SUPER-HOT FORD CAPRI: 1:24 SCALE GROUP 5 RACE CAR FROM TAMIYA

MAT IRVINE:
This is one of Tamiya’s latest kits in its 1:24 scale Sports Car Series. The car is a highly modified Ford Capri in Group 5 racing guise, as seen in the 1981 German DRM (Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft) auto racing series.


That 1981 date might give you a clue that this is not a brand-new kit, the original version going back to 1980, in the early days of this Tamiya 1:24 scale range. Then the kit was number 14 in the range, this latest is number 329.

Parts layout for the new release (above) with the rear chassis (below), where the motor used to be located. It sat between the rear wheels, battery at the back.

Electric power
The age of the kit is also signified in that it was originally intended to be motorised. Even in the 1980s, many Japanese car kits still had this feature, originally intended to be a compromise between a full ‘scale model’, and something that still had an element of ‘play value’. The first issue was motorised, but by the second issue, in 2004, this element had all but gone, Tamiya instead turning its attention to motorised radio-controlled large-scale model cars. The box-top (below) shows the second issue, number 274, with the car in blue and black.

Chassis mods
Scale model purists need not worry too much, as the motorisation was done with skill and care. When viewed from above, the mods to the chassis pan that originally took a motor and battery cannot be seen. Admittedly there is some compromise if you turn the chassis over, as some details are lost, but this does not show if the model is displayed in the usual upright position!

Box (above) and side-panel (below) of the first Tamiya Group 5 Capri, issued in 1980.

Driver included
The age of the original tooling also means it’s a somewhat simple kit, but there’s no harm in that; sometimes it’s nice just to be able to assemble a model without having to deal with too many intricacies! You also get a neatly-sculpted driver figure in the kit, which always helps with such a model.

The original kit built up (above, below). The new one is identical, apart from colours, markings and lack of motor.

Decals
Although simple in construction, racing cars such as this are made by the final finish. Here the main colour is white, the moulding colour of the majority of parts - but, as is common with these types of Tamiya kit, there is a very comprehensive decal sheet. This features the black and red panels, and all other sponsor markings of Wurth, the German auto-parts manufacturer, whose name is displayed prominently on the front spoiler and on the doors.

Early box-tops
The kit’s first issue had the black, red and yellow markings for Mampe, the Berlin-based drinks company with its distinctive ‘elephant’ logo. The reissue in 2004 was in the striking black and blue markings of D&W, the German motor accessory company.


Hiding the motor
The underside of the original kit (below), shows that the underbody pan hides most of the modifications required for motorisation.

Model specs
* Model: Tamiya Ford Zakspeed Turbo Capri, Group 5 ‘Wurth’
* Scale: 1:24
* Length when assembled: 210mm (8.25in)
* Parts: 50 (plus five parts not used), moulded in black, white and clear styrene, four vinyl tyres and metal axles.
* Manufacturer’s reference: 24329

Racing silhouettes
Incidentally, the DRM championships lasted from 1970 to the mid-1980s, and were dominated by these Group 5 cars, nicknamed ‘the silhouette formula’. There were two divisions within Group 5: one for engines over two litres and one for under, so the Capri, with a 1500cc engine ran in the latter. However, with tuning from Zakspeed, the four-cylinder engine, originally developed for Formula 2 racing, could generate 375hp.

Review kit courtesy The Hobby Company.

Tamiya Capri racing car kit here.

* Mr J note: blast from the past
Deep in the SMN Portal of the Past (aka the garage) lurks this original motorized Capri. It’s looking a bit worse for wear and the carefully sprayed non-standard white finish is peeling away from the black bodywork. But the motor - neatly hidden by Tamiya’s talented kit engineers - still works at the slide of a switch.

Added weight
In fact, the motor and single AA-size battery add a nice heft to what is otherwise a featherweight model. Whether the model is worth a cleanup and respray is a moot point though. As it is, the car makes for a somewhat careworn, but interesting museum piece.

1:48 SCALE V-22 OSPREY FROM TAMIYA-ITALERI WITH OPERATIONAL MARKINGS

SMN REPORT
Here’s an interesting piece of transnational cooperation: Tamiya and Italeri in league to produce an operational standard V-22 Osprey with a unit marking decal set for Okinawa deployment.

The kit itself is nicely produced, full of light external detail, and to this largish scale, there is plenty to see inside the nose transparencies. These are moulded in crystal-clear plastic, so giving maximum opportunity for producing convincing flight deck detail, as your efforts will be highly visible to the outside world.

Decal set
The decal set is neatly produced, and is something of a conversation piece, as V-22 deployment to Okinawa in the Pacific has been fraught with difficulty. Plans last year were met with local opposition that threatened to shut down the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station.

Opposition to the military
Supposedly about safety issues, opposition is more about objecting to any large presence on Okinawa island - the US military has been there since the 1945 Battle of Okinawa - so we’ll see how the story plays out.

Stowed for carrier storage
Meantime, the kit is highly satisfactory, though we’d like to see a fully-stowed option (below) with folded prop blades for the wing-engine combo. Meantime, it’s only a kit-bashing option, and something of a challenge at that, as the pic shows.

Summation
Neat version of an existing kit, in 1:48 scale, making it big enough to allow plenty of detailing options.

Present-issue V-22 Osprey kit available here; Japan deployment release available soon.

TAMIYA 1:72 SCALE ZERO FIGHTER

SMN REPORT:

Here’s another Tamiya kit about to hit the model stores, a beautifully produced 1:72 scale Mitsubishi Zero Type 21 fighter. The kit joins Tamiya’s new War Bird Collection, and it’s really to be welcomed as 1:72 has been looking something of a Cinderella scale in recent years.

Details aplenty

Plenty of detail marks this Zero out from the herd, and of course like other aircraft to this scale, it will sit nicely on a small shelf. The finished model has a length of just 126 mm (4.9 in) and a wingspan of 153 mm (6.02 in). Tamiya’s detail work in the wheel wells, the engine and the cockpit is really quite superb, and could make it well worthwhile revisiting 1:72 for this modelmaker, after having spent so long with the larger 1:48 and 1:32 scales.

Pilot not included

It doesn’t come with a pilot figure, more’s the pity, especially as Tamiya has excellent past form in figure sculpting. But since the cockpit is so well detailed, you probably won’t want a figure in there to detract from the micro-sized flight 'office' environment.

Zeros big and small here - we want the Egg Plane!

  

DINKY LITTLE 1:35 SCALE TAMIYA SIMCA 5 IN GERMAN STAFF CAR SERVICE

REPORT:DAVID JEFFERIS

Available shortly from Tamiya is this very neat 1:35 scale Simca 5 military staff car. The tiny Simca 5 was a French-built version of the better-known Fiat 500 Topolino, and many of them were pressed into military service during the World War II occupation of France.

Neatly produced model

The little Simca is beautifully produced, and well up to Tamiya’s usual high standards. There’s plenty of detail, including a driver figure who looks kinda outsized, but that’s actually because the Simca-Fiat was so small - not for nothing was the Fiat 500 nicknamed Topolino, meaning ‘Little Mouse’. 

Careful handling required

As for components, the picture above shows that the runners hold plenty of parts, many of them tiny enough to need a pair of tweezers for easy handling. But that’s OK - the result looks excellent when built, and would be a surefire hit if used in a period diorama.

Big success

The original Topolino was a big hit for Fiat, with more than half a million being produced by the time production ended in 1955. In France, the Simca 5 - real thing shown below - was also a success, though it came nowhere near the production levels of the Fiat 500. The Simca 5 was made from 1936-1949, during which time, some 46,472 cars were manufactured.

JAPANESE TOBU 2012 MODEL CONTEST

REPORT: DAVID JEFFERIS

The Tobu Department Store is located at the Ikebukuro Station, Tokyo, and is one of the Japanese capital’s largest such stores - and is also venue for the Tamiya Tobu 2012 model contest. Importantly for Tamiya, 2012 is also the 50th anniversary of its first military model, so in the company’s words, “... epic tour de force gathered more than usual.” Well, that’s the Google translation, anyway!

Diorama settings

The models look truly excellent, and the mini-diorama settings really do add to their appearance. As you can see from the pix we show here, there’s been a wide variety of subjects - perhaps our favourite is the Beatles Abbey Road piece (above), mainly for the imaginative vinyl disc mounting arrangement, not to mention the lifelike figures and scooter-mounted music fan.

Vertical format display

The Bristol Beaufighter (above) looks good too, and again we like it especially for the diorama, this time in a curving vertical format, which is particularly neatly done. Note though, it’s not the only one of this kind - the Africa Corps 'Tripoli Sky' has a similar flavour - so perhaps verticals are this year’s thing with Japanese model-makers. No matter - both are terrific models.

'Transformer Problem' (above) and tank preparation (below).

More entries in this contest to look at here.

Tamiya kits here, plus the beautifully produced current catalogue.

 'Testing the Water' (above) with wall-mounted Space Shuttle Atlantis (below).

  

AOSHIMA H-IIB SPACE LAUNCHER KIT

ROCKET REVIEW BY MAT IRVINE

Give that the H-IIB launch rocket is the mainstay of Japan’s satellite launch industry it’s somewhat surprising that there has been no kit of it before - this kit from Aoshima is a first.

Small scale

The H-IIB is number four in the Aoshima ‘Space Craft Series’, and is produced in a small 1:350 scale. Even so, the kit still makes up into a comprehensive model with several interesting features. The pic above shows H-IIB with clear sections. Inside these are the rocket stage and H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV).

Clear and white runners, as supplied in bags. Note the small decal sheet in the clear bag on the right. Only two components - the third stage and payload shroud - are moulded in both white and clear plastic. 

What’s in the box?

You get two runners, one in white styrene with 34 parts, the other in clear with 22, and you can build up the rocket to be displayed in four ways. The H-IIB is not a difficult kit to build, and it’s likely you’ll have more difficulty deciding which way it will be displayed than actually building it. 

Paint choices

However, the paint scheme is slightly more taxing. Aoshima recommends Gunze Sangyo paint, which although available in the West, are less common than Humbrol, Testors, Revell-Germany, or even Aoshima’s Japanese stablemate, Tamiya. Because of this some compromises were made, and in the end I used colours from the Testors range, including Competition Orange and Metallic Platinum. Humbrol was used for Satin Black.

The box side panel (below) shows some of the display options.

Multi-finish launcher

The rocket is finished in mainly white, orange and gold, though two other shades are needed - black, and a dark coppery-orange. This affects mostly the main rocket structure, while the four strap-on boosters are fortunately plain white - it’s easiest to leave these off and paint them separately. The H-IIB’s third stage and payload components are supplied in clear plastic as well as white, so you can build these up without paint.

Another display option (below) holds the rocket at an angle, traditionally the sort of attitude you see used for model aircraft stands.

H-II Transfer Vehicle

The clear parts can then take the HTV, used Japan’s JAXA Space Agency to resupply the International Space Station. The illustrations also indicate that the HTV and its orbital rocket stage can be displayed separately - so maybe making for a fifth option!

Exhaust flame stand

So the Aoshima H-IIB model can be displayed in three basic ways, plus variations.  It can be set on the supplied base, standing vertically. Or it can be mounted on the additional stand that displays the rocket at approximately 10 percent from the horizontal. And  thirdly, and perhaps the most interestingly, the H-IIB can be displayed atop a simulated lift-off rocket blast exhaust liftoff (above), and this option is built up from many of the supplied clear parts. These obviously need colouring with suitable ‘rocket exhaust’ effects, and clear paints are the best here, with both Humbrol and Tamiya making examples in their respective tinlets and bottles. Some colours are also available in Testors clear ranges, including aerosols.

Bigger kit please

In all, this is an intriguing model, and my only comment really is that it’s a pity that Aoshima couldn’t have made the kit bigger - it measures just 160 mm (6.25 in) long. It would be so impressive in the far more common 1:144 space launcher scale.

Thanks to Hobby Link Japan for the review kit.

More rocketry available here.

  

ONE WHEEL OR TWO? MEN IN BLACK MONOWHEEL vs. TAMIYA MONSTER YAMAHA

SMN REPORT:

Tech-freak film fans can go loopy over the ace monowheel motorbikes (above) ridden by Agents J and K in the latest 'Men in Black 3' sci-fi saga. The movie is terrific entertainment, and a real “Want one” from the SMN Crew for those monowheel bikes. Back in the real world, Tamiya has a Yamaha Monster model for you...

Monster sponsor

The kit is the Tamiya Yamaha YZR-M1, in presented the markings of chief sponsor, the Monster energy drink outfit, its logo a memorable glowing ‘M’. Great design, not so sure about the drink though. The Yamaha is a 1:12 scale kit, which assembles to a fair size, even for a relatively small subject like a motorcycle - length 172 mm (6.8 in), width across the handlebars 56 mm (2.2 in).

Packed with detail

It’s the 2009 season bike we have here, and Tamiya has excelled with fit and finish, the 800 cc engine, frame, and suspension all passing muster in the accuracy department. Tiny screws are supplied to allow removal of bodywork sections if you wish, while fine vinyl tubing is used for scale throttle, clutch, and brake cables. 

Photo-etch set

Finely printed decals have come from specialist supplier Cartograf, and there’s an available Tamiya super-detail set (above) to add even more realism - the turned front forks look particularly good. The tyres are synthetic rubber racing slicks, and just so the whole thing won’t fall over when it’s finished, Tamiya has added a wheeled support stand for the rear wheel. 

Waiting for mono

Would those MIB 3 monowheels work in real life? There have been various attempts at making such machines, and all have worked after a fashion - but we’re not laying a bet on it. Meantime, let’s hope that it’s only a matter of time before we see those MIB 3 monowheels in miniature form - first of all, almost certainly as toys, later perhaps we’ll get a fully accurized injection kit, perhaps from the likes of Moebius Models. Let’s hope so! 

 Mind your head wheel climbing aboard.

Like a Segway, the MIB 3 monowheel stays upright while parked.

Alien monsters threaten the world. As portrayed, the Zeppelin-like creatures are somewhat bigger and blobbier than the Yamaha Monster!

Tamiya Yamaha motorbike kit available here.

Men in Black 3 and other movie stuff here.