The sinking of the steamer Taiping in 1949 shocked people in Mainland China. In the midst of the Chinese Civil War, people were fleeing from China to Taiwan. The Taiping was carrying perhaps over twice her rated capacity in passengers on her voyage when she collided with another vessel, causing the loss of 1,500 souls. The story is the subject of a new John Woo film, The Crossing.

The first ship kit offering from Meng, the steamer Taiping is a type of Great Lakes passenger-freight ship made in the American Manitowoc shipyard. It was launched in 1920 with the load of 2050 tons. During the WWII, it was used as the short supply ship for U.S. forces and later sold to Taiping Dock Company as scrap iron. On July 14th 1948, it was rented by Shanghai Zhonglian Company with $7000 per month and changed into a passenger ship with the carrying capacity of 508 passengers travelling between Shanghai and Keelung.

The kit (No. OS-001) is exclusively licensed by the film production company Galloping Horse and MENG releases it in 1/150 scale as part of a brand-new 'OS series'.

This kit is over 21" in full length ( 535mm), 3.45" in width (88mm) and 8.19" in height (208mm) from the bottom of the ship to the top of its mast and and is comprised of pre-colored parts. The model is designed to be cement-free for easy assembly and a lighting system is provided to simulate the scene of the illuminated steamer. The package is uniquely designed as a “book” and stereograms are used for the instruction manual.

No word yet on a release date or price for this kit. The film is set to release in China this December with a part 2 release set for March 2015.