Ok... I know I am behind the 8 ball on this but... I just bought one off ebay just to see how good they really are. When my package arrive from Tokyo (I am in North Carolina), I was excited. I went it the house and opened it up to find my 360GTC in a little box. I pulled it out and put it together in less the 5 minutes. All I can say is this... I will be getting as many of these as I possibly can! I will try to post pics later, but right now, I had a long day at work and am just too lazy to drag out my camera, set up the pic, take the pic, upload it, host it, and post it. So... just be patient or go buy some yourself!! They are amazing in detail for their size!
+1 .... Absolutely bl**dy gorgeous (especially when compared with the equivalent Hot Wheels cr*p 1:64 Ferrari model). Image Unavailable, Please Login
I've only collected the P4's - and these photos (of mine) simply don't do them justice. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here's a few better ones of the #21 car, that I found on a Japanese blog site: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
There are a few (picky) minor detail errors in the casting, such as the roof hinges. As they come in semi-assembled kit form you can also do a few easy things to enhance them, such as painting the rear deck (which is moulded in black plastic) red; exhaust tips matt white - a splash of silver paint (or better - chrome tape / bare metal foil) on the back of the mirrors, etc. The only obvious mistake decal-wise is that Kyosho tampo'd PROVA MO-36 on the back of the N° 24 car (when it should be MO-159) .... But you can read it !!
The 360GTC that Rob mentioned in his first post, and the P4 were from Kyosho Ferrari Mini-Car Collection IV (the 4th set of 10 models), which were issued mid-Summer 2006. Looks like Kyosho are ready to roll with Ferrari Mini-Car Collection V (#5) See: http://www.kyosho.com/jpn/products/diecast/brmc/fmc5/index.html and: http://www.kyosho.com/jpn/products/diecast/brmc/fmc5/product/index.html From what I can see on the carton, this latest collection is mostly Ferrari spyders (but no P4 spyder) Check out that F50 spyder though - eat your hearts out Mattel Hot Wheel collectors !! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
These are really 1:64? Holy crap, they look awesome. I need to get me one the F40's! It looks to be an LM, right? Why they call it a "Competizione" is beyond me though LOL. There never was on of those....
Yes - and they are delivered to certain nominated big stores on one day - and the Japanese collectors queue to buy them by the case-load, on the day of release !! They are EXTREMELY collectable in Japan. Fortunately there are a few 'speculators' (rather than collectors, per sé) who buy them to sell on - on either eBay, or more frequently on Yahoo Japan Auctions. There is a gotcher, though. When you buy a 'model' or a case - you don't know which model actually in the individual carton. That's why collectors buy a case - they're guaranteed of getting every variation in that particular Ferrari Mini-Car collection.
There's more .... Check out: http://www.kyosho.com/jpn/products/diecast/brmc/frmc/index.html 575 GTC ; F430 GT or 250 GTO (that will be a re-release / re-livery, IIRC) anybody ?? Check out the tampo'd livery on this 575 GTC - remembering it's 1:64 scale !! Note - if you click on that link, you will see a flag at the bottom: 'Tokimeki Mall'. That's where these will be released. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Bearing in mind that PROVA MO-36 tampo (incorrect as it is, for this car) is only about 3mm wide x less than 2mm deep. Sadly, the #21 car doesn't have the PROVA MO-36 tampo on the right rear (which it should). Note - both of these photos are un-assembled kits. As Rob said, in his first post, it takes less than 5 minutes to assemble them. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
If only you knew how far behind the 8 ball, Rob ! Sorry, it took me a little while to find these links, as Kyosho's website isn't exactly the easiest to navigate. Collection I: http://www.kyosho.com/jpn/products/diecast/brmc/fmc/lineup/index.html (2 images - red background) Collection II: http://www.kyosho.com/jpn/products/diecast/brmc/fmc2/lineup/index.html (2 images - white background) Collection III: http://www.kyosho.com/jpn/products/diecast/brmc/fmc3/lineup/index.html (note the 3 different liveried 250GTO's at bottom.) Collection IV: http://www.kyosho.com/jpn/products/diecast/brmc/fmc4/lineup/index.html (Summer 2007 - P4's at bottom) Collection V: http://www.kyosho.com/jpn/products/diecast/brmc/fmc5/lineup/index.html (Latest release - all spyders.) (images below in that order). Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I guess if you're a collector of Hot Wheels 1:64 Ferraris, you must be feeling pretty dis-satisfied with their current range of offerings, by now - with all these extremely desirable little Ferrari models, in so many different variations .... that have been produced by Kyosho, predominantly for the Japanese home collector market. There's something for almost everybody - even a 1:64 black Enzo for NNO. Well those are the 'official' Kyosho 1:64 Ferraris (to date). But there's more. Remember I wrote in post #7: But there is one extant, already ! I'd found a few references to it on the web, mostly on Japanese webites / blogs, in the early part of last year. Cute, innit ? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Eventually, I found the answer (and more) here: http://earth.endless.ne.jp/users/a_yacchi/dydo/dydoweb.html It seems that Kyosho also supplied 1:64 Ferrari models (and other makes of car) as promotional items for sales campaigns. One of them was Dy-Do Demitasse coffee. Most of the models were drawn from the standard Kyosho 1:64 range. But not all, by any means. 1:64 Ferrari F1 cars anybody ? How about 21 different 1:64 F1's from the 1951 375 F1 thru' to F2003-GA ? See: http://toygarage.nobody.jp/f1/dydo-f1-collection.html .... and below. Each individual link on that page has 7 or 8 photos of each model from different angles - including some close-ups. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
How about 1:64 diorama's, display cases and stands ? Which, when you buy one, you may take a 'lucky dip' (hence the 'w-chance') .... and get the elusive Kyosho P4 spyder !! See: http://toygarage.nobody.jp/collection/ferrari/dydo/ferrari-w-chamce.html and: http://toygarage.nobody.jp/collection/ferrari/dydo/ferrari-w-chamce2.html Needless to say, these do still come up, very occasionally, on Yahoo Japan Auctions - from time to time - sometimes with the diorama / display stand - or separately. Usual asking price for the 1:64 Kyosho 'Dy-Do Demitasse Coffee promotion' P4 spyder - simply because of it's extreme rarity, is normally around ¥10,000 (Yen) = $90.00 US. I've got 2 of them - one assembled, and the other as an un-made kit. Luckily, mine came rather cheaper, thanks to a Japanese friend. Image Unavailable, Please Login
There you go, Ryan. Search on 'F40 Competizione' (as Kyosho have chosen to call it) .... and you will find. See: http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w18170199 Current bid price ¥660 Yen - just under $6 bucks. Note the R.R.P. last year was ¥420 Yen. All you gotta do now, is find yourself a Japanese pen-pal to bid on it, and ship it for you. Image Unavailable, Please Login
That one's a yellow one, which is why it's probably the reason that it's going rather cheaply. Here's a red one: http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w14118715 Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yeh, bearing in mind their size. The only thing I think lets down the earlier (50's and 60's) F1's is their silver-painted windshields.
I'm still blindly wandering around Kyosho's Minicar website. It would seem, that after the success of that particular Dy-Do Demitasse coffee promotion campaign .... .... that Kyosho decided to release the later 14 models of the F1 range (not the 50's and 60's F1 cars) under their own brand. See: http://www.kyosho.com/jpn/products/diecast/brmc/ffc/index.html and: http://www.kyosho.com/jpn/products/diecast/brmc/ffc/product/index.html .... and updated the F1 range, by adding a 1:64 F2004 to it. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Uh-Uh .... There's even more to it than that, even, amazingly !! See: http://www.kyosho.com/jpn/products/diecast/brmc/ffc/lineup/index.html They even bought out 2 (driver) versions for each of these 1:64 cars !!!! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Actually, you don't have to use Yahoo Japan Auctions to find these Kyosho 1:64 Ferraris. There's quite a few listed by Japanese sellers on eBay. You need to search 'world-wide' - i.e. using the 'Any Country / Region' option in 'Advanced Seach'. Here's a useful search: http://search.ebay.com/Kyosho-1-64-Ferrari_W0QQcatrefZC5QQdfspZ1QQfclZ3QQfromZR6QQfrppZ50QQfrtsZ0QQfssZ0QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsaaffZafdefaultQQsabfmtsZ0QQsacatZQ2d1QQsacurZ0QQsalicZQ2d15QQsaobfmtsZexsifQQsaslopZ1QQsatitleZKyoshoQ201Q3a64Q20Ferrari That pulled up 60 of them, including some of those F1's which are ending in less than 24 hours. Don't all rush at once.
How about this then ? Bearing in mind that it is 1:64 scale (i.e. probably only 2½" long). Gorgeous, or what ? See: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250199692649 Good job I only collect P4 models nowadays !! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Also available in Red See: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250199692821 Image Unavailable, Please Login