SEARCH THE SKIES! - LUNADIVER STINGRAY ON MOON ATTACK MISSION

SMN report:

Researching the upcoming 51st Shizuoka Hobby Show means we’ve bumped into all sorts of good stuff, and that includes these ace shots of the Hasegawa 1:35 scale Lunadiver Stingray spacecraft, complete with a pair of space-combat troopers.

ROBOTS ON THE MARCH IN JAPAN

SMN report:

We’ll be fascinated to see how many robots will be on display at Japan’s Shizuoka Hobby Show on May 17-20. They’ll probably number in their hundreds, from a host of toy, figure, and kit manufacturers, including Fine Molds, whose 1:20 scale robot shown here comes from the anime fantasy movie Laputa: Castle in the Sky.

UPCOMING - 51st SHIZUOKA HOBBY SHOW THIS MONTH

SMN report:

Last year’s Shizuoka Hobby Show was held not long after Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, so let's extend good wishes to Japan and for no similar shadow over the show this year. The doors are open for the 51st Hobby Show on May 17-20, and it’s a biggie, held in Shizuoka, the self-styled Japanese ‘Hobby City’.

SHIZUOKA HOBBY SHOW 2011 STARS

SMN report

The Shizuoka ‘Hobby City’ Hobby Show finished earlier this week, and there were many reveals of tempting new stuff. However, yesterday’s look at the new Dragon Type 95 tank kit allowed us to focus on this Chinese company and its wide-ranging product list.

Fine detail from Dragon

Dragon has looked into various technologies for its new products, including slide moulds, which allow more accurate reproduction of fine detail than standard two-piece moulds. The technique works by creating injection moulds that have built-in moving sections, the ‘slide’ of the name. These are inserted into the mould to form components, then removed for extraction. 

SHIZUOKA HOBBY SHOW CELEBRATES ITS 50th ANNIVERSARY NEXT WEEK

SMN report

We are delighted to report that Japan’s recent earthquake and tsunami have not put a stop to the Shizuoka Hobby Show, which is gearing up to mark its 50th year in 2011. Shizuoka is a city of some 750,000 people, in Honshu, Japan’s main island, and styles itself as Japan’s ‘Hobby City’.

On show at Shizuoka

The show runs from 12-15 May, and hobby companies big and small will be there, packing their stands with new products. A galaxy of names will include Aoshima, Bandai, Doyusha, Finemolds, Hasegawa, Tamiya, as well as many others.