Airfixcollecting

frogman · Anniversary Set

Hasegawa is highly favoured by modellers, but there doesn't seem to be much interest from kit collectors yet, despite the company approaching 50 years of production. No doubt that's why this forum has managed to go for three years without a thread dedicated to the brand. Smile

Anyway, about time we rectified that, so ...

Here's an early Hasegawa production, the MiG 21. Can anyone here tell me which of these boxings is the first issue?

Sean

Richard Humm · Series 14

I'd guess that the lower one is the later, because it looks more like a 1970s Hasegawa box design, but it is purely a guess.

tempestfan · Superkits

I'd go for the left one (blank background). The price may be an indicator, the onr on the right cost 200 Yen (the figure after the kit No).
I never liked Hasegawa...

Iceman · Series 5

tempestfan wrote:

I never liked Hasegawa...

Why not? They have made high quality kits for many years now.
After the latest releases of the 1/350 IJN Nagato, Mutsu and above all the magnificent Akagi carrier, I will consider Hasegawa as a strong contender to Tamiya's leadership.

tshirt_tony · Collector Series

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Hasegawa and Frog have a tie in?
The Voodoo and Sabre and Super Sabre are ex Hasegawa, I believe. The Frog box art for those three was right there with the best. Was the original artwork the same?
My knowledge of Japanese kits is roughly bugger all.

frogman · Anniversary Set

tshirt_tony wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Hasegawa and Frog have a tie in?
The Voodoo and Sabre and Super Sabre are ex Hasegawa, I believe. The Frog box art for those three was right there with the best. Was the original artwork the same?
My knowledge of Japanese kits is roughly bugger all.

Yes, there was a partnership between Hasegawa and FROG. Well-known are the kits Hasegawa supplied to FROG, such as those mentioned by Tony, all of which were given new decals and boxes (including new artwork) in the UK. Less well-known are the large number of kits supplied by FROG to Hasegawa for retail in Japan and some other territories; many FROG kits were in the Hasegawa range for a number of years and went through several box styles.

Sean

flogger23 · Series 1

MIG-21 was retooled by Hasegawa. I have original Frog and old Hasegawa with movable tailplane and molded stars. Newer kit and last year MIG-17+21 combo don't have it.
And my old Hasegawa-Minicraft Voodoo have different nose and clear sprue (like original Frog) from new edition.

frogman · Anniversary Set

flogger23 wrote:

MIG-21 was retooled by Hasegawa. I have original Frog and old Hasegawa with movable tailplane and molded stars. Newer kit and last year MIG-17+21 combo don't have it.

Well spotted, Flogger - I hadn't notice the embossed red stars before. Quite extraordinary to find such a dated feature on a kit released by FROG in 1968. Certainly makes a mockery of all those extra decal options.

Incidentally, the second FROG MiG21 box doesn't show the aircraft carrying any stores despite the centreline fuel tank and Atoll's included in the kit.

Sean

tempestfan · Superkits

Iceman wrote:

tempestfan wrote:

I never liked Hasegawa...

Why not? They have made high quality kits for many years now.
After the latest releases of the 1/350 IJN Nagato, Mutsu and above all the magnificent Akagi carrier, I will consider Hasegawa as a strong contender to Tamiya's leadership.

IMHO, they are way overpriced. Agreed, they do some spectacular kits, but they also have very mediocre ones. In the latter category come most of the 90s WW II fighters IMO. The Wildcat is a good example. And most of their ltd. re-releases of ancient kits are just ridiculous - 20 € for the T33, 30 for a Delta Dagger...not for me.
What amazes me is that modellers/collectors are willing to forge out huuuuge amounts of money for Hase kits. The excellent Airfix Lightnings apparently were considered overpriced by the market so didn't sell well.

Iceman · Series 5

tempestfan wrote:

IMHO, they are way overpriced.

What amazes me is that modellers/collectors are willing to forge out huuuuge amounts of money for Hase kits. The excellent Airfix Lightnings apparently were considered overpriced by the market so didn't sell well.

I agree with you there, tempestfan. They are not the cheapest kits on the shelf, and the quality of the early kits may have been dubious.

However, their latest 1/350 ship models are impressive, no doubt about that.
After studying the Akagi assembly instructions including the PE set, I don't know if I have the guts to start building one... Shocked

Concerning the Airfix Lightnings, I have noticed that the price for the 1/48 F-2A/F-6 has been rising steadily on eBay during the last year or so.

Iceman

loupgarou · Series 8

As requested by Sean, the very exclusive 1/90 CHROMED Phantom - only TWO and a wing left in the world Laughing

-

Only registered users can see links on this forum!
Register or Login on forum!

frogman · Anniversary Set

Excellent! Not seen that before though I once had a Northrop F5 in the same series/chrome/box style.

Thanks for posting, Paolo.

Sean

tempestfan · Superkits

Thought you were celebrating a somewhat early 1 April, Paolo...never even heard or read of that one, I don't think any 90th F-4 is mentioned in the Detail and Scale kit sections. 200 Yen, hefty price tag. I wonder if the same design was used for their later (?) 72nd "F-4J" that also formed the basis of the K, itself once distributed and then retooled by Frog.

loupgarou · Series 8

tempestfan wrote:

Thought you were celebrating a somewhat early 1 April, Paolo...never even heard or read of that one, I don't think any 90th F-4 is mentioned in the Detail and Scale kit sections. 200 Yen, hefty price tag. I wonder if the same design was used for their later (?) 72nd "F-4J" that also formed the basis of the K, itself once distributed and then retooled by Frog.

No, it's for real, Claus. Laughing

Glad I manage to find items the other members don't know, I usually feel the others are so much more knowledgeable and have rarer models. Very Happy

Paolo

tempestfan · Superkits

loupgarou wrote:

No, it's for real, Claus. Laughing

Glad I manage to find items the other members don't know, I usually feel the others are so much more knowledgeable and have rarer models. Very Happy

Paolo

...you pics convinced me, I meant when you first mentioned it it the Service Station thread.
Show me most of the 60s Japanese and US stuff and my eys will be big. I confess, it's an area of ignorance. But then that's what it's all about here: Live to learn, learn to live Wink