The heavy cruiser Chikuma is one of a two ship class; the other ship being the Tone. Both are unusual to Western eyes because all the offensive armament, in this case 8 8" guns in four turrets, is in the front of the ship. On the aft decking is a floatplane platform on which the five aircraft could be carried. These were the newest and last heavy cruisers built for the Japanese Navy to use in WWII.

For some other information. She was launched 19 March, 1938; completed 20 May, 1939; displaces 15,200 tons, can go 35 knots and has a crew of 874. In addition to the main battery of 8" guns, she carried 8 5" dual purpose guns and 24 of the potent 'long lance' torpedoes that were so effective. Maybe because of the large number of scouting floatplanes, neither of these ships saw much in the way of gun action, spending much of their time escorting the fleet carriers. Of course, it might have been the 57 25mm anti-aircraft guns that had something to do with it as well! Except for broadsides, at least two of the main guns would have been pretty ineffective during gun combat since their firing arc was so limited.

Chikuma's sister ship, the Tone, was sunk in late 1945 while at anchorage in Kure. The Chikuma was severely damaged 25
October, 1944 by air torpedo attack from US TF 77 during the battle of Samar and scuttled 11° 22' N, 126° 16' E by destroyer Nowake.

I really didn't want to say this, but it will take up part of a line: "If you've seen one Fujimi/Aoshima/Tamiya/Hasegawa waterline kit, you've seen them all". Well, except for the most recent kits that are 2-3 times more expensive, that is. When I was in Japan in the early 70's these four companies had done every wartime IJN ship that there had ever been. They all followed a similar pattern. The hull and deck is one piece. No messing with warped hull sides and trying to glue them onto the main deck. They are nice a sturdy. There is a weight to give them some heft (not in the subs, though), and the bottom plate is red to represent the waterline. Actually, you should paint that a sort of rust red color for that is the proper shade for IJN ships.

If you take a look at the image above, you will see what I mean. The parts are all very nicely molded, though the kit is showing it's age and some flash is creeping in. No engraved panel lines here. No multi-variant sprues, either. There are ejector pin marks on lots of the smaller pieces like the little airplanes and boats. There are some sink marks in some parts, but nothing major. Not shown in any clarity is the plethora of lines that constitute the rigging on these ships. Most are radio wires, but some are for hoisting signal flags.

The instruction sheet is a two page affair with specs and paint guide on one side, and a 9 step construction sequence on the other. Unlike all those kits I bought in Japan, the instructions are in English so I can actually read what I was supposed to have been doing on all those other kits!!

These kits can be made into real beauties by the addition of etched brass railings and other aftermarket stuff, but for most of us, the way the kit comes is just fine. A little bit of trivia for you all. The decks are a tan color, but they are not wood or steel as one might think but linoleum!!

Review copy courtesy of me and my wallet! 

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