Aoshima Model Kits

What Aoshima makes

Aoshima makes plastic model kits, and its own English website lists more: die-cast cars, radio control models, figures and other products, sold under the AOSHIMA and SKYNET names. The copyright line on the site reads Aoshima Bunka Kyozai Co., Ltd.

The site names several series, including INITIAL-D, Snap Car, SNAP KIT, MOVIE MECHA and a Cyber Formula line. The scales it shows in its product titles include 1/12 for motorcycles, 1/24 for cars, 1/43 and 1/700 for ships.

On Amazon US, our data holds 77 live Aoshima kits, filed like this:

• Car kits: 34, nearly all 1/24
• Ship kits: 25, mostly 1/700
• Military kits: 9, mostly 1/72 Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force vehicles
• Aircraft kits: 7 by our filing, including a 1/144 transport and a 1/48 helicopter
• Snap kits: 2, both 1/32

Five more Aoshima listings in our data were unavailable at the last check and aren't in the grid.

Aoshima model kits by scale

Aoshima's lineup is easiest to read by scale, because the scale tells you the shelf. A 1/24 car is about the size of a sandwich. A 1/700 destroyer fits in your palm. A 1/72 military truck lands between them.

Here's the split for the kits that state a scale, by title or by data:

• 1/24: 29 car kits
• 1/700: 25 ship kits, five of them aircraft carriers
• 1/72: 7 military kits
• 1/35, 1/12, 1/32: two or three kits each
• 1/350, 1/144, 1/60, 1/48: one kit each

That spread is wide, but the core is two scales. If you build one Aoshima car and one Aoshima ship, you'll have met most of the catalog.

The car kits: 1/24 Japanese cars

Most Aoshima car kits are Japanese cars from the 1970s to the 2000s, at 1/24. The grid holds coupes, sedans, wagons, a supercar and a few tuned cars. A few examples from the listings:

• Nissan R35 GT-R Pure Edition '14, 1/24
• Nissan DR30 Skyline RS Aero Custom '83, 1/24
• Mazda Mazdaspeed FD3S RX-7 A Spec GT C-99, 1/24
• Nissan F50 CIMA President '03, 1/24
• Hippo Sleek BG5 Legacy Touring Wagon '93, 1/24, a station wagon, paint and glue required
• BLMC G/HM4 MG-B MK-2 '68, 1/24, one of the few non-Japanese cars
• Zonda F '05 Pagani, 1/24

There are also lines with their own names in the title. The More Grachan No.10 Kenmari GT-R is a 1/24 custom car, paint and glue required. The Tune Car No. 10 Vertex JZX100 Chaser Tourer V 1998 doesn't state a scale in our data. Read the box image for that one.

Initial D and TV cars

Seven Aoshima car kits in our data carry the Initial D name in the listing, all 1/24. They include several AE86 versions, FC3S and FD3S RX-7s and an AE85 Levin. One more kit carries the Knight Rider name: the Knight 2000 K.I.T.T. (Season 3 Ver.) at 1/24. We list these by the line names the listings use and leave the stories to the people who watched them.

If you plan a row of these, note the near-duplicates. Two AE86 Trueno listings and two FC3S listings appear in the grid with different version names in the titles. Read the full title before you order, or you may end up with a pair.

Motorcycles at 1/12

The Bike #36 Honda CB400N Hawk-III '78 is a 1/12 motorcycle kit. Our data lists two 1/12 motorcycle kits for Aoshima. At 1/12, a motorcycle model has a lot of small parts close together: spokes, cables, a chain. It's a different evening from a 1/24 car body.

The ship kits: 1/700 and a few big ones

Ships are Aoshima's second-largest group on Amazon US. Most are 1/700.

At 1/700, a battleship becomes a model you can hold in one hand, and the railings become something you handle with tweezers. The fine work is in the deck fittings, the guns and the masts. The hull goes together fast. The rest does not. That's where the evening goes.

Some of the 1/700 ships in the grid:

• IJN Aircraft Carrier Hiryu 1942 Midway
• Aircraft Carriers Soryu, Amagi and Chitose
• Water Line German Navy Battleship Bismarck
• Japanese Battleship Fuso 1944
• JMSDF Murasame and JMSDF Defense Ship Fuyuzuki
• Oil Supply Ships Hayasui and Oumi

Five of the 1/700 listings are aircraft carriers: two Hiryu kits, one of them marked 1942 Midway, plus Soryu, Amagi and Chitose.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships are modern subjects. The oil supply ships are a nice change from warships. They carry fuel for the fleet, and on a shelf they're the long, low hulls that make the destroyers look busy.

Larger ship kits

A few Aoshima ships go bigger or older:

• IJN Battle Ship Kirishima Updated Edition, 1/350
• 1/60 Worldship No. 2 China Junk 1880, a sailing ship
• Greek Warship 100BC Historical Sailing Ship
• Arpeggio of Blue Steel No.02 Heavy Cruiser Takao, a licensed line named as on the listing

The Greek warship from 100 BC and the 1/700 oil supply ships span about 2,100 years of ship design. I like a table that covers that much ground without leaving the bench.

Military kits: 1/72 Japanese trucks and vehicles

Aoshima's military kits in our data are mostly 1/72 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force vehicles. They're trucks and support vehicles more than tanks:

• No.11 3 1/2t Armor Truck
• No.12 Type-73 Heavy-duty Truck 3t Half
• No.18 Type 12 Ground Anti-Ship Guide
• No.19 Heavy Wheel Recovery Car
• No.21 Amphibious Car (AAVP7A1 RAM/RS), ages 14+
• No.SP Type 73 Semi-trailer

There's also a 1/35 Military No.1 3 1/2t Truck (SKW-477), for a builder who wants the same subject at a bigger size.

Theo saw the list and had a teacher's view of it. "Seventy-two is a friendly number. It divides by 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 12. If you're going to shrink a truck, shrink it by something that cooperates."

One listing is not a vehicle at all: the 1/72 General Purpose Detail Up Parts Set. It's a set of extra detail parts for other 1/72 kits. A kit for your kits. I respect a box that admits the first box wasn't the whole job.

Aircraft and the odd ones out

Aoshima's three aircraft listings are a mixed group. The Aircraft Series No.3 JASDF C-2 Military Transport is 1/144. The Airwolf Helicopter is 1/48.

The Variable Fighter Girls Macross Delta VF-25S Messiah is a licensed character kit, named as the listing names it. Our data doesn't state its scale.

Snap kits

Two Aoshima listings are filed as snap kits, both 1/32. Aoshima's site names a Snap Car series and a SNAP KIT line. Snap kits press together without glue. In our data, one snap listing says it needs no paint or glue because the parts are pre-colored.

If you're buying for a younger builder, a snap kit is the place to look first. But check the age on the listing. Most Aoshima listings don't state one, and the one military kit that does says 14+.

How to pick within Aoshima

Use three questions:

1. Car or ship? Cars are 1/24 and about sandwich-sized. Ships are 1/700 and palm-sized with very fine parts.
2. Glue or snap? Most kits need cement and paint. Look for snap in the title if you want neither.
3. Is the scale in the title? Several Aoshima listings in our data don't state a scale. Look at the box image. If you can't find it, skip that listing for now.

For a first Aoshima kit, a 1/24 car is the steadier choice. Bigger parts, fewer tweezers. The 1/700 ships reward a builder who already owns a magnifier and likes small parts. A 1/350 kit like the Kirishima is a long project for anyone.

What the listings often leave out

Most Aoshima listings in our data don't state a piece count, an age label or a skill level. That's not a problem with the kits. It's a gap in what the listings say. The box photos usually show the runners, and the runners tell you more than any number. Count the sprues in the photo. More sprues, more evenings.

Tools and paint for Aoshima kits

Tamiya's modeling guide lists the basic kit tools: side cutters to free parts from the runner, a hobby knife, files and sanding sponges, plastic cement and paint. For 1/700 ships, add fine tweezers and a magnifier. For 1/24 cars, add masking tape for the windows and a way to hold the body while you paint it.

Decals are the printed markings you slide onto the paint. Five Aoshima listings in our data say decals are included. On the rest, the listing doesn't say.

Safety at the bench

Work with good ventilation and follow the paint or cement maker's label for masks and gloves. The U.S. EPA lists hobby products among indoor sources of solvent fumes and advises plenty of fresh air. Cut away from your body on a cutting mat, and keep blades away from kids.

Who should skip Aoshima for now

If you want a kit with the age, piece count and skill level printed right on the listing, most Aoshima listings won't give you that. Look at a maker whose listings state more, or read the box photos closely.

If your next model has to look finished without paint, skip the glue kits and look only at the snap listings. And if your shelf is already full of 1/25 American cars, an Aoshima 1/24 car will sit about 4% larger than its neighbors. Some people like the mix. Some people notice it every time they walk past.

Related makers

If you like Aoshima's mix of Japanese cars and 1/700 ships, Fujimi and Hasegawa list similar subjects at the same scales. The plastic model car kits page compares car kits from every maker we track.

Choose the parking lot or the harbor first. Aoshima has stocked both.