Aoshima 1/12 Kawasaki 1000 Police Kit First Look
By Yvonne Carpenter
| Date of Review | December 2013 | Manufacturer | Aoshima |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Kawasaki 1000 Police | Scale | 1/12 |
| Kit Number | 03312 | Primary Media | Styrene |
| Pros | Excellent detail, very little clean-up necessary. | Cons | Connection points for chromed parts will be hard to clean up without ruining the chrome. |
| Skill Level | Intermediate | MSRP (USD) | $54.99 |
First Look
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Aoshima has included a short history on the box side explaining the origins of the Kawasaki 1000 Police bike. Although the English is not perfect, it is not hard to understand what is being shared. I also did a little research to find out what variant(s) of the Police bike this kit represents. In a nutshell, in 1975 California Highway Patrol (CHP) adopted the Kawasaki 900 as their standard Police motorcycle modified through the addition of a shop-installed kit. In 1976 it was available factory-built as a police motorcycle. The bike evolved to 1000 cc to compete with the Harley Davidson's and Moto Guzzi for a place in the Police force. The most common model, the KZ1000P Police, was used from 1982 to 2005 (known as the KZP). This was the bike of choice of the CHP until 2005 when they switched to BMW bikes (fyi, as of 2013, CHP will return to Harley Davidson bikes).
The Kawasaki 1000 Police bike was equipped with a windshield (as depicted in this kit) or a half fairing/cowling. Aoshima makes two versions of the Kawasaki 1000 Police bike San Francisco kit. This review is of the "Windshield Type" version (Kit # 003312). The "Cowling Type" version is Kit # 003404 if you are interested.
Opening the box we find the usual stash of sprues, a very small sheet of water slide decals, rubber tires, a piece of plastic hose and metal bolts.
There are a lot of sprues in this kit – several parts are not used and are marked in the kit instructions so you do not have to wonder if you forgot to attach a part! Some of the sprues are from the Kawasaki ZII kit, some are from the CHP LA Police bike kit and some sprues are hard to say where they came from as they have no denomination and are only a portion of a larger sprue. What matters though is that combining them all builds a very slick Kawasaki 1000 Police bike!
There are 2 full chrome sprues that make up the exhausts and engine protectors plus miscellaneous attachments like the mirrors stems and blinkers. The chrome quality is very good, but unfortunately with all the touch ups to clean up tabs, connections points, and the fact that the exhausts came in two halves and need to be glued, if seeing all those repairs does not bother you, it will save a LOT of time (and $) on the build. If you are the kind that likes consistency, you will likely want to strip all the chrome and re-chrome it after cleaning everything and gluing the exhausts.
The clear parts are very clean. You get a large and a small sprue – the small sprue is from the Kawasaki ZII kit for blinkers and some of the reflectors. All other lenses come from the new larger clear sprue specific to the Police bike. This is where the large windshield is located – take care not to scratch it as it is VERY prominent and an eye catcher!
The engine also comes from the ZII kit – there is one part (the top of the cylinder head) that is in a separate mini sprue – it is part #8 so it makes me believe it was cut off from a larger sprue of another kit. This extra part and the equivalent one from the ZII sprue are very similar so I might only find out why they added this replacement head cover when I actually build the kit! Swing arm, chain and chain guard come from the ZII engine sprue as well and are a very straight forward build.
The frame and tank are molded in two halves and both need gluing and seams puttied and sanded – both are a Kawasaki ZII kit donation.
Plastic piping and bolts are provided and are quite adequate. Included rubber tires are very well made and seem to be true to size and pattern.
The bike builds as a standard bike until the last few steps where the Police theme kicks in and you attach all the Police specific parts like the side and rear boxes, extra lights, reflectors, sirens and the large windshield.
If you enjoy Police themed vehicles or are just looking for something different to build, I highly recommend this kit. With some detail painting and careful installation of the clear parts this will be an eye catcher on the display case.
My sincere thanks to DML for this review sample!