Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]

Announcements (Updated: July 11, 2018)

Welcome to Swifty's Garage!


Thanks to all of you for making this board what it is today!


Attention new members: We would like to welcome you personally, so please introduce yourself. Click here: INTRODUCTIONS


For all the latest news and announcements, please click here: PA System



Thank you - The Swifty's Garage Team




This board is best viewed at 1024 x 768 Resolution

Car of the Week:


Matchbox 1968 Ford F-100


Click Here: Matchbox '68 Ford F-100
Welcome to Swifty's Garage. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.

Thank You,
The Swifty's Garage Team


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features.

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Kyosho merges whith Maisto/Bburgo?; Kyosho going down the tubes?
Topic Started: Jan 22 2014, 11:32 PM (755 Views)
Diecastmania
Member Avatar
HUMMER
I recently was informed by my local diecast hobby shop that "Kyosho will be soon merging with Maisto and Bburago".
Maisto will take over the hobby area of Kyosho, (i.e) Diecast and RC.
Part of this was that "Kyosho will now be putting out the cheap stuff".
I personally think this is tragic, kyosho put out some excellent RCs and Diecast (I have both).
Cost may have been a huge factor, Kyosho puts out top notch diecast and RC, you get what you pay for. Not many people in this day and age want to pay that much for diecast.

If you are wondering who exactly I got this info from. Last Saturday, I visited my local diecast hobby shop. And the manager struck a conversation with me. They were once a big and blossoming business, but have since downsized and now rely on selling toys to escape the massive dip in the premium diecast market. They have hook-ups with the industry. They were close friends with the owners of the now defunct GMP. They sell many high end 1:18s, Kyosho, Autoart, Greenlight, Diapet, Minichamps, Schuco, Bburago, Maisto, and some vintage diecast as well.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
speedyexpress48
Member Avatar
Magical girl of depression and despair
Doubt that Maisto will get the upper hand here. Kyosho is far more established and powerful while Maisto doesn't nearly have as much power, unlike Bburago which was literally bankrupt and dead in the water.

Edited by speedyexpress48, Jan 23 2014, 12:36 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
juantoo3
Member Avatar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't know that I would doubt Maisto. Particularly with the recent losses of Yatming and High Speed, Maisto is about the only major player left contracting to any/everybody who wants a line of cheap diecast with their store brand on the package. The wild card is Loyal Bright, but they are up and coming where Maisto is well established for decades. Sounds like Maisto has some deep pockets and cash to spend, having bought (and some might say bungled) Muscle Machines...picking up Bburago and Kyosho may just be natural business of expansion.

What they do with the expanded business is another story...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Dean-o-mite
Member Avatar
Muscle Car
If true, this could be fantastic news for collectors. Especially if Maisto can fix the tire clearance issues that have plagued recent 1/64 Kyosho models.
Most likely though, I would guess Maisto is far more interested in Kyosho's 1/18 casting bank, than the 1/64 stuff.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
toyotageek
Member Avatar
Japanese Minicar Maniac
Interesting if true. I haven't seen anything that would indicate this on the Japanese forums and sites I frequent. This deserves further investigation.....

I know HPI has formally ended their resin line of 1/64 scale cars (which were some of the finest out there) to focus on their R/C products only. So there are changes in the air...
Edited by toyotageek, Jan 23 2014, 11:27 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
gtr_5155
Member Avatar
Compact
toyotageek
Jan 23 2014, 11:25 AM
Interesting if true. I haven't seen anything that would indicate this on the Japanese forums and sites I frequent. This deserves further investigation.....

I know HPI has formally ended their resin line of 1/64 scale cars (which were some of the finest out there) to focus on their R/C products only. So there are changes in the air...
Perhaps it is not an actual merger,but a distribution issue.Maisto does have better distribution than the others.
As with everthing going on with diecast.......we'll just have to wait and see.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
toyotageek
Member Avatar
Japanese Minicar Maniac
gtr_5155
Jan 23 2014, 01:29 PM
toyotageek
Jan 23 2014, 11:25 AM
Interesting if true. I haven't seen anything that would indicate this on the Japanese forums and sites I frequent. This deserves further investigation.....

I know HPI has formally ended their resin line of 1/64 scale cars (which were some of the finest out there) to focus on their R/C products only. So there are changes in the air...
Perhaps it is not an actual merger,but a distribution issue.Maisto does have better distribution than the others.
As with everthing going on with diecast.......we'll just have to wait and see.
Yeah, that's what I'm tending to think, that it's some sort of distribution merger.

In the meantime, I sent off an email to Kyosho and am waiting to see how they might respond... :rolleyes:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
250 TR
Member Avatar


Definitely interesting if true. I would be surprised though if it has anything to do with their 1/64 line. I was told at some point, and could be wrong, that the 1/64 line is separate from their other lines, which is one of the big reasons that hobby dealers in the US can't get them. It will be interesting to see what develops, I wouldn't be surprised to see it go either way as far as being a good or bad thing.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
jedimario
Member Avatar
RAWR
I doubt it until I hear from a credible source. I've heard a lot of nonsense that ended up being false from dealer and retail employees at all levels.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
toyotageek
Member Avatar
Japanese Minicar Maniac
jedimario
Jan 23 2014, 02:51 PM
I doubt it until I hear from a credible source. I've heard a lot of nonsense that ended up being false from dealer and retail employees at all levels.
Ain't that the truth! :thumbup:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Diecastmania
Member Avatar
HUMMER
Well, I don't really see a reason for the person to lie to me. They do have several Kyosho 1:18 and 1:64 models in stock and they are or WERE a Kyosho Official dealer. All they said is that they would be SOON be merging. It could mean a joint venture or distribution. Also, I think Maisto may be interested in Kyosho RC as Maisto tech RCs are meh. But the threat of watering down Kyosho is in the air. Just posting this as a heads up. You know, that kind of "don't be that surprised if it happens thing". I suggest taking it with a grain of salt as things can often get lost in translation (google translate japanese to english anyone). Until a public statement is released, we'll never know for sure.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
the_weatherman
Member Avatar
Compact
Ugh, not a fan of this idea at all. Granted, Kyosho's had some issues with model quality and set distribution as of late (the tire size, of course, but an issue with the distribution channels for their newest Ferrari sets is just the latest example), but I can't see a whole lot of good coming out of a merger. I fear Kyosho's quality would go from inconsistent to outright poor.

That being said, I'm not going to worry about it until someone gets a confirmation.
Edited by the_weatherman, Jan 23 2014, 06:00 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
toyotageek
Member Avatar
Japanese Minicar Maniac
Finally got a reply from Kyosho America:

Quote:
 
Sorry for the delay in our reply, please accept our apologies. Unfortunately we don't really handle any of the diecast sectors of Kyosho. I would suggest contacting Mini Champs in Florida for more clear clarification; they handle all Kyosho diecast in the US. As far as we know, there is no such merger in the works.

MINICHAMPS North America, Inc.
phone : +1-305-971-1171
E-mail : info@minichampsna.com
http://www.minichampsna.com/
http://www.kyoshousa.com/
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Bay 10: All Other Brands Of Diecast/General Diecast Discussion · Next Topic »
Add Reply



March's Picture of The Month Contest



Congratulations DinoMom for winning March's contest!



April's Picture of The Month Contest



Congratulations carsdownunder for winning April's contest!






Powered By

This board is best viewed at 1024 x 768 Resolution


eXTReMe Tracker