Yukikaze (雪風, "Snowy Wind") was a Kagerō-class destroyer in service with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. She was the only member of her class to survive the war, and did so without suffering any major damage. She participated in the battles of the Java Sea, Midway, and Santa Cruz, and saw her first major surface action at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sinking the destroyer USS Laffey and helping to sink the destroyer USS Cushing, alongside crippling the destroyer USS Sterett and lightly damaging the destroyer USS O'Bannon. She survived the devastating naval defeat that was the Battle of the Bismarck Sea undamaged, and led a Japanese counter attack at the Battle of Kolombangara, where she likely directly torpedoed the light cruiser HMNZS Leander and took part in a mass torpedo spread that sank the destroyer USS Gwin and torpedoed the light cruisers USS Honolulu and USS Saint Louis.

Yukikaze undertook escort missions during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and later took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, surviving the allied attacks that sank dozens of Japanese ships and engaging the escort carriers and destroyers of Taffy 3, firing torpedoes at US escort carriers without obtaining a hit before helping to sink the destroyer USS Johnston. Yukikaze saw her last major action escorting and witnessing the sinking of the battleship Yamato during the Battle of Okinawa, before surviving the war, being the only ship of her class to do so.

Following the war, the ship was transferred to the Republic of China Navy, where she was renamed Dan Yang (丹陽 DD-12) and served until 1966, taking part in two shore bombardment missions and capturing two oil tankers and a cargo ship, before being scrapped in 1970.

Hasegawa's 1/350 ship kits have generally gotten good reviews. They are full hull so come with the option of placing them on a display stand. Many of the movable components are facilitated by poly-caps and this includes gun turrets, torpedo turrets, and rudder. The kit provides brass plated parts for the props and the stand.

Hull is split in left and right sides with braces going between them. It is generally a good idea to paint these sorts of kits as you go. For the most part you will need a dark grey for most of the ship and a brownish red linoleum shade for the weatherdecks. Thanks to the larger scale (larger than 1/700 anyway), the detail is pretty good. There is a photoetch set you can buy if you are so inclined. The larger scale also means fewer molded on bits and pieces so you will have to deal with those as well. A nice touch is a length of scale appropriate chain for the anchor. I'm not sure why, but a cast metal 1/350 TBM Avenger is also included with the kit.

Instructions are landscape format with Gunze paint references. The construction steps are nicely drawn and there is a rigging diagram for those who like to rig ships. The decal sheet includes a nameplate for the display base, markings for the TBM, and markings for the ship itself.

Overall, this looks like a very nice model and one that is well worth building. I'd recommend picking one up sooner than later before the tariffs kick in.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_destroyer_Yukikaze_(1939)

April 2025 

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