BMW Models?

Hey there, first time poster on these forums...

Quick question about BMW models.

Maybe I'm just not seeing them, but why is there a lack of recent BMW models? I've love to build pretty much any BMW made in the last ten years up to now...

I guess there isn't much demand? I thought maybe Revell Germany would get on this, at least for their Skill Level 3+ models.

Probably lack of demand for the models and also a licensing issue.

There are very few, Z8 (and now Alpina too), E36 in various forms, Z3, Z3 (M) Coupe, and that is pretty much it from the recent ones. Older models are better represented, though not comprehensive selection either.

...and the few that exist are very difficult to find.

...and the few that exist are very difficult to find.
There are a lot of them out there but they are difficult to find in hobby shops but if you take a look on ebay there are always a few on there. Sadly Tamiya has discontinued the 320i and the 635CSI. Most of the rest of the BMW models you find aren’t that great like the Dragon E36 M3.

Probably lack of demand for the models and also a licensing issue.
I can't imagine that lack of demand is a problem when it comes to BMW model kits. You're talking about one of the landmark sporting automotive brands - the '87-'91 E30 M3 alone is a major cult car, and is OFTEN rated in the top ten cars of all time by magazines, websites, etc.

If one of the kit companies wanted to knock out a series of quality BMW kits, they could make a killing on the various M3 / M5 / M6 / M1's (I know there are M1 kits, but they seem to suck, OOB), as well as other somewhat-cult cars like the 5er Tourings, E30 3er's, etc.

I have to guess the reason there aren't many BMW is kit is all about licensing.

I dunno, BMW really seems no worse represented than most marques.

Here are just the Bimmer kits I have (I know there are others, too):

M1 road version
M1 Procar
320i
Z1
Z3
Z3 M
E30 M3 (crappy kit!)
E34 M5
E36 M3 'lightweight'
E36 M3 24h Nurburgring
E36 318 is BTCC
635CSi Gr.A Spa
M635
850i
Nazca M12 (thanks Gio!)

Well over a dozen- not bad, really. There are probably about the same number of Mercedes kits made, and far fewer Audis. Sure there are more Ferraris (I think- but then I've never counted), and Nissans, Toyotas and Hondas. But when has BMW ever been as popular as these other makes?

Yeah, I would love a good full engine 2002, and a good E30 M3 (and McLaren F1)- and I do kinda doubt I'll see them. But meanwhile, there are a healthy number of decent Bimmer kits out there. And there are some great Porsche kits out there, too....

I have seen most of the kits you're talking about:

M1 road version - Revell? Don't like it.
M1 Procar - Revell? Don't like it.
320i - Tamiya? Good kit.
Z3 - Tamiya? Good kit.
Z3 M - Not sure on this one - Tamiya?
E30 M3 (crappy kit!) - Fujimi? Terrible.
E34 M5 - Fujimi? Terrible.
E36 M3 'lightweight' - Dragon? Not bad.
E36 M3 24h Nurburgring - Dragon? Not bad.
E36 318 is BTCC - Dragon? Not bad.
635CSi Gr.A Spa - Tamiya? Nice kit.
M635 - Tamiya? Nice kit.
850i - Revell? Ugly.
Nazca M12 (thanks Gio!) - Never seen this one.

From the kits you mentioned, that's 7 reasonably good kits out of 12.

When it comes to BMW kits, currently, you're basically looking at:

- Crappy M1 kits
- Crappy 8-series kit
- Terrible E30 kits
- Terrible E34 kits
- Fair E36 kits
- Good E24 635CSi / M635 kits
- Good E21 320i kits
- Good Z3 kits

As a BMW fanatic, that is a VERY poor selection of good kits. I really am not excited by the Z3, so that leaves me with the E24 kits (nice but not a THRILLING car) and the E21 kits (also nice but not THRILLING either).

I would be VERY excited to see nice E30 kits - standard E30s AND the M3 - and nice E46 M3 kits - and nice E34 M5 + Touring (or M5 Touring...) kits - plus nice M1 kits. For a start, anyway.

Fact is, the selection of NICE BMW kits is SORELY lacking in excitement.

There are a number of nice Porsche kits ('88 Turbo, GT1, GT2, GT3, 935, 956, 959, 962, 996, etc).

And I have to argue with you - BMW has ALWAYS been at LEAST as popular as Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, Audi, and Ferrari --- for the most part. Ferrari is obviously in a league of its own, but when it comes to sporting cars, how can you say that the 2002 Turbo, E30 M3, E30 318is, E28 M5, E34 M5, E39 M5, E60 M5, E46 M3 and M1 are not really popular cars... ?

I think a major reason why BMW's (and other German cars) are not really well-represented is that the kit manufacturers are mostly Japanese. All of the Japanese car manufacturers are well-represented in model kits. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes are definitely far and few between. There are a couple VW kits. And there are a lot of European brands that are basically non-existent in plastic models - Saab, for example.

It's a damn shame. I'd LOVE to see some nice kits based on European cult cars.

Are they really that popular?

When was the last time you saw a BMW being built here? When was the time before that?

OK, as you mentioned a number of the availible BMW kits are not top tier quality wise. If that's what's keeping people from building them, when was the last time you saw someone building a 911 here? There are plenty of great Porsche kits. The Fujimi Cayman is even a new Porsche, and a good kit. I don't know that we've seen more than a half dozen.

AF is hardly the throbbing pulse of the model car building world, but it's probably a decent representation of what the international community may be building. Alot of people may like them, but 'non-exotic' Euro cars are really pretty rare. And if you don't see them built often here, then where?

They're cool, but not really that popular. :dunno: People like seeing them, but they don't build them (and buy them). And so the market doesn't really support new kits.

Are they really that popular?

When was the last time you saw a BMW being built here? When was the time before that?

Yes, I'd say they are - and they would certainly become more popular among modellers, IMO, if good kits were available. As an example, I was never interested in a Honda S800, but when I saw the Tamiya kits and built two of 'em, I really grew to like the 1/1 car and have done some reading up on the history.

I'd bet that a lot of people on this forum don't post WIP threads. From my short time on this forum, the talented modellers like to post WIP threads, but I -know- there are guys out there that are at a more novice level that are building kits and not posting any WIP threads --- why post your average / below-average WIP pics? Everyone likes to see the AWESOME models that guys are building.

This is just a debate - no one's going to suddenly start manufacturing '70's-'90's era high-quality Euro kits as a result of seeing this thread, of course --- but my feeling is that the demand would be there if the kits were offered. My humble 2 cents.

This is just a debate - no one's going to suddenly start manufacturing '70's-'90's era high-quality Euro kits as a result of seeing this thread, of course --- but my feeling is that the demand would be there if the kits were offered. My humble 2 cents.
Absolutely right- but hopefully it's also just a friendly debate. :wink:

But I'm not convinced that Bimmers make popular subjects as kits, and I'm not convinced that great quality kits build interest in cars.

You mentioned the S800- a great example. What a cool little kit! Terrific quality, full engine, funky subject. Haven't seen any built, though. Tamiya has been reissuing a number of really great kits recently- the Alpine A110, Alfa GTA, Citroen 2CV, Fiat 500 & 695, and the S800 have all been repoped in the last two years. Every one of them is a truely top quality kit, full engine, of a cult classic car. But none get built here! (OK, there are in fact two 695s in progress now, and there will likely be two more in a month or two). There have been one or less of each of the others. They're just not popular.

I'd bet that a lot of people on this forum don't post WIP threads. From my short time on this forum, the talented modellers like to post WIP threads, but I -know- there are guys out there that are at a more novice level that are building kits and not posting any WIP threads --- why post your average / below-average WIP pics? Everyone likes to see the AWESOME models that guys are building.
This may or may not be true- but even if it is it likely doesn't skew the proportions. Maybe for each Porsche we see here, other members are building two more and not showing them. But that also means for each Nissan we see, members are also building two more of them and not showing them. There's really no reason to believe members here are less likely to show a mediocre BMW than a mediocre Ferrari.

But meanwhile, Tamiya has put out a bunch of high quality 70's Euro kits- and no one seems to have cared. So why would they care about another Bimmer?

Absolutely right- but hopefully it's also just a friendly debate. :wink:

But I'm not convinced that Bimmers make popular subjects as kits, and I'm not convinced that great quality kits build interest in cars.

You mentioned the S800- a great example. What a cool little kit! Terrific quality, full engine, funky subject. Haven't seen any built, though. Tamiya has been reissuing a number of really great kits recently- the Alpine A110, Alfa GTA, Citroen 2CV, Fiat 500 & 695, and the S800 have all been repoped in the last two years. Every one of them is a truely top quality kit, full engine, of a cult classic car. But none get built here! (OK, there are in fact two 695s in progress now, and there will likely be two more in a month or two). There have been one or less of each of the others. They're just not popular.


This may or may not be true- but even if it is it likely doesn't skew the proportions. Maybe for each Porsche we see here, other members are building two more and not showing them. But that also means for each Nissan we see, members are also building two more of them and not showing them. There's really no reason to believe members here are less likely to show a mediocre BMW than a mediocre Ferrari.

But meanwhile, Tamiya has put out a bunch of high quality 70's Euro kits- and no one seems to have cared. So why would they care about another Bimmer?
Absolutely yes, it's a friendly debate :D

I haven't built any BMW kits other than the Tamiya 635CSi variants and a Dragon E36 318Ti --- why? Because I hate spending money on poorly-made kits. I did buy a Fujimi E30 325i, and regretted it the moment it arrived and I opened it up. I have owned a couple 1/1 E30's (um, eight, actually - I currently have an E30 318is and E30 M3), and am sorely disappointed that I can't find a good E30 kit. Same goes for the E46 M3 - I'd love to build a nice 1/24 version of my 1/1 car. Same for the E34 Touring. If somebody made nice BMW kits, I'd have an entire bookshelf stacked full of them (many duplicates). But maybe that's just me... ? I don't think so, though.

About the WIP threads, you're right. My point was that just because we're not seeing WIP threads doesn't mean the kits aren't being bought and built in quantity.

And for the record, I have been happy to see all of the nice '70's-era and Euro kits by Tamiya, and have bought MANY of them. I much prefer them to building the standard 350Z or another Modena. BMW's or not, I want to see the good stuff - give me a 2002 Turbo. How 'bout a good Mk1 VW GTi - Karmann Ghia - Opel Manta - 300SL Gullwing - 550 Spyder - Starion Turbo - Lambo Miura - Sunbeam Tiger - Maserati Merak or Sebring or Mistral - the list goes on. There have been a lot of really cool cars over the years that haven't been addressed well in kits.

BMW's are just the most important ones ;)

We'll continue this over a beer at some point, what d'you say?

I actually like the bad kits; makes it much more worthwhile and satisfying sorting out the flaws.
Sometimes, a "perfect" modern kit ends up being an exercise in execution rather than a challenge.
Incidentally, of the cars you mention I have kits of the karmann ghia (part of the tamiya re-issues), 300SL, miura (hasegawa's is pretty damned good), Merak (ancient curbside/motorised airfix kit).

The problem I see with BMW kits is that in the real world, the car is just so common.
As much as I would like to have a real M3 CSL in my garage, if there was a scale kit, it wouldn't be on top of my to buy list.

Have you looked at fujimi's enthusiast bmw kits?
There's also the point that if you really want to build a certain car, you can always have a go at making it from scratch.

I'm wanting to build a model of my car too. But trying to track down the Dragon E36 M3 kit is rather difficult. I bought the Dragon PIAA E36 when I had the chance just in case, but thats a lot of scratch building (from race to street). I also dont want it curbside, so I have to scavenge the motor from the 325i kit. It sucks, but its something we have to deal with.

I don't like the challenge of finding, I like the challenge of building. So as long as the proportions are correct I don't care about the quality.

A quick glimpse on ebay, et voila:

M3:
http://cgi.ebay.at/Dragon-BMW-M3-8002X-Limited-1-24-Scale-Model-Kit_W0QQitemZ160154647593QQihZ006QQcategoryZ1190QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

A few 316i's:
http://cgi.ebay.at/BMW-316i-316-i-compact-1-24-Dragon-Rare-new-in-box_W0QQitemZ260155755885QQihZ016QQcategoryZ1189QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.at/BMW-316i-COMPACT-DRAGON-1-24-MODELKIT_W0QQitemZ130096475442QQihZ003QQcategoryZ2 583QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It's not that difficult to find them. ;)

One of the reasons we don't see that many BMW nor Porsche models being build on the forum is the fact that very few have been issued in the last 10 years. Not many get built when the selection at the store is so stale or non-existent.

Aside from the Revell Z8 (which I've seen built fairly often), the newest BMW kits were roughly 10 years ago; Dragon did the M Coupe based on the M Roadster and the BMW compact; Dragon kits were fair representations but not in the same league as Tamiya or Aoshima or most Hasegawa kits or newer Fujimi subjects. I have to think that any current M3 would make a great model subject that you would see built here. Not as sure about the Z4/Z4 M coupe, or the 5/6/7 series. The Z3, 6 and 7 series, and some 3 series coupes were made by a few diecast companies if you have to have one on your shelf. All the BMW models mentioned were done in the '80's and '90's. We're in the late 2000's and have gone through a serious drought of BMW kits. Imagine Tamiya doing a 2002Tii in their vintage series.

Porsche...nothing new from Tamiya post '99 except for the Carrera GT and a modified reissue to make a late 80's Turbo (yawn), and we've seen many of those built here. The Fujimi Cayman is being built by a few here, and it's a breath of fresh air to see a modern non-exotic sports car from Porsche given some attention by the model mfgs. It's almost shocking that no Turbo 996, or GT2, or GT3, or any 997's. If I were Fujimi I'd do a Boxster S, and the new GT2 and GT3 RS 997's. They'd definitely get some interest from builders if they'd simply make them. The fact that not many are seen now is that the selection is so stale for both Porsche and BMW. Ferrari was stale too, before Fujimi woke up and made a bunch that we'd never seen, and then others were reissued. While it wouldn't make much business sense to build a lot of new BMW's and Porsches, a handful of them would be very welcome, very successful, and well represented by builders hungry for something new.

Are they really that popular?
BMWs are very popular cars. Have you been to Bimmerforums? That board is one of the top message boards on the net. As far as BMWs being very common well they are but commonality doesn’t mean much. For instance I went on a drive/mini car show with several exotics over the weekend and my 99 M3 got as many looks and attention as the lime green Diablo SV, Shelby Cobra kit, and Exige that went did.

There seems to be a large amount of BMW road cars but their race cars aren’t as well represented. The 320i and 635csi race cars that are out there aren’t being made anymore and that’s why you aren’t seeing many of them on here. It’s a shame too since those two were the best quality BMW kits being made.

Honestly why would someone want to build a low quality 5 series vs. a good quality NSX? Sure BMW may not be as poorly represented as say Opel, but there is the Tamiya Opel Astra which is a more modern and better quality kit than 98% of the BMW kits out there.

Out of all the modern BMWs that I would love to see good quality kits made the Z4M racecar, E46 M3 GTR, and the BMW/Dinan Daytona Prototype would be at the top of my list and I would buy them in a hart beat if they were ever made. The funny thing about my list is that 2 of those are being built as RC cars.

You're kinda missing the point about their common place on the roads. Put it this way, the Ford Focus is one of the best selling cars of all time. How many here are dying to see a kit of it?

You're kinda missing the point about their common place on the roads. Put it this way, the Ford Focus is one of the best selling cars of all time. How many here are dying to see a kit of it?
There are more quality Focus kits than there are quality BMW kits.

Really?
All I can think of off the top my head is the tamiya rally car (and decal/wheel variations) and the revell 1:25 kit. What else is there?

And those 3 alone are more than the 2 quality BMW kits. Now im not counting the Dragon kits as quality kits I have built the E36 M3 kit and was extremely disappointed in it. Even if you were to remove the Revell kit from the list since Revell kits are never that great to begin with you are still looking at an entire brand vs. just one model and both have the same number of quality kits being made.


Question; How many M3s do you see in a day, now how many 350Zs, NZXs, Vettes, Evos, or WRXs do you see? I can count on one had how many M3s I see in a day and most of the time its just mine, where as the others I lose count. Yet the other are better represented in kit form than the M3 is.

I live in London. M3s are common. But you're still missing the point. How popular a car is plays very little part in whether or not they get kitted or whether or not people will buy that kit. The Vauxhall Corsa sells just as many as the Ford Focus or the BMW 3 and I don't recall seeing a kit of that. The other cars are actually rarer in my parts than the M3.

Put it this way, the Ford Focus is one of the best selling cars of all time. How many here are dying to see a kit of it?
Me! Me! Me! :grinyes:

The 06/07 Focus RS WRC is at the top of my list of cars I want to see kitted (except for that McLaren F1).

http://www.rsportscars.com/foto/09/focuswrc07.jpg

BMWs are very popular cars.
BMW's are very popular cars- amongst Bimmerheads. BMW fans are nearly as fanatical about Bimmers as any group of enthusiasts for any other make. But that enthusiasm doesn't carry over as readily to non BMW fans, as much as perhaps enthusiasm for Ferraris and Porsches do. For the general public, Ferraris and Porsches represent some of the 'fastest, most exotic cars in the world'. Non BMW fans often view Bimmers as just another 'performance luxury car' (an image that BMW lately seems to be trying very hard to cultivate). The performance and motorsports image of BMWs that fans cherish is far overshadowed by the luxury and expense image in the eye of the general public. (I've certainly lost track of all the 'luxury performance' coupes and sedans out there.) :sleep::sleeping:

So while you may love 'em and I may love 'em, and we may each belong to a BMW fan club and know dozens of other BMW fans, the rest of the general public just can't get excited about them as can we.

As new car kits lately are becoming fewer and father between, manufaturers have to decide what kits have the broadest appeal- and I think it's hard not to see that BMW fans are really too small of a niche market to put out kits especially for.

Y'know, I'd still love to see a full detail 1:24 Focus RS but as even if they made a kit of it, it wouldn't be at the top of my list of Ford cars; that spot being reserved for the Ford Puma. For the record, I would also love to see the E46 M3s in kit form but they just don't appeal that much to me in kit form. Strangely enough, I'd much prefer to see an RS4 kit than an M3 kit right now and an Alfa 156/147 GTA kit before the German cars. That is also ignoring the absolute lack/absense of modern Lotus and TVR kits.
How come there was never a kit of the Yaris T-Sport?

Which brings us nicely onto the plain and simple fact that not everyone is going to be pleased by what the kit makers put out and whinging about it is pointless.

A few more 1:24 BMW kits that haven't been mentioned:

Revell: Dixi & 507

Heller: Dixi & 328

All are full engine detail etc. I have the two Heller ones although I haven't built them so can't say whether they are any good, but the rest of that series that I have built (Bugatti T50 & M-B 500K) were easy to build & decent kits.

The 507 is a very nice looking kit.
I've opened up mine and apart from the usual revell style wheels, everything looks complete. It's just as good as their XK-SS kit is.

I wish we could get the Euro Focus over here in the US rather than what we get. Fords US branch is very disappointing. The only thing here is the GT500 and this absolutely horrible.


Do they even make TVR kits? I have been thinking about getting a 2500M with a turbo as of late.

One of the reasons we don't see a lot of new BMW kits is the number of relatively good quality BMW diecasts of various scales - there are plenty! Almost every model is covered, sometimes by more than one manufacturer.

At a minimum, I'd really like to see a nice quality BMW E30 M3 kit.

Please? Someone...?!

At a minimum, I'd really like to see a nice quality BMW E30 M3 kit.

Please? Someone...?!


Scale Craft Resin makes one. Go to renaissance-models.com.

http://www.renaissance-models.com/1-24/CTR/ctr2411.htm

Also, Studio 27 will be making a transkit for the terrible Fujimi M3:

http://www.kiwi-us.com/~studio27/NewITEM_P/BMW_M3/BMW_M3.html (http://www.kiwi-us.com/%7Estudio27/NewITEM_P/BMW_M3/BMW_M3.html)

I've never seen a built Fujimi M3 other than on the front of the Testors rebox, years ago. They're apparently so bad that no one ever finishes one :lol:.

Personally, I am totally bored and even annoyed with the Japanese tuning scene. While a mildly customized WRX STi or Evo 8 is a pretty cool car (and one I would buy a model of, which is an easy task), I will probably never buy a model Nissan 350Z, Skyline (there goes a million kits), AE86, any Toyota for that matter, Silvia, NSX, or any Honda. I just don't care--I see them all day, every day no matter where I go in real life, and I'm sick of them.

I would actually own a Honda or Toyota in real life because they are durable, well-built, and economic, but I don't build model kits of cars that I can readily attain for real. Like others, I would love to see more Bimmers, and would buy a huge stack of kits if they were produced. I'm actually very tired of seeing Ferraris; they're so common in kit form that they are boring. Lamborghinis are OK, and Porsches are cool, but BMWs and Audis would be at the top of my building list if they were being produced.

I would sooner build a mundane, 5-series luxury sedan than a wildly pumped up NSX race car. I consider BMW's and Audi's to be the best cars available for a reasonable price, and that translates to a desire to build them. As was mentioned, this thread won't reach the eyes of any model manufacturers, but Tamiya, Fujimi, and Revell will not get any of my business in the area of Japanese cars. I just don't care about them.

Oh, and if kits of the Focus ZX4 begin to hit the shelves I will buy one just to stomp on it and light it on fire. I guess that was a little harsh but WHO WANTS TO BUILD A FOCUS?? (I'm not talking rally version here)

What are you guys moaning about?!!? :rolleyes: There are already a zillion BMW kits available!

The decided shortage of Aston Martin kits, now that's something to bitch about :D

The decided shortage of Aston Martin kits, now that's something to bitch about :D
Atleast they make AM kits. I want to see at least one Panoz kit.

link (http://www.grandprixmodels.co.uk/shop/result.asp?pg=&schRef=&schCarType=panoz&schYear=&schDriver=&schSponsor=&schEvent=&schScale=1%3A24&schManufact=All&schKit=KIT&myID=&sav=All&t=None&c=&#res)