grsjax Posted Saturday at 07:39 AM #1 Posted Saturday at 07:39 AM Not complaining, just looking for an answer. Why are Woody Joe kits so expensive? The look like good kits that are well designed a d as far as I have seen accurate. However so are many other kits that are not so pricey. What am I missing? My advice and comments are always worth what you paid for them.
catopower Posted Saturday at 09:19 AM #2 Posted Saturday at 09:19 AM (edited) Not really sure. It's not a huge company, but they're producing a large number of products. Might have something to do with providing good standard of living to the employees. I don't think they sell huge volumes of kits. I used to think their kits were expensive, but with the exchange rate as it is, I feel less that way now. I've bought many of their kits in the $200-$250 range. Which kits are you looking at that you consider expensive? Edited Saturday at 09:19 AM by catopower Clare Hess He's a -> "HE" Current Builds: Kitamaebune - 18th/19th Century Japanese Coastal Trade Ship Atakebune - Japanese Sengoku Period Warship Recent Builds: Yacht Mary 1660 HMS Wolf 1754
kljang Posted Sunday at 06:50 AM #3 Posted Sunday at 06:50 AM I visited Woody Joe in Shizuoka and met the owner, Mr Tsuneki, and the manager, his daughter, Ms Yukari Gojo. I did an article on my visit for Model Boats magazine in the UK. I have included the .pdf of the article. Woody Joe is a specialist manufacturer of wooden kits (the main business is wood milling) and everything is done in house and they use only the best materials. The wood is imported from SE Asia or domestic woods from Japan (e.g., hinkoi cypress) which is expensive in Japan. The kit selection is based on what the Japanese market prefers as opposed to making what is popular elsewhere. Each kit part is picked by hand and double checked. Kit design is excellent and multimedia. Wood, paper, metal, etch….. whatever works best. Their kits are very popular in Japan and Ms. Gojo says that they cannot keep up with local demand, and they do not market directly overseas. Instead there are resellers. You can buy directly from them, cutting out the middleman. English is not their first language so patience and respect are key if buying direct or contacting them by email. I have their Nippon Maru and I-400 kit, and my wife a temple. Beautifully produced and beautiful when finished. Some of their Edo era Japanese ships were designed by modellers from The Rope Tokyo model building club. The price is a function of specialist timber costs, quality assurance and the high cost of care to ensure quality control. Cheers, Kerry 044 LAND OF THE RISING SUN edited.PDF Desertanimal, Tim Moore, JpR62 and 4 others 6 1
catopower Posted Sunday at 08:33 AM #4 Posted Sunday at 08:33 AM Kerry, Nice article! I too had the opportunity to visit Woody Joe in 2016 and met with Mr Tsuneki, Mr Arata, and Ms. Gojo. Wish I could go back and visit again. Canute and Paul Le Wol 2 Clare Hess He's a -> "HE" Current Builds: Kitamaebune - 18th/19th Century Japanese Coastal Trade Ship Atakebune - Japanese Sengoku Period Warship Recent Builds: Yacht Mary 1660 HMS Wolf 1754
Kusawa2000 Posted Sunday at 10:38 AM #5 Posted Sunday at 10:38 AM (edited) Kerry: I had the opportunity to meet Mr Tsuneki back in 2011 when I was in Japan and have since bought quite a few of the Woody Joe kits. While I have the Yamato battleship and Horyu-Ji Kondo kits waiting to be built I have completed two of their Pagoda kits -the Horyu-ji pagoda and Kofukuji Pagoda and love them. The wood is a joy to work with and while the instructions are in Japanese, the way the parts are numbered and the instructions laid out you can figure out the assembly. And I have often said to people about these kits.... if the model parts don't fit, its because you made a mistake. A total joy to complete and definitely worth the money. Thanks for passing along your article! Edited Sunday at 10:49 AM by Kusawa2000 Desertanimal, Paul Le Wol, GrandpaPhil and 6 others 8 1 Mike Draper Whitehorse, Yukon Canada Member, Nautical Research Guild
palmerit Posted Sunday at 01:37 PM #6 Posted Sunday at 01:37 PM Not that I need any more models for my stash, but who sells these? I know Amazon has some - and I would trust buying them from Amazon Japan - but unless I know the reseller on Amazon, I generally avoid, especially for something as expensive as a model kit. Specifically, is there a reseller in the US? The first site that shows up in a google search for me (in Japan) is https://www.zootoyz.jp. Canute 1 Current Builds: San Francisco Bay Scow Schooner (Midwest Products), Gunboat Philadelphia (Model Shipways), Chesapeake Bay Crabbing Skiff (Midwest Products), Zulu 'Lady Isabella' (Vanguard Models), Maine Peapod (Midwest Products) In the Queue: Oseberg (Ships of Pavel Nikiten), Endurance (Occre), Syren US Brig 1803 (Model Shipways), Duchess of Kingston (Vanguard Models) Completed Builds: Lowell Grand Banks Dory (Model Shipways), 18th-Century Merchantman Half-Hull Planking Kit (NRG), Norwegian Pram (Model Shipways), Endurance (Lego), Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack (Model Shipways), Grand Banks Dory (Midwest Products), Sherbourne 1763 (Vanguard Models), Ranger 1864 (Vanguard Models)
Paul Le Wol Posted Sunday at 03:22 PM #7 Posted Sunday at 03:22 PM 1 hour ago, palmerit said: Not that I need any more models for my stash, but who sells these? I know Amazon has some - and I would trust buying them from Amazon Japan - but unless I know the reseller on Amazon, I generally avoid, especially for something as expensive as a model kit. Specifically, is there a reseller in the US? The first site that shows up in a google search for me (in Japan) is https://www.zootoyz.jp. I recently bought a Woody Joe kit from zootoys.jp . It was a good experience. Their postal service handed it off to Canada Post who collected sales tax at the door. Came in just over a week. Painless Kusawa2000, Canute, Ryland Craze and 1 other 4 Best Regards……..Paul ‘Current Build SS Wapama - Scratch Completed Builds North Carolina Oyster Sharpie - Scratch. - Glad Tidings Model Shipways. - Nordland Boat. Billing Boats . - HM Cutter Cheerful-1806 Syren Ship Model Company.
Kusawa2000 Posted Sunday at 04:25 PM #8 Posted Sunday at 04:25 PM 2 hours ago, palmerit said: Not that I need any more models for my stash, but who sells these? I know Amazon has some - and I would trust buying them from Amazon Japan - but unless I know the reseller on Amazon, I generally avoid, especially for something as expensive as a model kit. Specifically, is there a reseller in the US? The first site that shows up in a google search for me (in Japan) is https://www.zootoyz.jp. Like Paul I bought my woody joe kits from zootoys.jp with no problems. It usually took 2 weeks to get from Japan to Canada.. and the kits are packed extremely well.. no parts banging around... Ryland Craze, Paul Le Wol, palmerit and 1 other 4 Mike Draper Whitehorse, Yukon Canada Member, Nautical Research Guild
palmerit Posted Sunday at 05:20 PM #9 Posted Sunday at 05:20 PM 1 hour ago, Paul Le Wol said: I recently bought a Woody Joe kit from zootoys.jp . 54 minutes ago, Kusawa2000 said: Like Paul I bought my woody joe kits from zootoys.jp I’m curious what you bought if you’re willing to share. Canute 1 Current Builds: San Francisco Bay Scow Schooner (Midwest Products), Gunboat Philadelphia (Model Shipways), Chesapeake Bay Crabbing Skiff (Midwest Products), Zulu 'Lady Isabella' (Vanguard Models), Maine Peapod (Midwest Products) In the Queue: Oseberg (Ships of Pavel Nikiten), Endurance (Occre), Syren US Brig 1803 (Model Shipways), Duchess of Kingston (Vanguard Models) Completed Builds: Lowell Grand Banks Dory (Model Shipways), 18th-Century Merchantman Half-Hull Planking Kit (NRG), Norwegian Pram (Model Shipways), Endurance (Lego), Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack (Model Shipways), Grand Banks Dory (Midwest Products), Sherbourne 1763 (Vanguard Models), Ranger 1864 (Vanguard Models)
Snug Harbor Johnny Posted Sunday at 05:43 PM #10 Posted Sunday at 05:43 PM I bought the Khufu Solar Barge kit a few years ago (zootoys) with no problems, but that was pre-tariff. The engineering is good, as I covered in my MSW build log, yet building skills are still needed on a boat model. The instructions are all Japanese, but with patience I was able to translate with my phone and the Google Translate app. This helped explain the many pictures of assembly steps that came with the kit, as well as a couple other build logs and my own judgement - on a few things to do differently. Canute, Paul Le Wol, palmerit and 2 others 5 Completed builds: Khufu Solar Barge - 1:72 Woody Joe Current project(s): Gorch Fock restoration 1:100; Billing Wasa (bust) - 1:100; Great Harry (bust) 1:88 ex. Sergal 1:65
Paul Le Wol Posted Sunday at 05:52 PM #11 Posted Sunday at 05:52 PM (edited) I bought a Higaki Kaisen ship. Today that would cost you about 213 USD plus shipping which to me is good. Bear in mind, I’m used to having to pay with Canadian mini bucks.😀 Edited Sunday at 06:25 PM by Paul Le Wol Spelling Canute, palmerit, Ryland Craze and 1 other 4 Best Regards……..Paul ‘Current Build SS Wapama - Scratch Completed Builds North Carolina Oyster Sharpie - Scratch. - Glad Tidings Model Shipways. - Nordland Boat. Billing Boats . - HM Cutter Cheerful-1806 Syren Ship Model Company.
catopower Posted Sunday at 06:22 PM #12 Posted Sunday at 06:22 PM (edited) I've bought way more Woody Joe kits that I care to admit, all from Kazunori Morikawa's online shop Zootoyz.jp, or his newer site https://www.japan-wooden-model-kits-zootoyz.shop. I don't really understand why he started the second online shop, I think due to some server problems he was having with the first. Anyway, prices are MUCH better than most that you'll find on Amazon or Ebay, and his service is excellent! Edited Monday at 07:12 AM by catopower ccoyle, Ryland Craze, Paul Le Wol and 2 others 5 Clare Hess He's a -> "HE" Current Builds: Kitamaebune - 18th/19th Century Japanese Coastal Trade Ship Atakebune - Japanese Sengoku Period Warship Recent Builds: Yacht Mary 1660 HMS Wolf 1754
kljang Posted Sunday at 06:36 PM #13 Posted Sunday at 06:36 PM I carried home my kits in my suitcase! I highly recommend visiting the Shizuoka Hobby Show held in May. It is huge and Woody Joe has a booth. They are the only wooden kit maker in Japan. Cheers, Kerry Ryland Craze, Paul Le Wol, Canute and 1 other 4
Kusawa2000 Posted Monday at 01:32 AM #14 Posted Monday at 01:32 AM 8 hours ago, palmerit said: I’m curious what you bought if you’re willing to share. These are the kits I have bought and are built and waiting to be built waiting to be Built.... https://www.zootoyz.jp/contents/media/temple-horyuji-kondou-t.jpg has been built https://www.zootoyz.jp/contents/media/l_pagoda-koufuku-ji_20200314141924.jpg Has been built https://www.zootoyz.jp/contents/media/l_pagoda-horyuji_20200314142647.jpg waiting to be built https://www.zootoyz.jp/contents/media/l_wj-yamato.jpg waiting to be built https://www.zootoyz.jp/contents/media/l_pagoda-yakushiji_20200314142339.jpg Paul Le Wol, palmerit and Canute 3 Mike Draper Whitehorse, Yukon Canada Member, Nautical Research Guild
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