Man, that's awesome. With a clear bridge, some of l'arsenal's 1/350 resin figures would look great in there. I'm glad they posted the photos. They weren't there last night. From what I've read, the retail price will be around the $160 range. ~Gator

Now after seeing the pictures of the built up model I have gone full circle. I was real excited when I first saw the posting, then the price came out, I was greatly disappointed. NOw I am overwhelmed. Looks to me that all anyone would want would be a set of railings, and who knows, that may be part of the kit as well. Add this one ot my list of must haves. It might even bump the Alabama as number 1 it is so impressive. NAh I can't scream Roll Tide at it when I look at it.

I hear what yer saying, Steve-o...when the early rumors were flying about this release, and some discussion was made on the ticket price, I though to myself, c'mon, 160 bucks? But after seeing these shots, and the detail and quality of the superstructure, I would have to say that this just may be worth the money...still haven't any more details on the bugger yet, so actually, I'm not sure if the kit will come with a dedicated PE set (kinda doubt it, but you just never know ), or just what extra's Hasegawa has up their proverbial sleeve for the final release...time will tell, I guess, and as we hear about them, we'll make sure we share the knowledge with all........

Now Gunny, this is not my scale, but seeing those pictures... I'm so so tempted to go for this one with all the detail, and you have to love the look of those pagoda's. Now where is a Littorio in any scale (not resin). Ciao Luciano

It really looks great,it should be on par with the Mikasa which may be the best 1/350 ship I ever did.It is an interesting subject,which I will probably build,but I wonder why they are doing it I would have thought we would have seen a carrier from them.They really seem to be all over the board with their 1/350 releases,no pattern.I mean Mikasa was a Significant ship,it could be argued that Yukikaze was special she survived the war, but why Nagato? not to mention where did the Soya idea come from ? just wondering what direction they are going with their releases

Hi Anthony The Soya is now a Museum ship, very much like the Mikasa... Making ship models from Museum Ships is a recurrent technique to improve one model sell and make the effort profitable.... If you think a little bit more you'll have: Cutty Sark USS Constitution Type VII-C U-boot (U-995) Flower Class Corvette (HMCS Sackville) Gato Submarine (severall US Museums have them on display) Liberty Ship (SS Jeremiah O'Brian) HMS Victory just to name a few ships that you see around and never wonder why there's models from them Hope this helps explaining the why Skipper

Built between 1917 and 1920, the Japanese battleship Nagato was the first battleship in the world equipped with 16' guns, and was at the time of her commissioning also one of the fastest battleships in the world. She was modified in 1924, and extensively rebuilt in 1934-35. From 1941 she served as the flagship of the Combined Fleet, and was Admiral Yamamoto's headquarters for the Pearl Harbor attack. Other operations in WWII included the battles at Midway, the Philippine Sea, and Leyte Gulf. The old battleship was damaged by aircraft bombs off Samar, was only temporarily repaired, and was inactive for the rest of the war. At the time of the Japanese surrender, she was at Yokosuka, the last Japanese battleship still afloat. Given to the Americans as a war prize, the vessel was slatted for use as a target in the nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll. A crew of 180 Americans, with the assistance of several Japanese officers, took the old battlewagon for three short cruises around Tokyo Bay, then set off on the 2400 mile trip to Bikini in the company of the captured light cruiser Sakawa. With only two of her four screws in operation, Nagato managed only 10 knots. The makeshift crew suffered through cold seawater showers, as the freshwater condensers were barely functional, and the poor repairs to the hull soon began to leak. The pumps were unable to keep up, and soon 150 tons of water leaked in forward, which in turn had to be offset by 250 tons of counter flooding aft. On the 8th day, about halfway to Bikini, the battleship had to turn about and take her companion in tow as the smaller vessel developed propulsion trouble. Nagato soon blew out a boiler herself, and the two vessels drifted helplessly for two days until rescued by US Navy tugs. The battleship, without power, lights, or pumps, developed a 10-degree list to port, and refused to be towed at more than 4 knots. On the 18th day of what was supposed to be a 10-day trip, the vessel was finally towed into Enewetak, about 200 miles from her final destination. After three weeks of repairs, the last Japanese battleship sailed under her own power, at a brisk 13 knots, to her designated spot at Bikini. Nagato survived the first, atmospheric, nuclear blast with fairly minor damage, but sank from massive hull damage five days after the second, underwater blast. Today, the Nagato rests upside down in 180 feet of water. The 708 foot long hull is intact, and rests on the ship's massive superstructure. This allows access to all four of her twin 16" turrets, which did not fall off when the ship capsized, as is often the case. The bridge snapped off when she settled, and it lies next to the rest of the wreck, giving divers the opportunity to swim where Yamamoto stood when he launched the Pearl Harbor attack. The water is warm, with plenty of ambient light. Nagato is, without a doubt, the best battleship dive in the world. edited by Gator.

Considering a resin 1/350 battleship can run between $300 and $500 USD, Nagato is reasonably priced, IMO.

Anthony, I guess you can see what makes Nagato "special" however I think Hasegawa is following a theme. Battleships. They did several pre-dreadnaught and are now doing the next in line after the Yamato. I know among ship modelers, this is a pretty popular subject especially because of the pagoda mast. Trumpeter has been the one doing the Aircraft carriers and there have been rumors out there for a year or two that someone was looking at releasing a Japanese carrier.