ICM bought by Tamiya ???

[Maestro]

Greetings ladies and gentlemen.

While on Tamiya website, I found the following...

Tamiya America Item #89730 | Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb - 1/48 w/Royal Air Force Crew
(Picture attached below.)

Now, anyone noticed that the ground crew (included in that special edition Spitfire) strangely looks exactly like the ICM Pilots and Ground Personnel set ? Same number of figures, same poses, same extra material... Even the same dog !

Anyone heard that ICM might have been bought by Tamiya ? Or are they just doing that to piss on ICM ?

[Wurger]

I haven't heard about this.But there is possibility it is a re-packing only.I have bought the Smer 1:72 Albatros D.Va recently but inside the box I've found the Eduard one.The re-packing becomes very popular.For instance The Revell offers the ESCI kit of 1:72 Albatros D.III or in a box with 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc/XVI I've found the Hasegawa model.

[Heinz]

Most likely just repackaging deal.

ICM are distributed by Italeri arent they?

[antoni]

There must be some business link between ICM and Tamiya. The ICM P-51B kit is an obvious copy of the Tamiya kit and the parts are interchangable. There are marks inside the fuselage where the Tamiya cockpit details were ground out of the mold so they could be replaced with other taken from an AM kit. I cnnot see Tamiya letting them get away with that. They must have agreed to let them do it so long as they changed it slightly so they can say it's not a Tamiya kit in a different box.

[Maestro]

Originally Posted by Heinz

Most likely just repackaging deal.

ICM are distributed by Italeri arent they?

Ah... My local model kit dealer told me (a few months ago) that Tamiya had bought Italeri. (I was asking him if his 1/48 Spitfire Mk. IX from Itelari was of good quality. That's where he told me Tamiya had bout Italeri.) Now, was it true or was it only an argument to sell his model kits, I don't know. I paid $29.99 CND for the model and found it well worth the price.