So far I've bought eight of these kits and they are generally really well made, but a couple of them have issues.
The 1955 Toyopet Crown and the Mazda R360 were both designed as unbuilt toys - well made, but still toys. Both have shafts connecting the wheels rather than the more detailed suspension of the others I have. There are slots and clips where a motor (probably a pull-back clockwork type) would have been fitted. Additional parts and call-outs in the instructions suggest removing or hiding these areas.
The problems arise when the cars ride lower to the ground than they should.
I don't know how old the kits are but in some respects the moulds are showing their age - flash at mould separation seams, foggy transparencies, which in some cases are also scarred and pitted... these are a couple of examples.
On the other hand the details are still sharp and the accuracy is generally very good. Where there are different versions available the kits are moulded with alternate parts, such as grilles and roof parts. Where the kits have suspension parts these are tidy and sturdy, allowing the model to sit squarely on its free-wheeling tyres, which are moulded in rubber, unlike Airfix 1/32 cars, the only other vintage models I can compare them with.
And then there is the subject matter - where else can you find classic Japanese cars of the 50s and 60s? Yes, very niche here in the UK, but they are in some cases unique designs of vehicles never or rarely seen on Britain's streets.
I will also be finishing some of these models as vehicles which featured in Japanese TV and film. For example, a 1958 DAIHATSU MIDGET which features in "Always Sunset on Third Street" and its sequel... and a 1961 TOYOTA PUBLICA which was used by Hiroshi Abe in the TV series "Trick" as the personal transport of Prof. Jiro Ueda.
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