cool wrap. It doesn't look too bad in the photos - definitely worth trying to save because it's got to be pretty uncommon. I have seen it before and I kept a photo (below, not my kit). My guess would be early 70s. The wrap is the most unique part of the kit so I'd try and keep it, even if it's not in perfect shape

Thanks a lot Andrew. This is really identical to mine, except for the colour. Actually the plastic foil is the actual colour, blue or orange or whatever others were available, and the back has a silver coat that shines through. I'm cleaning the back and giving it a new silver coat. The result is not perfect, but much better than what it was. The wavy pattern is actually stamped on the back of the transparent foil. I was guessing the drums were made in the sixties because I saw a few examples from Hoshino with the exact same hardware from that period. Also I saw some early 70's models where the brand had the exact same logo except that they had already adopted the newer brand denomination Aria. There's a cool facebook page called 'the vintage japanese drums' with great pictures.

Here are the strips for the bass drum hoops after I painted them.

Gonzo.

This wrap is too cool.

Gonzo, I guess you were not born back in those days: I recall that such a wavy design was very typical for wallpapers in the 70's - and not in the 60's.

The more you keep this drumset in it's original shape, the more it will be interesting/ desirable for someone in the vintage scene.

The more you modify, it'll be worth just that small money you paid for it.

Ralf

Funny how things work. Yesterday one exactly the same was for sale in Australia and I'd never seen one before and then today here's another one. That kit has sex appeal haha

looks like you're doing a good job restoring the wrap. That's the way to go I reckon. Keep us updated

Are Winz MIJ?

Thanks

Yes. It's a stencil brand made for the New Zealand market. Wellard Industries New Zealand (WINZ) was a distributor of musical instruments here many years ago. The blue tom in one of the photos has clearly had the lugs changed at some point. I think these were made by Hoshino?

Well Ralph, it just so happens I was born in 1961, but I wasn't into drums back then :-)

What would really help date these is knowing when the brand changed from Arai to Aria. Interestingly, the company that makes Aria instruments is still called Arai inc. I checked their website recently and was surprised to see that they reverted to the original logo, using the same lettering as on my drums.

Anyway, thank you all for the replies, I will definetly try to keep these as original as possible. I'm not too worried about the resale value, I just want to make them look and sound nice and keep them, at least until something even cooler comes along.

That's amazing really. I searched everywhere for something similar with no results until I posted these pics. Could you please post the Australian ad, I would really like to have as many references as possible for my restoration project. Thanks a lot!