Many good product news from Japan
The 47th All Japan Plamodel & Radicon Show which took on October 11-14th is a showcase of Asian hobby industry, featuring everything from robots through RC and Gundam to military plastic models.
Tamiya
Among the new kits revealed during the show was the forthcoming Tamiya 1/48 Fieseler Fi 156 Storch. The tooling appears to be complete by now, sans crew figures. It will be Tamiya's 100th 1/48 aircraft.
New armour release from Tamiya is the 1/35 JS-2 Model 1944 ChKZ Version. Tamiya seems to be constantly looking for innovative ways of easing the boredom of individual-link track assembly, and the JS-2 will feature a choice of flexible belt or injection-moulded tracks. The latter will be of link-and-length style, with true individual links provided for the upper run to achieve proper sag.
In 1/48 armour, Tamiya has been showing its 1/48 M8 Greyhound.
Hasegawa
Hasegawa's 1/72 B-24D Liberator appears to be far less complete, but the company showed metal masters for this kit. Another much-talked about new kit from this company is the 1/48 Ki-45 Toryu. This kit will come with the Isuzu fuel truck and fire extinguisher in the box. Including ground vehicles or figures with quarter-scale aircraft models has become a firm trend.
Another news from Hasegawa is the 1/48 Fw190A-8. This kit contains new parts for the cowling, canopy, and an entire replacement lower wing. It will be interesting to see how the first post-Eduard Fw 190 release compares with it.
Unlike the previous quick-assembly series, Hobby Boss 1/72 TA-7C Corsair II introduced at the show turns out to be a traditional plastic kit with a wealth of detail: 190 parts in all and nice surface detailing. To be released in November.
Trumpeter
Trumpeter has shown a brand-new 1/48 Douglas C-47A Skytrain. Finally a new kit to challenge the classic Monogram offering, and, unlike on many other aircraft, Trumpeter-size rivets should be a real asset on a DC-3...
In 1/32 scale, Trumpeters has shown five(!) forthcoming kits. Of these, P-51D Mustang is the most exciting, not least because recent Dragon's release has left significant room for improvement.
Those looking for something more unusual than the Mustang may look forward to 1/32 Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat. Other kits in this scale will be 1/32 Republic P-47N Thunderbolt and Messerschmitt Me 262B two-seat night fighter/trainer, both significant developments of Trumpeter's previously released kits. Lastly, there will be a Sukhoi Su-30, a massive kit in this scale.
No release dates have been announced by Trumpeter.
In armour, Trumpeter had shown its E-100 German heavy tank. It gets more interesting in the field of modern armour: how about PT-76B Soviet Light Amphibious Tank and a huge Soviet Maz537 Tank Transporter in this scale?
Interestingly, both Dragon and Trumpeter have been showing new kits of 1/35 German sFH 18 Howitzer.
Academy
Academy had a brand-new 1/35 M7 Priest on display.
Tasca
Tasca's forthcoming release will be 1/35 M4A1 Sherman, mid-production model with cast hull.
Revell
Last but not least, fans of big battleships rejoice! Revell has shown their new-tool 1/350 Battleship Bismarck, and Trumpeter intends to counter it with 1/350 French Navy Battleship Richelieu!
Found below are links to photographs of these items.
- Hyperscale has a set of photos showing selected new kits, most notably Tamiya's Storch.
http://www.hyperscale.com/reviews/kits/4...panhobbyshowtc_1.htm - An even more comprehensive overview can be found at the pages of Hobby Link Japan.
http://www.hlj.com/hlj_gallery2//hlj_gallery2/v/plamod2007/ - A set of general photos from the show which gives the idea about the size and atmosphere of the event. This is followed by detailed review of robotic models.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95721430@N0...s/72157602411992067/
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