Hasegawa

1/48 Type 97 Motorcycle

Kit Number: 36116

Reviewed by  Bill Schwarz, IPMS# 30924

MSRP: $33.85 Review Kit Supplied by Dragon Models USA: Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com This is the new Type 97 motorcycle kit from Hasegawa in 48th scale. It is based on a type 97 Motorcycle which came from an early 30's flathead UL 1200cc design licensed from Harley Davidson to the Japanese government. The"97" was improved and totally built by the Japanese model and soldiered on well after the war in many duties. They were used by the Army, Navy and Police!!!!! The kit comes on 2 tan sprues, one clear one, and one decal set. There are two complete sets of these sprues so 2 actual motorcycles will be built in one of three ways from the kit. The plastic is typical Hasegawa and the fit is very good. I built it but did not paint it so you all can see how it looks and fits.

The only real complaints about this kit are the spokes which are bigger than the width of one's finger and the simplicity of some of the parts. I have built many real antique Harleys over the years so I am well versed on what go's where. Also with the molding technology of today,I expect there to be more small parts such as the controls for the shifter, brakes and clutch rod, etc. They are lacking sorely in this kit so if you build a diorama be prepared to do some extra work on these prominent areas. What you see after removal from the sprues took about an hour and a half to build after removing mold seam lines. The optional parts and figures are good if you intend to use them but the police siren looks way too big for me. The rest of the kit is a good start for a super detailed model which I will be doing with all the controls where they should be. I would recommend this kit for experienced modelers due to the small parts. Super detailers will have to do a fair amount of work to add the controls and other needed items. The spokes could be replaced with maybe a PE set from a WW1 airplane wheel set or you could lace your own set - there are 40 per wheel. On a scale of 5, I would give this model a 3. I'd like to thank Hasegawa for the review sample.