SGluedMyFingers
Well-Known Member
LOL! And I'm not going to say it's right. I picked up the idea from scanning posts # 330 & 353.
Attention: BANDAI will stop selling kits outside Japan
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LOL! And I'm not going to say it's right. I picked up the idea from scanning posts # 330 & 353.
Fine Molds had their "Star Wars" models *distributed* in America. That didn't involve HLJ, who separately exported them from Japan.
Scratchy
Sr Member
Hey, you guys just aren't getting it,.... Bandai's model kits haven't been discontinued.
Disney "discontinued" us.
So... it's over now. The kits have disappeared from the HLJ-Site. (Only Slave I and Boba Fett are still listed with Order Stop)... Has anyone a reply from Lucasfilm or Disney (because some of us sent an email to Mr. Holm)? To the new prices for the Kits on the web, Palpatine would now say: "RISE"... :cry
Galactican
Sr Member
These are the ones who have waited for the kits to "officially" disappear and now try to push the prices up to the skies. One wants 82 € for the Speeder Bike (shipping not included). :facepalm :thumbsdown
No, nothing heard from my e-mail. However, a delay is more promising than a form letter bouncing back.
Dedalus5550
Sr Member
As I said, this is the first I've heard of an American distributor. Did this company have a name?
By asking this question twice, you don't understand how import distribution for hobby dealers works. Fine Molds exported their "Star Wars" models to North American *distributors*, which would have ended in 2011. If you must have a name, the hobby distributor used in *my* region was Stevens International. It's no different than Bandai Japan currently supplying various North American hobby distributors with "Space Battleship Yamato" models with a "Star Blazers 2199" sticker slapped on them.
Dedalus5550
Sr Member
I understand that some companies like Tamiya have their own venture in the U.S. for distribution. I understand that some companies use another company, like Stevens. But I always understood that the FM license was for Japan (and possibly more of Asia) and shops like HLJ were a kind of backdoor that was just allowed to happen until recently. The few hobby shops in my area that had FM SW stuff said they had to get it from Japanese retailers, the same as me, and that explained the crazy mark-ups on the kits. So, like I said, this is the first I've heard of about FM being using, and being able to use, a U.S.-based distributor. Am I alone in this understanding?
Dedalus5550
Sr Member
I understand that some companies like Tamiya have their own venture in the U.S. for distribution. I understand that some companies use another company, like Stevens. But I always understood that the FM license was for Japan (and possibly more of Asia) and shops like HLJ were a kind of backdoor that was just allowed to happen until recently. The few hobby shops in my area that had FM SW stuff said they had to get it from Japanese retailers, the same as me, and that explained the crazy mark-ups on the kits. So, like I said, this is the first I've heard of about FM being using, and being able to use, a U.S.-based distributor. Am I alone in this understanding?
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Dedalus5550
Sr Member
I'm feeling more lost than ever. That link doesn't show any FM SW stuff?
You're fully aware Fine Molds lost their "Star Wars" license years ago and that a distributor lists what is available for dealers to order. You're deliberately wasting my time right?
There were at least three hobby shops in my area which imported them, though I purchased mine directly from HLJ. If I recall, the 1/144 MF was going for about $90, the 1/72 Y-Wing and 1/144 Slave I were $60, etc. It's the U.S. distributor compounding the Japanese shipping and commercial import duties into the wholesale prices. However, I did find one Fine Molds 1/72 X-Wing & TIE fighter a few years ago in a clearance bin for next to nothing...$10 each I think!
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