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Posted by Felix Bustelo on September 23, 2023, 5:00:36, in reply to "Anybody ever built the Aoshima 1/350 IJN transporter?"
Hi Mark,
I have this kit and it does not include the sails. It does have the sprues with the yardarms, which are ar bundled in a bag with smaller sprues.
It does appear to be the old Imai kit from the Op Sail series of kits. It’s a 2-part hull, upper and lower. The parts are molded in 3 colors, hull and main parts in gray with the lower hull parts in red and the yardarm sprues in a light brownish color. There is a black sprue with the parts for a display stand. The PE included provides railing and ratlines. A spool of overscale black thread is also included for the rigging.
I picked up an Artwok deck for the Nippon Maru (it was on clearance) which I believe would fit this kit since I think both kits are identical.
I hope this helps,
Felix 
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This kit is apparently the militarized version of the sail training ship 'Kaiwo Maru.' During the war, she lost her crossed yards, but kept her masts and was used as a motorized transport.
If you've ever built (or even looked inside the box), do you know if the kit includes the crossed spars? The outside says it has vacuum-formed sails, but if it's truly the militarized version, why would it need sails if it doesn't have the yards?
Scalemates has this kit as part of the IMAI series of sailing ships, but with new parts. The IMAI kits were OK, but rather simplistic. The Aoshima kit has PE so I'm hoping it's better. I saw the original ship in Puget Sounds many years ago, and I'm inspired to build her.
Thanks in advance for any insight into this kit.
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