New 1:32 Diecast Japanese Tank

donnieboy · Post by **donnieboy** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 8:11 pm

Got a catalogue the other day from The Hobby Bunker in Malden, MA (www.hobbybunker.com). They're selling a diecast 1:32 Japanese Type I Medium Tank made by Figarti, an Italian company.
It comes with three diecast crew members. That's the good news. Bad News? It costs $130. Ouch!
So sneak into your kids' rooms tonite and break open their piggybanks! I intend to commandeer my wife's beer money.
Hey, nice guys finish last!

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 11:08 pm

That is a cool tank, but it makes me appreciate 21st and FOV. Their tanks and figures look just as good, but only cost a fraction of the price!

gk5717 · Post by **gk5717** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:03 am

I am now collecting the Figarti line of figures. I got the tank and crew at OTSN and some of the figure sets. I,m waiting for the remainder to come into the States.
I also collect K&C which I rate as a ten, however Figarti ,s come in at a nine, much, much improved over their first set of figures.
They are supposed to release sets of Marines in 05, which I,m really looking forward to.
These are not for one on a tight budget, but again you get what you pay for.
Michigan Toy Soldiers is releasing their own line of metal WW2 figures. I also observed those at OTSN and they too are well worth collecting.

Mr. Football · Post by **Mr. Football** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:47 am

Correct me if I'm wrong, but 'Figarti' is not an Italian company (despite the Italian sounding name) I believe it is owned by a Japanese or Taiwanese guy.

Double G · Post by **Double G** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 3:18 pm

I saw this tank at the big OTSN show this past September; it's pretty nice, with metal tracks that move and it is painted in a one tone non camo scheme. I saw their new figure sets as well and thought they were ok, nothing spectacular. They are closer to 1/35th scale than 1/32nd scale.

I also saw pictures of the upcoming King and Country Chi Ha that is scheduled to be rolled out in 2005 as part of an Iwo Jima 60th Anniversary range; it blows away the Figarti one. It is in three tone camo and looks awesome; an Amtrac and six sets of Marines are also planned.

I received pictures of the upcoming US sets for The Battle of the Bulge range from K & C that is due to roll out in January; they have to be seen to be believed.

With all due respect to Figarti, Conte, Britains and the new figures from MTS, K & C is head and shoulders above all the other WWII metal figure companies in the marketplace at this time...................

fullyautomatic · Post by **fullyautomatic** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 5:42 pm

Yes Mr Football you are right.Figarti is a Japanese father son team who has really improved their figures since their first series release last year at OTSN.They improved the scale of their fig's this year and introduced an artillary piece and a tank along with some great poses.Everyone has their favourite line to collect and if Figarti fits your budget and appeal then so be it.I would have loved to start on the FOV line but my budget only allows so much.The people that know me from this board know that I am a K&C man to the end.Expensive line to collect but I have chosen that for myself and now I'm hooked.
Unfortunately(sorry Double G)my buying is going to be put on hold for a little while.Funds need to go into a house to hold all those K&C sets and Dragon tanks.

rickfigarti · Post by **rickfigarti** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:27 pm

Mr. Football wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but 'Figarti' is not an Italian company (despite the Italian sounding name) I believe it is owned by a Japanese or Taiwanese guy.

Hi Guys,

I'm new to the this forum but want to clarify our background. No, we're NOT Japanese or Taiwanese BUT Chinese Americans. My Dad (Founder) served in the US Army, I was born in WVA but grew up in Asia. And YES, we are not an Italian company, Figarti simply stands for "Figurine Arts Inc." We are located in Shanghai, China.

Rick
Figarti

rickfigarti · Post by **rickfigarti** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:05 pm

donnieboy wrote:Got a catalogue the other day from The Hobby Bunker in Malden, MA (www.hobbybunker.com). They're selling a diecast 1:32 Japanese Type I Medium Tank made by Figarti, an Italian company.
It comes with three diecast crew members. That's the good news. Bad News? It costs $130. Ouch!
So sneak into your kids' rooms tonite and break open their piggybanks! I intend to commandeer my wife's beer money.
Hey, nice guys finish last!

Hi,

Our Japanese Type 1 Medium tank is very different than most mass-produced products in the market. If you get a chance to hold one up close, the details should exceed those of diecast models. We use a combination of Polyresin and Metal and the tank is VERY heavy. The $130 comes with figurines but end of 2005, we discountinued the figurines and now the tank only comes with a tank commander priced at US$99. The biggest difference is that we are a small company so we don't mass-produce our products. We want to appeal to the collectors and therefore we limit our production and we don't sell everywhere. Our recent launch of the M3 Stuart "Honey" is a good example of limited production. We will only make 299 units (All numbered on the bottom) and since we don't sub-contract to other factories to make any of our products, when we say 299 units, that's all that will be available to the world.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to let me know.

Rick
Figarti

donnieboy · Post by **donnieboy** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:11 pm

Hey Figarti Rick: Good to hear from you and welcome to the Small Scale HQ board.
I should have posted a follow-up to my original post regarding the Figarti Japanese Medium Tank, but I guess I forgot. I bought two examples of this tank from Hobby Bunker. All in all, a very nice piece. Very detailed, and much better than similarly priced models from William H. Britain. My only problem is that the polyresin-metal material they are made from is too brittle. Both Figarti tanks I ordered arrived with small parts broken off (as have some of my tanks from W.H. Britain). The good folks at Hobby Bunker said they received similar complaints from other Figarti customers. Either pack your products better or make them out of the same materials 21st Century and Forces of Valor do. I have never gotten a broken model from either one of those companies, and their tanks rival or exceed yours in detail, and sell at a much lower price point ($25-$35) vs. $100 for a Figarti tank. Sorry to be blunt but that's my opinion. That said, I wish you and Figarti the best of luck.

rickfigarti · Post by **rickfigarti** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:49 pm

donnieboy wrote:Hey Figarti Rick: Good to hear from you and welcome to the Small Scale HQ board.
I should have posted a follow-up to my original post regarding the Figarti Japanese Medium Tank, but I guess I forgot. I bought two examples of this tank from Hobby Bunker. All in all, a very nice piece. Very detailed, and much better than similarly priced models from William H. Britain. My only problem is that the polyresin-metal material they are made from is too brittle. Both Figarti tanks I ordered arrived with small parts broken off (as have some of my tanks from W.H. Britain). The good folks at Hobby Bunker said they received similar complaints from other Figarti customers. Either pack your products better or make them out of the same materials 21st Century and Forces of Valor do. I have never gotten a broken model from either one of those companies, and their tanks rival or exceed yours in detail, and sell at a much lower price point ($25-$35) vs. $100 for a Figarti tank. Sorry to be blunt but that's my opinion. That said, I wish you and Figarti the best of luck.

Thank you for your comments, Yes, indeed we had some issues with the Poly but that seems to have been resolved in our manufacturing process. Also, the common complaint on damage caused by shipping has also been improved as we now have poly-foam boxes for our tanks (Similar to minichamps). As we continue to learn, we continue to improve. Thank you for your support and hope we can gain your confidence and future support in our products.

Rick
Figarti

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:22 am

It always interests me to see threads resurrected after 15 months.
While a bit expensive for my pocketbook as well I did check out the site and the tanks and figures certainly look great. An email question was answered very quickly and I am certainly well impressed by this company.

luftpanzer · Post by **luftpanzer** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:20 am

Im not big on the pacific war other then the aircraft, Id like to see figarti make some afrika korp and dersert rats along with SS and luftwafle ground troops. Being chinese would explain the nationalist chinese figures for the china theater of ww2. And you P40 warhawk looks pretty decent also.

ltcbj · Post by **ltcbj** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:25 am

Chinese American = American

OzDigger · Post by **OzDigger** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:44 am

rickfigarti wrote:
donnieboy wrote:Hey Figarti Rick: Good to hear from you and welcome to the Small Scale HQ board.
I should have posted a follow-up to my original post regarding the Figarti Japanese Medium Tank, but I guess I forgot. I bought two examples of this tank from Hobby Bunker. All in all, a very nice piece. Very detailed, and much better than similarly priced models from William H. Britain. My only problem is that the polyresin-metal material they are made from is too brittle. Both Figarti tanks I ordered arrived with small parts broken off (as have some of my tanks from W.H. Britain). The good folks at Hobby Bunker said they received similar complaints from other Figarti customers. Either pack your products better or make them out of the same materials 21st Century and Forces of Valor do. I have never gotten a broken model from either one of those companies, and their tanks rival or exceed yours in detail, and sell at a much lower price point ($25-$35) vs. $100 for a Figarti tank. Sorry to be blunt but that's my opinion. That said, I wish you and Figarti the best of luck.
Thank you for your comments, Yes, indeed we had some issues with the Poly but that seems to have been resolved in our manufacturing process. Also, the common complaint on damage caused by shipping has also been improved as we now have poly-foam boxes for our tanks (Similar to minichamps). As we continue to learn, we continue to improve. Thank you for your support and hope we can gain your confidence and future support in our products.

Rick
Figarti

Hi Rick, it's great to hear from a company owner that appreciates their customers and is quick to act to fix any problems.

I haven't seen any of your products downunder, but the tanks look great in the pics I've seen. The attention to detail, specifically in the track and suspension area is pleasing to see as some collectable products are poor in that area.

krieglok · Post by **krieglok** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:58 am

"Fra..gi..lay...It must be Italian..." Darren McGavin in Christmas story, 1988

TJ

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:23 am

Wow, I took a moment to look at some of the available Figarti products in 1:32. You could go wild with this stuff. Check out the modern Iraq items and the destroyed buildings. Very nice.

rickfigarti · Post by **rickfigarti** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:48 pm

Tinman wrote:Wow, I took a moment to look at some of the available Figarti products in 1:32. You could go wild with this stuff. Check out the modern Iraq items and the destroyed buildings. Very nice.

Thanks for looking at our products, we just released another 7 sets of Iraq related figurines. Our most recent work will show tremendous improvements on our painting. For more info, you can visit our website to find out more. Thanks again for your support.

Rick
rickfigarti
rwfigarti

rickfigarti · Post by **rickfigarti** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:51 pm

OzDigger wrote:
rickfigarti wrote: Thank you for your comments, Yes, indeed we had some issues with the Poly but that seems to have been resolved in our manufacturing process. Also, the common complaint on damage caused by shipping has also been improved as we now have poly-foam boxes for our tanks (Similar to minichamps). As we continue to learn, we continue to improve. Thank you for your support and hope we can gain your confidence and future support in our products.

Rick
Figarti
Hi Rick, it's great to hear from a company owner that appreciates their customers and is quick to act to fix any problems.

I haven't seen any of your products downunder, but the tanks look great in the pics I've seen. The attention to detail, specifically in the track and suspension area is pleasing to see as some collectable products are poor in that area.

Hi Ozdigger,

Thanks for yoru kind words. We're still looking for an Australian dealer interested in representing us down under, if you know anyone who may be interested, please let me know. Many thanks.

Rick
RickFigarti
RWFigarti

Small Scale Military Headquarters