Ebay sightings from a couple sellers in Japan. Posted for the benefit of those who may be interested. Should see plenty more before long. Always interesting to see if there will be a feeding frenzy.

cool.

I wonder how come Kyosho doesn't sell these in shops around the world? They could be quite popular, especially Ferrari collections (and here in Europe...Alfa, Lancia, Fiat too). It's really interesting that they make these in limited series (well, I'm not sure how limited) and it is said that the castings are made for one series only, no reproductions. It's funny, as other die cast companies sell their 1/64 models (HW, JL, Majorette....) in numerous versions, colors, tampos....etc.

Well, I'm really looking forward, as they are improving the quality with each new series. :thumbsup:

I wonder how come Kyosho doesn't sell these in shops around the world?............

I share the sentiment. I'm sure there's a reason and I'm equally sure I wouldn't find it acceptable. I'm pretty far from being an expert on things 1/64 Kyosho, but I don't think they've been doing them very long. Maybe we'll see that change. Conversely, it could be the limited production is a perfect fit with the existing distribution plan, so maybe no change. It would be interesting to know what the actual numbers are on units produced. Somebody told me that detail work on molds may not hold up on high production. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Any of you guys that work at Kyosho feel free to jump in here and offer up some insight!!

I've made the same observation on the trend towards improvement. Sets I and II the paint was a little thin and wheels wobbled and the axles slapped back and forth. III and IV were much improved in paint coverage and the wheels were hardmounted to the axles without all the lateral slap on the chasis. I'm very pleased with the last sets.

Another factor may be that they only have licenses to sell in Japan. That must be MUCH cheaper than a worldwide license, especially for a brand like Ferrari.

Besides that, it is distribution wise much cheaper to have only ship the models from your factory to one or two mega stores warehouses.

I think that is part of the low cost and huge success of these series.

Hi all,

1) Henri is basically correct. It had almost everything to do with licensing when Kyosho was an independent company... but that changed when Mattel bought Kyosho.... which leads to this....

2) As hard as it may seem, it comes down to laziness on the part of Mattel to expand the brand, which would involve a lot of logistical changes as also mentioned by Henri (shipping, shifting production to Mattel's facility rather than Kyosho's in china, etc.).

3) It has *nothing* to do with the "quality" of Kyosho's molding... Kyosho's last two series have nice detail (and much improved over the relatively poor quality of the first two series), but these Kyosho's also lack features as they are basically curbside cars with nowhere near the detail of the HW 100% line. Case in point: compare the 2003 HW Ferrari Anniversary set to the Kyoshos and you will see what I mean.

4) I read or heard from someone in Japan (from my last trip there last summer) that Kyosho's runs are in the 1500-5000 per model, which compared to Mattel's in the 100% line (around 5k-10k) is not all that different. When collectibles are produced in the sub 1k number is when they become somewhat difficult to find.

5) As a footnote, CM's released their second Lamborghini set, and they actually stepped up by making the engine cover open. Not bad! Kyosho sadly does not open things up on the 1/64 scale cars.

Henri, Sheldon, thanks for the explanations. It's really cool to learn something new on this topic, as most of the other sources are in Japanese language and therefore somewhat difficult to read... :p :p Altavista Babelfish does some great job with translations from Japanese to English though. :thumbsup:

I'm expecting Silhouette from latest CM's series but I don't know if it has any opening parts...I know that Countach and Miura do. Will try to post some pictures when I receive it. I'm a love Lamborghinis, but I'm a bit disappointed with "another" Lamborghini series as there are so many other great cars waiting out there to be made in 1/64 scale.

... but that changed when Mattel bought Kyosho.....


Thank you Henri and Sheldon for the input. When did Mattel buy Kyosho ??

I always thought it was interesting that EVERY 1/64 Kyosho has "MADE IN CHINA" embossed unerneath......not in Chinese, Japanese, German, or Italian, but English.

I will concede the 100% HW's are a little stronger in features (opening hoods are OK if they are tight), but I'm afraid I must debate the detail contention. Also understand that my position may be somewhat outdated as the last premium HW set I got WAS the 2 pc Ferrari. With that, The HW AMX has the bumpers painted body color instead of "chrome". The 442 did have nicely done correct wheels, which seems to be more of an exception than a norm. I've got the Porsche set, Jaguar set, and a couple sets of the 'Vettes among others. Now, this is where it gets awkward for me.......I don't remember any of them (except the Ferrari set) having clear headlight lenses/covers or tinted tailight inserts......as I am going on memory here. I would love to have these in front of me to reinforce my impressions, but they are put away....very put away. I also remember the 550 Spyder's tires being almost as tall as the 917's fenders. That may be correctly to scale, but seemed a little out of wack to me. Was going to put the calipers to them for a scale reading but never got that far.
I think the Kyosho's present very well. Dedicated wheel/tire combinations. Separate seat inserts, some with seat belts molded on. Good steering wheels. Well done roll cages on competition models. The Carrera GT does have perceptable painted engine detail underneath the screen. All that have the engine viewable under the glass have very suitable motor features represented, although not plated or painted like C% HW's might. I consider that fixable. I do admit that Kyosho's nothing-but-black interiors is tiresome. Again, fixable.

If things have changed with Hot Wheels since the items of my experience, please forgive my ignorance. Having seen and handled both makes to the extent that I have, I come away with a greater sense of satisfaction with Kyosho. Detail and otherwise. Their trend towards busying up the underneath side helps. I'm more concerned with the topside, though. With a little fussing with Ferrari's I and II wheels, you can get them posed to look real good on the shelf.

I'm not saying you're wrong, Sheldon. I just don't agree with you.

Again, thanks everybody for the information.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b37/tomygal/fmc5_lu.jpg
already out in japan.

Hey! It's great to follow your debates. I'm also more on the Kyosho's side, though I haven't seen much of the newer HW high-end series. I've seen that new 100% Hot Wheels are out, but it seems that they are old castings.

It looks like some of the Ferraris in latest Kyosho series have painted engines, can anyone confirm that? I really hope to see some painted interiors soon.

164hack,

The 100% HW were certainly inconsistent... some had painted head/tail lights while others had separate pieces. The original $30 HW elite lines that were later recast as $10 100% lines retained the high detail with separate pieces. For example, check out the Willy's or the Leno set as well as the the recast 427 Cobras, Shelby Mustangs, all had separate pieces for the undercarriage and head/tail lights.

The contrast in quality and detail is mostly recognizable when placing the Kyosho Enzo/FXX up against the HW Enzo... I mean, it was a blowout not made obvious until the two were next to each other! As an analogy, if you look at college football, you think "these guys are terrific"... but then you watch the pros... and you realize the college players looked like boys!

The HW cars were firmer, had a better stance (more realistic at a distance) and made mostly from metal. On the other hand, the Kyosho bases are made of plastic, which as you know is much easier to cast detail than metal...

Lastly, Kyosho *dramatically* improved with the Ferrari III set in scale, detail, and fit. I have all of the cars from the I & II sets (which I bought complete without first seeing them) and was extremely disappointed with their poor overall quality. Case in point, the Testarossa/512 and the 355 were almost as bad as the $1 kiddie cars!

And yes, in order to detail the cars up a bit, I went ahead and painted the interiors and that made a world of difference with the set III cars. I think Kyosho did a terrific job with the F50 as well as the GT250... I certainly wish they had opened them up a bit however.

I attempted to paint the first two Kyosho Ferrari sets, but since the base was mediocre, I couldn't help them much.... sort of like trying to put makeup on an unattractive lady like streisand or rosie o'donnel, there ain't much you can do to help her!

Lastly, I also have 90% of Kyosho's other series cars, and I think the Lambo and British cars are decent, but not great. Somewhere in between the kiddie cars and the 100% line....look at them closely and the lines are very coarse.

As soon as I get a digital camera, I am going to place all of these brands side to side...

Thanks for the info sheldon - I collect both, but try to pick the better instance of each car. :thumbsup:

They indeed have painted engines (at least some color :p ), that's a cool touch. Edit: Hmmm...this could also be custom made.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/superbird77/ferrari_V.jpg

(picture from http://mcar.exblog.jp/ - nice place for some hi-res images)

I have to say Sheldon I was somewhat skeptical when I read your comparison of the 100% HW Enzo with the Kyosho FXX so I decided to compare mine.
I would say you are correct. The HW does look far better with a painted motor and bonus points for opening deck lid. The only edge I would give the Kyosho is that I liked the paint job better. I have to admit that part of this could be due to the white stripe and color red used.

I agree with your statement that some 100% HW are awesome and others just ok. For example the 100% HW Hearse is simply amazing.

I received my series 5 today. Henri, did you have problems with the assortments in your shipment? My supplier did not one of each color like he usually does. I had to settle for a couple of yellow cars this time.

Atencio: We need some fresh pictures in this tread! :)

Atencio,

Where can we buys these other than ebay?

Sheldon: Henri is going to have them in his web-shop. :thumbsup:

I'll take some pictures as soon as I put them together.
I got the cars from a guy who trades with someone from Japan.