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Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 8/9/2006
Posts: 795
Location: New South Wales, Australia
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This past weekend I visited Akihabara in Tokyo, and stopped off at KenKraft to speak with the owner Ken-ichi Takaishi, or 'Ken' as he prefers to be called. I have to tell ya, I spent about two hours in his shop and was treated like the most valued customer in the world. He really knows how to take care of you, and the info and insight I got from him was amazing. I know he likes to log-on to DHS and take a look, so Ken if you happen to read this, thank you so much for an amazing visit to your shop!!! Below are a few pics of my visit, including seeing the new Hitachi Zaxis 1000K, due in around October according to Ken, and some pics of the 1/50 Kobelco SK3500D. There is also a pic of me with Ken (wearing glasses) and a pic of me with the modeler who built the SK3500D, Mr Okabe. The SK3500D is the most amazing piece I have ever seen. It is truly artwork. If I had a spare $14,000 I would be buying one. I just have to win the Lotto now. I will be making another thread with pics of the SK3500D Cheers, Craig Oh, just a little P.S. to this, Ken said the Kyosho Komatsu PC1250LC R/C is scheduled for October this year.            
 The Caucasianaasian
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Location: Maryland
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That looks like a wonderful place! I love that Kobelco! Will anyone lone me a spare 14k??   Mark
Mark L. It's what you learn after you know it all that counts
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 2/26/2008
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Location: Virginia
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Fantastic! Thank you for sharing  -Josh
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Location: AUSTRALIA
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You lucky,lucky,lucky,lucky man.
Cheers from down under Mick
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Location: Shetland
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That shop looks like a little treasure store!. What a great thread 
Scania V8. The best sounding truck in the world.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 12/8/2005
Posts: 708
Location: Germany
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Great pics and thanks for sharing! I wish I had a free choice in this shop.  Though the Kobelco looks like a great model it would look even better in Nabekai colours. Jan
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 6/7/2008
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Location: Waterford, Ireland
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Great pics, i wish there was a decent modelshop near me that i could go in and spend hours browsing around!
Noel.
Noel.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Awesome pictures, cheers for sharing Craig. So If I'm following you right, this is the Zaxis1000K being produced by WSI? And what is the story behind the SK3500 model? I though this was going into production but selling at $14,000, I assume its a one off? They would get some serious interest if they cast that thing! It looks spectacular! Rowan.
1:25th scale CAT 375L excavator
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 10/29/2006
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Location: Toronto
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Hi caucasianaasian,
Awesome pictures man, i decided to visit Ken in June too, but due to the H1N1~ So cancelled....
Hope i will be there soon later this year to see that SK3500^^
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Rank: Advanced Member
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RowanH wrote:Awesome pictures, cheers for sharing Craig. So If I'm following you right, this is the Zaxis1000K being produced by WSI? No,WSI will make a Zaxis 870.The Zaxis 1000 will be produced by NZG and will be released mid/end september.It is developed by KenKraft. The Kobelco is handmade from brass and is a limited run of 10 pieces only. Jan
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 7/24/2007
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Location: Germany
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Oh, what a shop!!! See all the treasures standing around: Bucyrus 8750, CCM D11R 1/24 and all those the ulimate demo-machines.
Does every SK3500 cost $14,000 or was it just that one?
Leo
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Location: New South Wales, Australia
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Thanks for the comments guys. It was a great day, and Ken really took care of me and my mate while we were there. Yep, the 1000K is being made by NZG. The working prototype I saw looked really awesome!!! Rowan & Leo-cat, the SK3500D as Jan said is being produced in a limited run of ten. Eight of them have already been sold at $14K each....Wow! Mr Okabe is a former engineer at Komatsu, but is now a full time modeler!!! What a job!! Cheers guys, Craig
The Caucasianaasian
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Sweet! Kinda cool how equipment is something people from other places can talk about and stuff.
Real men drive diesels!
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Joined: 12/19/2006
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Great photos of the Zaxis! Those are the models that I am looking forward to the most this year. They look great. Did you notice if the HRD boom sections can be removed to shorten the overall length? Ken looks good too! I had the chance to visit his awsome shop back in 2006 and you are right about the hospitality. He treated me like a king and was way too generous with all the "gifts" he gave out. I think of that visit often and hope to return again one day. Ken is one very nice guy. For those of you who have not been to Ken Kraft, like Craig said, you can spend hours looking around. Here are a few photos from his fantastic shop.     - Chris 
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Location: New South Wales, Australia
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Hey Chris, He certainly is a really nice bloke. His shop is small, but packed with goodies. Enough to keep me going for a couple of hours. I live an hour and forty-five minutes away by bullet train, so I don't really have an excuse for not being there more often. Great place! From what I could see, the sections of the Hitachi's high-reach boom couldn't be taken apart. Having said that, it was clear that this one is a prototype and has some issues with fit and finish. The way the sections are hooked in, it is possible that the final model may have the option of breaking the boom down. I hope so! Cheers, Craig
The Caucasianaasian
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Great Info and Pictures Craig, So whats in the bag!
Heavy Cranes
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Thanks Craig. It would be a nice touch! - Chris
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Joined: 10/12/2005
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Location: northern ireland
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fantastic, drooling !!. anyway, ive been waiting anticipating the koyosho pc1250 for months now, the date keeps changing for release, is this the definate date do you know? thanks for info!!. ps, did he have his remote controlled first gear d375 in the shop? it was a work of art!
MACHINE PLAY TIME !! CLICKY BELOW \/ \/ \/ http://www.youtube.com/user/allistairc123?gl=GB&hl=en-GB
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Rank: Advanced Member
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He seemed to be confident of that date...but having said that I once asked a Kyosho rep and he told me October 2008...fingers crossed Ken's right. I have seen his R/C dozer before, but he didn't have it this time. Amazing little machine. Jack, I had a 385CL in the bag. I finally decided to get my act together and do a 345BL. Hopefully it turns out ok. I also had one of his custom shears for a 1/43 Kobelco. Cheers, Craig
The Caucasianaasian
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Location: Bavaria, Germany
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On NZG's Forum is a German posting that the Zaxis 1000 will be available in December. Reason for the delay is mostly Hitachi (they had a lost of 53 Mio US$ in the 2nd quarter !!)
so I'm sure that we will not see the model in the next weeks.
Regarding PC1250-8 from Kyosho...to my knowledge the project is stopped because of to much problems with the D575A-3 SD. But I have no actual informations now about it.
little more is always possible
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