (but then I'm old & on medication).

On a side note, nowhere does it say Harley - Davidson. The decals say something like "Hardway Dady&Son"

[ERIK88]

I'm with Casey,Tamiya and the other Japanese companies are some of,if not the best out there quality wise. I disagree on some of the prices of their kits though,especially the curbsides. Today I was looking at the new Toyota 86 kit and it's $40-50. No thanks. I have a database saved on my pc that shows a few of Tamiya's kits and designates which are curbside, and which are not. Maybe it will help you choose what you want in the future? It has certainly helped me with a few purchases.

http://italianhorses.net/tamiya.ht

Yea they are pretty pricey, I don't wanna buy one thats $40 dollars with no engine lol, that would probably make me mad lol, A database would be nice to have to help me make a more informed purchase. I wonder if they are cheaper in their place of origin like Japan or other countries.

[ERIK88]

Ron o , wow thats funny man. Yea ive never gave motorcycles a shot either, I wonder how they would be.

[Tom Geiger]

Tamiya and other Japanese kits are usually high quality and practically fall together. And you save a lot of modeling time that you'd spend cleaning up mold lines, ejector pin marks and other imperfections on the US kits, especially the older ones.

Price wise, you get what you paid for, but note that the pricing reflects a few things. The strength of the Yen, and the fact that the kits go through multiple hands in the importation to the USA. Some guys order from sources like Hobby Link Japan where the kits are quite a bit cheaper, but you pay International postage (and possibly customs duty) on the order.

[dantewallace]

HLJ has some kits that I want in the worst way, but I continuously hear that their customer service is horrible.

[Dave Van]

HLJ has some kits that I want in the worst way, but I continuously hear that their customer service is horrible.

NEVER had an issue with them over the MANY orders they have filled for kits not available here or only at double the price HLJ has. It's a little slow sometimes because basic shipping is by the cheap method unless you pay for air ship. But never had an issue being filled correct.

[Daddyfink]

There is a reason some reviewers use the phrase "Almost Tamiya like" when they write up non Tamiya kits. Tamiya has set the bar pretty hight when it comes to kit design and execution.

[ERIK88]

Yea but tamiya makes a lot of Asian vehicles , wish they made muscle cars lol, but I kno that won't ever happen. There are a few modern cars I like I guess, but I don't like how they end up looking like toys more than a nice looking realsticr muscle car, mayb e that's just me. And I can always get a replica of those tamiya models in 1:18 scale die cast . But I do like the subarus, supras, skylines they have. I will be making a purchase and getting the Nissan skyline from the early 90s they have

[Pete J.]

Tamiya's forte seems to be Formula 1(though they did a couple of Indy cars), rally cars from the 60's to current day, European sports cars, and motorcycles. I think they have only done one American car and that was a Mustang Cobra R. They have a huge selection from the weird to the mundane but it is all top quality. Go to Tamiya Japan http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/list/24car/kit24001.htm for a list of what they made. You may not be able to find everything on the market, but they are generally out there. I have been dealing with HLJ for 15 years and had no issues ever. Great company to deal with. They give you access to stuff you never knew you needed.

As an aside, I have been building Tamiya models for 20 years and have a huge stock of them in my garage(not for sale). They have always put out stuff I like and never had an issue with fit or quality. If you want to see them at their best, pick up an Enzo or LFA. Yea, they are expensive but I can assure you that when you open the box and see what they do, you will be impressed.

[Tom Geiger]

Tamiya doesn't focus on the US market. We just get some of what they aim at their own Japanese home market. I don't even know if they aim product at Europe or rest of world, or if the Euro subjects they do are for home market consumption.

[martinfan5]

Tamyia/ Aoshima/Fujimi do not market for the USA

As for HLJ , do not hesitate to buy from HJL, and I am telling you this as a customer that has spent close to $700 dollars there just this year alone, you wont be disappointed, they may be slow, and you have to remember that sometimes, when they are slow, it could be because they might be on a Holiday, they have different Holidays then we do.

And to be Honest, Tamyia is great, but not all their car kits great, a lot of them are basic kits, or very little parts count

If you want to know what you are getting in a kit, try here, they give you a look at the parts, and the instruction book

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/car/

And one more thing about HLJ, if you find a kit that you want, but it shows it being "out of stock/back-ordered", you can still place an order for it, and they will try and most of the time , get it restocked for you , you may just have to wait up to six weeks

[dantewallace]

Well, since you guys are saying good things about HLJ I will go ahead and give them a try, once won't hurt I guess just to see how it goes.

Jonathan, are you on PS3 or Xbox? 9-17 can't come fast enough!!

[martinfan5]

Well, since you guys are saying good things about HLJ I will go ahead and give them a try, once won't hurt I guess just to see how it goes.

Jonathan, are you on PS3 or Xbox? 9-17 can't come fast enough!!

both lol, but it will be PS3 for GTA V

Edited September 5, 2013 by martinfan5

[CJ1971]

Another good hobby-shop, on eBay, is Tokyo Hobby. Their prices are the cheapest I've seen & shipping very reasonable & they ship super quick... To Australia anyway.

If you want to see just how much better the Asian kits are then do as advised... I personally recommend Aoshima's Aventador or either of the twins ( FT86-BRZ ) with engines.

[martinfan5]

Another good hobby-shop, on eBay, is Tokyo Hobby. Their prices are the cheapest I've seen & shipping very reasonable & they ship super quick... To Australia anyway.

If you want to see just how much better the Asian kits are then do as advised... I personally recommend Aoshima's Aventador or either of the twins ( FT86-BRZ ) with engines.

I will and do agree about Ebay Seller Toyko Hobby , I have bought from them a few times, but I have found that I can get the stuff cheaper at HLJ its about $2-5 cheaper sometimes, but still they are my go to if HLJ does not have it or cant get it and Toyko Hobby has it

Couldn't agree more about the Boxer twin kits, After building four , and have four more in the stash(3 more to buy), not only do they build themselves, pretty much zero flash, and next to nothing for mold lines.

[Deano]

HLJ has some kits that I want in the worst way, but I continuously hear that their customer service is horrible.

Sorry ... didn't read the rest of the thread ... nothing to see here.

Edited September 5, 2013 by Deano

[martinfan5]

Then you've heard WRONG. They are second to none!

From my understanding is that they use to have not so decent customer service, but that has since changed, again, just what I have read.

[om617]

They dont have many US cars as for kits,these are the one i could think of now. But they have lot of cool US cars in RC.

Older kits like the Ferrari Testarossa or F40 you can get dirt cheap on Ebay these days. The most expensive seem to be the Ford Sierra RS500 and Escort Cosworth kits. It`s a shame these never was made as street versions. But i guess Tamyia focus mostly on motorsport and RC. Yeah,and there are lot`s of US "iron" in the WW2 1:35 scale.

Quality is top notch imo.

[Rob McKee]

Has anyone bought or built the Tamiya Aston Martin DBS?

Sure looks like a very nice kit.

[dantewallace]

Has anyone bought or built the Tamiya Aston Martin DBS?

Sure looks like a very nice kit.

I saw it at a local show recently and was told it goes together beautifully out of the box. It was also beautiful in person complete. I don't know how I feel about the $70 price tag I saw locally though.