Prior to the show, I asked some of the people on the net to send a wish list. I complied it and submitted to four major car kit manufacturers.
[Tamiya]
In terms of car kits, Tamiya booth looked quiet. They only had one new kit on display, which was the Fit, a tiny econo box, which is currently very popular in Japan, and it made Honda the 2nd Japanese car manufacturer after Toyota in terms of the monthly sales volume for a few month. There was no new announcement on F1 or Endurance racer at the show. I asked about a variation of the F2002 when I handed over the wish list, and the representative didn't look so interested. Overall, there wasn't much to note from Tamiya booth. Still, they had a real GSX1300R on display, and the model kit looked superb.
 | 1/12 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa (July) |
While I'm not really interested in bikes, this does have a strong appeal as a model subject.
01, 02, 03, 04, 05
| 1/24 Honda Fit (Jazz) Available now. |
| 1/20 Tyrrell P34 '77 Monaco (Available now) Parts |
1/24 Reissues (September)
| Golf, Capri and Audi |
| 956 New Man, 962 Joest and Sauber C9 |
| 962 New Man (w/ Caltgraph decal for only 1600 yen) |
[Fujimi]
Fujimi is the second most talked manufacturer among the forum, and the list was big. The representative was very interested in the list, that he asked me to keep it before I was even going to tell him that I got it for him. The booth itself had many people, and the staff's enthusiasm was high. Big difference from the last year.
| Shelby Cobra 427 CSX4xxx |
I talked about the new Cobra kit, which I was interested most at the show this year. I confirmed that the kit is a new tool, and shares nothing with any existing kit. The kit is modeled to be released in two grades, one is for a Cartoon, "You are Under Arrest", and the other as a Real Sports series. The YUA version will include character figures, and the oil pan is molded with the chassis, but the engine is not included. The RS series will have a "fairly" detailed 427 engine, and you cut the pan from the chassis to install it. It's not as detailed as their Enthu. series, but a little better than the 240Z kit, which also had an decent engine. The Fujimi staff were working based on wrong and inconsistent reference photos, and confused staff had to look for the real one. They found a owner of an aluminum body CSX4xxx S/C, and they checked and corrected the wood master. They also learned from the owner that there are so many different Cobras, replicas and replicas of replicas, that not many people know how it really looks, causing every one to have his/her impression about the Cobra. The representative told me that at least their kit is a faithful representation of a new aluminum body CSX4xxx 427 Cobra. We'll see the answer in July.
| New Integra Type-R |
The new Integra kit is almost done, and it's supposed to hit the store in the first week of June. The kit looks good, and this will be a good selling kit. I expect many variations, such as Modulo, Mugen, and auto gallery series (racer replica).
| New Civic Type-R |
They also displayed a preliminary master of the Civic. You can still see hand drawn lines. The chassis will be the same as the Integra just like the real car.
| GT40s |
There will be even more GT40s from Fujimi. Isn't it time to add a tree or two to represent the engine? :)
| Mazdaspeed RX-7 FD3S R-Spec |
There will be another FD kit based on a troublesome Fujimi FD kit. While I like the R-Spec, and I would have done a conversion, if no one release it, but Fujimi's FD uses Nissan Skyline GT-R chassis, having a slightly longer wheelbase, and the front sits way too high. I mentioned about these problems, and the rep told me that he would look into that.
[Aoshima]
Aoshima has been releasing Japanese domestic cars aggressively, and it's strange enough that their tuned cars are selling better than Tamiya's race car and F1 kits. They displayed the existing kits are some new ones as well. I handed over the list, and the person in charge was interested in some of the Japanese domestic models, such as Subaru Legacy, but not quite with some imports like BMW or Audi. Still, they are trying different approach, such as separate rear hatch or adjustable suspension.
| Accord Wagon (CF) /aero and 18 in wheel, and low down suspension |
| Hi-Ace Super Woofer |
| Jun Auto Mechanic Prelude |
| Also new, but no photo available, are new Honda Step Wagon Modulo, Aristo w/aero parts, VeilSide R32 with a GT wing etc. |
[Hasegawa]
Not much from Hasegawa, except a variation of their Stratus kit and photo etched parts. The person in charge of auto kits wasn't surprised to see the S4 on the wish list I complied.