Howdy, folks! [:D]
Headin’ to Shizuoka (home of Japan’s modelling industry) for a big event tomorrow: “The Modellers Flea Market in Shizuoka.” It’s HUGE. In addition to billions and billions (think Sagan) of modellers unloading their dead stock for dirt cheap, all the major manufacturers will be there, and there will be seminars by some of the modelling heavies of Japan. Should be fun! I’ll be hunting for a cheap Tamiya 1/16 Pershing…wish me luck!
I’m not sure if there will be any announcements of future releases by the manufacturers or not, but if there are, I’ll be sure to post 'em when I get back Sunday night.
Ja, mata, ne!
That would be cool, hope you find your pershing- and keep us posted[:)]
J-Hulk.
Enjoy it. Wish I could go but I don’t arrive in Tokyo till monday will be there till Friday.
Hope I can make JAFCON this year, would like to enter something there just for the fun of it.
Lucky $%#@#%! [:D]
Wish I could send you money to buy me something nice.
Have fun, and I hope you get your Pershing. Let us know how the trip goes.
What can I say? I’m jealous. Good luck on finding your Pershing and please let us know if you see anything interesting.
Nice event!
See if you can take pictures of built models and or if there’s website for the event with lots of pictures in it. Thanks!
Hopefully, you’ll have some good scoops for us Brian. Good luck finding a “cheap” Pershing.
Don’t spend next months paycheck!! Have fun and may you find the target you’re looking for.
Yeah, I’m jealous. Have Fun!
Thanks for all the good wishes, folks!
Unfortunately, the only Pershing there was a brand-spanking new one at the Tamiya area, and even with a hefty discount, it was still about $600 USD, so I had to pass.
I did, however, pick up a bunch of other cool junk, which you can see here:
That pile (plus a bunch of books) set me back about $180 USD. The big F-4J was only $30 USD! The Aurora MBT-70 was the most expensive, clocking in at around $50 USD. Some silly stuff, like the old snap-tite Tiger I, was only a couple of bucks each. The three bagged kits are Tamiya “special event” kits: a 1/35 Gepard, a Japanese Type 97, and a Panzer II, all for just a couple of dollars each.
Bargain!!
All the Tamiya kits, including the big Phantom, are brand new kits.
No big manufacturer scoops, but I did have several opportunities to talk to Mr. Tamiya and other Tamiya staff members at length (check out the 1/48 Hetzer in the pic above. Signed by Shunsaku Tamiya!). The only news I heard was that a 1/48 M-36 and a German troops set are coming soon.
Also, rumors of a 1/48 B-17 were neither confirmed nor denied, for what that’s worth. I was simply told, “Yes, that rumor’s been around for a while.” I emphasized the obvious marketability of such a kit, and the response was, “Yes, we are aware of that.”
Draw your own conclusions, folks![:D]
Also had a chance to meet and talk with some of Japan’s modelling masters, like Masaharu Doi, Takuji Yamada, Tick Saito, and Tatsuya Kaneko. Mr. Doi and Mr. Yamada also conducted very informative weathering seminars.
A good time was had by all! [:D]
Sounds great. Nice haul BTW. That was a real deal on the F-4J.
Regards, Rick
Great haul Brian! Very nice having Shunsaku Tamiya sign the Hetzer, are you going to build it or just put it as is on display? I guess I’m jealous now.
Hmpph. Im very very jealous. Nice haul. I repeat, very very jealous.
sweet brian, sweeeeeeeeeet ! [:)]
Bad Brian. Now you had us all drooling in envy. [;)]
OOooohh, great haul[8D][tup]
Welcome back. Glad you had a safe and fun trip.
No way, you found a Monogram M4A1? Geez, what an oldie. I wish some of those kits were still around.
Hey, J-Hulk! How about using your MPC Black Hole’s Maximillian for the Mad Robot Day build this weekend? I built that kit years ago. With it’s simple parts breakdown and paint scheme, 24hrs is twice as much time as you would need to finish it.
God, I’d love to have V.I.N.C.E.N.T. again!
Yeah, I thought about that! It is a pretty simple kit (besides the arms), but the fit isn’t so good, so there’s gonna be lots of puttying to do…plus I’m gonna light him up, so there’ll be some mods done to his head for the lighting (and I’ll make it removable), and I’m a veeeery slow modeller…plus I’m out of town this weekend too, so…
A nice long (i.e. not “Mad!”) robo-build would be nice…[;)]
Zok, yeah, I love that ol’ Screamin’ Mimi! Had to pick it up.
Dwight, yes, me bad, and now broke (model-wise, anyway)!
Thanks, guys! [:D]
Ebay here I come! Doo-dah, doo-dah…
Nice score Brian. That Shermy takes me back to when I first started this hobby. I built almost every tank Monogram made, including the jeep and halftracks. How much did they cost? Something like $4 when I first started. Sheesh.