Question about Fujimi Kits in General.....

[JollySipper]

Hey, fellow builders....... I was perusing around eBay looking to see what BMW kits they had. I look on the Bay to see if something exists, then maybe try to find it elsewhere to purchase..... Anywho, I ran across a lot of kits that I would have interest in from Fujimi. It seems this brand of kit is either an Enthusiast kit, or a curbside. There isn't a 'happy medium' in between. Am I pretty much spot on with this thinking? Maybe it's just the brand of car I was looking at that Fujimi chose to model that way?

I've tried an Enthusiast kit, they're a bit much to take on for me.

Anyway, just curious as to what y'all thought of this brand of kits and their detail level...........

Thanks!

 

[stitchdup]

They're decent kits but some are formerly motorised so have very simple chassis. I've got a few of their kits and the bodies are generally good but the rest is hit and miss. Apart from the enthusiast kits, (some of which got a recent rerelease that doesn't say enthusiast anywhere on the box) i'd say the older curbsides are more beginner kits with some having less than 40 parts but once together they look good. The later curbsides tend to have nice body and chassis but plain interior door panels but most of these have engines and bays available as prints. I've got a revell version of the fujimi mercedes in front of me now and the chassis is more toy than model but yet it has interior panels. If your looking for an e36 dont rule out the tamiya kit, if you can order from one of the big japanese online stores they are close to the same price. Revell also have some e36 curbside kits but those are big money just now but hopefully they see fit to give us them again some time. there also the revell e21 in rally and street versions that builds up nice (the rally version is also on my bench just now along with an e46) and it doesn't look out of olace with my 1/24 kits. since your looking at the bmws you might also like the mercedes kits

[JollySipper]

Thanks for the reply, Les my man! I was actually looking at the Alpina kits, but they seem to be pretty much all curbside.

The Silver Arrow, huh? They're just like the BMWs, the older the better!

[mrm]

Here is something I like to keep an eye out for with these kits. A lot of their enthusiast kits were at some point also issued as Testor's kits. Their Lamborghini Countach is a good example. It is basically the full highly detailed Fuji kit in a Testor's box, which will cost you considerably less than the same kit in the original Fuji packaging. it's a good way to add some of their kits while saving a few bucks. 

[Exotics_Builder]

The only Enthusiast Series Fujimi BMW's I am aware of are the 635 series.  The 3 Series and 5 Series are curbside, although I did do a ton of work to make a US spec detailed M5 about 30 years ago.  Some of the Enthusiast (EM kits) have also been issued in curbside form, like the Ferrari Dinos.  You get pretty much everything but the detailed engine and engine bay. 

 

You pretty much need to research the Fujimi model you're interested in to see if it has the clarity, accuracy and detail you want.  For example, even the newish Fiat 695 Ferrari Tributo has some incorrect interior parts.
 

Edited July 9, 2024 by Exotics_Builder

[ZTony8]

8 hours ago, Exotics_Builder said:

The only Enthusiast Series Fujimi BMW's I am aware of are the 635 series.  The 3 Series and 5 Series are curbside, although I did do a ton of work to make a US spec detailed M5 about 30 years ago.  Some of the Enthusiast (EM kits) have also been issued in curbside form, like the Ferrari Dinos.  You get pretty much everything but the detailed engine and engine bay. 

 

You pretty much need to research the Fujimi model you're interested in to see if it has the clarity, accuracy and detail you want.  For example, even the newish Fiat 695 Ferrari Tributo has some incorrect interior parts.
 

In the instance of the Dino,there isn't much of the EM kit in the curbside version(the RS series). The body is different because of the way the RS chassis is made; the lower nose is separate from the main body in the RS kit where it's part of the body in the EM kit. Otherwise there would be no way to slide the RS one piece chassis in place.This makes for an unsightly and non prototypical parting line where the two pieces join.

[Exotics_Builder]

3 hours ago, ZTony8 said:

In the instance of the Dino,there isn't much of the EM kit in the curbside version(the RS series). The body is different because of the way the RS chassis is made; the lower nose is separate from the main body in the RS kit where it's part of the body in the EM kit. Otherwise there would be no way to slide the RS one piece chassis in place.This makes for an unsightly and non prototypical parting line where the two pieces join.

Appreciate that info.  Never had one and was going by the instructions I saw online.  I only have EM Series Dinos.