Japanese wooden boat kits

[grsjax]

Are there any manufactures of wooden boat kits in Japan other than Woody Joe?

[catopower]

grsjax,  I've been scouring the Internet for more than a year for Japanese wooden boat/ship model kits. If you check my Tosa Wasen build, that kit is the only non-Woody Joe wooden boat kit that I'm aware of from Japan.

 

Clare

[grsjax]

Interesting that there seem to be a large number of plastic kit manufactures in Japan but only one wooden kit maker.  Guess the market in Japan for wooden boat kits must be small.

[mtaylor]

The Japanese modelers do build in wood.  

 

Here's the homepage of "The Rope"... Japan's biggest ship model club: http://www.theropetokyo.org/english/activities/

 

Here's one set from an MSW member who visited:  http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/1710-38th-the-rope-exhibition-tokyo-japan/

[grsjax]

Found a kit that isn't by Woody Joe.  I found it on eBay. It looks like an older kit, the price tag says 4500Yen which seems pretty cheap by todays standards.  A friend that knows Japanese translated some of the kanji on the box.  It is an "Edo Period Yakatabune"  made by a company called Miyazawa.  I did a google search but could only find a company that makes plastic action figures in Japan by that name.  Anyone know anything about this manufacture?

Edited January 17, 2016 by grsjax

[grsjax]

Found a bit more info about the Miyazawa model company.  They made model power boats in the '50s and '60s.  They show up on eBay occasionally.