Rob Gronovius

I did the same thing several days ago when I first saw CH's announcement on HyperScale's Tank Talk. A lot of money, but still less than half of what Fine Molds IJA tank kits went for when they first came out.

Fine Molds is really expensive. Looking at the content of the box makes me wonder how it got to be so expensive. And thanks to you Scat.

That's a cool looking model, nice work.  It's rare to see a Japanese tank.  I know Tamiya released a few not too long ago but the price was ridiculous.

-Jesse

constructor

Fine Molds is really expensive. Looking at the content of the box makes me wonder how it got to be so expensive. And thanks to you Scat.

You are correct. I bought my first Fine Molds kit when a friend/neighbor from the Air Force traveled there for temporary duty around 2002-03. I asked him to look for a Fine Molds tank model for me. I gave him $100 and told him to buy a small one that looked unique. I sent him with a picture of the available Tamiya Chi-Ha so he would know what not to buy.

He came back with the Fine Molds Te-Ke Type 97 (kit FM-5) which cost 8000 yen (about $80 back then). The kit was tiny; about the size of a 1/72 scale Abrams tank kit, but taller. The completed kit was 4" by 2" and about 3" tall. It is a very small 1/35 scale model kit that cost me $80, but the kit sold in the US for about $150 if you could find it. Today, 8000 yen is worth $104.

I was immediately impressed with the level of detail. The tank came with a complete interior, although the engine was not a stand alone complete engine. It was a series of inserts visible from engine hatches that could be displayed opened or closed.

There was a turned brass barrel about 1" in length and the tracks were petite individual links done in black plastic. A small photo etched fret was inside too.

Fast forward to a few years ago, 2006 or so. I bought another Te-Ke but kit FM-10. It is the same kit as the first Te-Ke, but did not include a metal barrel and the interior sprue was now molded in gray versus OD. Everything else is the same but the price is now 3500 yen, or about $40.

Today, at Hobby Link Japan, most Fine Molds tank kits run between $30-$45 with a couple being in the $65-70 range and one (that big Type 89 that came with 3 magazines http://www.hlj.com/product/FNMOTH-02 ) that costs $100. They are fairly expensive for the size, but are pretty nice kits.

Rob, I assume your Te-Ki didn't come with the white metal parts? I'd seen photos of the early FM kits with them on the internet but never in person. I've picked up a number of their kits just because of some of the off the wall subjects. Of course that's at the HLJ prices.

No, mine did not, but I've seen some with white metal before. I'll look them up to see which ones came with some.

Thanks, no big deal - just curoius.