Aoshima 1/24 2012 Subaru BRZ

The BRZ's acronym name comes from three elements: Boxer engine, Rear-wheel drive, and Z standing for the zenith. The Subaru BRZ differs from the Toyota 86's design in the front fascia, with a different grill and headlight assembly. The BRZ's grill is hexagonal in shape, compared to the Toyota's trapezoid. The BRZ features a wraparound of LED parking lights in the headlight assembly, while daytime running lights are integrated into the bumper. The suspension setup of the Subaru is different from the Toyota. Like the Japanese Toyota 86, Subaru offers a base model lacking most interior comforts and sitting on 16 inch steel wheels, with the only difference being that the BRZ RA's bumpers are painted. Two main trim levels are offered: R trim, known as Premium in North America, and S trim, known as Limited in North America. European and Australian BRZs offer a Toyota stereo unit, while Japanese and North American vehicles use a Subaru unit.

Since this is a car based on the Toyota 86, it should be no surprise that this and the earlier kit are very similar. Aoshima kits of late have been very well designed and quite complete. This one is no exception. Molded in several colors of plastic, the parts are superbly detailed and free of flash and other deformations. White and black are the primary colors of plastic with the black parts being used for chassis parts and some interior bits while white is the predominant shade of the body parts. There are also 'chrome' sprues which are, in fact, nicely done aluminum plating.

As with many of their kits, this one is a curbside and while there is no engine, the chassis and suspension detailing is superb. You get two different options in terms of suspension height with one being lower than the other, something I have not seen since the old days of SMP kits. Much of the construction will center around building the interior, and there are some painting differences depending on which version of the car you are building. I should also mention that there is a lot of painting that will need to be done to get the details right and this makes it pretty much an on-going process while building this car. While discussing the interior, you can build this one as either right hand or left hand drive and different dash boards are provided depending on your choice. This also extends to the center console. All of this is noted in the instructions so you need to make a choice early in the build.  What makes this kit different from the Toyota 86 are the front and rear sections, which are the major difference.

Aoshima provides the builder with masks for the windows and windscreen, something I wish all car kit makers included as they are very handy. Much of the reason for this is that windows are now glued in place at the factory and there is usually a black surround to all the windows to help hide this. There body has separate nose and tail inserts to provide the proper car details for the Japanese or North American version. Tires are rubber/vinyl and are handed so be sure to pay attention to this during your build. The decal sheet is nicely printed and includes the black areas for the hood and roof in addition to logos, instruments and plates.

In all, it makes for an excellent kit of this new Japanese hot rod. Those into modern cars will be delighted with it and those looking for something a bit different will also be pleased with this kit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_BRZ

July 2013

Thanks to www.dragonmodelsusa.com for the preview kit. Get yours at your local retailer or have them order it for you.

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