Zoukei-mura Official Website

Update: August 22nd, 2017

We went to IPMS Nationals in Omaha!! (Part 1)

Hot days aren't stopping here in Kyoto, but how are you guys doing?
We, Zoukei-mura members went to the US for almost 10 days, from July 21st to 30th , to join the IPMS Nationals held in Omaha, Nebraska.
This time I will show you some pictures. Enjoy!

A separate group went to the "Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum" to research the F-4E! The staff of the museum was friendly and welcoming, and we received all the cooperation we could ever wish, so that we could do such a detailed research that for sure it would be impossible to do a better one next time. Please look forward to that report too!

▋Finally, IPMS Nats 2017 in Omaha, 4 hot days to go from now!! Today is the previous day before the opening of the event, but the SWS Development Team is already setting our Zoukei-mura booth up, from the morning. All day long, we've seen many familiar faces coming one after another to ZM booth to greet us.
▋Our stuff made it safe from Japan. We'll take all these long-awaited products out of these big boxes little by little. Ops! Here's Mr. Gary, showing up early for a greeting, during the setup. He's the President of GT Resin, aftermarket manufacturer specialized in F-4 models.
Needless to say we requested him some extra parts for our SWS F-4 kits as well.
▋Let's clean up all this stuff as soon as possible. Display items are the job for Naoki Kobayashi, our modeler. Dear modelers coming to Omaha, it's about to begin!!
▋Look at the SWS F-4J and S, slowly piling up. J-type is continuing selling out in many stores in Japan, but we brought a sufficient quantity of J and S types to Omaha so that they would be the main attraction of the event.
▋Hey hey, Zoukei-mura booth is starting to take shape. On the left picture is the F-4 corner. The picture in the middle shows you the full-painted diorama bases that allow you to reproduce any scene at ease. On the right, SWS Concept Notes, waiting to be picked-up by modelers.
▋Following F-4 J and S, we displayed the finished kit of the C-type and the test shot of the D-type. The day you will finally line up J, S, C and D types is finally coming. (F-4 C will be available in November at Scale ModelWorld in Telford, UK.)
▋Here, in 1/32 scale, a finished kit of the Do 335 two-seater type already displayed. Another breathtaking finished model made by the hands of Naoki Kobayashi. Down on the left, a mock-up of Hs 129, and down on the right you can see the fierce 1/32 Ki-45 displayed. On the right edge there is also the mock-up of our 1/32 Fw-190!! (Do 335 two-seater type will be available in November at Scale ModelWorld in Telford, UK.)
▋In the left picture, plenty of SWS Extra Parts aligned. The big Zoukei-mura signboard has been put on, so the setup of the booth is now complete. I can't wait for tomorrow, the opening day!! In the right picture all the way from Nevada, our American member John-san joined us this year too. This Japanese-American team will take on the IPMS Nationals.
▋The left picture shows the entire team early celebrating by eating the so famous Nebraska-style steak! In the central picture is our next day's breakfast. And, at the end of the first day, a toast at an Italian restaurant! Damn, we just eat and eat.
▋Breakfast too, this huge! American meals blow all our fatigue away. On the right, the name list of all the dealers participating in the event. Zoukei-mura is at the bottom of the list, starting with a "Z".
▋Look, look! You can see our name at the last entry of the list. At the center, Naoki Kobayashi is scrupulously examining the display items. And there!! A customer already got his F-4S! This is auspicious, isn't it? Thank you and sorry for the wait.
▋Oohh, ooooh, oooh! Happy American modelers keep coming and getting their F-4S! Thank you!! There are also some brave heart people who get the J and S types together! Once the J-type is sold out here too, it will not be possible to get it for a while.
▋Still seeing more modelers getting some F-4 kits!! Thanks everyone!! It was worth coming all the way from Japan. Your smile is what we enjoy the most. Enjoy this F-4 kit, the zenith of SWS kits, as much as you can!
▋Customers can't stop smiling thanks to our F-4S! I can feel this happiness too. Hey! In the central picture is this "nice guy" who already come to previous events. This time you appear in a picture of our booth. On the right, the well-known Philip-san, who always provides us with amazing handmade knives, and his wife. This time too, he brought us a lot of stuff.
▋Ohh, this guy is Mr. John, manufacturer of the infamous "PRO-ZETSU Scribers"! "Sorry for not being in time with the production", and the explanation for the shortage of products begins as soon as we meet. Up on the right, the man who designed the box art for our Fw 190, Mr. Dennis from Colorado!! Down on the left is Mr. Michael, the man who gave me a piece of instrumentation from the cockpit of the real F-4!! It should be the "Multi-weapon control panel" placed down in the middle of the front-seat control panel of the F-4. Thank you for this precious piece!
▋On the left is Mr. Alex from Uschi, manufacturer of wood-grain decals for our SWS 1/32 Horten kit! In the middle is "Mr. Skyraider", a man who's been winning modeling contests here and there with his 1/32 A-1 kit. On the right picture is Mr. Earl from Florida! Thank you for everything during the IPMS Orlando.
▋Oh, Mr. Randy also got an S! Our friend helped us since our first participation in the IPMS Nationals! The gentleman in the central picture is our best ever customer: he collects all the SWS kits. This time he was the first to arrive at our booth, all the way from Canada. So much stuff bought. Thank you so much!!
▋The young boy on the left picture also collected almost all our SWS! This year too, he was here for all the four days. Every day he bought something! Thank you!! In the central picture two brothers in modeling and, in front of them, a young man who's also been to Japan as a pilot of the F-18 Super Hornet. In the right picture, a gentleman with a stunning smile, with his S. Thank you!!
▋Same from here, more and more modelers getting their hands on the SWS F-4J and S kits. Everybody looks really happy!! We could verify ourselves that Phantom has a very deep meaning for American modelers, much more than we could imagine. Thanks everyone for choosing our SWS kits.
▋After a long wait, Kobayashi-san also starts his demonstration. While speaking broken English, his modeler's soul and passion work in every country. The work of Kobayashi-san monopolized the attention of everybody with his explanation in Japanese and his skillfulness with modeling tools.
▋This time, while focusing on the "The Old Man's Seven Tools", we also brought all the "Zoukei-mura Brush" typess. Made in Japan with natural materials, these "menso fude" (originally meant to put make-up on) drew a lot of attention. In the left picture is such a rare item: a compound plate made with ceramic. We sold it out. The Zoukei-mura guy in the red t-shirt is John-san from VOLKS USA, California. His nice smile helps a lot selling F-4s.
▋Looks like some trainees from a local high-school came to Zoukei-mura booth to record. I actively tried to explain the concept of our SWS kits, and I hope I've been able to communicate something, somehow, to somebody. In the central picture, Mr. Steve from IPMS Phoenix who will organize the National Convention next year, with his invitation for us to attend. Of course we will! Thank you! In the right picture you can see my demonstration of "The Old Man's Seven Tools". Everybody listened carefully to my explanations, despite my poor English. Thanks everyone!!