Hasegawa 1/24 1971 BMW 2002 tii Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

BMW started production of the 02 series in 1966 to serve as their entry-level compact car. The first version was the 1600-2 (later redesignated as 1602) which translated to a 1.6 liter two-door model. Gradual improvements were introduced in subsequent years and in 1971, the 2002 (2.0 liter two-door) touring model was introduced with a fuel-injected engine rated at 130 horsepower which became the 2002 tii.

Hasegawa has released this new tool kit of a classic car that oddly hasn't been produced in styrene until now. Designed in a curbside format (no details under the hood), this beauty is molded in multicolor styrene and is presented as: body shell and two parts trees molded in white, four parts trees molded in gray (duplicates not shown), one tree molded in black, one tree molded in clear, one tree of chromed parts, and one set of rubber (vinyl) tires. Among the features and options in this kit:

• Nicely detailed interior
• Choice of black or wood grain background instrument cluster (decals)
• Nice suspension and brake details
• Interesting approach to mold/trim details (see text)

Hasegawa is using their state-of-the-art engineering and molding technology to change up the way body trim is applied. For example, the bumpers are chrome, but the protective rubber strips that surround the bumper and lower body panels are separately molded and can be applied after the rest of the paint work/assembly is completed. The chrome strips that surround the mid-body are also separately molded so you don't have the task of painting them before/after applying the body base color. Another innovation worth noting is the use of decals to replicate the black/silver trim around the windows. You can paint them if you wish, but Hasegawa provides an interesting alternative.

According to the kit instructions, that nicely detailed interior is all-black and they provide a mix formula using Gunze paints to replicate the soft orange color depicted on the box art. If you opt to build this kit as depicted, there are good photos online to show you where other colors/details appear to make that interior stand out more. These online resources also provide alternative color schemes for the exterior and interior as well as custom combinations for recently restored examples.

This is a nice kit of this overlooked subject and kudos to Hasegawa for filling the void for the car modeling community.

My sincere thanks to Hasegawa USA for this review sample!