RIP Shunsaku Tamiya, the man who made plastic model kits a global obsession

7 days ago (japanesenostalgiccar.com)

When I grew up I would spend hours looking through all the plastic model kits at the local hobby store. I just loved building plastic models.

I never mastered painting them. The most advanced I got was rattle-can style spray paints — maybe masking a bit for a camouflage or what-have-you. Only when I got older and got back into plastic model building did I make the leap to air-brushing and really finishing models correctly.

So many YouTubers (Aztec Dummy comes to mind) have since showed me that assembling the model is more or less nothing. Painting, lighting the model is everything.

I can't complain though. There was a joy putting together the models when I was young. The smell of the glue of course — the spatial reasoning it fostered... It was like sculpture to my young mind — forms, shapes in three-dimensions. I grew to love the lines of certain cars, planes, spacecraft…

I think too it fueled a kind of designer mindset in me. I would soon draw cars, spaceships, etc. of my own design.

What a great hobby.

I'm saddened that it kind of seems like another hobby, like R/C planes or model rocketry, that has fallen by the wayside. I mean I feel like most boys when I was growing up had a model or two hanging from their bedroom ceiling. Right?

  • I think the kind of plastic model kits like building muscle cars and ships has died down, but Warhammer and Gundam are both extremely popular. Battletech and Star Wars are also popular in my area.

    There are a lot of Warhammer models and the parent company "Games Workshop" is doing extremely well and expanding despite it all being built in Britain. One neat thing about Warhammer is that there are a LOT of books and video games as well, so the IP is very strong. There is always new lore coming out from the various factions too, so the models have special connections with the fans. I have 3 game stores in my medium-sized city that cater to Warhammer and there is always a game going on. Warning: it is a very expensive hobby.

    There is also a lot of popularity with 3D printing. I'd check out thingaverse or other popular 3d model sites to see how many downloads are coming from WW2 and muscle car models to maybe get a feel why hobby shops are struggling.

    Modeling never died. It just evolved a bit. If you were ever into the WW2 kits, I'd check out Bolt-Action if you're interested in wargaming with models. It's not as big as 40k, but people do play.

    • What is amazing is how much the modeling tech has improved. A modern warhammer model is much bigger and better not just than in the 80s or 90s, but even 110 years go. The painting experience is also much better. As for Gundam, the improvements in detail in assembly makes Games Workshop's models look bad and expensive. An amazing attention to the building experience. Even cheap HG model made this year would look like it was from Mars compared to the first few series, and it's still very cheap.

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    • That's a good point. I painted D&D miniatures in the day, but didn't think of it as "modeling". Perhaps because you are not assembling anything (or very little). I never got into Warhammer but have seen the displays, storefronts to know it's a big deal.

      When I thought to design and 3D print a model, I was not sure people actually painted their prints — it seemed mostly about just the printing. I've seen enough 3D prints go full paint-job on YouTube by now though to know it's a thing.

      I still feel like the 3D-print-plus-painting modeling is kind of a niche thing. At the very least it requires young people to have access to so me pretty expensive stuff.

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  • It's definitely not the hobby of choice for young boys any more, but it feels like it is having a golden age of kit quality aiming at an older audience with disposal income. Manufacturers like Tamiya, and also Eduard or Meng (those are my favs anyway) are producing extremely high quality kits.

    There is always consternation amongst modelers about where the next generation will come from, but the Gundam/Gunpla scene is supposedly very large in Japan and growing in the West.

    • That's true — there are certainly a lot of variety now, especially with 3D printing and garage kits. The "long tail" has definitely been kind to the esoteric modeler.

      Adult-me recently took to designing a kit for a NASA "Space Tug" that never existed (only proposed "artist's renderings" from the 1970;s) [1]. It is so esoteric that no one made a kit for it — I had to learn to use Blender, ha ha.

      I just wish more kids were into modeling.

      [1] free to download: https://github.com/EngineersNeedArt/Space-Tug_3DModel

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    • I bought my first Gundam model the other day (never seen them before in shops, but they can be bought online) and I was really impressed. I've built two Revell models before and some Warhammer stuff in the past. This model was cheaper than all of those (about €19), bigger, multicolour plastic, different materials, the result is fully poseable, different weapons and hands, fiddly stickers and decals, the works. And it's very cleverly designed, no glue needed.

      I'd argue that if someone wants to get started with building models, Gundam is the way to go. Painting optional, no glue needed, etc. Plus, giant robots are cool.

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    • The wargaming hobby (yes, Warhammer but not limited to it, there are very brands nowadays) is going stronger than ever. Plastic, resin ans 3D printed kits galore, which require painting, converting, etc.

  • > I never mastered painting them.

    It was really hard to paint with these old oil based paints if you are as old as me or older. I struggled with that too. The water based one sold by e.g. Games Workshop I bought years later was way easier to work with.

    • I used to make the ww2 models as a teenager and loved painting them with the oil paints (you need the right brand but I can’t remember the name).

      I got really good at weathering them using the watered down paint cleaner/thinner that runs into the folds and produced tiny cracks in the paint and then drybrushing lighter colors over areas.

      I know I got it right because a shop in England selling those Tamiya models would give me a few of the kits for one painted and showcased them. good times

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    • Oh boy, yea.

      I tried to put together a helicopter (probably an Apache) a few years ago, and got a couple of those classic Testor paint bottles to help finish it.

      I had to put it all away. The fumes from the paint, my reaction to it was nothing like I remembered. I had no issues with them as a boy. But, today, yea they were making me loopy. I’m surprised the AQMD in California still allows these.

      I’d like to try again with some modern acrylic, but the only place in my orbit is a Michaels, and they really don’t cater much to plastic kits. So opportunity has bumbled my way yet.

      The other trick is to keep it me and not be intimidated by the YouTube experts. Easier said than done.

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    • Enamels vs acrylics. Brush vs airbrush vs air gun (not to mention sponge, cloth and even toothbrush). Your air brush can have one or two controls - one for the amount of compressed air and one for amount of paint. For models like airplanes and tanks, a single control is enough to get a flat smooth finish.

      Then you discover washes and other techniques and it goes on 8)

      I still have a scar in the side of my thumb where I stuck an Xacto blade into it, 45 years ago.

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    • And there's been great improvements in usability in the last decade. You still want to use oils in models that try to look like cars, with semi transparent layers and clear coatings on top, but now you can get a coat of acrylic that will do reds or yellows well without being super transparent or covering details. Even paint from 2008 has much worse formulations than what we have now for painting by brush

  • >I'm saddened that it kind of seems like another hobby, like R/C planes or model rocketry, that has fallen by the wayside.

    I think physical hobbies like modelling find it hard to compete with the instant gratification of online dopamine fixes. However RC planes and model rocketry are still a thing. If you know any school age kids interested in engineering or rocketry and they are in the UK, point them at:

    https://www.ukroc.com/

    The US, France and Japan have equivalent competitions.

  • I'd love to get involved in R/C planes but in the UK it seems there's nowhere to do it, and with the law due to drones, it feels impossible to get started even just with starter kit

    • There's a model aircraft club near to where I live (UK). They have a runway and people use it most days. In the summer they have a two day festival where people come and camp and do model plane stuff. Presumably it's the Glastonbury of model aircraft. It's quite fun to watch them fly around for a couple of hours.

      Anyway, my point is that if I didn't live just around the corner, I would never have known it existed. I'd imagine there are similar setups around the country. You do need quite a big space and a runway is presumably helpful, so it probably makes sense for them to be collectively run.

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    • I remember in the 80's and 90's in the US, my dad and I launched Estes model rockets several hundred feet into the air from the field of a local middle school. R/C airplanes and helicopters were expensive but weren't very common and there weren't many legal regulations from flying them as there are now.

    • Have a look at the BMFA - http://https://bmfa.club. They have a directory of clubs and pointers for learning.

      You will need insurance and CAA flyer/operator IDs. This can be arranged through club, or directly via the BMFA above.

      Some of the clubs can be rather .... err ... clubby - older members whose hobby has become running the club the way see fit, vs. flying planes.

    • I've seen people flying RC plains at disused airfields in Suffolk. Even some RC jets.

      I'd contact your local RC club and they'll help you get into it.

  • There’s a lot to modeling as well.

    Getting the parts off the sprue, removing mold lines, getting the gap filler in the right places and sanding and sanding the filler down until you wouldn’t ever think that the part was anything but smooth.

    I think the modeling is a much fun as painting for me.

  • I built 3 1/18 scale models (2 of them being Tamiya one) in my teenage years but objectively:

    - unless you go 1/45 which is less enjoyable to build, it doesn't scale well (pun intented) given the room needed to store your finished models.

    - it is quite an expensive hobby

    As an adult living in couple, you need either to have your "hobby cave" or a comprehensive partner. Scale models are nice for nerds who like them, but it makes your living room look like a toy store.

  • The kits with decals only required a primer and a gloss base coat.

    I often ponder if it was the main reason the 3D printing hobby gained popularity.

    People that add more fun to the world are always needed in manufacturing. =3

  • I'm kinda in the same boat. Built quite a few kits back in the day but never painted them (at least to a quality I would admit to). I picked up a ww1 British tank some time ago and hope to finally get it right. When I was in the store, however, I'd say the majority of customers in the model kit section were teenagers.

    Maybe there's just more hobbies available these days so fewer folks end up building the models.

  • Yes, a 1970's child, I built quite a few airplane and helicopter models during my teenage years, painting skills were lousy though. :)

  • Similar experience; building model planes was one of my favorite activities for several preadolescent years.

In the 80s I had the Tamiya Grasshopper [1], which was the greatest remote control car ever (opinion).

I remember attaching three battery packs (instead of the standard one)—to make it drive at roughly 8 billion miles per hour, in the process ripping the tyres to shreds and pretty much ruining the car—because it couldn’t turn without flipping several thousand times.

Still, for those initial few seconds, it was glorious.

RIP Grasshopper and RIP Shunsaku Tamiya

[1] https://cdn.thingiverse.com/assets/8b/e7/0c/d6/a0/IMG_6201.j...

  • The Grasshopper was good. An underpowered version of the hornet with a 380 instead of 540 motor. The longer run time on the old 7.2 battery was a benefit. Watching YouTube of the current cars, they are actually overpowered and in a way unusable. Many videos degenerate into how high can I jump this thing before it breaks.

    • I sell modern Chinese ones

      I have to often explain to customers after a certain price point (for me ~$200+ AUD) you have to turn the speed trim pot down for it to be enjoyable at all

      Similar to what Gran Turismo 7 players have realised with EV “Vision” Cars - car enjoyment greatly diminishes with speed after a certain point - instead of plateauing

      No-name Chinese build quality is actually a lot higher than I’d’ve anticipated though - brushed thick aluminium and even steel chassis are pretty common now

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  • I had that same thing. It was a nice entry level. Still have the 'hot shot' on my wish list on amazon :) After my third set of tires and second set of struts I kinda stopped messing with it as I didnt have the money for that. I had already saved like crazy just to have the thing.

    Tamiya was the top end stuff. I would go to Hobby Town at eastpark (the downtown original store had more stuff though) and drool over them. So I would get the other ones there were in my price range and go 'some day' well now I have other hobbies. Still have my eye on that f14.

> Famously, while creating the model kit for the 1976 Porsche 934 Turbo RSR, Tamiya-san sent his designers to Porsche’s Zuffenhausen factory several times to get the measurements and details just right. However, despite repeated trips there were still doubts about the kit’s accuracy. So Tamiya bought a Porsche 911 and completely disassembled it to get every detail correct.

I don’t know anything about Japanese tax law but if an American did this I’d assume they were just trying to get a sweet tax deduction on a new Porsche. “Oh sure, that was 100% a business expense”.

It makes me feel bad when I see an obituary like this. I had no idea he existed, but reading I can't question he had an impact on the world. Other corners of the internet people would shit on the hobby just because they don't share it -- me, personally, being on the autistic spectrum came with a side of fine motor issues, so I could never do the painting and prodding that the more complex kits required... it's an art form, a craft that takes skill.

It's a shame it's not as popular -- it worries me a bit that we're so... online. I was more into Legos, but I wandered into the kids section for the first time in ages the other day at the local big box retailer and it feels like the kits are simpler now, and they're often branded to tie in with movies rather than being a generic thing like space, or pirates, or... space pirates.

Anyway RIP dude -- true hacker, had a passion and pursued it.

  • I think it is a shame when kids get Lego kits and only ever follow the instructions to build the intended model. They should be encouraged to use their imagination and build their own inventions.

    Tip: You can often buy random loads of Lego for cheap from Ebay or similar. Put it in a string bag and wash it in the dish washer on low heat. Good as new.

I find it strangely pleasing how a bunch of boutique(ish) companies from the UK, France, USA, Japan (others maybe?) all make plastic model kits of a variety of classic aeroplanes, WW2 planes in particular, in a series of scales.

When I was a kid I was quite interested and I could have reeled off the manufacturer names easily (um... Airfix, Revell, Heller, Frog, Tamiya, I want to say Haya-something-or-other, others). I will still look at the displays in hobby stores on occasion and many of them survive, so they've been doing this for 50+ years at this point.

I have no particular point, I just find it cool. I wonder if there are rock-star like artisan mold makers known to everyone in the industry. "Ah, this 1-50 scale Messerschmidt BF-109 vertical stabiliser is unmistakably the work of Pierre McFloogle ... chef's kiss!"

  • I was always sort of curious how they determine which prototypes to go after-- it seems like some classes are much more widely produced than others. It seems like in WWII aircraft, Japanese and Soviet designs are underrepresented compared to US/UK/DE ones. Ship models seem aligned towards ones that sunk famously over ones that survived and were retired after long service.

    With railway models, there's a selection bias because people tend to model a coherent scene. If you've decided to model Quebec in 1952, you probably can't find a way to fit in a British Rail class 66. But most other model hobbies don't have that restraint going on.

In my early teen years while I was into RC cars, someone gave me a Tamiya TA02 kit [0] that they gave up on/lost interest in. This kit loved to eat spur gears because of a design flaw in the gearbox that wasn't rigid enough to contain the gear loads, and it wasn't very fast compared to the Losi XX I also had.. However, the TA02 was more about scale reproductions than race performance. Tamiya also made the Clodbuster[1] which had legendary status in my time, with 4 wheel steering and 2 motors, specifically the one with the trailing arm/chassis modification kit which extensively revised the stock kit. Anyone who had one at the local track received a lot of attention. I still have the TA02 in my garage, but with an E46 M3 body instead of the IMSA Nissan 300Z it came with.

[0]https://tamiyabase.com/tamiya-models/58144 [1]https://tamiyabase.com/tamiya-models/58065

Never cared much for building models (mostly Plasticart) after my day school year in the GDR, but there was a small railway modelling shop that also sold plastic model kits, especially after the fall of the Iron Curtain. That shop has a large hand in igniting my love for all things design and illustration. Beautiful box tops! Albeit back in the day I was partially to Dragon Models (DML).

RIP Mr. Tamiya

It even leaked into other hobbies, airsoft and drones are full of tamiya connectors.

  • Unfortunately Tamiya connectors are known to melt when paired with modern RC electronics (Brushless motors and LiPo batteries). Most hobbyists use Deans or XT connectors.

Ah I have fond memories of my Hornet and then later a 959.

There was always that thing that kids would do where you'd get the OK from your friend and then pick up their car to about 5cm and drop it to test the suspension. Then you'd all nod sagely as if something important had been decerned.

Silly but happy memories. RIP Mr Tamiya.

>Rotor Nutcase says:

>July 24, 2025 at 5:39 pm

>My first Tamiya model…nothing to do with cars or aircraft. Apollo Lunar Lander with base and astronauts. Super impressive back in early 1970s. Need to find one again

My grandmother got me one of these before the first moon landing. I carefully put it together and she proudly displayed it for all her visitors.

Super nostalgic, I remember building mini 4wd with my dad. It was such a magical experience, I wish young people could experience it too. I remember breaking down the ac motor just out curiosity, thinking it was cool and magical but at the same time build an intuition for how it works

He and his work will be missed.

I remember the awesome picture instructions of Tamiya models. They were and are better than IKEA instructions.

I fondly remember working on a Tamiya model on my grandfather's garage workbench (around the San Jose / Los Gatos border) with the garage door up while snipping, gluing, and sanding each bit according to the meticulous instructions.

I had a load of these. This and painting Warhammer 40,000 miniatures kept my kept my fine motor skills in tune.

I built my first Tamiya car just a year ago, with my son and his friend. The thing that most impressed me is that the shop provided the tools, the space and a racetrack that you can immediately try out your newly bought car on. And all of them, no matter how crazy, cost only around $10.

I spent a lot of time on RC cars as a teen (Tamiya, Kyosho). I've not kept up. Recently on a trip to Japan I visited some stores, and was surprised to see that the tech doesn't seem to have changed all that much. I would have expected, for example, that it would now be possible to mount a camera etc. Can someone who's kept up with the hobby let me know if this is a reasonable reaction? Maybe there are new brands I don't know about? Mind you, I really liked building RC cars from kits as it was hours of fun and learning some basic mechanical engineering, and it seems this is still part of the experience. But that alone probably won't appeal to this generation of kids.

  • I got back into R/C stuff after about 15 years after working at Hobbytown as a teenager.

    The biggest advancements I've seen are around batteries and electronics (LiPo and cheaper/better radios that don't need a crystal), more access to parts (3D printing and cheap overseas CNC'd stuff), and some minor improvement in other accessories/electronics.

    POV cameras seem to be much more popular in R/C aircraft - but the drifters and crawlers really seem to be embracing it.

    Many of the brands still exist but a lot of them have been bought-up and are now competing with no-name bottom of the market stuff.

    Kids still seem interested but I've noticed a big resurgence in adults that can afford to buy the stuff they couldn't get when they were younger. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough - but there's not a ton of open-source support controlling R/C vehicles or "vehicle platforms" that you can hack and build yourself. I think a lot of people want a reliable chassis and parts so they can focus on customizing the body/appearance.

I've fond memories of (badly) assembling a few Tamiya models as a young lad, and (badly) painting them with dad's old enamel and spray paints. Their stuff is still the benchmark for IRL scale kits.

Much respect.