Post by Keith Tanaka on Jul 17, 2015 11:48:04 GMT -8
Recently I visited Matt White's shop in Santa Ana. Matt is one of the vendors at the Model Kit Expo which is held every 4 months at the union hall in Buena Park.
Matt's business is rebuilding/selling shocks for classic vintage 1/1 cars. He has a machine shop to rebuild the old shocks. In addition, his hobby is collecting/building model cars from various model kits.
He sells his excess model kits at the Expo every 4 months. At his machine shop, he also has his collection of model kits and excess kits. The excess kits are for sale but the selection is limited unlike his personal collection of kits.
Anyway, while at Matt's shop, I saw a display case with a lot of "shelf queen" model cars. These cars looked familiar as many of them were various Porsche 962 liveries. There were also other types of racing cars on display such as 917s, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, etc. All of the model cars on display were simply beautiful models. I asked Matt about these cars and he said he bought them all as is from the seller who was unloading them all.
I did notice something different about these models, they seemed smaller than 1/24 scale. I asked Matt about their scale and mfg and he said they were 1/27 (actually 1.275) scale models made by Kyosho. It turns out that Kyosho is a major RC model manufacturer in Japan.
They market what's called "Mini Z" 1/27 R/C cars as well as 1/43 scale RC cars ("DNaNo). They also sell many of the bodies used for these R/C cars. Hmm, interesting.
After visiting Matt's shop and seeing the Mini Z cars, I was interested in finding out more about these great looking cars.
I went online and found the Kyosho website as well as who sells these cars locally. Turns out the largest seller of these cars is located in Baldwin Park (near Irwindale). This local supplier claims to be the largest Mini Z store in the world. Not sure about that but I decided to pay a visit to this local dealer since his shop is only 10 min. from where I live in West Covina. Upon arriving at the local dealer, the store/shop is located just off the 605 freeway. The store/shop front is small and unassuming located in an industrial park, if you didn't know about what's inside you probably wouldn't notice this shop.
Anyway, I met the owner and went inside to see what he had on display. Turns out the shop is basically a warehouse for the various Mini Z cars and parts. There was a R/C flat track laid out in the shop which is used to test cars as well as a number of storage racks containing various Mini Z models and parts.
The inventory of beautiful Mini Z cars (R/C cars as well as shelf queens/bodies) and parts was extensive. The variety of beautiful race cars is extensive and the finish/detail of the bodies is outstanding. I was so impressed with these cars that I actually bought two of them thinking I would turn them into slot cars!
So why am I posting this topic?
Is it in any way related to our hardbody racing?
After all, beautiful cars are nice to race but do these smaller scale bodies fit our larger 1/24 (1/25) scale racing? Dont' know, but I thought I would post this info for those who are not aware of these cars.
Our hardbody racing has grown over the years and continues to grow as far as the type of hardbody cars we build and race. With our handicap and lap differential racing there's no limit as to what type of cars we can build/race in the future.
Do we really need more racing classes? Probably not, but its always interesting to see what's available and possible for future racing classes.
The Mini Z bodies have the following pros and cons:
Pros: beautiful scale racing bodies (and regular street car bodies) already finished and detailed, available in a variety of racing types and liveries. White body kits are also available but not as many varieties available.
Cons:
Smaller scale, 1/27 vs. 1/24 (1/25)
Higher cost, most cost $49.95, white body kits cost $24.95 I paid $100 cash (instead of credit card) for two bodies so I saved on tax.
Heavier bodies. Bodies are thicker (in some areas) than some of our hardbody cars but similar to our newer NASCAR bodies in thickness. Some portions of the body can be trimmed (body mounting parts, thick portions of the body) to reduce weight. I would estimate that the weight of these bodies after trimming unnecessary portions will be about 35-40 grams which is ok.
Tinted windows: windows are dark tinted (smoke color) and no interior is provided (maybe they don't need an interior since the windows are dark?) Clear lexan windows ($5.95) are available for "some" of the cars but not all.
Here are photos of two Mini Z bodies, NISSAN GTR and MAZDA 787B:
NISSAN GTR
MAZDA 787B
This photo shows the two Mini Z bodies along with Team Rolling Hills Porsche 962 enduro car. Although the Mini Z bodies are smaller in scale, its not a big difference.
The NISSAN GTR and MAZDA 787B bodies have a 4.00" wheelbase and front/rear tire width of 3.00", body widths of 3.00" (GTR) and 3.125" (787B). These dimensions are very good for a slot car.
As I mentioned, this post is simply to provide info on these beautiful bodies and may or may not be of interest.
Any comments?
Keith
Matt's business is rebuilding/selling shocks for classic vintage 1/1 cars. He has a machine shop to rebuild the old shocks. In addition, his hobby is collecting/building model cars from various model kits.
He sells his excess model kits at the Expo every 4 months. At his machine shop, he also has his collection of model kits and excess kits. The excess kits are for sale but the selection is limited unlike his personal collection of kits.
Anyway, while at Matt's shop, I saw a display case with a lot of "shelf queen" model cars. These cars looked familiar as many of them were various Porsche 962 liveries. There were also other types of racing cars on display such as 917s, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, etc. All of the model cars on display were simply beautiful models. I asked Matt about these cars and he said he bought them all as is from the seller who was unloading them all.
I did notice something different about these models, they seemed smaller than 1/24 scale. I asked Matt about their scale and mfg and he said they were 1/27 (actually 1.275) scale models made by Kyosho. It turns out that Kyosho is a major RC model manufacturer in Japan.
They market what's called "Mini Z" 1/27 R/C cars as well as 1/43 scale RC cars ("DNaNo). They also sell many of the bodies used for these R/C cars. Hmm, interesting.
After visiting Matt's shop and seeing the Mini Z cars, I was interested in finding out more about these great looking cars.
I went online and found the Kyosho website as well as who sells these cars locally. Turns out the largest seller of these cars is located in Baldwin Park (near Irwindale). This local supplier claims to be the largest Mini Z store in the world. Not sure about that but I decided to pay a visit to this local dealer since his shop is only 10 min. from where I live in West Covina. Upon arriving at the local dealer, the store/shop is located just off the 605 freeway. The store/shop front is small and unassuming located in an industrial park, if you didn't know about what's inside you probably wouldn't notice this shop.
Anyway, I met the owner and went inside to see what he had on display. Turns out the shop is basically a warehouse for the various Mini Z cars and parts. There was a R/C flat track laid out in the shop which is used to test cars as well as a number of storage racks containing various Mini Z models and parts.
The inventory of beautiful Mini Z cars (R/C cars as well as shelf queens/bodies) and parts was extensive. The variety of beautiful race cars is extensive and the finish/detail of the bodies is outstanding. I was so impressed with these cars that I actually bought two of them thinking I would turn them into slot cars!
So why am I posting this topic?
Is it in any way related to our hardbody racing?
After all, beautiful cars are nice to race but do these smaller scale bodies fit our larger 1/24 (1/25) scale racing? Dont' know, but I thought I would post this info for those who are not aware of these cars.
Our hardbody racing has grown over the years and continues to grow as far as the type of hardbody cars we build and race. With our handicap and lap differential racing there's no limit as to what type of cars we can build/race in the future.
Do we really need more racing classes? Probably not, but its always interesting to see what's available and possible for future racing classes.
The Mini Z bodies have the following pros and cons:
Pros: beautiful scale racing bodies (and regular street car bodies) already finished and detailed, available in a variety of racing types and liveries. White body kits are also available but not as many varieties available.
Cons:
Smaller scale, 1/27 vs. 1/24 (1/25)
Higher cost, most cost $49.95, white body kits cost $24.95 I paid $100 cash (instead of credit card) for two bodies so I saved on tax.
Heavier bodies. Bodies are thicker (in some areas) than some of our hardbody cars but similar to our newer NASCAR bodies in thickness. Some portions of the body can be trimmed (body mounting parts, thick portions of the body) to reduce weight. I would estimate that the weight of these bodies after trimming unnecessary portions will be about 35-40 grams which is ok.
Tinted windows: windows are dark tinted (smoke color) and no interior is provided (maybe they don't need an interior since the windows are dark?) Clear lexan windows ($5.95) are available for "some" of the cars but not all.
Here are photos of two Mini Z bodies, NISSAN GTR and MAZDA 787B:
NISSAN GTR
MAZDA 787B
This photo shows the two Mini Z bodies along with Team Rolling Hills Porsche 962 enduro car. Although the Mini Z bodies are smaller in scale, its not a big difference.
The NISSAN GTR and MAZDA 787B bodies have a 4.00" wheelbase and front/rear tire width of 3.00", body widths of 3.00" (GTR) and 3.125" (787B). These dimensions are very good for a slot car.
As I mentioned, this post is simply to provide info on these beautiful bodies and may or may not be of interest.
Any comments?
Keith