Quality of Fujimi + Dragon Models?

[BattleWagon]

Hey guys,

Wondering if you can inform me about the quality of Fujimi and Dragon models?

I have been building plastic models since I was a little kid - my dad is also a lifetime model builder - but have never built anything other than Airfix, Hasegawa, Tamiya, Testors, and european Revell models. There are a couple of interesting Dragon and Fujimi models around, but the one time I saw a Fujimi kit in person, the quality was terrible.

Any info?

Thanks,

[stevenoble]

The only recent kits I have bought by Fujimi were the Ford GT40 and the Mitsubishi Lancer V (street version) so I'm no expert,but I was impressed enough with the quality to order a couple more (Ferrari F430,Ferrari 512 TR) I've only built 1 kit by Fujimi (Mitsubishi Lancer VIII MR) and this was a nice little kit.The parts fit was good and overall it made a nice model.Fairly simple but generally quite good.They may not be Tamiya standard but I think the price reflects this.

[zak78]

What specific Fujimi and Dragon models are you interested in? I'm fairly new to this but have purchased most BMW models available. Fujimi makes...odd kits. Just about every 80's or early 90's car they've made has some sort of ridiculous flaw, yet some of the kits are scaled surprisingly well. Let us know what you're looking for.

[BattleWagon]

Originally Posted by zak78

What specific Fujimi and Dragon models are you interested in? I'm fairly new to this but have purchased most BMW models available. Fujimi makes...odd kits. Just about every 80's or early 90's car they've made has some sort of ridiculous flaw, yet some of the kits are scaled surprisingly well. Let us know what you're looking for.

I am specifically interested in the BMW models - Fujimi's E34 5-series cars (Hartge, Schnitzer, M5) and the Dragon M3's.

I have seen a Fujimi BMW E30 325i Sport before, and it was absolutely terrible.

I come from an aircraft kit background - Hasegawa, Tamiya, Airfix, etc - awesome fitting kits that require only minimal clean-up, and tend to have excellent detail. I'd rather not waste my time with poor-fitting kits that are out of proportion - for example, the bumpers were very wrong on the Fujimi BMW I saw - too long, and not thick enough.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Dragon models are decent, not superb but not junk. They're worth it for the subject matter.

Fujimi kits run the gamut, from crappy old reissues from the '70's and '80's up to superbly engineered enthusiast kits and the newest curbside kits are very well engineered. You are much better off asking about specific Fujimi kits that you have in mind, as boxart in a store or on eBay tells you nothing about the real quality inside.

[kaho]

I think the fujimi evo V has some real proportional problems when compared to the tamiya model. Rear bumper and the doors are too short while the fronts are similar.

[hirofkd]

Fujimi has gone through a lot, and as far as car kits are concerned, it's probably the least consistent manufacturer in the world. The quality varies from absolute lowest (like sharing a chassis between Nissan and Mazda, and making inaccurate modified reissues) to top notch (Enthusiast and the CAD-designed post 2005 kits). It's a family-owned business, the quality has a lot to do with financial situation and who's in and who's out.

Their E34 kits were all simple, but back in 1982 they had a great value for only 800 yen (less than US$ 8.00) or so.

I have an Alpina B10 kit, which I haven't started, but the kit seems nice. The chassis seems to have come from another kit, but everything else look like the E34. I've built many Fujimi kits of this time period, and as long as they're new-tool back then, they're designed by the people behind the Enthusiast kits (who later founded the short-lived Rosso company), so they're generally good.

[BattleWagon]

Originally Posted by hirofkd

Their E34 kits were all simple, but back in 1982 they had a great value for only 800 yen (less than US$ 8.00) or so.

I have an Alpina B10 kit, which I haven't started, but the kit seems nice. The chassis seems to have come from another kit, but everything else look like the E34. I've built many Fujimi kits of this time period, and as long as they're new-tool back then, they're designed by the people behind the Enthusiast kits (who later founded the short-lived Rosso company), so they're generally good.

Thanks for the reply!

Would you recommend the BMW E34 kits currently available on Ebay? They have the Hartge, AC Schnitzer, and M5 kits available. I really don't want to waste my time with poor-fitting kits - I'd rather have a good foundation to work from. Thanks!

[Some_Kid]

Fujimi has some good kits, and some bad ones. The appeal of the fujimi kits to me is that they often have the kits that the other brands do not make, ex. 2005 NSX, MY99 Diablo,murcialogo(sp?). They also have awesome kits on the enthusiasts line, I just bought an enthusiast countach that has like 240 parts. You need to be careful and know what you are looking for in a fujimi kit, as alot of them are curbside. So i suggest that you find a kit that you like, and if it happens to be fujimi and you want to know more about it then come to us here and hopefully we can help.

[MPWR]

The Hartage, AC Schnitzer, and M5 E34 kits are nearly identical. They all have the same body, chassis and interior. The Body shape is decent (much better than that Fujimi 325! ), but the interiors and especailly chassis's are rather simplified. The decals are different, and there may be spoiler or wheel differences (really minor stuff if at all- I haven't seen them all), but essentially they're the same kits. Paint the body and you're pretty much done.

The Dragon E36s are rather good- definately the best 'recent' Bimmers that have been kitted.

Welcome to AF! More Bimmerheds are defiantely welcome.

[Captain Mark]

I recently completed a Fujimi Mini One, and aside from the windows the rest of the kit's fit and mouldings were superb. I believe this is quite a recent kit - I suppose it would have to be given the actual car hasn't been produced for that many years.

[zak78]

Originally Posted by MPWR

The Hartage, AC Schnitzer, and M5 E34 kits are nearly identical. They all have the same body, chassis and interior. The Body shape is decent (much better than that Fujimi 325! ), but the interiors and especailly chassis's are rather simplified. The decals are different, and there may be spoiler or wheel differences (really minor stuff if at all- I haven't seen them all), but essentially they're the same kits. Paint the body and you're pretty much done.

The Dragon E36s are rather good- definately the best 'recent' Bimmers that have been kitted.

Welcome to AF! More Bimmerheds are defiantely welcome.

Yes, welcome fellow Bimmerhed

The bodies of the various e34s all have different front and rear valances (at least the Hartge, Alpina, and Schnitzer do. I have all of them on my shelves, unbuilt, and can show you comparison pics if you need them).

I'm very very familiar with the Fujimi e34, as I've been working on one for several months. While the bodyshape is great, the windshield wiper placement is far too high. The interior has a number of flaws but the basic dashboard is right. The supplied door panels are too flat and don't contain the wraparound curves you see on the 1:1, and the interior tub itself is too narrow. The car is worth building though.

As far as I know, the Dragon e36 is the same molding as the Hasegawa e36. I have the Hasegawa and it fits together rather well. Avoid the prepainted M Roadster, which is overly simplistic and contains the worst doorhandle molding I've ever seen.

[El Krammito]

fujimi models i would stay away from are the dr30 nissan skyline, and the gx61 toyota cresta/mark II/chaser. the bodies look as if they were stretched out and are way out of proportion. i bought these kits and pretty much turned around and sold them once i saw how distorted the bodies were. i recently ordered a hartge h26 model and from the pictures i've seen of the body it looks slightly out of proportion but nowhere near as bad as the dr30 and gx61 models i've seen. also many of the older fujimi kits use the same chassis, which i guess is the reason why certain models are super distorted. most new fujimi releases (not re-issues) are decent quality, i would say about as good as aoshima or hasegawa.

[BattleWagon]

Thanks guys, for the welcome, and for the info - no Fujimi for me though, I think. I've dug up a bunch of photos on this forum, and they're just not doing it for me when it comes to BMW's. A little misshapen for my taste. I might try the Dragon's though, they look pretty good!

[fastdupree]

Sorry for late reply. I just purchase a Fujimi M3 of the late 80s and fine the build quality generally normal though the body looks ok. I do have a finished Dragon E36 M3 that I loved building so much that I bought another. I got comments at model contests asking if it was a Tamiya kit. Later I may post pictures for you. Fujimi makes not so great kits like 2003 NSX-R and really nice kits like the Lambo Murcielago or Gallardo and or Ferrari F430 and 599 Forrano. I also like the 288GTO kit. If you want a nice Ferrari 512TR kit, Go with Rosso if you can find on ebay. It's better than Fujimi's 512TR.