All Japan Hobby Show 10/12-10/13

[keavdog]

Have fun!

[super_average_gunpla]

"Welcome back, welcome back, welcome baaack..." 


Is this the Osaka shop you mentioned?
 

[Real G]

Yep! Hobby Shop Kansuke! I am headed there tomorrow.

Gundam Base at the Aeon Mall in Kyoto was okay I guess, but too much fake blingy stuff. My feet hurt from walking all day.

[greg]

Good update. Enjoy your first full day!

[Real G]

Thanks Greg and Keavdog!

[Real G]

We are heading to the show in less than 2 hours. But the forces of evil must first converge… at the hotel lobby. We’ll be meeting MSC member Super Average Gunpla at the show.

We will be sure to document any significant announcements for new kits. The burning question in my mind is: Will Fujimi finally reveal their Macross-themed crayfish and beetles? Will Tamiya show a new line of hyper 4-wheel drive cars? What kits will Hasegawa rebox and reissue?

OK I’m getting too cynical now. I’ll behave. Pinkie-promise.

[TJ]

Oct 8, 2024 2:38:05 GMT -5 super_average_gunpla said:

"Welcome back, welcome back, welcome baaack..." 


Is this the Osaka shop you mentioned?
 

Oh....I would be in heaven

[Real G]

Well the 2024 Plamo show is in the history books, Tamiya has a new CEO, and most of the stuff I looked at were anime/sci-fi. I missed Super Average Gunpla at the show. It was insanely crowded!

My broken feet are soaking in hot water tonight.

[greg]

Good to hear you made it to the show, G.

Hope your feet feel better soon so you can enjoy the rest of your visit.

[Real G]

Oct 12, 2024 7:57:53 GMT -5 greg said:

Good to hear you made it to the show, G.

Hope your feet feel better soon so you can enjoy the rest of your visit.

Thanks Greg!

Nobuhiro Tamiya has taken over the duties of CEO from Shunsaku Tamiya. He is super tall and resembles Shohei Ohtani the baseball player. The guy is only 37 years old. He was at the Tamiya area posing for pics with convention goers. My friend Riki is fluent in Japanese so we got to talking to him for a bit. The new Mr. T was a really nice guy. I guess Shunsaku was getting along in his years so he has handed over the reins to his nephew.

I didn’t see any bombshell news, just the stuff we know about already. I took photos mostly of the anime/robot things. I’ll post them upon my return home next week.

[greg]

That's interesting about the new Mr Tamiya CEO, and very cool that your group got to talk with him. Now that is something to remember and even brag about!

We shall look forward to seeing your pics once you are home and rested up.

[Medicman71]

Where are the pics? Someone said there would be pics!

[project510]

Maybe the younger CEO will be more inclined to get all the newer JGTC cars made.

[Steve Zuleski]

Lol, sounds like fun, enjoy!

[Real G]

Oct 15, 2024 8:55:40 GMT -5 Medicman71 said:

Where are the pics? Someone said there would be pics!

Patience, Grasshopper, patience. 😁

Actually there are a bunch of videos on YouTube already.

But I don’t think there were any bombshell kit announcements at the show. A friend who lives near Shizuoka made the trip down to join us, and he only noticed a new Fake Gundam announcement. I did get a pic of Gecko Models’ PACAV kit. The skirts are in segments and appear to be hard plastic.

I’m heading back home this evening, so once I download my photos, I will share them with you. But it’s mostly the anime robot stuff.

[super_average_gunpla]

Neal, sorry I missed you at the show. Talk about crowded! And I go to SDCC (nearly) every year lol. I've gone through my pics, mostly cars/bikes, and sci-fi. I'll wait to see what you post and try fill in any gaps (I'm thinking we got a lot of the same stuff.)

Are you coming back out for Shizuoka 2025?

[Real G]

Oct 15, 2024 23:05:04 GMT -5 super_average_gunpla said:

Neal, sorry I missed you at the show. Talk about crowded! And I go to SDCC (nearly) every year lol. I've gone through my pics, mostly cars/bikes, and sci-fi. I'll wait to see what you post and try fill in any gaps (I'm thinking we got a lot of the same stuff.)

Are you coming back out for Shizuoka 2025?

Hey Marc, yeah bummer we didn’t connect! The Bandai area was so stupid crowded! I can’t make it to Shizuoka next year, but maybe in 2026.

I was tour guide for my friend and his wife on this trip. I learned a very important lesson - don’t bring the wife to a hobby junket! And if she’s a vegetarian and unfamiliar with Japanese food, she’ll starve. Where did all the family restaurants and vegetarian dishes go?

[Real G]

One “scale” thing I just walked past without paying any attention to was Platz’s 1/144 P-1 JMSDF patrol aircraft. It’s a new injection molded kit, not the Fox One resin lit.

[Real G]

Here are some pics from the show guys.  I'm still at home, working off a laptop, so transferring photos is slow.  I'll post the rest this coming Monday.

This is Tokyo Big Sight, location of the All-Japan Hobby Show every year.  The massive inverted pyramids remind me of an Evangellion monster.



This is Gecko Model's 1/35 PACAV, in injection molded plastic!  And the skirts appear to be hard plastic as well. I was worried that they would be in soft PVC.



Bandai has decided to add the massive Psycho Gundam Mk II to their 1/144 HGUC lineup.  I have been waiting a long time for this one.



The PSG Mk II appeared in Zeta and Double Zeta Gundam, with Ple Two as its pilot in Double Zeta.  And Ple Two joins the Figure Rise series of character kits.



The trashed head of the PSG Mk II comes with the PSG kit.  The Japanese are always thinking of adding little touches like this.

Next up is something I was not expecting (but the internet leaked the news a day before the show).  Plamax is going to release a 1/72 injection molded Dragonar-1, based on their smaller die cast/plastic toy.



Will they do a Gelf?  Probably not.

Anyway, more to come!

[greg]

Ok. I believe you were really there now.

Enjoyed the pics of the new stuff as well as the exterior shot of the center. Neat building.

[Real G]

Oct 19, 2024 7:26:22 GMT -5 greg said:

Ok. I believe you were really there now.

Enjoyed the pics of the new stuff as well as the exterior shot of the center. Neat building.

OK Greg, here is irrefutable, non-AI generated proof I was there:



Posing with Mr. Tamiya and my friend Riki.



Raging at the inflated prices at the Gundam Specialty Store in Akihabara.



And me at the tea ceremony in Kyoto.  I think I DID turn Japanese.

[Real G]

Oct 8, 2024 2:38:05 GMT -5 super_average_gunpla said:

"Welcome back, welcome back, welcome baaack..." 
 

Marc, did... did you reference "Welcome Back Kotter"?  How old are you?  I used to watch that show when I was a little kid!  I remember when the Sweathogs kept saying that unforgettable line:

"What is, is.

What was, was.

What will be WAS, but, will be again."

[greg]

Irrefutable, indeed, Neal.

My goodness, seeing young Mr Tamiya certainly makes me feel old. Pretty darned cool you got a picture with him. I'd be crazy proud of that.

Not sure what the traditional (or perhaps ceremonial?) attire is called, but you look good wearing it.

And I recall watching Welcome Back Kotter in my apt at school.

[Real G]

Oct 19, 2024 16:53:48 GMT -5 greg said:

Irrefutable, indeed, Neal.

My goodness, seeing young Mr Tamiya certainly makes me feel old. Pretty darned cool you got a picture with him. I'd be crazy proud of that.

Not sure what the traditional (or perhaps ceremonial?) attire is called, but you look good wearing it.

And I recall watching Welcome Back Kotter in my apt at school.

Greg, surprisingly the thing I was wearing is also referred to as a kimono. The word translates to “thing to wear”, so I guess it applies to clothing for both genders.

At 37, the new Mr. Tamiya is quite young to be steering the Big T ship. While he was talking to my friend, he did state that his heart is on the educational kits that Tamiya makes. He said they provide many such kits to the schools in Japan, and his vision is to promote and expand that part of the business.

Maybe that’s why we are getting boutique kits like the new Panzer I. I am aware that they are also influenced by opportunity, the Seiran and Hien kits were the result of the Tamiya team having access to actual examples of both while they underwent restoration.

[greg]

Interesting about the kimono, never would have known otherwise. I can't hear the word kimono without thinking of the song "Kimono my House" by my all time favorite band, Sparks.

Hat's off to young Mr Tamiya for having a soft spot for education which is admirable. Just hope he remembers us loyal long time regular 'ol modeler fans and customers as well.

[Real G]

Oct 20, 2024 8:14:13 GMT -5 greg said:

Interesting about the kimono, never would have known otherwise. I can't hear the word kimono without thinking of the song "Kimono my House" by my all time favorite band, Sparks.

Hat's off to young Mr Tamiya for having a soft spot for education which is admirable. Just hope he remembers us loyal long time regular 'ol modeler fans and customers as well.

Heh heh, yeah when I told my friend that the tea ceremony thing would provide kimonos for us to wear he kind of paused. I assured him we would not be made up into geisha girls, and that the kimonos would be for men. 😜

Hearing Mr. T’s comment on focusing on educational models also made me wonder about the Military Miniature series as well as their aircraft, auto and ship kits. Aoshima and Fujimi are barreling full speed ahead with 1/700 and 1/350 ship kits, and are doing quite a good job at it according to my ship modeler friend. It would seem that new aircraft kits are slowing in Japan. I did notice the scale kit sections in most of the shops I visited were greatly diminished, with anime stuff dominating the shelves.

[greg]

Pretty funny about your friend and the kimono.

[dodgy]

Looks like you had a great time RG! Thanks for the pics and report. I soooooo need to visit that crazy, over packed amazing hobby shop on the video, but the kids won't allow it because they know I'll spend their inheritance!

[Real G]

Oct 20, 2024 17:33:26 GMT -5 dodgy said:

Looks like you had a great time RG! Thanks for the pics and report. I soooooo need to visit that crazy, over packed amazing hobby shop on the video, but the kids won't allow it because they know I'll spend their inheritance!

Mum’s the word Dodgy, mum.

Mum…

Mum…

[super_average_gunpla]

More photos from the show:

Aviation (military)

Civil Vehicles

Sci-fi / Anime