Rosso Corporation
Rosso Corporation (株式会社 ロッソ, Kabushiki-gaisha Rosso) was a Japanese scale model manufacturer specializing in plastic scale kits and pre-assembled model cars. Rosso only made models in 1992 - for approximately one year.
History
The Rosso Corporation was reportedly founded by the son-in-law of the owner of Fujimi Mokei in 1992.[1] The company produced scale models for a short period until a fire broke out in the company factory, destroying all dies, tooling, and molding machines. As a result, the company never recovered, never produced again, and soon fell into bankruptcy.[2] Prior to the fire, the last model to be released by the company was the 1:8 scale rendition of the Ferrari 643 Formula 1 race car. Much of the stock for this model was destroyed by the fire, thus few reached retailers. Being the company's rarest model, it often sells for about $700 US dollars or more on Internet auction sites such as eBay.
Detailed Models
Even though the company had a short production period, Rosso models are respected for their engineering and detail. Build quality is regarded as superior to that of rivals.[2] Models were typically made of Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic and notably consist of white metal parts in the chassis and suspension. [1] Opening doors and bonnet and moving windscreen wipers were also often featured.[3] Some car bodies, especially those in 1:24 and 1:43 scale, came prepainted.
Throughout the short production period, the Rosso model range consisted of Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32), Ferrari F40, Honda NSX, Ferrari 512TR, Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) and the Ferrari 642 & 643 F1 cars. These were produced in varying scales of 1:43, 1:24, 1:12 and even 1:8.[1] Most models were produced in kit form, but some, particularly the 1:43 scale cars, were also available pre-assembled.
References