Aoshima 1/72 Japan Ground Self Defense Force 3 1/2t Fuel Tank Vehicle for Aviation
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
The Isuzu Type 73 heavy truck has been a part of the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force for decades, with the first version coming off the assembly lines in 1973. A six-wheeled 3.5-ton truck, the Type 73 has three main types. The original Early Type was operated from 1973 to 1987, when the Improved Type arrived. The Improved Type featured a larger cabin size, increased engine power, ABS, and a 5-speed manual transmission.
In 1999, the New Type arrived, and it featured a new 6-speed transmission and a new cab design. Powered by an eight-cylinder diesel engine, the Type 73 truck can carry up to 22 soldiers in the bed, and its design led to other developments such as a dump truck, a short-range SAM truck, a decontamination truck, a biological reconnaissance truck, fuel and water tank trucks, and more. Its versatility and civilian cross-over potential ensures that the Type 73 heavy truck will remain in service with the JGSDF for many years to come.
The Kit
Aoshima has been capitalizing on the commonality of the Type 73 truck, having released at least four other versions prior to this one. The first version was the standard cargo truck, released in 2012, and since then the releases have covered both the New Type and the older Early/Improved types. This latest release covers the New Type Aviation Fuel Truck and comes molded in a dark green plastic. As there are lots of common parts, there are quite a few parts here that will end up in the spares box. In fact, I think you might have all the parts to build the standard cargo truck, if for some reason the fuel truck no longer appeals to you.
Construction is fairly straightforward, but this is a detailed kit so there is a good amount of assembly. Starting with the chassis, the main frame is molded as one piece, but it gets lots of details added to it. The fuel tank is separate, as are all of the suspension pieces. The wheels have excellent hub detail on the outside, but the inner hub is very simple, with a large plug for the axle. This "nice detail on one side, nothing on the other" feature is also found on the fuel tank, which is open on the bottom. Other chassis details include separate drive shafts and a detailed exhaust system made up from four parts.
For the cab, this features a one-piece floor that has seats molded in place. On the underside of that piece, there are separate fender pieces, while the topside gets a separate dashboard, shifter, and two-piece steering wheel/column. The cab itself comes molded in one main piece with a separate back. The windscreen and side windows are separate individual pieces, and the finished cab then fits onto the chassis. Throughout this kit, the connectors for the major assemblies are large and sturdy, so there will be no worries about alignment or placement with this kit. Adding the side mirrors completes the cab assembly.
Moving on to the fuel tank assembly, this incorporates both the tank and all the various accessory bits associated with it. This starts with the one-piece rear fender assembly, over which fits a cage assembly that includes the mount for the main tank and some walkways in front of the tank. On the rear of the truck is a hose reel that can either be rolled up or built extended with the included vinyl hose. The tank itself is made up from four main parts, and once that is in place the hose reel and gauges are covered by a box with separate doors.
For colors and markings, there's not much variation here: it's green. There is a bit of variation with the cab roof, which is more of a khaki color. The photos I have seen of these vehicles show them to be very clean, so you'll want to put away your heavy weathering sets on this one. The decal sheet is good sized for a kit, and it provides all the basic markings on the sides and rear of the tank, as well as the registration plates. The latter actually make up the majority of the decal sheet as it provides individual numbers so the modeler can build any specific truck they want. For those that do not want to piece together a lot of small numbers, there are decals provided for 31-6320.
Conclusion
This is a great extension of the Aoshima Type 73 truck family, as it provides some useful crossover potential between armor modelers and aviation modelers. This truck set next to an Eagle or Phantom would make for a nice display. My thanks to Dragon Models USA for the review sample.