Imai/Aoshima VW Beetle 1303S- Review

Sometimes, a kit will outlive its original manufacturer and just keep coming back. Even if it's lackluster. Like the masked slasher in an obscure B-movie, it just keeps returning, even after a dozen unwanted retreads and sequels.

Such is the case here. Today, we will look at the Volkswagen Beetle 1303S, first released decades ago by Imai, and reissued about five years ago by Aoshima.

Here's the old Imai box...

And the recent Aoshima reissue....

Note that the Imai kit box has an illustration on the top, and the Aoshima release has a photo of the actual car. While not having the actual kit on the box is rather common, in this case it might be a good idea these two manufacturers didn't opt for that course of action.

Here's an overall shot of the Imai version.

Here's the body from the Aoshima release. The body in this kit is really the best part- other than having a bit of a sharp peak in the splash apron it's pretty accurate overall. And that's only a problem if you want to make a bumperless Bug- build it stock and the bumper covers up the incorrect peak.

The chassis and interior parts. Yes... this was a motorized kit. So there's no underside detail to speak of, and the interior is shallow. The fact that the kit includes dashboards for left or right hand drive is of little consolation.

The plating is of good quality, though the insides of the head and tail lamp reflectors are nowhere near realistic.

For some reason, the Aoshima version includes what look like old Dodge Lancer wheel covers, which would look more at home on a lead sled than a Beetle. Neither kit provides stock type wheels or tires.

Tires, axles, and poly caps come in one bag. The tires are a bit "chunky" for a car of the Beetle's size.

The one-piece glass unit has the lenses molded with it. Curiously, it also includes what looks like a chopped T-Bucket screen.

The Imai instruction sheet shown above is a bit prettier to look at, but the assembly diagrams are similar on both.

On the other hand, the Aoshima kit has better decals.

Here are the nasty peel-and-stick Imai decals...

And here are the waterslide Aoshima decals...

So... what exactly do we have here?

Well, we have an old motorized Japanese kit. And as we've seen here, and in the review of Arii's '72 Thunderbird kit, that means a barely-usable chassis and interior. As stated, the body is pretty much correct, so it would be a good shelf model. But if you want a full-detail Super Beetle, you'll need to do some kitashing with a Tamiya or Revell Germany kit, and you'd still need to do a little modification and scratch-building if you want a stock, full-detail Super Beetle.

This kit's one big leg up is that it is the only kit of a Super Beetle ever made in 1:24 scale in plastic kit form. There was also a convertbile version, which was reissued along with the sedan we just looked at. Of course, being a convertile the shallow and simplified interior is an even bigger issue!

If your heart desires a Super Beetle, and you can find one for cheap, jump on it. But if all you want is a really good Beetle... non-Super, that is... skip this one and build a Tamiya '66 or one of the new Revell kits instead.