[CrateCruncher]

Finally a subject I know something about. I've been actively "collecting" Gunze hi-tech kits for about 10 years now. I've even built a few. Imagine. To say they are better or worse requires a lot of work and a lot of buying things no one knows anything about. I currently have 18 bike kits and 3 car kits and none are duplicates. I've owned and resold about 20 others over the years.

The Gunze cars are all over the map in terms of engineering and detail. The best car in the whole range is the Jaguar XKE. I've restored a real '64 E-Type to concourse condition and can tell you there is very little innacurate with this model. But having said that, I bought the plastic 'low tech" version and substituted the dash, bumpers and several other parts to complete the model. Several other "hi-tech" parts were inferior to the plastic version. Some of you may recall a Ferrari 250 SWB I did last winter on AF. I used the body and a few other parts and threw out almost everything else.

The bike kits are, in my opinion, much better than the cars. Every part seems to be nicely engraved and appropriate for the model. I think the Indian Sport Scout (the pics are somewhere on AF) is my favorite of the bikes followed closely by the BSA Gold Star. The Honda CB72 is a beautiful model though I haven't built that one yet.

Gunze kits are unique. They aren't the best. Far from it. But there are enough interesting subjects with enough accuracy to make several of them worth paying collector prices for. The photoetch is thick stainless steel, the (car) tires are awful, the interior parts can't be painted (rubber) and the fit is often atrocious. I love 'em!

Gunze's main business is women's underwear.