SF3D was a line created by Hiroshi Yokoyama in the pages of Hobby Japan between 1982 and 1985. My first issue of Hobby Japan was in 1986 where I saw ads for the kits and shortly after I discovered my first Nitto kit the 1/20 P.K.A.W. (K) Kraus. As with any toy, action figure,l model my interest always revolved around the ability of the figure to articulate limbs and integrate with a toyline. In this case GIJoe. Joes were 3 and 3/4 inches or 1/18 scaled at the time and I felt they were a close fit with the Nitto Kits.
At the time I was also heavily into military modelling making tanks from Tamiya and heavily into Bandai’s Gundam kits. Nitto’s kits were perfect for me as they satisfied the need to have articulated figures, military themes and japanese model kits. My interest in the line was short lived due to the availability of the kits in the US.
The kits were fantastic and I recommend any military modeler to pick them up, the moving parts, rubber hoses, rubber joint covers and details are all a joy to built and play with. The kits are always being released again and you can find them through retailers like Hobby Japan.
When ThreeA Toys announced they would be producing Ma.K kits I had a toygasm as I see this a perfect fit for the talents and style of ThreeA toys. Already with WWRp we can see the gritty WWI/WWII style in ThreeA’s designs and the concept and style of Ma. K is a perfect fit.
My mind races with the idea of a 1/12 (6 inch) scale armored fire team roaming my shelves. What better foe for a Large Martin than a platoon of armored suits?
I recommend the following sites for further reading:
http://www.q-net.net.au/~nipngnwm/index.html
http://www.maschinenkrueger.com/joomla/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maschinen_Krieger_ZbV_3000
