Well maybe the Ferrari licensing saga isn’t over after all.
Kyosho surprised a lot of us with the announcement of its latest release, Ferrari Series 11. And it isn’t just a rehash of previous castings. Some of these, like the 488, are brand new.
Now while a new Ferrari Series is great news in and of itself, we don’t know if it means anything else. Most of you are probably wondering about Mattel, and if this means maybe we see the Ferrari license return to Hot Wheels. I have no idea, but I doubt it. And there is a specific reason why.
Kyosho has always been very clever in getting around Ferrari’s exclusive diecast license. When it is just with Mattel, Kyosho made their Ferraris model kits. Tiny kits, but kits nonetheless. The models come unassembled, but it did not take much to assemble them. Thus, buying a 1:64 scale Ferrari Kyosho meant you were buying a model kit and not a diecast replica. Ferrari is the only brand that Kyosho does this with. All other models come assembled. It is brilliant.
And because Series 11 is also unassembled, my assumption is Kyosho is doing the same thing, only now Maisto has the license instead of Mattel. Of course fingers are crossed that maybe something happens with the Ferrari license with Mattel (is anyone collecting Maisto Ferraris?), but I don’t think Kyosho releasing this means anything on that end.
But at least we can count on a few realistic replicas of new Ferraris coming. Look for this set at Japan Booster next month…
I recently purchased a Kyosho Original release of F40 GTE, and it was pre-assembled. What does it mean!?
They did two waves of the Kyosho originals. The first wave was unassembled. The second wave was to clear old stock. They were already manufactured before the license cut off date, but because the second wave was sold after the cut off date, they were able to sell them assembled as Hot Wheels didn't have the license anymore and the assumption is that Maisto agreed to it since they were already manufactured.
Schuco released a 458 Italia a little while ago. I was wondering how. Now with Kyosho coming out I wonder if deals with May Cheong are being made.
That is definitely the biggest news of the year !!! Can't wait !
“(is anyone collecting Maisto Ferraris?)”
I might if I could find them. I haven't even seen a new Maisto Assembly Line “kit” 1/24 scale Ferrari in years. I've been hoping to collect the Bburago 1/43's (the new collector-on-a-budget-grade ones, not the old kiddy line) but it's now the Christmas season and I still haven't seen them show up at Toys R' Us or Walmart in the Ottawa area.
Larger than 1/64 scale, I'm not that bothered by the lack of new Ferraris from Mattel, but I definitely miss getting regular scale Ferrari Hot Wheels cars, especially in premium lines like Retro Entertainment or Garage, and I'm still hoping that Mattel could work out some kind of sublicense.
I should have said, “for model Ferraris larger than 1/64 scale, I'm not too picky about diecast manufacturers”.