Future of Trumpeter kit imports

These are great kits and I am very impressed with the subjects they are tackling. If I remember right, I believe that Hasegawa originally announced the 1/32 A-10 shortly after Desert Storm, but never materialized. Here is a new commer that brings it out. I wonder if they have any relation to Hasegawa? Or possibly bought plans or the molds.

It's politics, China has a "favored" status so we can buy their stuff. Try buying a N. Korean stamp (postage), you could end up in prison.

As far as I know, only certain categories are restricted or prohibited from being imported/exported

Trumpeter has very much jumped in their quality in the last year or so. I've built some of their earlier offerings, and they were decent. Some of the later ones are very good. Not Tamiya quality yet, but getting there. On the other hand, the fact that two of the same kit from Tamiya and Trumpeter are nearly always half cheaper for Trumpeter is a major factor, at least for me.

I agree with everything Scott has said, and I've built many Hasegawa kits. What I've seen from Trumpeter compares pretty well with Hasegawa
Paul

I'm currently on my third Trumpeter kit, and have no serious complaints about any of them. The fits of the parts is generally excellent and their attention to detail is excellent. Even wing to fuselage fit seldom causes a problem. My only complaint is that they tend to put ejector pin marks in some of the hardest places to get rid of, but that's a problem with every manufacturer.

They do tend to have a lot of detail in areas that get covered up so you have to watch out for that. The engine of the F-105 is very highly detailed but once in the fuselage you can't see very much of it. Same for the P-40. I spent a lot of time adding ignition wires only to find out that once the engine is installed there is no way for them to be seen.

They usually have numerous options for assembly as well. Radar installations, refueling probes, speed brakes, etc. can be installed open or closed. Ailerons, flaps, spoilers, elevators, and rudder are normally hinged and can be set in any position.

As to decals, I didn't use the box decals for my P-40 and haven't put them on my F4U-1D or F-105G yet. The decals for the F105 were done by TwoBobs but I did see a post in the decaling forum that the yellow bands for the ordnance don't fit properly.

I've never built a Hasegawa kit so I can't compare Trumpeter to them, but I would never be reluctant to buy another Trumpeter kit based on my past experience with them.

since i keep on hearing about the trumpeter brand, can you guys tell me how was the fit, decals and other stuff. is it good?

No I think you've mixed something up. China actually has a "most favoured nation" status with the US in respect to imports of certain categories which means that they can export to the US with lower or no import duties (depending upon category) hence making their goods cheaper than those nations without that status.

As far as exports from the US to Chnia then there is definately controls and restrictions eg military related hardware is banned.

I'm no international expert, but I think that only certain (i.e. technology) items are restricted. But I wholeheartedly agree with you, Bones - I hope those kits keep coming!
I'm working on the Trumpeter Hornet and I'm very impressed with it. My previous project was the Banner Arizona, and I've read that Banner is a division of Trumpeter (or something like that). Especially with all the good things Trumpeter has in their pipeline - keep 'em coming!!
Paul