Clic Loc.
Tamiya’s cleverly misspelt name for snap-fit kits with pre-coloured bodywork. And some dinosaurs.
First was the announcement of the new Clic Loc VW Type 2 Bus in two colour ways and now a Carrera 2.7 RS in red or white. So, is this the future of Tamiya car kits or strictly a new entry point?
When Tamiya, of all model companies, starts down the slippery slope of further simplifying its already [for the most part] simplistic automotive kit range, I take issue. Tamiya is distinct from most model companies because it’s foremost a toy manufacturer, so when I see what I think of as a toy maker’s mindset creeping this far into our hobby, I can’t help feeling a tad pessimistic about where it may lead.
And with Tamiya releasing so few new car kits each year, the resource expended on the Clic Loc range wasn’t spent on producing anything new for the rest of the car modelling market.
Now, before you write me off as a kit snob, even though I am a kit snob, I’ll freely admit that I don’t mind the principle of a snap-fit kit as long as it befits its subject and market, and isn’t in a zero-sum game.
The amusingly named Fukuisaurus (“f*** you, he saw us” — I don’t remember that line in Jurassic Park) was also announced and that’s my idea of a junior nerd’s starter kit or holiday project. That market is what snap-fit was intended for, no?
Tamiya’s product shots and instruction manual of the VW show that it’s all a bit too ‘low-res’ and simplified to be an everyman kit which first-timers can click together and everyone else can detail up (maybe even with a Tamiya Detail Up set?). We can't even pose the doors open. There was no miraculous levelling up of snap-fit fidelity to take it beyond the toy-model level, which is a disappointment for this modeller who happens to like 2.7 Carreras and VW campers.
My request to Tamiya would be that it also makes conventional full-detail kits of these two iconic classics, but that won’t happen.
While some manufacturers continue to pull clear of Tamiya with ever greater fidelity, it seems like the Japanese giant may actually be taking something of a backward step here. If we just need to snip off, click together, and pop the body on, where’s the challenge? With zero challenge comes zero reward.
But I know that I’m not representative of Tamiya’s target market for almost any of its kits, never mind Clic Loc. And if they sell well, my viewpoint won’t matter a jot to anyone in Shizuoka.
Add your comments