New Car-Nel: Very Rarely Represented Lexus + One Odd Duck

This link covers all Car-Nel on amiami, but just the first four are the new 1/64 scale cars of theirs(as of June, 2018).  Car in above pic is the one that grabs my attention, but the Subaru preorder is currently sold out.  Oh, well.  Even if I still actively collected minicars, I think I'd be on the fence with Car-Nels anyway due to my previous impression of their cars.  They were Kyosho based cars(these new ones probably are, too).

Still, this Subie looks clean & face it; Detailed Lexus in 1/64 scale are hard to find.  Pics from amiami website:

Lexus LC500h

2010 Lexus LFA

Lexus LFA Nurburgring

Subaru Impreza 22B STI

For $23-ish(before shipping), it's not cheap, but it's not crazy expensive.  Again, amiami preorder page is here.  Approach with caution I'd say.  :p

Car-Nel 64 Skylines

I had never heard of Car-Nel brand before deciding to preorder these two cars.  They weren't hyped or anything, but my expectations were fairly high, based on the price(around $20).  As someone who coveted the Kyosho hakosuka GT-R, but could never afford one from the secondary market(eBay), this one was a must-have.

At the first glance, they were pretty impressive in their super nice boxes.

Unfortunately, once out of the cases, all I could notice was awkward proportions & rough finishes.

Nissan Skyline GT-R KPGC10 Custom Version "Hakosuka"

KPGC110 "Kenmeri"

As a kid, I liked this kenmeri nickname.  I think I mainly saw the name in Japanese manga comics, and also car mags.  Origin of the name, I didn't learn until very recently.  Back when this car was new, Nissan ran a series of ads featuring fictional couple "Ken & Mary" with the Skyline.  I guess it stuck.  "Meri" is shorter & has little bit of engrish, but you can clearly see "kenmeri" from that.

I've always like the rear end of these cars, too.  Mattel/Hot Wheels made a pretty ambitious attempt at it couple years ago, and while I'd happily give them an "A" for effort, tampos often ended up all over the place.  Kyosho minicar version was clean, but it was overly simplified.  Car-Nel rear was too messy with paint spilling over here & there, and in my opinion, there is no excuse for that from a $20 car.  I can only hope for the Tomica Limited Vintage to make these guys look really bad, should they decide to make a kenmeri someday.  I dream of kenmeri police car by TLV.   *sigh*