Hi, folks!
I went to the Shizuoka Hobby Show this past weekend, and MAN-O-MAN was that a cool shindig! In addition to having all the manufacturers there, there must have been well over 4,000 models on display. I participated mith my club, Naniwa Sensha-tai, a great bunch of guys.
Hopefully there will be some sites featuring some of the amazing works that were on display, like the scratchbuilt 1/32 He-111 and the 1/16 ISherman (based on the Tamiya kit) and 1/16 Merkava (based on the Tamiya Pershing!!!).
The level of modeling on display there was phenomenal!
One of the highlights of the weekend was the Tamiya HQ open house. There you could see all the builtups you've seen in the catalogs, the original box art paintings, and ancient models from Tamiya's history. Plus other neat stuff, like a 1/10 Leopard 2A5!
Up on the roof you could try out all their RC stuff, including the 1/ 16 tank series and tons of cars. Then, down on the 1st floor, you could watch the injection mold machines at work, and they were even passing out hot-off-the-press samples (an aircraft-filled sprue from the 1/350 Enterprise).
The best thing about the whole weekend, however, was the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the world's top modelers. The winners of the Tamiya USA and New Zealand contests were there, and modeling greats from Spain, Korea and Taiwan were also in attendance, as well as all the modeling greats from right here in Japan. I even got to meet and talk with Mr. Tamiya and Mr. Hasegawa!! How cool is that??
This was my first time to attend such an event, either back in the States or here in Japan, and it was one of the most amazing events I've ever had the priveledge of being a part of.
If anyone has the chance to attend next year's show, I can't recommend it too highly!!
And if you're strapped for cash, all you have to do is win the Tamiya America or New Zealand contests, and Tamiya will fly you over for free!!
See ya'll there next May!
Brian