Tamiya Incorporated (株式会社タミヤ, Kabushiki gaisha Tamiya) is a Japanese manufacturer of plastic model kits, radio controlled cars, battery and solar powered educational models, sailboat models, acrylic and enamel model paints and various modeling tools and supplies. The company was founded by Yoshio Tamiya in Shizuoka, Japan, in 1946.
Tamiya started off as a lumber mill, whose wood products division was also producing wooden models of ships and airplanes; they have since stopped the sale of architectural lumber and focused solely on model making. In the late 1950s they started manufacturing plastic models, the first one being Yamato in 1959. Besides gaining a reputation amongst hobbyist and wargaming circles for manufacturing accurate models of both military and civilian vehicles, Tamiya is also extremely well-known for inventing the Mini 4WD line of cars, whose easy-to-assemble models ensured its popularity with children in Japan and overseas; a precursor line called the Quick Racer was released by Tamiya in 1968. The Quick Racer was rear-wheel drive only and used a different motor form factor, but it had a similar mechanical layout to modern Mini 4WD cars, thus setting the template for future models.