My Marushin Review

justin · 04-04-2002, 06:11 PM

Hi all, just been admiring the following 4 models from Marushin;
5980 N1K
5480 A6M5
6980 Ki61
Ki84 (sorry no cat no. other than just 14)
Scale 1/48, diecast.
These are very high quality models supplied in a quick assembly kind of fully finished kit, I made all 4 in around 1 hour, assembly was VERY simple, no modelling skills required, just a jewellers screw driver set and I'd recommend long nose pliers. The paint and printing is good, my only complaint here is that some demarcation lines could be a little sharper, but it's not something I'd worry about, and overall finish is good. Gear is up or down and is very good, and the canopies on most can be open or closed and looks good. The boxes are about a quarter of the volume of a CDC Armour box and I was surprised by how compact the parcels were being used to CDC's packaging

Compared to CDC they compare very well, I'd rate the quality of engineering slightly ahead of CDC as seams and finish are very tight indeed, and the printed finish is probably better long term than CDC's hybrid print/decal finish. However CDC do score for much better cockpit detail, and also for storage CDC models can be put back in the boxes, whereas I don't intend trying to repack these by taking them to bits. Overall, the quality is very similar between both companies IMHO and I recommend them both 100%, the ultimate recommendation I can give is that I have plans for many more of these

Justin

egonzinc · 04-04-2002, 11:22 PM

Justin
Thx for your report, these sound great.
I have so far held out but you are making it tough!

I remember you mentioned that you got a good deal on these. Was the post charged also reasonable?
Thx again!
E

egonzinc · 04-05-2002, 12:07 AM

Justin this might sound crazy but I did find the site HLJ, but the item numbers you show above look more like the price of the models in Yen...
You basically got the nicest looking tyoes.
The only other one I would consider is the torpedo bomber, you know the three man crew type, is it Type 99?
Too bad the Tony doesn;t come with the silver base and green camo...
Like the look of some of the early Zero's
E

justin · 04-05-2002, 03:32 AM

AAAAARGHHHH caught out!!!!!

Sorry E, you are right, sorry!! I must be going senile as those are indeed the prices in yen, oh dear.... The catalogue numbers are
A6M5 5
N1K2 9
Ki61 13
Ki84 14
I understand your feelings, I'm also juggling a few things in the air, and since I've seen some of the new AF releases from Dragon and BBi plus the Nuremburg toy fair report for model trains I think model aircraft will be struggling for wallet attention this leave, ha!

These are nice though, and Phillippe tells me in another post they're making a Ki46, and after the Mosquito that may be my favourite twin of the war... As E knows I have a general obsession with all things Japanese, Chinese and Korean, ha ha

I just checked out the Wings and Wheels sight, and if Bader, Dragon and so on don't bankrupt me it appears CDC Armour want to finish me off, oh dear... Those new armour releases are incredible, the SBD, F86, P40, Bf109G, Hurricane, WOW! I was still hoping I'd see a Bf110, ha!

Justin

pleco6 · 04-05-2002, 11:55 AM

Thanks Justin on the Marushin report. I've been thinking about picking one up to see what kind of quality they have. Don't you wish the good ole days of Armour were still here? Even at the higher prices I will eventually have to get at least one of each of the new types coming out. Usually I would get two or three of each one.

justin · 04-05-2002, 12:38 PM

I agree with your sentiments 100%, if FM do indeed ramp prices and restrict sales to their own retail channels then I think I will not be continuing to collect them. Usually I get multiple versions, for instance I hope to get at least 3 CDC P40's (USAAC, Chinese American volunteer group and RAF desert air force with sharksmouth nose art), but if they are sold at FM prices I'm not even sure if I'll buy one, and never three

Take care!

Justin

egonzinc · 04-06-2002, 03:35 PM

Wonder if it makes sense to preorder from Wheels and Wings...
They re the one site that is almost oblivious to the FM takeover... So far W&W have provided me with fantastic service so I'll probably pre-order some to make sure I'm in line early.
What do you guys think?
E

justin · 04-06-2002, 04:16 PM

Good point E. I did hear that there will be a few months where the CDC and FM names will co-exist before FM finally kill off CDC, so the announced program should be honoured by FM. This is not just a W&W thing, almost no UK dealers have any knowlege of the FM takeover, in fact when my local dealer contacted the CDC importer over here a couple of months ago even they knew nothing!! I guess I'll pre-order, if we're out of look, then c'est la vie, but it's worth trying.

Justin

04-04-2002, 06:11 PM	#1
justin Insane Collector Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 2,005	My Marushin Review Hi all, just been admiring the following 4 models from Marushin; 5980 N1K 5480 A6M5 6980 Ki61 Ki84 (sorry no cat no. other than just 14) Scale 1/48, diecast. These are very high quality models supplied in a quick assembly kind of fully finished kit, I made all 4 in around 1 hour, assembly was VERY simple, no modelling skills required, just a jewellers screw driver set and I'd recommend long nose pliers. The paint and printing is good, my only complaint here is that some demarcation lines could be a little sharper, but it's not something I'd worry about, and overall finish is good. Gear is up or down and is very good, and the canopies on most can be open or closed and looks good. The boxes are about a quarter of the volume of a CDC Armour box and I was surprised by how compact the parcels were being used to CDC's packaging Compared to CDC they compare very well, I'd rate the quality of engineering slightly ahead of CDC as seams and finish are very tight indeed, and the printed finish is probably better long term than CDC's hybrid print/decal finish. However CDC do score for much better cockpit detail, and also for storage CDC models can be put back in the boxes, whereas I don't intend trying to repack these by taking them to bits. Overall, the quality is very similar between both companies IMHO and I recommend them both 100%, the ultimate recommendation I can give is that I have plans for many more of these Justin

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04-04-2002, 11:22 PM	#2
egonzinc Insane Collector Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Guaynabo,Puerto Rico, USA Age: 52 Posts: 1,732	Justin Thx for your report, these sound great. I have so far held out but you are making it tough! I remember you mentioned that you got a good deal on these. Was the post charged also reasonable? Thx again! E

04-05-2002, 12:07 AM	#3
egonzinc Insane Collector Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Guaynabo,Puerto Rico, USA Age: 52 Posts: 1,732	Justin this might sound crazy but I did find the site HLJ, but the item numbers you show above look more like the price of the models in Yen... You basically got the nicest looking tyoes. The only other one I would consider is the torpedo bomber, you know the three man crew type, is it Type 99? Too bad the Tony doesn;t come with the silver base and green camo... Like the look of some of the early Zero's E

04-05-2002, 03:32 AM	#4
justin Insane Collector Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 2,005	AAAAARGHHHH caught out!!!!! Sorry E, you are right, sorry!! I must be going senile as those are indeed the prices in yen, oh dear.... The catalogue numbers are A6M5 5 N1K2 9 Ki61 13 Ki84 14 I understand your feelings, I'm also juggling a few things in the air, and since I've seen some of the new AF releases from Dragon and BBi plus the Nuremburg toy fair report for model trains I think model aircraft will be struggling for wallet attention this leave, ha! These are nice though, and Phillippe tells me in another post they're making a Ki46, and after the Mosquito that may be my favourite twin of the war... As E knows I have a general obsession with all things Japanese, Chinese and Korean, ha ha I just checked out the Wings and Wheels sight, and if Bader, Dragon and so on don't bankrupt me it appears CDC Armour want to finish me off, oh dear... Those new armour releases are incredible, the SBD, F86, P40, Bf109G, Hurricane, WOW! I was still hoping I'd see a Bf110, ha! Justin

04-05-2002, 11:55 AM	#5
pleco6 Senior Collector Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: MidlothianIL,USA Posts: 445	Thanks Justin on the Marushin report. I've been thinking about picking one up to see what kind of quality they have. Don't you wish the good ole days of Armour were still here? Even at the higher prices I will eventually have to get at least one of each of the new types coming out. Usually I would get two or three of each one.

04-05-2002, 12:38 PM	#6
justin Insane Collector Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 2,005	I agree with your sentiments 100%, if FM do indeed ramp prices and restrict sales to their own retail channels then I think I will not be continuing to collect them. Usually I get multiple versions, for instance I hope to get at least 3 CDC P40's (USAAC, Chinese American volunteer group and RAF desert air force with sharksmouth nose art), but if they are sold at FM prices I'm not even sure if I'll buy one, and never three Take care! Justin

04-06-2002, 03:35 PM	#7
egonzinc Insane Collector Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Guaynabo,Puerto Rico, USA Age: 52 Posts: 1,732	Wonder if it makes sense to preorder from Wheels and Wings... They re the one site that is almost oblivious to the FM takeover... So far W&W have provided me with fantastic service so I'll probably pre-order some to make sure I'm in line early. What do you guys think? E

04-06-2002, 04:16 PM	#8
justin Insane Collector Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 2,005	Good point E. I did hear that there will be a few months where the CDC and FM names will co-exist before FM finally kill off CDC, so the announced program should be honoured by FM. This is not just a W&W thing, almost no UK dealers have any knowlege of the FM takeover, in fact when my local dealer contacted the CDC importer over here a couple of months ago even they knew nothing!! I guess I'll pre-order, if we're out of look, then c'est la vie, but it's worth trying. Justin