Living Thing Arc: Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle by Fujimi
Fujimi bug models are some of the most pleasant models to build. The sprue gates disappear, the fit is great, and they just look so cool.
Oh, and that Fade to Black whale. Are those only available at shows? I’ve never been able to track them down online. (or maybe I didn’t try hard enugh)
The Fade to Black kits were sold via Facebook or something like that. I contacted the seller via email to buy some of his kits, but that was a long time ago.
I picked up the narwhal at a hobby flea market in Shizuoka, Japan this May. But beware of a fatal flaw! The tusk is on the wrong side of the narwhal’s face! It might have happened due to a mirroring glitch if the sculptor did the model digitally. But it is a simple enough fix to drill a hole on the correct side and perform a little “plastic surgery”.
I guess my version of weird is finding aircraft or variants that make people stop and say, “I didn’t know they made one of those.”
I’ve always been drawn to the less common corners of aviation. I’ve got an N/AW-10 two-seat A-10, for example, which I’ve found a surprising number of aircraft people don’t even know existed—including me, until someone offered to trade me the kit for the standard version of an A-10, and I was delighted!
So I’m probably not going to be building a beetle anytime soon , but I definitely understand the attraction of building something people don’t see every day. I’ll be looking forward to seeing what kind of weirdness you come up with next.
Exactly! Everyone has their own “weird”
I like building sea planes and the current one on my bench is the CANT Z.506 Airone from Supermodel (co-branded “Squadron Prodiucts”)
Not a great kit, but an unusual subject.
Raphael - I’ll see your Cant Z 506 and raise it with my Caproni B.72!
Samphoto - I also have a predilection for odd prototypes.
I have even built a few.
I used to think I was a non-conformist modeler. But with the proliferation of oddball and rare variant kits these days, I am increasingly feeling like conforming non-conformist!
You got me. My version of nonconformity usually consists of building prototypes, two-seaters, or trainer versions of aircraft that never went into production.
I think I’m just beginning to discover this particular rabbit hole. I know a guy who’s built something like 70 F-4s, and there are guys who can happily work their way through every variant of a P-51. Nothing wrong with that at all, but unless you really know what you’re looking at, a lot of those variations can be pretty subtle.
I think I’m discovering that I enjoy going the other direction—something that makes you stop and say, “Wait, what is THAT?”
So I definitely appreciate your particular brand of non-conformity. “Conforming non-conformist” may be exactly where I’m headed.
I remember seeing a 1:1 scale kit of a pot of ramen noodles once.
, but I definitely understand the attraction of building something people don’t see every day. I’ll be looking forward to seeing what kind of weirdness you come up with next.
