Japanese for Europeans only!

RAM · #1 (**permalink**) May 31st, 2008, 07:52 PM

From time to time I enjoy constructing models.
I started back in the early sixties; my first model was an Airfix Hawker Hunter. It came in a plastic bag with the instruction leaflet attached to it.

I must admit that today I'm more collecting than constructing, but still curious about all the new manufacturers on the market.

Yesterday I bought my first kit, a Sherman VC Firefly, from a japanese manufacturer called "tasca":

TASCA MODELLISMO CO.,LTD. Home Page

The kit is nicely done with very thin, accurate, delicate parts.
It's not a cheap set, you get two items of the same tank from other brands for the same amount of money, but so far so good!

The kit has the most peculiar boxart I have seen during my 45 years of modelling.
It looks like a page from a comic book, and most of the text is in japanese, and so are the instructions!

On the side of the box there is a note in english: FOR EU SALES ONLY!

When did common EU citizens start to read japanese?

Regards
RAM

shugyo · #2 (**permalink**) July 28th, 2008, 07:02 AM

Hi, looks like they are based in Shizuoka... I wonder if they are effectively an offshoot of another cmopany. They've been around since 2005 so maybe linked to the now defunct Gunze in some way? I'll ask at some of the hobby shops in Akihabara when I get down there again next week or weekend.

Regarding EU sales only: I think the sign means that this notice is intended for the EU only, and does not necessarily apply in Japan or elsewhere in the world.

A propos manga: this is the most popular reading and educational material of choice in Japan these days. Almost every printed item has found some use for manga techiques in order to attract more of the population. It is a very powerful tool. Asians are genetically apparently more graphically and visually suited than white Europeans (your avatar seems to suggest you are different, LOL) so these manga techniques may appeal to them more than to Europeans steeped more in formal logic and suited genetically to a more verbal methodology.

In any case, the company looks bona fide and seems to produce excellent work. Remember too that the works of smaller companies will be more expensive---see Fine Molds 1/35 tanks for instance as well. I hope you enjoy your build!

Wessex Wyvern · #3 (**permalink**) July 28th, 2008, 07:21 AM

Quote:

FOR EU SALES ONLY

That is regarding the "Aged 14+ modellers only "
One of those daft EU Regulations that have to be put on the box for legal reasons, I suspect.

RAM · #4 (**permalink**) July 28th, 2008, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shugyo

see Fine Molds 1/35 tanks for instance as well.

The Fine Molds kits are hard to get around here, I haven't seen the tank kits yet.
However, I have an airplane kit of a KI-10 from Fine Molds that has a great level of details.

Together with the new vehicle kit from Hasegawa (another excellent japanese manufacturer), which includes the Kurogane 4WD and the Isuzu TX 40 truck, this will make a great diorama.

Regards
RAM

shugyo · #5 (**permalink**) July 28th, 2008, 02:04 PM

@RAM: I don't buy the large scales any more (I think the Ki-10 is 1/48 scale) but I have plently of 1/72 Fine Molds stuff, al top-notch. The Bf109s are amazing (compared to, say, the Italeri versions). If you have trouble finding them (are you in the EU?) then you can mail order directly via places like Hobby Link Japan, Rainbow Ten or similar online shops. If you need help, drop me a line---I am in Tokyo.