{Maruttoys Hakobu/Riku - Cavico Models}

This log will be a bit shorter than others you might see. I was halfway through this kit when I started to build the site up. That, and events in my personal life got in the way. So, forgive me if this isn’t as thorough as it ought to be (-_- ;).

At the time of writing, this is the only non-Kotobukiya Maruttoys kit on the market (unless you count the color variations of this kit, but they appear to be the same molds so I don’t think it counts as something seperate). It’s interesting going from one manufacturer’s kits to another. Seeing the difference in presentation, assembly, manuals, and even the molds of the runners is a small joy in and of itself.

I have a few nitpicks about the kit. If you’re the type who pre-assembles before painting, the white face piece is a pain to get out. I unfortunately chewed up the bottom of it trying to get it out again. Some of the other white body pieces were hard to get out too. It’s something to be aware of.

I appreciate that the joint pegs aren’t TPE, but they’re very tight! Especially in the wheel base. I would recommend to anyone interested in this kit to lightly sand them down before assembly. I had issues with cracking the thinner pieces because of this.

Is this a good kit? Ehh.... It’s okay. The assembly was straightforward and if you’ve built a Koto Maruttoys kit, you’ll get the gist of this one. It is of slightly lower quality than the Koto kits however. Less tough plastics, odd design choices, easy to break if you’re not careful, It’s a bit of a mess. If you're interested in a Maruttoys kit, but you aren’t intent on collecting everything, just stick to the Koto ones.