Reboxed Tamiya kits

[BVC500]

Looks like some new company, C.C. Lee bought the rights to some Tamiya kits, like their MB 600SEL.

[tonioseven]

Where can I get 1 of those?! I have a friend with one and he's willing to pay me 150 dollars for a replica of his!!

[BVC500]

look on Ebay, there are 3 kits available for 10.00 each

[Mikke]

I once bought one of those kits, and my advice is to stay as far as possible from them... The molding is terrible beyond belief.

I don't know if they can be made decent, but I looked at the parts for about 5 minutes and then threw the kit into garbage... I have 20 year old Monogram kits that look like Tamiya compared to this POS.

[flyonthewall]

Originally posted by Mikke
I once bought one of those kits, and my advice is to stay as far as possible from them... The molding is terrible beyond belief.

I don't know if they can be made decent, but I looked at the parts for about 5 minutes and then threw the kit into garbage... I have 20 year old Monogram kits that look like Tamiya compared to this POS.

But if its a reboxed tamiya why is there that problem? That kit is less than 10 years old too!

[freakray]

Is it definitely a re-boxed Tamiya kit though, or is it assumed it is because the box looks like a Tamiya package design?
Are you sure it isn't somebody trying to take advantage of the quality Tamiya are famous for by copying their design?
Just being the devil's advocate

[Matthew Usher]

Originally posted by flyonthewall


But if its a reboxed tamiya why is there that problem? That kit is less than 10 years old too!

You're assuming it's produced from Tamiya's original molds, which is unlikely if the molding quality isn't top-notch.

It's likely a reverse-engineered, pirated "knock off." This has been happening for years with Tamiya's military kits, but this is the first time I've seen it happen with a car kit.

Hope this helps,

Matt

[tonioseven]

I'll just try to find the Tamiya kit.

[Guido]

Originally posted by tonioseven
I'll just try to find the Tamiya kit.

I'm completely with you on this one. Our luck is at the swap meets. Haven't seen the Tamiya in the shops for a while now. It's still missing in my collection to.

[935k3]

That kit and the BMW 850 from Tamiya were not really molded by Tamiya to begin with, they were actually Revell of Germany in Tamiya packaging. I have seen the BMW and the tires were on a tree the sprues were unlabeled and definitely not Tamiya. I did not know this until recently but check it out for yourself, It shocked me that Tamiya did this.

[Veyron]

the BMW 850 from Tamiya were not really molded by Tamiya

I knew the BMW was Revell/Hasegawa, wasn't it a 325i? I didn't know the Merc was bogus too.

[rcmaxx]

might as well get the revell/germany kit, hobbylinc.com has it.

[Murco]

You guys got me wondering so I pulled mine out...Same box art with different colors and the "4" missing from the license plate. The copyright on mine is 1992 and it looks to be a real Tamiya from the mold quality. Tamiya wasn't really great until the early 1990's, ever opened a Tamiya built in the mid 80's? YEACH! Revell-Germany RARELY built models with engines during this period except for the 850i, LS400, and 750i kits and they were really good kits!

[hirofkd]

Originally posted by Veyron


I knew the BMW was Revell/Hasegawa, wasn't it a 325i? I didn't know the Merc was bogus too.

The 850 and 325i are definitely Revell Germany kits, but I think 600SEL and SEC are Tamiya tools. Revell Germany (Propar and others) have S600 though...

[Mikke]

Originally posted by flyonthewall


But if its a reboxed tamiya why is there that problem? That kit is less than 10 years old too!

I think it is a reboxed Tamiya, but the amount of flash etc. is huge. The same manufacturer also has a reboxed Italeri F40, I wonder how terrible THAT is

The sharpness of detail is nowhere near Tamiya, you can see it's a Tamiya from the amount of detail, but obviously the quality of the manufacturing process itself isn't even close.