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Would it not be great if...


exhaust smoke
01-09-2003, 06:44 AM
Just been accessing the HLJ advanced search on all Tamiya kits (including deleted). What do they do with the deleted kit's moulds? I know that they delete kits due to licensing, but would it not be great if they could still produce one-off's on a demand basis?

I for one can think of ten or twenty that I'll really want!! What would you guys want to have a copy of if you could??

tonioseven
01-09-2003, 06:47 AM
All of their Mercedes-Benz kits and all of their Skyline kits (street and racing):)

bigfrit
01-09-2003, 07:39 AM
Peugeot 205 Group B and the jeep wrangler.

hirofkd
01-09-2003, 08:16 AM
Originally posted by exhaust smoke
Just been accessing the HLJ advanced search on all Tamiya kits (including deleted). What do they do with the deleted kit's moulds? I know that they delete kits due to licensing, but would it not be great if they could still produce one-off's on a demand basis?

I for one can think of ten or twenty that I'll really want!! What would you guys want to have a copy of if you could??

The molds are intact, because they are precious assets. Only a few were updated, such as the 1st Gen RX-7 or more recently, the 350Z.
Manufacturing takes only a few days to shoot hundreds of plastic kits, so they produce them by demand basis because of business reasons, but not the licensing problem.
For example, there was a distributor, who agreed to buy 4000 (?) kits of 1/12 Tyrrell P34, so Tamiya reissued it for them.
Reissue isn't just installing a mold and turn the machine on, but it has to be cleaned and polished by skilled craftsmen, and even a metal mold does get damaged, so it has to be repaired by hand.

Only McLaren molds are currently at idle, because the contract is short term basis.

primera man
01-09-2003, 03:11 PM
Originally posted by hirofkd


The molds are intact, because they are precious assets. Only a few were updated, such as the 1st Gen RX-7 or more recently, the 350Z.
Manufacturing takes only a few days to shoot hundreds of plastic kits, so they produce them by demand basis because of business reasons, but not the licensing problem.
For example, there was a distributor, who agreed to buy 4000 (?) kits of 1/12 Tyrrell P34, so Tamiya reissued it for them.
Reissue isn't just installing a mold and turn the machine on, but it has to be cleaned and polished by skilled craftsmen, and even a metal mold does get damaged, so it has to be repaired by hand.

Only McLaren molds are currently at idle, because the contract is short term basis.

:eek: ...wow, alot more to it then i thought :eek:

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