¹⁄700

Pit-Road of Japan has announced the November 2015 release of the IJN Munition Ship Kashino 1942 in1/700 scale.

One of the unknown players in the Pacific War, the IJN Munition Ship Kashino has, to my knowlegde, never been available as a kit in any scale. This new waterline/full hull model will offer a truly unusual alternative for your Imperial Navy collection!

From the manufacturer:

The Kashino, nominally classified as a cargo ship, was actually a transporter of 46cm gun turrets for Yamato class battleships. Although the construction of the Yamato class with 46cm guns was the nation's top secret, the guns were able to be produced in only the Kure Naval Arsenal. When other shipyards were to build Yamato class battleships, the gun turrets had to be transported from Kure. However, this confidentiality could not be protected if the task was to be entrusted to private ships. That is why it was necessary for the Imperial Japanese Navy to build a special transport ship to carry the 46cm guns.

The Kashino was projected along with the Yamato and Musashi, and was completed in July 1940 at Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Nagasaki Shipyard. The biggest feature of Kashino was three huge holds which enabled her to carry two sets of super-heavy 46 triple guns at one time. One set of 46cm guns weighed as much as one destroyer. To maintain the strength of this specific structure, the upper deck stuck out 55cm on either side, so her hull shape became peculiar with its maximum width not on the waterline, but the upper deck.

The new ammunition ship can be had for ¥3,040 (approximately US$25.36) from Hobbylink Japan.

http://www.hlj.com/product/PITW-177/Nav