¹⁄350

After Fujimi Models gave the ship modeling world a sneak peek at the Tokyo Hobby Show, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most of us. But now it is official. Fujimi Models will produce a 1/350 IJN Battleship Kongo. This beautifully British designed and built battleship has a very storied history. So there is no wonder that it is being presented in 1/350 plastic. As of right now, no release date or price has been announced.

Ship History
The Japanese battleship Kongô, a ship with a magical name and an important history, was budgeted in 1910 and ordered from the British shipbuilder Vickers in January 1911. This was a significant act in an era of important shipbuilding. Britain itself was in a great arms race with Germany. The Kongô was ordered by Japan as a battle cruiser. The Japanese had already been building their own battleships, but they wanted to study the latest British construction techniques before building sister ships to the Kongô in Japan -- the Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima. The Kongô was to have 14 inch guns, larger and more conveniently arranged than in previous British battle cruisers, where a midships turret had been unable to fire directly fore or aft. The Kongô, indeed, was such an improved design that the Royal Navy followed suit by ordering the Tiger, similar to it in most respects, in the 1911 program. But the Tiger was the last battle cruiser until Fisher himself returned from retirement in 1914. Instead, the speed element of the battle cruisers was incorporated into proper battleships with the Queen Elizabeth class of the 1912 program. As the Kongô itself would in effect become, the Queen Elizabeth was a "fast battleship.”