Monday, April 5, 2010

1/64 Kyosho 430 Challenge Hamann Style


I used 1/64 F430 Coupe transkit to customize F430 Challenge Black of Kyosho. The model car presents different appearance after the customization. This car features a new wing, new rims and pieces under the hood and chassiss. I give 70 marks for the effort because it was the first time and few glue marks were left on the car body. When the next long holiday comes, I will perform the customization on my spare F430 Challenge Black and 430 Scuderia Blue. Currently, I need find 1/64 430-series Kyosho in the market for practice.

Friday, April 2, 2010

1/64 Kyosho Ferrari Enzo Red 1 of 1000 pieces

When I found this auction in Yahoo Japan Auction, I had "Oh my God" and "Holy Shxt" in my head. The bidding price is utterly ridiculous but I admire the determination and size of the wallet of the bidders.

http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b107611538

This has to one of the rarest and expensive model car in the history of 1/64 Kyosho diecast but its true value is hard to measure because it is made to commemorate the production milestone of Kyosho company.

If the price is not that insane, I probably join the contest and try to win it back to HK. Well, I have to stay on the side this time and wish the best man win.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

1/64 SM Hamann F430 Coupe Transkit for Kyosho


The transkit can convert 1/64 Kyosho Ferrari F430 Coupe, Spider to a Hamann style F430 Coupe or Spider. The transkit also fits other Kyosho Ferrari F430 series model cars, i.e. F430 Challenge, F430 GT, etc.
The Transkit includes resin body skirt, rims, decals and photo-etch.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Kyosho Release #39 - Ferrari Series 7


The next series of Kyosho will be released on December 22, 2009, a few days before Christmas. Every Christmas, I attend midnight mass at church and sing gosphels. This year will be different because I will be busy opening carton boxes and checking contents of model cars.

I have put in purchase order in Japan but it is the beginning of my challenges. Due to the qc issues in the previous series, I elect not to presale the Ferrari cars but sell them only after the physical items are inspected. However, Ferrari diecasts are unassembled in brand new condition, I don't have a bullet-proof plan to qc all of them. In the past, I made sure the chassis matched the inscription on the base and the interior fitted on the chassis. Now, buyers expect rigourous inspection from their sellers and it is my primary concern. What if the driver seats are too big or small to fit the holes? What if the unassembled set is consisted of all front/rear wheels? Do I assemble all of them for the sake of inspection? This process consumes a lot of manpower and man hours, my helpers may not willing to work overtime in Holiday Season. Kyosho, Kyosho, you give me a real challenge to solve in November.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Reveal the reason of low quality of British Car 2

I had a chat with my buddy on the phone and he said there is a reason behind the poor quality of this series. Kyosho moved the factories to another location in Mainland China to cut cost. The factories have never produced any Kyosho diecast models before and British Car 2 is the first series the workers assemble in production lines. The QC workers are not very well-trained; they could not identify the defective cars and take them out. Therefore, we see so many damaged cars being sold in ebay.

He speculated the quality of the diecast models will remain terrible for at least one year and warned me to make small order for future releases.

I guess I will not import too many box sets of BMW Series 2.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Kyosho British Car 2 series fall off heaven

I was extremely excited when British Car 2 arrived to my place last week. However, excitement quickly turned into rage, disappointment and shock due to poor quality of diecast models.
Around 10% of the models are defective, I leave them in my personal scrap heap, wonder how they pass the quality control of Kyosho factories and get into my own two hands. Some of them are famous cars such as McLaren F1 GTR 1995 Silver, McLaren F1 Green, Jaguar XJR9 (Test Car and no. 1) and DBR9 Racing Green (yellow face). They once have potential value, now worth nothing in my eyes. I must perform thorough checking before shipping british car to customers; having the correct card, correct description on the base, no loose parts and no paint chip. I feel like a better person knowing the other parties receive my items with decent quality.