Maisto In Wrecked Magazine #16
Wrecked Magazine’s latest issue was released this past Monday, and Maisto got some love in the lifestyle section. Check out the issue over at Wreckedmagazine.com
Finally — 1:24 GT-R approved
Maisto 1:24 Nissan GT-R, #31294
On April 19, 2008 we started a series of blog posts about the Maisto 1:24 GT-R promising to show you the steps from beginning to end. We have recently received approval from Nissan for the pre-production samples in the photos above. Normally, the process doesn’t take this long. So now it’s on to production.
Maisto Collector: John Brugger
We recently received some pics from John Brugger sharing his latest additions to his die-cast collection. A Nissan GT-R, Lamborghini Diablo, and Ferrari Enzo. John detailed the wheels of his Ferrari with a black sharpie, not too shabby! I’ve done that several times myself! Thanks for sharing the pics John those are some nice pieces! We read all the messages sent here to the daily dose. If we don’t reply or you don’t see your collection posted right away, don’t worry, we get pretty busy over here, but we do read every message and try our best to respond in some way.
1:24 Nissan GT-R pre-production samples
We’ve had some trouble getting the bulges on the hood to look correct but now we’re sure that we’ve got it! Here are the pre-production samples for the Need For Speed: Undercover (blue/white police car) and the Special Edition (pearl white and red) that we’ve just received from our tooling department. We’ll send them to Nissan for review. Upon their approval we’ll begin production.
This is the latest in a series of posts following the making of this die-cast model car from the beginning. Here are some of the earlier posts (in order from the beginning):
2009 Nissan GT-R: And So It Begins
2009 Nissan GT-R: It’s Tooling Model Time
2009 Nissan GT-R: (A Closer Look)
Posts of the Year
Happy New Year to all. Seems like there are about 4 people on the office today as almost of all the sales slugs are on there way to Hong Kong. I am heading there tomorrow, and will be in the factory again next Friday. Hope to get some good new factory photos for you then.
We thought it might be cool to look back on the most popular posts we have had for the last year, or at least since we started. not suprisingly, the most popular series is the one we did on the nissan gt-r – we actually had thought of this series when we started the blog, and it was really eye-opening to see what gets the most views. here is the top 10, with links:
1. 2009 Nissan GT-R: And So It Begins
2. 1:18th Scale Hummer HX Concept
3. 2010 Ford Mustang GT Conv. – One More Thing
4. 187 Models-But Not From Maisto
5. 2009 Nissan GT-R: A Closer Look
6. 2009 Nissan GT-R: Its Tooling Model Time
7. 124 Nissan GT-R: First Photos
8. Allstars Red 100: Pure Yumminess In 1:64 Scale
9. New Lambos Spotted In Showroom
10. Come Over To The Dark Custom Side
Hope you all enjoyed reading the 2008 blog as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you. there should be a TON more stuff in the coming weeks, so keep checking back. Enjoy!
The Nissan GT-R still on track…
we just got in some more samples of the much anticipated Nissan GT-R. the first one is small in stature but huge in anticipation - it is the unveiling of our 1:64 Nissan GT-R Police version from our Need For Speed Undercover line. this baby is due out in early spring, 2009.
why don’t they make cop cars like these? don’t you think we would obey the law just a little more if we knew the authority figure behind us could do 193 mph and packed 480 hp.
on a more “realistic” note, we have 2 stock 1:43 scale samples from the Bburago line – red and white. these are not fully approved yet, but we’ll share just a taste of them with you anyway. enjoy!
Another Couple of Catalog Cover Entries
back in august we were sharing with you some of the designers entries for the catalog cover for 2009. then we fell off into the abyss that was preparation for the global sales meeting and the dallas toy show. far be it from us to not complete our mission, however, so please find our second runner up, submitted by ralfie, r2b2.
r2b2 actually gave us 2 versions on this theme, with 2 different background treatments. here is his second version:
both good, strong entrants. r2b2 won the catalog cover contest 3 years running from 2005-2007, so you know he’s got game.
actually, he also has the runner up-entry. we’ll get to that in a couple of weeks, and then unveil the winning design january 1st.
2009 Nissan GT-R: More photos…
Part 3 of our ongoing story of following a new 1:24 scale model from beginning to the store shelf.
The Product Development Request form has been signed by the company president so this is now an official project (we knew it would be so we jumped the gun a bit on getting photos and specs in advance). It has been assigned an SKU (stock keeping unit = the part number) of 18-42016. Brian and his crew at our Hong Kong headquarters located a GT-R there. They took measurements and shot more photos. They will now be further analyzing the information and will be planning the number of parts, determining the various materials to be used and instructing our modelmakers in China to begin sculpting the master model.
2009 Nissan GT-R: And So It Begins…
Part 2 of our ongoing story of following a new 1:24 scale model from beginning to the store shelf.
April 18: I’ve filled out our Product Development Request (PDR) forms for each of the GT-R models that we’ll be making. These forms give the details about the scale, line name, features, etc. as well as business information such as the projected quantity to be made. The forms were signed off by the U.S. people involved and will be hand-carried to our headquarters office in Hong Kong this weekend. There, the forms will be reviewed and additional information such as pricing and the estimated retail availability date will be added. When the details are acceptable, the president of May Cheong will sign it and a copy will be sent to me to file here at the California office. BORING!!! But it’s better than having people not “being on the same page.” We won’t be telling you how much this project will cost us but it’s a lot so we want to be sure that the details are communicated in advance.
I’ve sent the photos and specs to my counterpart Brian at our Hong Kong office who will review them and advise management about the project. He’ll also let me know if he needs additional images. One interesting feature on the car are the panels under the chassis that reduce aerodynamic drag. It’s just as important to keep the air flowing smoothly underneath as it is on top. The photo also shows an enlargement of part of the exhaust system — there are some interesting shapes there that will visually set off the smooth panels surrounding it.
2009 Nissan GT-R: And So It Begins…
As a relatively affordable supercar, the new Nissan GT-R has no equal. With a near cult-like following for the past fifteen years, there is a lot of interest in the latest version. Previous GT-R cars were not sold in North America but the 2009 will be, although in very limited numbers.
Follow along with us as we show you the steps involved in making a new die-cast model. We’ll be making a 1:24 scale GT-R for our Special Edition (showroom stock) and AllStars (modified) lines.
Last year we saw the spy photos on the web and we watched and waited for the official debut at the Tokyo Motor Show. At the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, I shot some photos in anticipation of our making a model. In the first months of this year, we’ve been firming up our 2009 product choices. r h b has been dealing with the manufacturer’s license agent to work out the business details of getting permission and with getting our company’s management approval. The project was greenlighted a few days ago so now it’s up to the product development department at the Maisto office in Fontana, California to get started.
We’ll be updating the progress on this project so you’ll be able to follow along.
April 9 and 10: The license agent sent some photos by email and advised that she would be sending paint chips and CDs containing more photos. I received them and have gone through the photos, renaming them and editing out the ones with right-hand steering (ours will have left-hand steering). Nissan won’t be able to provide CAD files so our talented modelmakers will rely on photos to get all the curves and details right. For parts of the car that aren’t shown on the official photos, I’m scouring the internet to find the images that we’ll need.
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