brand AOSHIMA / 1/72 tanks... dragon armor like

[cheesecake]

Do you know this brand AOSHIMA who make 1/72 tanks ?

i could see some photo on this french site :
http://www.store4war.com/public/liste.p ... r&cat=1144


does somebody have some ones ?
if yes, can he say to us what he thinks and if he could compare them with the dragon armor for example.

thanks.

[Gunner]

Aoshima is a Japanese plastic model company that has been around for many years. They do (or used to do) a lot of 1/700 waterline ships.

They have a good reputation, AFAIK. Perhaps not as good as MRC/Tamiya used to be (back when they were partners), but still pretty good.

[EnemyAce]

I have both of their Fireflys and the green/brown cammo Sherman. They are to scale but not as nicely detailed or painted as Dragon. The commanders hatches are left open with the hatches loose so you can pose them open or closed, and they are all plastic (with metal weight inside for heft). I know some modelers have used these for their M4 hulls which (were) fairly rare in 1:72. I'd put them in the Altaya range as far as quality goes, but they do look the part with the Fireflys being the nicest of the bunch. I really like the Polish Firefly "RYCERZ I". The enclosed loose commander fig is a total joke.

I just looked at your link. My Fireflys are from 5 years ago or so, and are different from those pictured. RYCERZ I has tan weathering around the bottom of the vehicle, the #s to the left of RYCERZ I is in white, and the turret has a yellow square insignia with a yellow horsehead inside it on the side. The Brit Firefly has the #16 in red on the turret making it a nice companion to the upcoming Dragon #12. The tools on the rear deck are painted on my versions, too.

If you can get them for the same price, I'd go with the Dragon versions for the Tigers, and probably wait for Dragon/MRC Easy Models Shermans. Dragons Fireflys will proabably be better as well. When I bought these they were less than $10 each.

[Wieslaw]

Nice models, probably first Shermans Mk. V (M4A4) made in 1/72 (I think all Aoshima's Shermans are of the "export" version Mk. V or Mk. Vc).

As always, I reacted enthusiastic to the Polish markings, but... the Firefly named "RYCERZ I" ("KNIGHT I" in English) was really a Mk. Ic (M4 with 17 pdr gun), not a Mk. Vc!

Well, the Polish 1st Armoured Division (France, Belgium, Holland, Germany) was equipped really in Mk. V Shermans, therein Mk. Vc Fireflies (then the "American" version: M4A1 (76) W) and Cromwells.

The 2nd Armoured Brigade (then Division), which fought on the Italian front as a part of the 2nd Polish Corps used mostly Shermans Mk. III (M4A2), but end 1944 got some Shermans Mk. Ib (105 mm howitzer), Mk. Ic and Mk. Ic Hybrid (both types with 17 pdr). In that time all tanks were painted in "European" OD (earlier, e.g. in the battle of Monte Cassino, they had still an "African" camouflage). In the 2nd Armoured Brigade/Division (but not in the 1st Division!) there was the practice of painting big individual names on the vehicles. One of them was the "RYCERZ I".

The not fitting of the painting to the right version of the tank or aircraft is not only the problem of Aoshima.

FoV made a British Sherman, a nice painted model, but the wrong M4A3 version (should be probably M4A2 = Mk. III). The FoV 1/32 Spitfire Mk. IX with invasion stripes from the Czech 310 Squadron should be probably a LF version (with "cut" wings) and have different (British) national signs (without white ring) on the top wings' surface. The 1/72 Hurricane: only the 87 Sq. black plane was really a Mk. IIc (with four 20 mm cannons). Corgi released a Polish Mustang Mk. III (P-51B) in 1/72 (Horbaczewski, 315 Sq.). The paint scheme is right http://www.corgi.co.uk/CorgiSite/pages/ ... %5Ftest=1#, but the model depicts... a P-51D http://www.monkeydepot.com/index.asp?Pa ... rodID=9698 never used by that Squadron (the only Polish unit equipped with Mustangs Mk. IV = P-51D/Ks was the 303. Squadron; the planes didn't have a camouflage).

Sorry for my complains. Generally, it is good (but could be better).

Wieslaw