razgriz

@K5054NZ, I have not. I sometimes chat with a Hasegawa rep at their booth at the hobby shows in Shizuoka and Tokyo, but unfortunately they were cancelled again this year. Anyone can send Ebay price screenshots to their official Facebook (株式会社ハセガワ) or Twitter (ハセガワ @hasegawa_model) though.

The Hasegawa 1/48 A-4s with non-U.S. markings don't seem to do well in Japan though. I've picked up Falklands, Kuwait, RNZAF, Singapore, and IDF Skyhawks from various hobby shops/second-hand "recycle" shops around Japan and all of them seem to have been sitting on the shelves since they were released in the early 2000s (thick layer of dust, faded box, etc.). I've actually passed on buying a few because there were dead insects/mold inside some of the boxes. So their overseas distributors will need to push them to repop these versions, because they certainly don't seem to sell in their home mark

I guess what I was trying to say was that they probably had set dates at one point, but on that date a shipment could be ready to be EMS'ed from HLJ, getting on a truck at a port in Asia, or still on a boat in the middle of an ocean, hence the gnashing of teeth. If you look on Amazon Japan right now, the release date for this F-4 here in Japan is July 31. Nobody in their right mind is going to sit on their goods and wait for Japan or any other date. They'd want to get to market ASAP, even if it'll mean a lower margin due to higher logistics costs. Anyway, back to people fondling the kit.

That may have been the case before. But it meant places like HLJ in Japan and shops based in Hong Kong usually got to sell them first, so by the time the rest of the world got them many had already bought theirs online. Naturally those affected were upset, so now we in Japan get new Tamiya releases later than everyone else.

Well if any news comes, it won't be at this year's Shizuoka Hobby Show in May, because that's been cancelled. https://www.hobby-shizuoka.com/

The product page on Tamiya's website generally has the Japanese release date. https://www.tamiya.com/japan/products/61120/index.html Amazon Japan's product page is also a good indication. Not to mention the nice discount. https://www.amazon.co.jp/タミヤ-傑作機シリーズ-No-120-ロッキード-ライトニング/dp/B07XBJHSVD/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_ja_JP=カタカナ&keywords=p-38&qid=1572128182&sr=8-1 Both state Nov. 2, which is a Saturday over here.

Tamiya Item 32559? https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/32559staff_car/index.htm

As in the retail boxing MSRP will likely be higher. For reference, the 1/35 JGSDF Type 16 white boxing for the early release event at the Tamiya Plamodel Factory was 4,174 yen (incl tax) while the MSRP listed on Tamiya's site for the final retail boxing is 5,184 yen (incl tax)

And there's already a Yahoo Japan auction listing for twice the price (8,000 yen). https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n358519833

http://www.tamiya.com/english/THS/index18.htm Would've been nice if they had timed it with the actual 100 years of RAF a little while back.

Close to 30% off from Amazon Japan for the D. Over 35% off for the A as well.

If the US release date is August, I'd assume HK retailers will get theirs after that and Japan even later as per recent trends to offset lost sales to the likes of Lucky and HLJ.

Is George even referring to the Tomcat with his Churchill quote? This year is the 100th anniversary of the RAF after all, so maybe another SHS release announcement?

I would assume that a Tamiya America rep would know stuff that we don't. His hands are probably tied as to how much he can reveal to build hype. Japanese hobby companies aren't exactly innovative when it comes to their online/social media presence.

Sprues were on display at the Shizuoka Hobby Show. Pics were posted on their Japanese Twitter as well. https://twitter.com/meng_model Apparently the Japanese market gets its own boxing. http://hobby.dengeki.com/event/381476/2/

Maybe there's a good chance that they follow previous patterns (P-51, P-47, F-16). Start with a "base" kit then work up to the final release with the most options?

Or the Canadian distributor decided to take a hit to their profit margin to get their shipment by air as opposed to losing sales altogether to the likes of HLJ and Lucky Model.

I was at the Tamiya HQ yesterday and one of their staff told me that the sample is partially made with 3D-printed parts because not all of the molds are ready.

It probably means they are paying Northrop Grumman some sort of fee in order to officially use the F-14 Tomcat name. It also probably means the model, packaging, etc. had to be approved by Northrop Grumman as well. It may or may not mean Northrop Grumman provided assistance (reference materials or whatever). *Edit: Still need to see the weapon sprues too.

More competition is good. As others have stated, the Hasegawa Hornet may be the gold standard thus far, but not having any weapons kind of sucks. Kinetic, AMK, Great Wall, etc. usually include a decent selection of weapons with their kits, which gives us useful choices (everything from clean to loaded for bear). In comparison, Hasegawa essentially tells us to "go look in the spares box" or "spend more money on weapon sets," which certainly gives the impression that, accuracy aside, their kits provide less build freedom and less value for money. The likes of Hasegawa and Tamiya have produced

In the latest "Old Man's Blog" on Zoukei Mura's site (#65, not translated yet at the time of this post), Shigeta-san gives the following hints about their next project: 1) they're getting close to the point when they'll add a jet to the SWS lineup 2) two seats, two engines 3) shown in Ta 152 Blog #5 4) 1/48 scale Considering there is a photo of him in front of an F-4 in said Blog #5, it sounds like a 1/48 F-4 is incoming.

Cue Hasegawa decal variation.

He brings up tanks and aircraft a lot in his book. Episodes about crawling around tanks at Aberdeen and seeing a Corsair in the sky as a kid during WWII. It's pretty clear where his interests are. This. For example, they have been in what is being called a "2nd Mini 4WD boom" here in Japan, so lots of focus on that stuff. Mini 4WD are those little cars that are powered by 2 AAs and run on closed tracks. There are comics, animation, merchandise, etc. related to that, and local race weekends for these cars regularly draw hundreds in Tokyo. They are also famous for being one of the first manuf

For what it's worth, Hasegawa (ICM distributor for Japan) lists a 1/48 Do-17 Z-10 Nightfighter for July release in their pamphlet for the Shizuoka Hobby Show. The rest of the world ought to get it earlier than that.

A6M5 = 61103 A6M3 = 61108