Summertime in Japan means Obon, when deceased relatives come home to visit. No, it’s not Halloween or Night of the Living Dead, it’s Obon. Families welcome in the spirits of passed family members. One peculiar practice is the making of the Shoryo Uma, which serve as transportation for the visiting spirits between our world and theirs. I recall my mother, who was from Japan, told me about making “horses” out of vegetables for Obon when we were kids. We never made any, but when I saw this kit, I knew I had to have it!
The Shoryo Uma is a typical modern Japanese kit, with pre-colored parts and snap fit construction. What is unusual is that there are a number of spare ports in the vegetables, of which blanking plugs are provided should the builder opt not to use them… But what DO you do with the open ports? Add missile or grenade launchers? Beam cannon? Snaky manipulators? Eye stalks? Spider legs? Eew, that’s heading straight into John Carpenter’s “The Thing” territory!
I know some of you might be disappointed, but I plan on using the plugs and making the models properly without weapons or mutant outgrowths. Here they are with the various parts glued together. Some sanding will follow. Depending on how well the seams turn out, some filling with stretched sprue from the kit will be used to fill any imperfections. I might still paint them if I feel the need. The legs will get a light oil wash to simulate wood grain.
The subject of this kit might confuse some, but if you are Japanese and are familiar with Obon, it is so ultra super wacky cool!
