¹⁄700

Building on their current range of 1/700 ships Seals Models have announced the release of the 1/350 IJN Light Cruiser Iwate . This kit is available now and is an exciting addition to Seals Models IJN range.


Ship History
IJN Iwate was an Izumo class armored cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was named after Iwate prefecture in northern Japan, and it was a sister ship of the IJN Izumo.

Iwate was one six armored cruisers ordered to overseas shipyards after the First Sino-Japanese War as part of the “Six-Six Program” (six battleships-six cruisers) intended to the backbone of the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was built by Armstrong Whitworth in Great Britain.

Iwate served an important role in the Russo-Japanese War, and was commanded by Admiral Shimamura Hayao as flagship of the IJN 2nd Fleet's Second Battle Division. It participated in the crucial Battle of Tsushima on 26 May 1905. In World War I, the Iwate was the 2nd Fleet, 4th Squadron flagship, dispatched at first to Tsingtao, and then later to the Indian Ocean, where it was assigned to convoy escort duty in the Indian Ocean between Singapore and the Suez Canal as part of Japan's contribution to the Allied war effort under the Anglo-Japanese alliance. In November 1924, Iwate was part of the Japanese naval delegation sent to Brazil in honor of Brazil's 100th anniversary of independence ceremonies.

In 1925-1936, Iwate made numerous long voyages, circumnavigating the Pacific Ocean, and stopping at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on July 19-22, 1927.

Iwate was assigned to the 12th Squadron of the 3rd Support Fleet from 1 February 1940. With the start of the Pacific War, despite its antiquated age, the Iwate was retrofitted with anti-aircraft guns and re-classed back as a 1st class cruiser on 1 July 1942.

Iwate was sunk in an American air attack on Kure and later raised and scrapped in 1947.