I've been a Porsche technician for 30 years. The level of detail on Tamiya kits is amazing. Currently building a 1/12 scale Tamiya Porsche 934 RSR kit. Its very impressive how close to the real thing it is.

I never felt ripped off with a tamiya kit .

Tamiya kits are the absolute pinnacle of the hobby. I'll always suggest a Tamiya kit to anyone looking at their first build. Worth every cent.

Tamiya simply has the best fit, best instructions, and best quality.

When I want the best kit available, I’ll gladly pay the premium for a Tamiya kit. Their dedication to detail is unsurpassed. All the pieces are well engineered to fit with no modifications. I consider them to be the best in the model kit industry.

I am an experienced model builder - over 63 years of building mostly cars. I know I have built literally hundreds of kits from the simplest AMT kit with maybe 50 parts, to the most complex kits like Pocher 1:8 scale cars with upwards of 2,000 parts. In all my years of building many brands, I will say without reservation, that Tamiya kits are absolutely the finest available at any price. The clarity of instructions, quality and variety of materials used and close to perfect molding of plastic parts is superior to any other maker, in my book! The Caterham Super Seven kits are my pick for the very best. Miniature machine screws, perfectly formed aluminum body panels and the most accurate working suspension I have ever seen in a mass produced model. Their acrylic paints are top notch too. All in all, a superior model company that deserves a great deal of credit!

Buying a Tamiya always hurt my wallet, but that turned to happiness when I built the kit. The best!

We're lucky that Yoshio Tamiya hurt his foot.

Tamiya keeps its molds in better condition than most companies. That has a lot to do with price.

Started with Airfix and swore by them, then got a Tamiya kit as a birthday gift and never looked back. Yes, they cost more, but you'll soon forget that price tag from the moment you unbox that kit.

When I was WAY younger than I am today my parents would give me $20 for my birthday- I would ALWAYS go to the local hoppy shop and snag me a Tamiya model kit- couldn't afford them otherwise- was a once a year treat

I love Tamiya kits, they're awesome to build. I even have a 40 year old Sherman tank that survived several moves.

I'm a Toolmaker and have worked making plastic injection mould tools. Tamiya mouldings are always absolutely superb.

My dad was a Doctor. He made Tamiya kits back in the 60's. My Dad used to make Billing Boat kits, so he was really really good, bending the wooden strakes with steam and all that jazz, so Tamiya must have been good. Which they are.

I bought a Tamiya model in 1974 and it was the best model I ever built. It was an F1 race car and it was wonderful! Like the music:)

Tamiya set a new level of quality and detail in the modeling world. I loved my Tamiya models.

I've never experienced such generosity and respect as I did when I was fortunate enough to be their guest in Japan in 2005. It gutted me when I heard about Mr. M Tamiya. He was very kind, accomdating, and funny. Not many know that. S Tamiya is one of the oldest kids I've ever met. And I mean that in the utmost respectable way. His enthusiasm, wonder, and passion has never waned. It's no wonder this company is the leader that it is today. Their kits are as open to scrutiny and criticism as any others. But I will never accept an unkind word about the Tamiya family.

In 1971 I built a Tamiya 1/25 scale Tiger-I model as a 12 year old kid; it cost me about $10 at the time in Japan - a very expensive kit but it was truly one of my favorite models. Fast-forward 45 years later: I see the exact same original Tamiya kit from 1970 unopened on ebay going for $95; I had to have it! Talk about reliving my childhood! It now sits proudly on my shelf. Thank you Tamiya San!

Tamiya set and upheld the standard many other companies strive to acheive even after all these years....Thanks for the good times Tamiya, childhood wouldn't have been the same without you.

I grew up with airfix. A friend had some tamiya and I was hooked. A few trumpeter. Now tamiya pricing online is the best option. Still modelling at 55

Tamiya military armor and aircraft kits have some of the most awesome box top artworks in the model industry. 🇯🇵

I have the fondest memories of my cousin & me running to the back of the K & K Toys at the Fredericktowne Mall in Frederick, Md. around 1973-75, to see the new stacks of Tamiya models. He wanted planes and I wanted armor! The store had them all! We even got threatened by the manager- "There's no running in this store, or I will throw you out!" We each left with another prized kit our mothers paid for. I still have a couple on the shelf. Tamiya was always the best back then. Thanks for the memories & that hilarious ending!m

I'm 47 and my first R/C was a Tamiya. Thank you, that was great!

So Tamiya has been making zeros since 1944

I spent much of my childhood either in hospital or in bed at home. When a boy in the next cot in hospital showed me his models I was hooked. My parents brought me kits and assembled for me as I was only three. From there it became a real joy and escape from my surroundings.All the brands you have discussed i have enjoyed. Although being small they were a big part of my early life. Thanks for your reserach, time, informative, enjoyable and sometimes sad documenty on this subject.

I "discovered" Tamiya in 1970. It was a remote controlled German Leopard tank. It had twin motors in the gearbox(s)with a motor driving each track. I wish I still had it. That started my modeling hobby and I can truly say that I am better for it. I was fortunate enough to live near the Tamiya America location in Aliso Viejo, California and I spent many a Saturday in the 90's and 2000's with my buddies driving RC cars on their track. Some of the best times ever. Your video brought back a lot of that. Thanks.🤙👏👏👏👏😷

Man the precise crisp detail of the mouldings of my first Tamiya kit tank in 1970 was superb! So much so that I wanted to display the sprues!

I’ve been building models since the 1980s and Tamiya is my favourite brand, both for models and paints

As a kid in the 70s to early 80s, I got obsessed with WWII diorama construction. I used Tamiya kits for the "subject matter" exclusively, precisely because of the quality detail. I should re-make some of those... all are lost to time now. I had a lot of fun creating those "stories" in model form.

1/16 m4 rc Sherman tank is the last kit i built. Tamiya is by far my favorite model company. Thank you have a great day thumbs up stay awesome.

Bought my first MRC Tamiya kit when I got into WW2 soldier figures and military vehicles. Then built their automobiles. Tamiya are the best quality plastic model kits I ever built. Worth every penny.

I have been building model kits since I was 4 years old. My first kit was Aurora's Superman.I have since built kits by every model company there is, anywhere in the world and I've collected kits from around the world. And if there's one thing and one kit that I know Tamiya kits are the very best and pinnacle of modeling in the world. I have spent time and treasure hunting down lost and forgotten Tamiya kits around the world and around the USA I love this company and I love these kits!

Having just made ships from Airfix, Revell, Fujimi, Aoshima and Tamiya - Tamiya was the best in terms of accuracy, plastic quality, fit, and build instructions. What’s more, their paint is more than adequate - and I was brought up on Airfix and Lindberg as a kid.

Literally just getting into modeling. No tools, no kits, no paint. Just a lot of learning through reading and observing other builds. This video is awesome, I look forward to watching more.

Quality doesn’t cost. It pays! Thanks for more model fun Max! Entertaining and informative!

You forgot to mention tamiya box art is world renowned for it's quality. Now I may not be 100% on this, but I believe they've won a ton of awards for it as well. Their illustrations are some of the best, if not THE best packaging art I've ever seen and I worked closely with graphic artists for almost 17 years. Even the box printing quality is top of the line.

The art work of the boxes are something. By coincidence I showed my son my forty five year old kits that me and my father made..., well we’re in for another generation! Hurrah!!

Their paint system is also very good.

I am from the late '60's to '70's model generation. I stopped building at age 19 BUT have collected model kits over the years to build on when retired. (Stored in my closet) Trouble is, I don't plan on retiring. Having listened to 3 of your videos so far let me say, VERY IMPRESSIVE. (and the music isn't bad either). Thank you for this.

In the mid 70s I was building whatever kits the Drug Store had. Loved Monograms good fit & value. Then a local train shop started stocking more diverse kits & I found Tamiya 😍 That store owner sold me his 1977 Tamiya catalogue, have it still🤗

Always liked the waterline models.

Here is a bit of trivia for you about how some tamiya kits were brought into the country pre u.s. release. I lived in L A. read scale modeler and wondered how the builders, Got their tamiya kits early. Well it turns out that Woody who owned Valley Plaza Hobbies in North Hollywood, knew a few members of the airline industry and would pay them to bring in the kits from Japan and England. So Valley Plaza was possibly the 1st hobby shop to have new release Tamiya and other kits from overseas prior to any other hobby shop in the u s..

As a kid in the late 70s and early 80s I spent a lot of birthday and Christmas money on Taniya’s 1/700 Waterline series ship models. I reconstructed a significant portion of the imperial Japanese Navy.

Love my Tamiya kits. First one I built was the KTM motocross bike back in the 80’s. Have several military kits waiting to be built. Found a 1/25 Tiger tank model last year at a train show. TAB, ah yes. This was a staple at my grandmas house. Couldn’t tell you how many ice cream and TAB floats were consumed on her front porch on summer nights.

you can never go wrong with tamiya . ive always enjoyed thier kits . pricey yes but worth it. thier paints and glue are the only thing i use

I have been building Tamiya models since 1975...still have a lot of them to be worked on :)

Thanks for all the great videos and memories! When I was @10 in the early 1970's, my dad was stationed in Okinawa, and the local hobby, toy, and department stores were filled with incredible models . My favorite kit was the Tamiya 1/35 scale M60 that came with a dual-motor, remote (not radio) control system. It cost $3.50 thanks to the great exchange rate at the time (@360 yen per dollar) which was still a fair amount for a kid with little cash. Our last Christmas there, I got the newly released 1/25 scale Tiger tank with individual track links and a full interior and was blown away by it's sheer size and detail. What fun, and I still build a few models even today. Thanks again, and the music montage at the end was a brilliant touch!

Fantastic kits. I mainly made the 1:35 military stuff, but also liked their 1:48 planes & the 1:20 F1 cars. I once made Lauda's Ferrari in 1:12 as well. Fit & quality was always superb, better than the (good) Italerie.

Great video. My brothers and I grew up building the Tamiya kits, especially the tanks and Military Miniatures, so this really brought back memories. The use of 1:35 scale helped us integrate my large collection of toy soldiers (primarily Airfix) into the battle. It was also cool hearing Day Tripper in Japanese, since that was one of the first songs I learned on guitar that actually sounded like music. BTW, my wife thinks these things are cool.

Tamiya- Legendary company ! Where Tamiya go every other company follows . The most read book I ever got was a Tamiya catalogue circa 1973 . My first Tamiya kit was a 1/35 Centurion for Christmas with a motor 👍

Best Kits! I had almost all the 1/700 waterline ships as a kid. Loved the Japanese and American Aircraft Carriers.

When I bought a Tamiya kit I got a fine quality and precision in. Parts.

Excellent documentary, and very easy listening,

Not to mention the Insanely Popular 4WD cars on the late 90s and early 2000s! Those little battery cars actually is the start of my modelling hobby!

Great video. Thank you. It brought back fond memories, as I spent a lot of hard-earned cash to purchase their 1/16 scale Tiger I, back in '76', when I was in high school. One of the mos satisfying kits I ever build (painted and detailed), including using a brush that I had trimmed all but four hairs on so I could paint the eyebrows, mouth, and pinstriping on the uniform of the tank commander that stood in the turret.

Another home run, Max. This video series is what the model world has needed for a long time. Thank you so much for your work. I'm looking forward to the Revell/Tamiya Mustang Showdown. in the video, you comment about the Tamiya, "This thing better build itself." Back in my day, Tamiya kits were called Shake-N-Bake. Keep up the wonderful work, Max! If shaking hands ever becomes a thing again, I'd surely like to shake yours. Best regards from NC. -Bolt

Thanks for doing this video. I have around 15 Tamiya scale model kits, some half built. My brother and I bought the Tiger 1 and the deluxe Aber photo etch kit 10 years ago. It's a terrific building opportunity. We filed off a ton of detail and replaced it, along with a lot of parts with scale thickness components laboriously bent and soldered. I have a microscopic metal brake and an American Beauty current resistance solder tool as well as the tiniest wrench set that you can barely see with magnifying glasses. Sub-millimeter nuts and bolts were widely used to actually screw components together and to mount to the tank. Shovel, hammer pick, gun cleaning rods and jacking platform custom made from wood and brass. Metal tracks and aftermarket torsion bars were installed and selected lead-acid batteries were fitted for their excessive weight, to better simulate great mass when traveling. It weighs 12.4 kilograms. The tank was fully primed in red oxide before multiple coats of "Dunklegrau". The entire project, including a new airbrush and compressor set us back around $2,000 and took 10 months to complete. We made around 100 photo etch parts, including plenty on the inside, viewable only in awkward close ups. Some had up to 10 individual bits, soldered together. This build expanded my horizons a lot. The tools have come in handy for other builds since. There are a bunch of photos at Aber.net.pl/gallery in 1/16

TAMIYA had a memorable promo not long ago, displaying actual vehicles next to an empty full scale parts tree or the rectangular rack that molded parts stem from... it was a very cleaver idea.

I have purchased enough plastic model kits of all types and scales to easily fill a store front hobby store. This started for me back in the 1960's and continues to this day. That said, I have never been disappointed nor have I ever thought I overpaid for a Tamiya kit. Super quality, and I admire this company. Good history you gave here.

im a real car guy that just found out about tamiya in 2021... at 37 years old.... long story short... IM BUYING THEM ALL.... ( 1/10 car kits) thanks for the video.. i subbed

My favorite in my early teens was the 88 field gun. Unbelievable detail.

My first Tamiya kit was a red sports car that was battery powered and that was the coolest thing I ever saw back then. love your content.

In the late 80's I found the Porsche RSR Type934 in a yard sale for $5. It was partially built but complete with box. I was 12 at the time. 10 years later, I sold it on FleaBay for $250. Very nice quality kit but I found it to be quite delicate for use as an RC racer. It is one of those toys I wish I could have back. Very well done video.

Awesome video. I love Tamiya. I have model kits, spray paints, plastic cement, an RC buggy, and my modeling tools are from Tamiya. Some of there stuff isn't the cheapest but it's never let me down.

I got started with Tamiya in the early 72’s with 1:35 scale motorized tank kits, wired remote control and to Radio Control kits.

Just brought the new Tamiya P38 $60us & love it!🤗

Thanks - great documentary. I have the 1/16 motorized Tiger 1 - maybe bought 15(?) years ago - and yes, I have the metal tracks. Great suspension. That Japanese name is Hoyamaru San. I’m actually Canadian European descent but I speak some Japanese - my alias is just that. Tamiya Yoshio-san shows how innovative and resilient people can be. Interesting book to check out is Eagles of Mitsubishi by Horikoshi Jiro-san, designer of the Zero. Quite a story...

Great End Song, Great Video, Perfect April First gift. Tamiya lots of fun building their IJN models. Now I can't get that version of "Day Tripper" out of my head! That was your April Fools joke! Thanks Max

The catalog page you show at 11:05 brought back such a rush of memories. I spent hours looking at that very catalog, trying to decypher every brushstroke of the professionals that brought those OOB kits to life. Man, I love this series of videos!

Tamiya recently has really upped their game regarding their armor and military figure kits. Their parts fit is exceptional and the facial and equipment detail on their figures comes close to resin quality. I particularly like their recent shift to link-and-length tracks for their tanks...well molded and very buildable. IMO their pricing for the 1/35 series is reasonable, given the recent improvements mentioned.

Excellent video. Great information no stupid jokes no loud music. perfect I love it!

Love the music.

built a few kits back in the 80s, loved them, wish I still had them. Still have my nissan king cab rc truck and still works..

Love Tamiya models......

Tamiya were always my favourites in the 70s but Dragon Trumpeter IBG and Das Werk are now the standard

I'm amazed that even their wooden models look good compared to other companies when their early products looks goofy like gundam kits but eventually are getting good, but Tamiya since day one are beautiful crafted, i just build my very first 1/6 bike and the kit is so beautiful made and to my surprised i checked the manufacturing date it's way older than me and the kit still holds up today I'm blown away😮😮😮

I only buy Tamiya 1/48 scale armour,the best kits out there by far,excellent videos by the way

I have just had a chance to watch your excellent video regarding the history of Tamiya. I’ve always found their kids to be of excellent quality. Sometimes detail is lacking, mostly from car kits designed and sold in the late 80s and early 90s. But they do have excellent instruction manuals, and everything fits perfectly. In your brief review of the Tam Tech product line you cross over it pretty quickly. You show a glider and a boat. But in the TamTech line, there were also several RC cars in 1/24 scale. One minor quibble, Max, I have never heard the term kit model when referring to plastic kits it’s always model kit. Please take this minor criticism with a grain of salt. Keep doing what you’re doing. Your videos are awesome!

My first Tamiya kit was number MT121, 1/35 scale. The Hunting Tiger with a single motor. Inaccurate in detail and it came with 2 sets of tracks. Plastic for a display model and fully molded rubber tracks for use in motorized mode. It cost 8 bucks (8 hours work at minimum wage) and was imported into Canada by Tri-Ang. Had it for years. Second kit was the motorized Panther.

Great documentary. When I was a kid I saw Tamiya ship models on the selves in the 80's. Now thanks to gunpla, the brand has been reintroduced into my life so it was nice to explore their history.

I know this is a late response. Your video was exceptional. I have tried other manufacturers and have settled on Tamiya exclusively. While the pricing is on the high side the quality is worth it as the kits get completed.

I really enjoy these histories! You have quickly become one of my favorite channels. I would have liked more coverage of the automotive subjects, but you did say "brief" for a large and storied company. They are the only game in town for F1 kits.

Good stuff! Tamiya is, all things considered, the greatest model company of all time.

I had my first Tamiya experience with a purchase of the R/C car, The Hornet. Followed by The BigWig, the Lotus F1 car, The Avante and The Astute, which is the only surviving one after all those years. The one I dreamed of owning in those early years was the amazingly detailed "The Bruiser". The beauty of those R/C cars, and half the fun was building them. Now I play with real cars, it's easy to see that those Tamiya kits helped grow my automotive enthusiasm.

I was always hesitant on paying so much for a Tamiya kit, untill i bought my first one, the level of detail and fit are second to none.. then I knew why their was a premium price on Tamiya kits.. great video.

Tamiya turned the plastic model industry/hobby on its head...I remember seeing them on a local hobby shop in the late 60s...they were a revelation at the time!!! The 1/35th scale Armor became a standard and I became a huge armor fan... in fact, my decision to enlist for Armor was based on a armor kit...I needed to know what made up the tracks...and to get close to a tank to find out...yeah...I know...but it's the truth...

Tamiya also had some great kits in an interesting 1:18 scale. I used to have a Subaru R-2 SS and a Honda NIII 360. They were labelled as "display models", so maybe they were also offered as R/C. And thank you for the "Wall-e and Eve" reference in your credits. That's what my wife and I call ourselves, for reasons I wont bore you with here.

Thanks for this video. Good memories. After making a few plastic models, I discovered Tamiya. Never went back to any other brand. The quality was without peer, whether it was in the detail, molding precision, or the instructions and literature. The kits were more expensive, but worth the extra cost because the result was better and easier to achieve.

This is a great look at a model company that’s been in my life for a loooooooong time! Thanks!

Thanks for producing this fantastic series Max. Just rattled through the histories of Airfix, Revell, Monogram, Aurora, and Tamiya whilst building my Dragon 1/35 Stug.

I remember longing for the FW-11B every payday when I was stationed at Lowery AFB in 1990...never could pull the trigger on it and regret it to this day

I like the music and have loved tamiya models since child hood and still love to build their classic range. Thanks for the video!

In the later 70's i was building Tamiya models, the cars, one early one was the lancia Statos, motorized if I remember right, in Alitaila colors. After a couple of their smaller kits I tackled the Tyrell P6 6 wheel F1 car, the suspension worked and tires were rubber! later on I built a tiger tank and some others. With my first job i picked up the sand scorcher RC off roader and found a club to race with. I have a lot of great memories with their models. You pay more, and get more, often far more. This is a company that respects it's customers. It shows in the very high quality of the kits, the fit and finish and the different materials used. What's the difference between a $15 and $30 kit? I've found with this company, quite a lot.

Thank God for Tamiya , so many great products. Simply love the spray paints.

Thank you for making this! Tamiya is a big part of my childhood growing up Asia and now as an adult in the US. I never knew its history but learning through this video really made me appreciate they company they are.

I know Tamiya mostly from their RC products. Somewhere in my garage I have a King Tiger RC tank I built back in the mid 90's. Maybe I'll dig it out some time. Thanks for the vids.

The 1/24 scale Tiger and Centurion tanks with interior in the late 1960's! That was really groundbreaking!

Awesome video my friend, thanks for sharing

Excellent video!! I have been building Tamiya car, truck, and cycle kits for over 35 years. In terms of fit quality and finish they are untouchable, even when compared to kits that are 2-3 times the cost. Many scoff at their cost, but like most things you get what you pay for.

Great work another very interesting video.