Aoshima 06656 1/700 Japanese Navy Heavy Cruiser Takao

The Washington Disarmament Conference prevented the creation of the 8.8 Fleet, and the Japanese Navy was forced to be at a disadvantage, having 60% as many capital ships as the United States. With the idea of compensating for this inferiority with other ship types, they focused on the shell-class cruiser, which had no restrictions on the amount it could carry, had a displacement of less than 10,000 tons, and could carry the largest eight-inch caliber gun among auxiliary ships. However, they decided to build a large number of these shell-class cruisers to compensate for their inferiority in capital ship strength.

Following this policy, four Myoko-class cruisers were built, each with a displacement of 10,000 tons -- just below the treaty limit -- and equipped with ten 20-centimeter guns and eight torpedo tubes. However, since U.S. and British shell-class cruisers were equipped with eight-inch (20.3cm)-caliber guns as stipulated by the treaty, the next ships to be built were changed to eight-inch guns, improving the striking power of the naval guns, and using a swivel-type gun. Her attack power was increased by upping it with torpedo tubes. This was the Takao-class cruiser.

Aoshima brings us a 1/700-scale waterline model kit of the Takao, a heavy cruiser that is still popular due to its majesty! Her late-war appearance, including her characteristic bridge, plus the electric probes and anti-aircraft guns added through modernization, can be accurately reproduced in a simple and easy-to-assemble parts configuration. Newly designed equipment has been added, including machine guns, high-angle guns, and aircraft catapults. Many parts are slide-molded for density and precision; in addition to armaments such as destroyer main guns and machine guns, carrier-based aircraft and other equipment have been updated. The following parts are updated with new molds:

• Type 96 25mm triple machine gun
• Type 96 25mm machine gun
• No. 13 electric probe
• No. 22 electric probe
• 60cm signal searchlight
• Type 89 12.7cm twin high-angle gun
• 110cm signal searchlight
• 11m fire launch
• 12cm fire launch
• 12m fire boat
• 9mm cutter
• Radial davit
• Kure Type 2 Type 5 injection machine
• Chrysanthemum emblem
• Anchor