The Ship Model Forum

Aoshima's new tooling makes all four with different arrangements, so you could build them for each kit.

Wow... This just ruined my day.. I was like wow I really like these I think I'll build a class of these! ... Nope! I don't know how I'll scratch build the trolley and rails.. Looks like my Kunikawa will be renamed Kimikawa :/.

Thanks for your detailed reply!

It would be just too easy if they were identical, mon ami.

The short version is that Kimikawa and Kunikawa Maru had their catapults mounted on sponsons on the aft starboard side, so that the catapult sits right on the edge of the deck. Kamikawa and Kiyokawa Maru had their catapults just inboard of the deck edge, on a deck mounted turntable. Further, all four sisters had different arrangements of the a-c trolley tracks, as seen in the composite arrangement of drawings by Motoyuki Iwashige, and arranged by Luca Ruffato from a discussion on j-ships a couple of years ago. Below (ignore the Sanyo Maru illustration).

Aoshima has released Kimikawa and Kunikawa Maru with identical layouts. However, they have differentiated the layouts between Kamikawa and Kiyokawa Maru.

I'm sure you are thrilled by this news.

Dan K and other IJN experts,

So essentially the Aoshima Kamikawa Maru and Kimikawa Maru kits are identical? So if one could build the Kamikawa Maru if they had the other kits?

I think I would take the plating off but, otherwise, I say, build it, Andrew!

Dear Dan

I just got my new Aoshima Hatsuharu destroyer out of the box and found the same exagerated hull plating ribs. Must be their thing to bring the hull a bit more to life. I think I can just about live with it, I must say the rest of the Hatsuharu is molded very crisply. So maybe I should give Kimikawa Maru a whirl too? Just got several ships to build first though.......

Better put the overalls on and return to the outfitting quay

Regards

Andrew

I forgot about this conversion build of Kagu Maru by Reigels in the All Craft Group Build 09-10 . He used the Pitroad Kamikawa Maru kit for this. His build is on pages 3,4, 7, and 10. He didn't complete her but, you will get to see what he did along the way. Its a great reference.



Bob Pink.

Yes, she could be done, Bob. Actually, all the members of the Kiyosumi Maru class (Kiyosumi, Kasii, Kinugasa, Kagu, Kongo) have the same size hull & similar fittings as the PR kit scales out to. What makes these sisters more challenging for a conversion is that their bridge is one deck higher, which complicates the conversion. Not impossible.

Dan: I believe you can add Kagu Maru to the conversion possibilities as well.



Bob Pink.

You can always cut it and lengthen it by 13mm. On page 16 in the Works in Progress section there is a build by AC Studios Kimikawa maru . He had to lengthen his Pitroad kit to make it the correct length. Great pics of his build to follow up on this process. FYI



Bob Pink.

I discussed this with Motoyuki-san some time ago. He thinks that Gosho Maru would be the easiest conversion. Sister Goyo Maru might also be a possibility. Personally, I would also add Katsuragi and Kirishima Marus as possibilities.

None of these are OOB.. All must have changes made to their drainage slots along the gunwales, and their bridge are modified somewhat, as are their funnels. Other changes are slight but include small alterations to the forecastle, hatches, etc.

I believe all four were Kawasaki built and operated by the K line prewar.

Anybody have any suggestions on what to do with an unbuilt Pitroad Kamikawa Maru kit?

we are very happy you do it!
Thank you...

I am very happy that folks are finding this review helpful.

The wooden deck was part of the Super Detail version. No worries, Q, I'm old school as well. I'll put the decking up for grabs whenever I get around to building Kimikawa Maru.

For the curious, Queastor and Quincy (Q & Q?) are referring to this link for Kiyokawa Maru: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10303728

About Kiyokawa Maru - I can see from the reference photo that Aoshima is on the mark. They have correctly placed the catapult inboard, without a sponson. Kiyokawa Maru was also converted back to a regular naval auxiliary in late '43 (like Kimikawa Maru), which meant deleting the catapult, eliminating some of the raised wooden flight deck around what was kingpost #3, and reinstalling kingpost #3. She was also sunk, raised postwar, refurbished and became KKK's (the K Line) first operational ship of the postwar period. So, there are multiple fit possibilities for her.

I'm gonna have place a link to here from the Calling All Japanese Pre-war/wartime Merchant Marine Fans thread so that this information doesn't get lost.

The new Kiyokawa Maru kit looks to be equally as nice as this one I hope. I didn't know that they included a wooden deck with the kit. I am not a fan of them but, that could change depending on the fit. I am still an "old school" painter of wooden decks. Loving the review Dan!




Bob Pink.

Interestingly enough, I just found a photo that I was unaware of showing one of the sisters with a safety lane. Different websites have identified her as either Kimikawa or Kamikawa Maru in mid 1943. If the notations are correct, then it is probably Kimikawa Maru because Kamikawa Maru was sunk by USS Scamp that May.

Glad to be of help, Andrew. I can't speak to fit but, from what I can see, I don't think much surgery will be needed. Maybe just filling some seams where the bridge front and rear facings meet the sides. The shape looks good to me.

This is completely unlike the Fujimi Kawasaki tankers, which are clearly erroneous just upon viewing. This Aoshima kit looks to be a good build OOB. What a relief.

A few more thoughts. Unlike the PR kit, which comes with the #3 kingpost (this is the one without a mast on top, immediately aft the bridge superstructure) and allows the kit to be built into a prewar version, the Aoshima kit does not. The kit main deck is molded to fit that kingpost but, it's not included in this boxing. That, along with the decals provided (below), suggests a prewar version will be offered.

About the decals - Very nice "K"s for either side of the funnel to represent the KKK line, but not appropriate for this wartime version. The same seems true of the safety lane decal (the first that I've ever seen in 1/700 decal form). The only problem is, there is no indication of where it should go in the instructions, and I see no sign of such a marked lane in any of the prewar overhead photos or in any wartime fit photos. Kind of a mystery to me.

Also included is a very nice wood decking set.

The only thing that I haven't covered is the dedicated PE fret for this kit. I didn't buy it. I grabbed a photo from the HobbySearch Japan site. It looks nice. The biggest question is sizing of the pulleys on the PE booms. If these are scaled nicely, then this would be a smart purchase. If anyone has purchased a set and can chime in, that would be most helpful.

Thanks for your review Dan, most helpful, have had my eye on this for a while.

In my case I used the Rainbow pulleys for my Nippon Maru recently posted.

Can't tell if we need to do lots of surgery to the front of the bridge like with the Fujimi types?

Andrew

The Aoshima kit provides two different versions of booms for the kingposts and masts: plain, and with pulleys. As nice as it is to see the the additional detail, I think the pulleys are a little overscale. The PR kit provides only plain versions.

If one were so inclined to take the extra step, generic PE pulleys from Rainbow are nicely scaled.