I was on Greatmodels today and while browsing through the tamiya stuff i found several “taking pre-orders” signs on the side. When I clicked to see the new stuff I found that the boxes didn’t look new. So is tamiya remaking some of their old armor stuff?
everyone of those kits was listed under their NEW list last week with a status of “LIMITED”. Not sure what they are doing, but it looks like either Tamiya is re-releasing or Greatmodels found some someplace
I think NEW just means they got a new shipment of rereleases or brand new kits in.
Please check the box for the sign “Made in ____”. Tamiya’s factory here is producing the old kits (as old as in the 70’s) but they do add some new sprues of bits and goodies every now and then.
It would seem that Tamiya couldn’t take the heat in the 1/35th scale kitchen and are now concentrating on 1/48th scale, leaving 1/35th to the more proliferate competition. The reduced output in armour over the past few years, has been very noticable and what they have released generated little excitement in anyone outside Japan. Funny enough, Tamiya released 1/48th scale kits in the 70’s but no-one was overly interested then, maybe market demand has changed in 30 years.
Current Tamiya strategy appears to be a programme of re-releasing old kits to get the absolute last yen out of the moulds - maybe to sell off? Who knows. The list of re-releases is a mile long, and most not worth buying with better options available elsewhere (ie - T34’s, KV1 & KV2, Panzer 3, Panzer 4 Ausf D, SdKfz 251 Ausf C, figure kits, etc) The re-release of the likes of the Daimler Mk 2 and Matilda fill a gap in the market, but most people will be disappointed in the lack of detail if they aren’t aware of the quality of these ancient kits. A new sprue of figures (Churchill & UC Carrier) or one extra parts sprue or etch fret (Krupp Protze mit 3.7 pak, SdKfz 222) does not ,a new kit , make and the less wary could be disappointed, although these kits are quite acceptable as is (abysmal tracks in UC excepted) . Don’t get me wrong, if you are prepared to put the yards in on these older kits, the result can be great, just don’t expect too much OOB, and don’t expect too much from Tamiya in the future.
I agree with those above…
In addition to the straight “reissue” kits you will be seeing in the foreseeable future, Tamiya is also “repackaging” some of their more popular kits in the fancy Black/Gold boxes. One that I saw recently at my LHS was a Tiger I (mid or late production) with Fruil metal tracks, PE assessories, and a turned aluminum barrel…for $125.00 USD!!!
I said, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” (edited version) Does Tamiya really think that they can get away with selling $70 or $80 worth of stuff for that price - just because it’s all in one fancy new box? I sincerely hope not.
but the box is gold…[:P]
Compared to the likes of AFV Club, Academy, Trumpeter and Dragon, Tamiya seem to have stagnated in regard to genuinely new releases of armour kits. I seem to remember this also happened in the 1980s - a bit of a barren time for Tamiya.
its to bad they arnt producing any new stuff. Im know i wont be buying much 1/48 stuff. well as long as they are being sold, i guess i can buy them. Thanks guys.
BTW, I agree with you 110% Robert! I saw that in the review of FSM. I couldnt believe it.
Yea, the Tamiya stuff is old, and not up to “todays” standards, but I still like a lot of there kits. I like there old Pzkpfw IV Ausf.D and have built a couple of them as well as there Pzkpw II Ausf.F and where else can you find a 1/35 Lee and Grant. I know it takes a lot of work to correct them but to me that is half the fun. Besides, the “old” Tamiya kits are still light years ahead of the first models I built that were out of scale or box scale and had tools ect. molded right on the hull[(-D].
Well put Panzerjager II, I agree with your assessment of the situation!
I feel the need to post a quick edit to my comments above.
The LHS owner tells me that in addition to the other details, the kit above (which is a Late Tiger) is also supposed to have a retooled, properly proportioned, asymmetrical turret. While this would make it one of the only kits with the proper turret configuration, in my opinion, it still doesn’t justify the price.
You know, I just bought a Tamiya 1/35 M1A2 and it is their old M1A1 kit with the few changes made to the details. It still lacks the anti-skid coating on the surface… It’s still a good kit, don’t get me wrong. I like the 1/35 scale- I am not a fan of anything smaller, I am a fan of bigger more detailed kits. As an experiment(at least that what the wife thinks…hehe) I bought an Academy 1/35 M1A2 and overall I think it is the better kit here, as far as visable detail goes. I could be wrong. I love Tamiya but this re-issue stuff is rocking my boat considering how much we spend on their kits. Especially to re-issue at a much greater cost. So- for the time being I am going to test the waters with Academy and see how it goes. I have never assembled one of their armor kits. I am going to see what the other fellas think tomorrow night at the reg meeting at the LHS. I guess I’ll get off of the soapbox now…
will they be reissuing the 8-rad? i love that kit and wouldn’t mind another one [:D] depending on the price though, i don’t like to pay more than $35 (canadian) for a model.
So what was the major concensus? Is everyone switching to the other manufacturers or just dealing with what is available?[:p]
I think Tamiya should send the new turret out to everyone who got the other tiger kits from them
i still cant beleave they still sell the Jagdtiger with the short chassis and the Panther A with the oversized turret
As for me, I still buy some of their old stuff that are being sold at a cheaper price here. I really don’t build for accuracy but more for fun and relaxation. Moreover, I think it is better to work on these old kits for practice to improve my skills.
Thanks for the quick reply Dwight! I really like the Tamiya kits, the only thing I don’t care for is the high prices… makes it hard to get all the kits you want on a limited budget…[;)]
I checked out tamiyas site and they are doing some reissues.
With the exception of the corrected turret in their Tiger I, Tamiya have been reissuing a lot of their older kits. Good thing too, as some were ridiculously hard to come by. I’m still itching to find a single barrell 2cm flak gun.