Who makes the BMW Z4?

Hey guys,

I'm looking for a BMW Z4. Where can I get one. Tamiya doesn't make them.

~* gabbadude *~

Hey guys,

I'm looking for a BMW Z4. Where can I get one. Tamita doesn't make them.

~* gabbadude *~

Testors do.. http://www.ehobbies.com/tes440152.html

Wouldn't buy from ehobbies though.. Look around as ehobbies got a slagging on here not long ago...

Thanks, but from what I've heard they don't have the best reputation when it comes to fitment and accurate parts.

Unfortunatly, you'll have to live with that...That's the only model I know of the Z4....It's either that or scratchbuilding time! :)

The way I look at it is this, it's not the kit, it's the builder.
A good builder can turn the worst kit into a great model!

Thanks Guys. You're probably right. I should be more optimistic. I think it's just the trust in Tamiya that I have that I feel all model companies should display.

Cheers

Build a Tamiya S13 or Mini Cooper, or one of their older F1 kits, and see how much your trust stays unshaken.

Tamiya isn't infallible, bucko, they've made their share of crappy kits.

Well, there later kits are practically infallible as far as I'm concerned.

Well, there later kits are practically infallible as far as I'm concerned.

Infallible in quality perhaps, but not infallible in accuracy.

Not sure what you mean. Are you saying that Tamiya's accuracy is not that accurate?

Not sure what you mean. Are you saying that Tamiya's accuracy is not that accurate?

Erm yeah..!!.. Subaru WRC 2002, was just a 2001 with new decals.. Focus 2002, same again as the headlights are wrong..

Skyline Z-Tune I think has the wrong exhaust system, even the Honda RA272 I built has the wrong windscreen and no rear mesh..

Tamya Quality is great.. There attention to detail is great, but they do get it wrong..

How about their '94 Mustang Cobra R kit that had the convertible chassis brace (on a hardtop), the wrong roofline, full luxo GT interior (Cobra R's had stripped interiors), incorrect front fascia molding, and an automatic trans (Cobra R's were manual only)?

What about the relief molded Weber carburetors in their Lotus Europa? Europas used either Dellortos or Strombergs.

Tamiya screws up, but because the red & blue stars are on the box, too many modelers assume otherwise. Good research can turn up a startling number of problems with Tamiya kits.

Erm yeah..!!.. Subaru WRC 2002, was just a 2001 with new decals.. Focus 2002, same again as the headlights are wrong..


But wait, you failed to mention....

Even the 2001 Impreza kit was inaccurate, they modelled the kit off the presentation car and by the time it raced, the interior had been refined.
Continueing the trend, the 2004 Impreza kit was released with minor inaccuracies too.

The 2001 and 2002 Focus kits were both inaccurate, the roll cages in both were wrong!
As you mentioned, by 2002 the headlights had changed and the spare had been relocated.
Not only that, but you could only accurately build Duval's car with some minor mods, if you wanted to build Martin's car, you had a lot further to go!

Lets not get started on the Peugeot 206 kits :rolleyes:

Well, It sounds to me that you guys are a little anti Tamiya. Sad to hear. Who does better then?

I'm not necessarily anti-Tamiya (though I will say that detail for detail, Accurate Miniatures had them beat by a country mile) but I am strongly against the idea that Tamiya is the gold standard of automotive model kits.

I have plenty of Tamiyas in my "to build" pile I'm happy with (like their Group C kits) and plenty I'm not happy with. Recently, Hasegawa has been outdoing Tamiya with superior subject matter, curbside detail, and fit/finish (the Miura/Jota, Stratos, and 2000GT have to be seen to be believed).

Heck, ask any knowledgable kit builder and they'll tell you in a heartbeat to build Revell's Mazda Miata and not Tamiya's.

There's no such thing as the ultimate kit company, there are just good kits. Each company has put out some dreams and some disasters. It's foolish to think otherwise.

Well, It sounds to me that you guys are a little anti Tamiya. Sad to hear. Who does better then?


I'm not anti Tamiya. I like their kits, and their fitment most of the time is always good.. However I do sometimes feel they rest on their laurels a bit.. Their quality is second to none, and some of their kits are just stunning.. However, even their newer kits can at times leave you thinking - what the hell are they playing at... And not just with the accuracy either. The BMW FW24 is a stunning kit, however the front section is in two halves, and you have to mount the seat first, then stick the two halves together and you have a seam line right down the middle.. Means you have to paint the body AFTER the fully detailed seat is installed.... Crazy..!! Bad engineering..

Whereas the Enzo and 360 Modena are stunning kits, and build up great, with not a single issue hardly.. The Honda S2000 you are building is another superb kit.. But that is not fully accurate you know.. The front bumper is missing the headlight washer options for the UK market.. Also the paint guide for the rear lights is wrong for the UK. There is a silver ring around the rear brake light on ONE side only.

The die cast chassis they are pumping out are all wrong as well.. Also their product selection is at times a little biased. We all like Skylines, but not as many as Tamiya has produced, and they are buggers for re-packaging a WRC car with new decals and passing it off as a new year..

Also, the WRC 2002 rally kit has drivers, however they are not in scale.. They look too small when mounted in the seats.. I know, as I've got this kit, and seen it for myself.. Look fine in a Focus 2002 (which has the same drivers)..

And, I've also found some of their decals like pancakes.. The honda I just built had decals so thick I had to lay down 6 coats of clear in the end to remove the step from the clear film to the body.

They are good, VERY good. Don't get me wrong, but Tamiya DO get it wrong. I was like you at the start of this year as I was starting out.. However in the last few months I've changed my attitude.

As your skills get better, and you want to build something other then a Tamiya, you WILL pick up a Revell or something and try and make something out of it.. And you will try and correct a Tamiya kit of the in-accuracies.. Upon saying that I’m building a Revell and do now appreciate Tamiya fitment…

But for these problems I will always buy a Tamiya kit, as they are "mostly" worth every single penny..!!

Just my opinion..

There's no such thing as the ultimate kit company, there are just good kits. Each company has put out some dreams and some disasters. It's foolish to think otherwise.

Can't put it much better than that :bigthumb:


Now everyone .....just to stir the s**t a bit :)
(this is not to Layla's Keeper, whose opinion I value and whose knowledge I really admire)

Don't you guys think that we modelers can get a bit anal retentive at times about this whole accuracy thing and bitching about kit mnftrs?

I mean, especially in the motor sport areas I suppose, the 1/1s change after just about every bloody race :) How do you decide which one is going to be your subject for the master to keep EVERYONE happy? I'm not talking of course about HUGE or MAJOR (eg. structural) errors due to shitty research.

To engineer these kits in a sensible way for economic production, I guess there has to be a degree of simplification/compromise. And I've even read on several threads about the whole concept that it is necessary to "cheat" a little in order to achieve a 1/24 scale model that "looks" visually accurate etc..

Major brand kit makers have to cater to the mass market - it's their bread and butter and finances everything. If they didn't do that, we'd have nothing at all except those wonderful HFH kits at 200$ per pop. Also we have an aftermarket parts world out there that makes some kind of a living helping modelers add whatever degree of realism thay want.

If every kit were easy to fit, accurate in every detail etc etc what would more ambitious modelers have left to do? Kits have to a little bit bad or inaccurate so that you/we can feel good about ourselves when we "correct their mistakes" :)

Don't get me wrong I'm not criticising anyone in particular and I absolutely defend everyone's constitutional right to bitch :)
Just decided this time to say out loud what I thought.

Having said that, my Revell Esprit is the worst fitting piece of styrene crap EVER MADE and they ought to be prosecuted for unfair trading practices for selling that kit for money :):):):):)

So, anyway, I believe diecast is the only option for a Z4.

Here's a 1/24 Maisto diecast that I refinished, I think it's the best of the two diecast Z4's made.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=336344

Thanks guys. It gives me a better perspective on things. I'm glad you guys say this because I was considering buying the Fujimi Lamborghini Gallardo but wasn't sure about the quality of the kit.

Any comments?

Thanks guys. It gives me a better perspective on things. I'm glad you guys say this because I was considering buying the Fujimi Lamborghini Gallardo but wasn't sure about the quality of the kit.

Any comments?

Yeah, go back in the archives and search the ones we've built! There have been plenty of them built and shown off here and everyone (including myself) seemed pretty happy with them.

So what if Tamiya or any kit isn't perfect. If it's a subject matter that you like and you are a good modeler, you'll most likely be able to make it suit your needs. I simply enjoy the whole process of building a Tamiya kit, and take it for that. I won't build a model I'm not interested in the subject matter, and if it's a subject I'm building, it really doesn't matter if it's Tamiya, Fujimi, AMT, Revell, Aoshima, Hasegawa. I deal with the stupid things in any kit if I want to build the model. If I don't want to deal w/it, I don't build it. I've been incredibly impressed w/most of my Tamiya kits from start to finish. And I also had fun building one of their most inaccurate kits, the Mustang Cobra R. Even w/some inaccuracies, it sure looks damned good sitting on my shelf. Disappointed that it wasn't perfect? A bit, but not enough to kill the buzz and have me build something else that week. Sometimes I enjoy the challenge to correct, sometimes I enjoy a kit that simply gets painted and assembled. Sometimes I get frustrated with one element of a build and don't build anything for months. That's where I'm at right now :disappoin .

Don't get me wrong, as I do not want to become confrontational or anything as I was simply saying that Tamiya kits are not free from problems etc.. Ok, it can be a little anal to expect every single WRC release to be accurate, but at the same time I do feel it a little cheap by Tamiya to release a WRC rally car for 2001 and 2002 with no changes other then decals..

But at least Tamiya kits can be enjoyable to build, and their fit is mostly perfect. I think this just comes down to if you want the model on your shelf, whoever produces it, you will buy it, build it and if you are a seasoned model builder will try and fix the shortcomings..

I watched a progress thread of a Fjumi Ferrari 550.. The guy was adding plastic and removing plastic all over to make it look just like the real car... And reading the 80's contest progress thread just shows how far anyone is willing to go in order to get perfection...!! I’m a perfectionist, and all the models I've built are not accurate, or miss something that the real car has, but I work towards improving this, and this is when you start to understand that Tamiya and other kits do have shortfalls..

I’m building a Corvette C5-R, and my attempts to get things right almost lost me a thumb last night, but I’ll keep trying to make the parts that Revell supplied look as good as possible, if only for self gratification. I’ll feel good knowing that I turned a reasonable kit into something more realistic.

Sorry if this came across wrong, Tamiya are good..!! But if you want the car in model format, and it's produced - buy it.. It's only plastic, and lastly have fun..!!

:rolleyes:

Just build the kits. Who cares what's written in the corner?

Don't worry mickbench. I didn't take it that way. Thanks for the honesty.