Upcoming Tamiya FXX in black?

[sausage]

Does anyone know the details of this one? Is it just a rebox with slightly different decals and plastic color, or is this going to be a carbon fiber type?

[MPWR]

If the past is anything to go by, it will be a rebox with body parts molded in black. They're not going to include full body CF decals.

[Spike2933]

its just gonna be molded Black or atleast the pic I saw was

[freakray]

Tamiya is rediculous! Like you couldn't buy it molded in red and paint it black - who are they really fooling?

[wouter1981]

Originally Posted by freakray

Tamiya is rediculous! Like you couldn't buy it molded in red and paint it black - who are they really fooling?

... aparantly there is a market for people who buy models and put them together without painting it...

[pawlie]

Originally Posted by freakray

Tamiya is rediculous! Like you couldn't buy it molded in red and paint it black - who are they really fooling?

I've really gotten tired of Tamiya just re-issuing the same kit over and over with new decals, or new molded plastic color.

Peugeot 206/SC430/Honda NSX touring car/Enzo/F50/350z touring/F360 etc

[pawlie]

Originally Posted by wouter1981

... aparantly there is a market for people who buy models and put them together without painting it...

I can't imagine those people are willing to spend $50/4500 yen on a kit just to glue it together?!?

[Joe Blyth]

I think it's stupid too, but I guess they wouldn't do it if it wasn't profitable.

[mobilebucky]

Originally Posted by pawlie

I've really gotten tired of Tamiya just re-issuing the same kit over and over with new decals, or new molded plastic color.

Peugeot 206/SC430/Honda NSX touring car/Enzo/F50/350z touring/F360 etc

Don't forget all the RCVs and skyline GT-Rs and Scuby WRCs. Somehow they market this black FXX as limited edition, from what I see it is nothing special but a FXX molded in Black. Anyone want to put money on when will they put the evoluzione version out?

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by wouter1981

... aparantly there is a market for people who buy models and put them together without painting it...

It may seem strange to us, but apparently it's true. Why else does Tamiya chrome it's wheels? (Chromed wheels are actually correct for very few of the kits they seem to put out.) Why else to they mold parts in three different colors in some kits, plus clear and chrome? Why else would they have started including molded-in-color taillights? Why else would they have put out kits with prepainted or chromed bodies? And what of the uber-expensive 1/12 kits that require no painting? They obviously don't post on this forum much, but apparently there is a real market for Tamiya's kits of people who simply don't paint.

It's obvious that the different color editions aren't intended for the type of builder that posts here- but these people must be out there somewhere....

It's a bit funny that we get so worked up when Tamiya makes a new release aimed at that market, though.

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by MPWR

It's a bit funny that we get so worked up when Tamiya makes a new release aimed at that market, though.

X100

[hirofkd]

Japan has Bandai, and Bandai makes Gundam models. They're partially/fully color-coded, snap together precision models that appeal to a wide range of buyers. Some of the more complex Gundam kits are light-years ahead of Tamiya and Hasegawa in terms of engineering, yet those kits can be built by any kid who can follow instructions. They're the core of Japan's model market, and Japanese companies know that kids eventually grow up, become interested in real subjects, and start building scale models.

Right now, Bandai's Gundam business generates 900 million USD, and plastic model sales are reportedly $90 million annually, so Tamiya and other model manufacturers don't have to invest a lot of their money on developing kids' market, and depend on Bandai, instead. In any case, such market does exist in Japan, and color-molded kits serve as the bridge between inexperienced and experienced modelers.

In case of Tamiya, their R/C department is profitable, but the plastic model division isn't. Sometimes the decision of what to release lies in the hands of the bankers, not the company.

[360spider]

Andy, change your avatar back! I don't know you anymore with this new one!

[rod_k2]

Originally Posted by wouter1981

... aparantly there is a market for people who buy models and put them together without painting it...

I'VE BUILT A MODEL WITHOUT PAINTING IT!!

[but I'm rebuilding it...hehehe ]

Really,in my LHS there is a section that you can donate some models that you've built,and there's plenty of wide bodied skylines with weird flakes and some crazy bosou style cedric with racing decals,BUT,if you look in the end of the shelf,there is a lot of unpainted models,just glued togheter,straight out of the box

[@Andy: Really,I couldn't recognize you a while back,but I laughed so hard when I saw the phrase above your avatar,and the stig picture,that I memorized it...It makes me smile everytime I see it ]

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by 360spider

Andy, change your avatar back! I don't know you anymore with this new one!

No worries, I'll go back to my usual soon. But I thought this one was kind of amusing for a bit.