Aoshima 1/12 Kawasaki Police 1000 CHP (SFPD Cowling type)
| KIT #: | 003404 |
| PRICE: | $63.95 SRP |
| DECALS: | One option |
| REVIEWER: | Scott Van Aken |
| NOTES: | Part of their 'Naked Bike' series |
| HISTORY |
The Kawasaki police motorcycles have been produced in four series:
All series have been equipped with windshields, saddleboxes, pursuit lights, and folding floorboards rather than footpegs. All are a single-rider version of the Universal Japanese Motorcycle design popular until the advent of specialized motorcycle designs divided the market into cruisers, sport bikes, touring bikes and other specialized applications. All series are also designed to carry radio communications equipment and are wired for electronic sirens.
All have inline, 4-cylinder, normally aspirated four-stroke, double overhead-cam engines and chain drives, and larger generating systems than similar civilian models. C- and P-series Police Specials were also equipped with tires designed to stay on the rim in case of deflation. These run-flat tires, supplied by Dunlop, were able to increase safety significantly by enabling the rider to safely slow to a stop if the tires are damaged in a high-speed pursuit. However, the very thick sidewalls on run-flat tires transmit a much greater level of road shock to the handlebars, increasing rider fatigue; and also generated excess friction/heat which resulted in above average tire wear, prompting operating agencies to migrate to standard high-performance tires. As a result, Dunlop discontinued production of the run-flats. The most popular replacement tires are provided by Metzeler.
| THE KIT |
If
you have ever seen any of Aoshima's big scale motorcycle kits built, you know
that they are quite detailed and provide sufficient bits and pieces to make a
most convincing replica. Now I'm not all that knowledgeable about motorcycles or
their kits, but I'd bet that this bike has been done in civilian style and now
we get the chance to build a California Highway Patrol version. As you can see
by the box art, this one has the cast spoked wheels. The kit also provides
pneumatic rubber tires to go on those wheels. This version is also chain driven.
A very nicely done four cylinder engine is part of
the kit and comes complete with vinyl tubing for the spark plug wires as well as
for the various brake lines. The rather intricate exhaust system with mufflers
is very nicely molded. Once the engine is built, it goes into the frame and then
one starts attaching various bits and pieces like the running boards and the
front cowling. The usual rear cargo containers are provided and while the tops
on these are separate, there is no way to pose them open. The large central one
carries the radio and it is to that piece that the
antenna is mounted. This section is the basic difference between the SFPD and
the LAPD version. Other differences are the decal sheet and a few small parts
that are 
not
used on the LAPD boxing.
Instructions are very nicely done and while they are mostly in Japanese, seem to be easy to follow. Aoshima has included several detail drawings to assist with the proper placement of some of the parts. The nicely printed decal sheet is for a single motorcycle. With most of the paint being black or white for the body parts, this task will not be as onerous as on some other motorcycle kits.
| CONCLUSIONS |
This makes for a very nice addition to their growing line of motorcycles. If you are a fan of the type, then this is very much one you should get.
| REFERENCES |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_police_motorcycles
November 2013 Thanks to
www.dragonmodelsusa.com
for the preview kit. You can get this one today at your favorite hobby shop.
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