Maschinen Krieger • A Resource Guide

Maschinen Krieger, formerly known as SF3D, is the brainchild of Kow Yokoyama, a prominent and influential Graphic Designer in Japan. First appearing in the early to mid eighties in the pages of Hobby Japan Magazine, SF3D became legend. The model kits produced by Nitto were the first truly multimedia model kits, and to this day are still the best injection-plastic Sci-Fi kits manufactured. Each model included (depending on the design) wires, springs, photo-etched brass, lights, screens, rubber tubing, and lead weights, in addition to the crisply detailed plastic sprues. Due to a legal disagreement, SF3D disappeared a few years later.

In the late '90's, Nitto reissued the kits under the new name "Maschinen Krieger ZBV 3000", and with the reinvigoration of Mr. Yokoyama's new designs, is enjoying a kind of renaissance. Nitto has partnered with Model Kasten to produce highly sought after resin and plastic hybrid kits that are simply the most fantastic model kits I have ever laid eyes upon. Now, Wave is issuing updated kits as well, reissuing now out of production MoKa kits. Each resin piece is flawless, with very little cleanup required.

I hope this will be a useful resource for new and old MaK fans alike, and as always, I welcome any corrections or missing information. I'm always on the lookout for a new photo! I have been building, creating original designs, and modifying kits since late 1999, and recently started to try to bridge the gap between the Japanese fans and those of us stranded everywhere else, with the IHYS Club.