Wednesday 25 May 2016

Collector's Items

Vintage and extremely rare kits recently on sale on the Japanese Ebay.
Do you have any information about them?

Starfix, Mitsubishi A6M5 "Zero-sen", 1:72
Calin Ungureanu sent the following information about the Starfix Zero kit:
It was on sale in bookshops in Romania in the '90s. It's not 1/72 but not 1/48 either. In fact it's hardly a Zero. Somehow the molds where from Israel and this one and several other kits (Me109, Aichi Val and some Russian bombers of the '50s in 144 scale maybe) where injected in Romania, perhaps at a nearly out of busyness plastic factory. Everybody in the modeling branch started to buy them because of the very low price, but soon find out that it was just scrap plastic because you can't build them into credible models. Most of them ended up at kids as "make and take" modeling seminars.
I try to build a 1/48 Me109 for a veteran Romanian pilot and even finished it but it looked more like a crossbreed between an E and a F series.
The plastic was silver-gray for all the series, with Sci-Fi positive details.
Thank you very much Calin.

Fairy Kikaku, Mitsubishi 1MT1N, 1:72
Aoshima, Mitsubishi A7M "Reppu", 1:72 
Aoshima, Mitsubishi A6M5 "Zero-sen", 1:60
Sold at about $US500!!!
Hasegawa, Mitsubishi A6M5 "Zero-sen", 1:75
Clear model, sold at about $US200!!!
Marusan, Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa", 1:50
Sankyo Peanuts, Kawanishi H6K "Mavis", 1:150 
Monochrome, Kawasaki Ki-61 II Kai "Hien", 1:48
For the Hasegawa kit.
Otaki, Mitsubishi J2M "Raiden", ?
Sharp, Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien", 1:72
Sharp, Nakajima Ki-44 "Shoki", 1:72
Sanwa Tokyo Plamo, Kawasaki Ki-61 "Hien", 1:100
Sankyo, Mitsubishi A6M "Zero", ?
"Plastic solid model" sold at $US200!!!
Nitto, Nakajima B5N "Kate", 1:72

2 comments:

Alcides said...

Hi George. So many things I'd like to buy but receive it on my country is difficult.
Bay the way I've received my order perfectly and I'm enjoying the magazines. I send an email to you but I don't knwo if you read it.

Regards
Alcides from Argentian

Calin Ungureanu said...

About the Zero from Starfix. It was on sale in bookshops in Romania in the '90s. It's not 1/72 but not 1/48 either. In fact it's hardly a Zero. Somehow the molds where from Israel and this one and several other kits (Me109, Aichi Val and some Russian bombers of the '50s in 144 scale maybe) where injected in Romania, perhaps at a nearly out of busyness plastic factory. Everybody in the modeling branch started to buy them because of the very low price, but soon find out that it was just scrap plastic because you can't build them into credible models. Most of them ended up at kids as "make and take" modeling seminars.
I try to build a 1/48 Me109 for a veteran Romanian pilot and even finished it but it looked more like a crossbreed between an E and a F series.
The plastic was silver-gray for all the series, with Sci-Fi positive details.