1/12 Aoshima Kawasaki Zephyr

Gallery Article by Greg Kerry on Jan 6 2021

Silly Week 2021

 

      

It's not just Tamiya that makes 1/12 scale bike kits: Hasegawa do a few now but so does lesser-known manufacturer Aoshima - for some reason producing older (mostly Japanese) classics and others like this Kawasaki which was a highly competent motorcycle in its day but not really so special. I like these Aoshima kits because they are generally well-produced and somewhat more economical than comparable Tamiya models.

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I like to modify my bike kits at least a little - pretty much as riders might their real machines. This kit had its silencer and rear fender cut down; replacement "straight" handlebars fitted, and mirrors discarded. 
Otherwise, it was just given a brighter paint finish. Aviation fans might recognize the tank badge . . .

All paints were Tamiya acrylics. All cables were replaced with anything I could find that looked more in-scale. The (empty) beer can in the last picture was given to me in an IKEA store here in Nanjing, China as a sort of promotional thing. It was then full. It was good beer though, of course, I am not in any way really suggesting that beer and motorcycles should necessarily go together. Heaven forbid.

Greg Kerry

Photos and text © by Greg Kerry