Nitto kit model company: a brief overview

[@clarkmarkey1498]

That song was absolutely fabulous!!!!!

[@PhotoFlight]

All of the Nitto kits I have are from the S.F.3.D. series. One exception being the "Crusher Joe" Minerva. These are outstanding kits! The molding detail (especially given the year they were made) is really well done. Fit and casting is IMHO as good as what we get from a modern kit by Round Two, Pegasus, Trumpeter or Hobby Boss. The kits usually have wire mesh, hoses, figures and decals for multiple color schemes. Wave took the SF3D torch and for some reason changed the name to Ma.K, then Hasegawa grabbed the Ma.K mantle and has greatly expanded the Maschinen Krieger (Ma. K ZBV3000) universe turning out some interesting and innovative subjects. If you're ever looking to build something "different" one of these might be what you're looking for.

[@williamporter7596]

I've gotten a number of their sci-fi/anime kits. Especially the Crusher Joe and Dioclone models. Reasonable fit and good detail with them and fun builds.

[@michaelemberley2767]

Their 1/76 armour was pretty good value. For example, the M3 half track included the parts to build the M13 anti-aircraft version as well as giving you the options of fitting the winch or the ditching roller. You also got a jeep with .50 calibre MG. They also threw in drivers and a few crew figures to round out the package. Fit and detail were pretty good as well,

[@matthewrussell9417]

Ditto! The crewmembers, jeeps and motorcycles were a big draw. I still love these kits!

[@stryderprime]

Back in the late 80s I was able pick up a ship from the crusher joe line called the Cordoba which was on of my favorite kits to build. The fang of the sun dougram kits where re-package by Revell and call those Robotech Defenders and are very hard to find now. Also they did Space Runaway Ideon kits as well.

[@markwatson3135]

The exit songs rocks! I’ll have to sing that I next time fly. We need a CD of the exit songs!

[@maxsmodels]

you can get most of them from Bob Rivers

[@jamestyler6782]

The 100 scale airliners were pretty good with excellent detail. I still have one of their TWA L-1011s. Some of their decals were off, like the united bottom stripe was black instead of blue. Loved the song. I hated looking out the window to see rivets on the wing circled with a china marker.

[@ualuuanie]

Wow! Thanks for the Nitto intro. I remember building some of their armor kits when I was in high school eons back. I didn't know they had such a wide range of subjects. During that time the hobby shop I went to just sold Nitto armor kits.

[@stachelsamurai]

listening to that song: yeah, that's me everytime I flew a Finnair MD11 to Osaka....

[@norherman]

Great airliner kits, still have many hanging from the ceiling. The DC-8's for me were super. 1/100 and 1/200 Both DC-8 builds out very nice. Bring them back anytime.

[@HootOwl513]

I built a lot of the 1/76 Nitto military vehicles in my quest to dominate the world via a small scale wargame. One perq was they gave you extra stuff in the smaller kits. A Pzkw I might also include a Kubelwagon and a BMW R75 motorcycle and sidecar, both with MG34s. They sometimes included an engine and open-or-closed hatches. Decals were flimsy, but period accurate. Some flash and misaligment issues. Vinyl tracks were flimsy and sometimes mis-shapen. Plastic was thin and brittle.The free mini tube of glue was usually solidified. Usually the instructions were in Japanese-only, but Real Men don' need no stinkin' instructions, anyway. Pictures were adequate. Their most endearing feature was that Squadron Shops was selling the Pzkw Is and IIs for $1 each at one point.

[@paintnamer6403]

I remember some of those kits at A B Charles hobby shop. That's a long time ago.

[@johnaitken7430]

These are your wheelhouse Max..yeah dude

[@paulbervid1610]

Great video and great story

[@maxsmodels]

thanks

[@grecco_buckliano]

Due to the great production value of that song, I didn't realize I was hearing a parody until the chorus. "rusty rivets on the ol' L-1011" gave quite a chuckle. Answers my Blue Tank question from earlier this summer. Thank you. I collected some of the sports car kits and did not realize they were chineez re-pops of Nitto molds. Now I know.

[@FastSports-ScaleCarGarage]

Very cool! Quite a variety of subject matter! Thanks for the great work! Keep 'em coming!

[@maxsmodels]

they did their own thing for sure

[@douglasw.7864]

The 1/144 Minicraft DC-3 kit, released in 1996 is essentially a pantographed copy of the Nitto 1/100 kit. Most modelers remember the Nitto kit in the Entex boxing with North Central Airlines decals.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Seems Entex re-boxed many of the really great Nitto airliner kits with U.S. airline markings. Great choice of song at the end! Never heard this version before and I love it!

[@briangriesbach730]

Wow, Tekkaman kits! Awesome!

[@arnoldj.rimmer812]

I like how you synced the box art for the L1011 with the song. 👍

[@davidnickels3325]

In the late 80s or early 90s, some Nitto kits were sold in the US under the Arii name. I have a motorized Gamera. Some were also sold under the Imex name, like the oil tankers. Imex seems to have imported and rebranded several ranges of lesser known Japanese kits. Nitto kits were also sold in the 70s under the Entex name. Today, many are sold under the Doyusha brand, like the big airliners and some of the oddball stuff like the Richshaw cart.

[@grimwurks]

I have a huge stack of the world war III kits, built one, it went together very well and had metal parts as well as the plastic

[@sunguar]

"Beat-up Ole Jet Liner", where did you find that gem? I can't stop laughing.

[@Specsp421]

I’ve built a couple Nitto kits, all in the form of Wave SF3D/MAK reprints. Their Gans is one of my favorites kits in the collection

[@charlesqc9272]

I have built recently the Fireball SC from Nitto/Wave with interior and figure modification was real fun to do

[@roddumouchel5956]

Big Fan of the Ma.K / SF3D series. The series came out in the mid to late eighties were some of the first multi media kits I had seen. The Wave and Hasegawa kits from this series are for the most part new toolings. Still like the old Nitto kits

[@1QU1CK1]

In the hobby shop I worked at, we sold the crap out of SF3D kits, couldn't get enough. There was also a limited edition SF3D game, it did not sell well and is super hard to locate now.

[@Banner_Bearer_of_Eternity]

Thanks Max! Great story of the manufacturer mostly known in Russia for their great 1/100 scale airliners. The reason was that they were in the same scale as Plasticart kits. Although never imported directly they apparently appeared at swap meets in 1990s.

[@janandd1]

Thanks...

[@ant4812]

I liked their 1/76 military stuff. Nitto made some things that Airfix & Matchbox didn't. The level of detail was ideal for me, I used them for wargaming pieces. When plastic models are being transported and handled all the time, no matter how carefully, the fine detail bits tend to drop off them anyhow.

[@chrislongbeard]

The Monza was a good kit. I have in the collector stash a pair of 1/12 Harley Davidsons that look nice.

[@frankberry9642]

Hi Max, I tried and failed to build a Nitto 1/76 Tiger I. The fault was a mixture of my lack of skill and experience as well as what seemed like over detailing. The axles were all separate parts, and it would only take one wheel to be too tight for the whole assembly to shift like a pantograph. It was a remarkably detailed kit and included not only an engine block, visible through the deck grills, but also the breech mechanism for the main gun. If I had realised how much pre-fitting it was going to take, I would have done a much better job, but up till then, my experience with armour was via Airfix, who had a better, if more basic approach to the running gear.

[@scottfabel7492]

I'm glad I did not try to pronounce those names. I would have really flubbed them up. Good goin'!

[@ghrey8282]

I don't think I have ever had the pleasure. Nice review

[@mrains100]

Thank you.

[@VinceWeston]

I only have one Nitto kit I'm aware of. I bought it at an estate sale for a few bucks. The box is for Crusher Joe OSTALL, but it is incomplete with parts from another Crusher Joe kit in the box.

[@mikewysko2268]

Wow, so many unusual kits. Would like to see how the Rickshaw and Waruder Suit kit look up close.

[@lrg3834]

Nitto 1/100 airliner kits are second to none, especially the 747.

[@tonyfearn2452]

Hi L R G - I built the 747 along with the 737,767 and Mac Doug DC-10 and to be honest I do have to say I wasnt at all impressed -i found them to be very crude and basic - ESPECIALLY the engines on the ,767 which basically were just to solid halfs with absoulutly no detail and also I fount the wing trailing edges to be far,far too thick! but sadly there is nothing else out there in 1/100 scale airliner injection kits so we have nothing to compere them with

[@CAPNMAC82]

My folks got me a Nitto kit, the three axle BMW mostly for the box labeled "GARMAN STUFF CAR." It was meant to be motorized, and had ugly rubber tires, a mix of white, black, and chrome parts, and some rather crude German General Staff figures. It was claimed to be 1/35, but appeared to scale circa 1/38 or so.

[@rudyvalle9022]

Are those Dougram kits the same molds used for the Revell Robotech Defenders model kits? The history of Robotech and Battletech mech designs has spawned many videos on KZbin but I’ve never seen one about the model kits.

[@maxsmodels]

I am not sure.

[@johnaitken7430]

Is Wave part of Meng? The script is very similar

[@maxsmodels]

Could be

[@farpointgamingdirect]

I have to admit, when I first saw the Nitto logo I thought, "When did Pepsi make plastic models?"

[@gustavoantonelli]

Wow, I built a single Nitto, a B6N Jill ... 1/75 scale!

[@darrellid]

Probably would get a million views if you used the box art for "Shizuka Misaki" as a clickbait thumbnail. 😉 And the rivets on that Val! Models sure have come a long ways.

[@jamesbassett2959]

Nitto was a necessity in the early 1970's to WW II diorama builders. If you wanted a 1/35 scale Hanomag Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf.A armored half-track, Nitto was your only choice at the time. The tracks were rubber, the plastic a little spongy, sparsely detailed, and not easy to work with.

[@guidor.4161]

I built the Alligator LVT(A)5 (1:35) from the 1985 re-release in the early 90's. It fit well, but wasn't great on detail (especially the drive sprockets), compared to contemporary Tamiya or Italeri. However considering the molds are from 1968, they are quire OK. Still it's a nice model, I've got it stored in my attic; been planning to retrieve my old models and stash from the attic for a couple of years now...was too busy building up more stash and building new models...LOL.

[@haroldellis9721]

Gamera is really neat, Gamera is mostly meat.

[@Anlushac11]

Gamers is a giant 🐢. The later Gamers movies are actually pretty good for a Kaiju movie, still better than Cloverfield.

[@michaelvalenzuela2528]

The 1/76 armor came with plenty of extras. Often soldiers and an extra vehicle like a a Jeep or Motorcycle. Also some tanks had some interior detail

[@Anlushac11]

There were also two OVA (Original Video Animation) episodes of Crusher Joe anime. If you ever played old Battletech, some of the stuff will look familiar.

[@ecidaho]

A number of Dougram kits were rebranded and sol by Revell under the Robotech line in the late 80s. Not sure if Nitto had a hand in that as the decals were branded with Takara as the company name.

[@lancerevell5979]

Love the exit song! Reminds me of my first flight ever, a DC-9 in Jan. 1976, Jacksonville, Fl. to San Antonio, Tx. for USAF bootcamp! The USAF really cheaped out. Looking through my records, I don't find any Nitto kits, though possibly one or two reboxed by another company. Did Otaki do any?

[@billgiltzow4464]

I have built several of their cars. The early odd scale ones are pretty poor, but two of my favorite 1/24 built ups are Nitto. On display I have the Datsun 2000 roadster which is very good, even comes with soft seat belts. Also the 1/24 Toyota S800. This is close to superb. I have seen the Honda S600, and while quite good, the more recent Tamiya release is far better.

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

Ferrari 308!!!! Detomaso Pantera!!! Concord!!!!!! BoeingSST!!!!! Would love to have these...

[@geraldstephens8791]

I am pretty sure Nitto marketed some toy grade rc cars sold by Walmart. I think 1987 or so.

[@flyswryan]

As an ex-airline mechanic, I can appreciate the closing ditty...hell, I laughed so hard, I farted!

[@Flyinghigh3597]

The MM series 1/76 AFV has full interior! I got German panzer such as Panther,King Tiger with fully interior of turret,engines,tranmissions,ammos...etc. Amazing of its detail although not very accurate!

[@tgmccoy1556]

Tim McCoy wife's account. Beat up old Airliner - heck prime for being turned into an Airtanker...😁

[@johnwilliams7102]

dang - my collection does not include a rickshaw

[@chrispacer4231]

Is there a test on this at the end of the week... the JAPANESE sure do like their monsters and anime... never did any of their kits...DEANS HOBBY SHOP IN OWOSSO MICHIGAN has some listed in their catalog if anyone is looking... I’ll watch it again... don’t want to flunk the test later this week... how can I get extra credit... I know, I’ll build a model.... I ENJOY THESE EPISODES... thanks MAXMODELS

[@はもき]

懐かしい‼️子供の頃 お小遣いで買えましたが、難易度は、高かったです。

[@statoilbensin2190]

Didn't Tamiya buy up Nitto?

[@SCSuperheavy114]

A wing folding Kate....if only in 1/48 or 1/32 . Tamiya you listening??

[@tonyfearn2452]

over the years ,i,ve built 4 of Nitto,s 1/100 scale airliner kits ( were these same kits later released by Doyusha ?? ) - the Boeing 737,747,.767 and the Mac Doug DC-10 and I do have to say I found them all to be very ,very crude ,poor quality and can only be described as a range of " basic level of detail and shape " kits at best ! quite a lot of work was needed on all of them ( ESPECIALLY on the engines of the Boeing 767 ! ) - I also found the wing trailing edges to be far,far to thick resulting in many hours spent rubbing them on abrasive sheets to thin them out !- I doubt very much if they are up to the same level of detail and standard as military aircraft kits from the same period BUT as I,m a airliner fanatic ,i have to "make- do " as there are sadly no other injection kits available in this larger scale !

[@oggarage9388]

🎶🎶🤪🤩🤪🎶🎶

[@thebusybuilder4071]

Maschinen Kreiger had been around since 1983 as SF3D. Wave and Hasegawa now own the molds and rights and are still making the models

[@mladtheimpaler]

Yup, they don't at all hold up to the modern Wave kits, but are still perfectly buildable.