Gino Quintiliani takes a look at the JGSDF Type 73 (Early) & optional PE upgrade set from Fine Molds.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Thanks for posting it James. It is a nice little model.

I got the Jeep with the canvas top, I am building it now, nice kit, like the author said, all locator pins provides for easy assembly, the details are great, minimal flash, some fragile parts such as the gear shift on the steering rod, but generally a joy to build.

The model represents the Mitsubishi J24. The military version was built for the Japanese military from 1973 to 1997.

The instructions in the canvas top version of the kit has markings dated 1994 and 1995.

Research I did about a month ago came up with J4's (CJ3B clone) and J24's in Japsnese military service. No references to J20's . In photos the J20 and the J24 do appear to be very similar. The J4 is a 1/4 ton vehicle. The J24 is a 1/2 ton vehicle. The J numbers are Mitsubishi model designations.

The JGSF designation TYPE 73 is used for all the military jeeps starting with the J4 through the current models which started production in 1996.

Trumpeter makes two versions of post 1996 vehicles.

The meaning of the JGDSF designation "TYPE 73" is not clear to me. It can also refer to other types of equipment: for instance there is a TYPE 73 tank, a TYPE 73 APC and a TYPE 73 cargo truck.

Thanks Gino for the review!

I'm planning to get the canvas covered version of this kit, plus probably the recoilless gun variant that should be out by the end of this year in Japan.

Cheers,

Christophe

From what I could make out from my reasearch, the JGSDF started using the Type 73 Light Truck with the J20 model. It had a few changes over the years and was still called the J20, but was also known as the J24, depending on the version. The basic model was the J20 though, so it is a little confusing. That is why I went with the J20.




The JGSDF "Type" designation is like the US Military's "M" (Model) designation. You need the words after it to tell what it is; ie: Type 73 Light Truck (Kyu). The M designation works the same way. There is an M1A1 Abrams Tank, M1A1 Rifle, M1A1 Carbine, M1A1 Howitzer, etc...

Great review Gino - really like the look of this one.

Have you seen the APC that they are releasing also?

best
Mark

I just finished building my Jeep today, and I enjoyed every minute of it, I have attached some pictures to show what it will look like once finished. This is a straight from the box build.