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BuggyDad

Plaza Japan - what it's really all about

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What is it about a Plaza Japan parcel? The tiny box, the Japanese newspaper, the many little packets of Tamiya bits and bobs, including the ones that you only bought because they're half the home market price and you were already paying the postage. Above all though, it's the little rubber toy. 

This is Simon the Seal.

20230130_194153

He knows what's what. 

Show us yours... 

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I've had better, this is the only one I have a photo of for some reason 😂

5ahenqi.jpeg

Best yet are a dumper truck, a mini Mount Fuji and a Stegosaurus.

I like how they always come apart, but then why? Why do they need to come apart? Bizarre🤷🏻🤔😂

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Oh geez, I hope I’m not in for another cat.
This one snuck into our Framing shop and has just had 5 kittens under the stairs!!

A3FD01DA-8622-4399-8FD9-23C710CC5DC6.md.

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I think the erasers are a nice touch.

The more conscious party-pooper in me, however, can't escape thinking it's a waste of landfill-fodder plastic that was not asked for. Same for the cardboard thankyou card.

As long as you find a reasonable use for it, I guess they are not too bad.

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51 minutes ago, OoALEJOoO said:

can't escape thinking it's a waste of landfill-fodder plastic that was not asked for

Unfortunately ive found this is the wrong hobby for tahat at times. The number of plastic bags left over at the end of some kits is shocking. Think there was nearly 30+ on a Bruiser.

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20 minutes ago, Superluminal said:

Unfortunately ive found this is the wrong hobby for tahat at times. The number of plastic bags left over at the end of some kits is shocking. Think there was nearly 30+ on a Bruiser.

I agree with that (there was a thread on it not long ago) but I think the PJ rubber animal once in a while is pretty small in this context. 

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1 hour ago, OoALEJOoO said:

I think the erasers are a nice touch

I hadn't clocked they were erasers!😯 Mine never have English writing on the packaging that I've noticed. I can see it on @BuggyDad's pic above now though. My kids love these little presents from 'The Man in Japan'🙂

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43 minutes ago, Superluminal said:

Unfortunately ive found this is the wrong hobby for tahat at times. The number of plastic bags left over at the end of some kits is shocking. Think there was nearly 30+ on a Bruiser.

Very true! I save all plastic bags from all my Tamiya packages. I later use the bags for anything that comes up. The small bags mostly as masking material (just mask the edges, the plastic covers the center) and the larger ones as makeshift gloves for spray-painting. I even save the paper receipts and use them to test paint during cockpit detailing. The RC hobby is on-par as other hobbies as far as polluting, but we can very well minimize it.

Back on topic, I don't have any Plaza Japan freebie erasers handy for picture, I gave all of them to my wife and which she gives away to kids here and there. Over the years I've received all kinds of eraser things from animals to sweaters and indeed a Mt. Fuji. I think once I received a donut which looked quite nice. Sometimes, if the box is larger, they include a plastic uchiwa fan instead of the eraser.

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1 hour ago, Superluminal said:

Unfortunately ive found this is the wrong hobby for tahat at times. The number of plastic bags left over at the end of some kits is shocking. Think there was nearly 30+ on a Bruiser.

I agree, but I would also say that it's teaching people important skills in mending, soldering - and you are buying something literally designed to be fixed, the complete antithesis of the iPhone or such.

But yes, I'd rather little paper bags with a fold and sticker, as it does frustrate me how much waste there is!

 

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33 minutes ago, OoALEJOoO said:

Sometimes, if the box is larger, they include a plastic uchiwa fan instead of the eraser.

Ah yes, I've had a few of those as well. Luckily the wife doesn't understand the relationship between the larger size of the free gift and what is usually more money spent on the order!😂

I keep almost all the little plastic bags from kits and parts, they come in very handy when organising hardware and parts in general, in particular if I'm piecing together a build for example.

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2 hours ago, OoALEJOoO said:

I think the erasers are a nice touch.

The more conscious party-pooper in me, however, can't escape thinking it's a waste of landfill-fodder plastic that was not asked for. Same for the cardboard thankyou card.

As long as you find a reasonable use for it, I guess they are not too bad.

Considering all the other crap going around in the world, it's nice to have a kind gesture from the kind folks of Japan.  I got a fugu (blowfish) recently from them and gave it to my wife who collects miniatures.  :D   I got a hammer head shark last time and gave it to a colleague at the office.

I wish Plaza Japan carried more RC stuff.  I would much rather buy out of Japan unless locally available in the USA.  

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2 hours ago, OoALEJOoO said:

I think the erasers are a nice touch.

The more conscious party-pooper in me, however, can't escape thinking it's a waste of landfill-fodder plastic that was not asked for. Same for the cardboard thankyou card.

As long as you find a reasonable use for it, I guess they are not too bad.

Cardboard can be handy, if you want to talk landfill-fodder lets talk it over some McFastFood and Starducks.

Back on topic, how much cheaper is Plaza Japan vs Tamiyausa? Do they gouge you on shipping like RCmart?

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11 minutes ago, Kowalski86 said:

Cardboard can be handy, if you want to talk landfill-fodder lets talk it over some McFastFood and Starducks.

Back on topic, how much cheaper is Plaza Japan vs Tamiyausa? Do they gouge you on shipping like RCmart?

Plaza Japan has excellent pricing due to weak JPY, FedEx shipping is very reasonable, cheaper to buy out of PJ vs local given TowerHobbies does not have what I want.  

rcMart to me is only good for stuff I can't find inventory anywhere.   They are not friendly at all when you need customer service.. but they do ship timely and package very well.   I'll give them that.  

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I've had nothing but great experiences shopping at PJ, I'd say the prices are about 33-50% cheaper than RCmart or Tower Hobbies on average. They also stock lots of Kyosho parts which is handy for Mini-Z's and the SC6 I own.

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41 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

Plaza Japan has excellent pricing due to weak JPY, FedEx shipping is very reasonable, cheaper to buy out of PJ vs local given TowerHobbies does not have what I want. 

I might grab a cheap part just to try it, the part prices on Tamiyausa always seemed reasonable to me (barring $22 for a silver can). 

I'm tempted to buy my first proper kit here but the majority of them are out of stock, whats up with that?

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2 hours ago, Willy iine said:

Plaza Japan has excellent pricing due to weak JPY, FedEx shipping is very reasonable, cheaper to buy out of PJ vs local given TowerHobbies does not have what I want.  

rcMart to me is only good for stuff I can't find inventory anywhere.   They are not friendly at all when you need customer service.. but they do ship timely and package very well.   I'll give them that.  

I agree. Weak JPY really helps on top of already cheaper pricing. Shipping is very good as long as i dont order body kits or so.. mostly under 4000jpy which is but over $30. It takes a week or so for them to prep, but once they ship, it is faster than US domestic shipping (regular ones)

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It is an Asian thing, throw in a little freebie to bring a smile to the customers. Cost the business very little but potentially make the customers happy to return. You get the same with AT and RCM for example, keychains and stickers.

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20 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

It is an Asian thing, throw in a little freebie to bring a smile to the customers. Cost the business very little but potentially make the customers happy to return. You get the same with AT and RCM for example, keychains and stickers.

I would never generalize Japanese culture with nearby nations.   rcMart is a stark contrast to Japanese traditions and discipline when it comes to customer service.  Not even close.  

 

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Dang... I never got an eraser with my one and only Plaza order.  :(

Guess I need to order something else... ;)

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9 hours ago, Superluminal said:

Unfortunately ive found this is the wrong hobby for tahat at times. The number of plastic bags left over at the end of some kits is shocking. Think there was nearly 30+ on a Bruiser.

If you think 30+ bags with a bruiser is bad look at what your left with in a schumacher classic kit:o

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9 minutes ago, moffman said:

If you think 30+ bags with a bruiser is bad look at what your left with in a schumacher classic kit:o

Yeah ive seen some of the unboxing vids - half the weight of the posted kit is probably plastic bags

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4 hours ago, Willy iine said:

I would never generalize Japanese culture with nearby nations.   rcMart is a stark contrast to Japanese traditions and discipline when it comes to customer service.  Not even close.  

 

Never said anything about customer service, just talking about the little trinkets that far East sellers sometimes throw in with the orders. 

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