Hasegawa [Z24] 1:350 IJN Battleship Nagato 1941

Scale: 1:350
Product Number: Z24
Number of Parts: 847
Model Length: 643mm
Model Width: 110mm

The battleship "Nagato" was launched on November 9, 1919, during the Taisho era's 8th year, and completed on November 25, 1920, as the first ship of the Eight-Eight Fleet Program. At the time of its completion, it was the world's largest and fastest battleship, equipped with the world's largest 41cm main guns and recorded a maximum speed of 26.7 knots during its final trial.

"Nagato" served for a long time as the flagship of the Combined Fleet, was heavily utilized in public relations activities to showcase Japan's naval power, and was called "Japan's pride along with Mutsu," becoming one of the most beloved battleships in Japan before and during the war.

To accommodate the 41cm main guns with a long range of approximately 30,000 meters, it was necessary to position the main gun command post, observation post, and combat bridge at a high elevation, resulting in a complex and unique bridge structure.

The structure supported by six pillars around a large central column is called a "roshou" (mast tower) and drew significant attention from the navies of Western powers after the completion of "Nagato." It was the first battleship to be equipped with an elevator for commanders in the high bridge. Additionally, it was the first in Japan to be equipped with a large rangefinder with a baseline length of 10 meters at the top of the mast tower.

In April 1934 (Showa 9), "Nagato" underwent extensive modernization at the Kure Naval Arsenal. To increase the gunnery range, the elevation angle of the main guns was raised from 30 degrees to 43 degrees, and the guns were replaced with 45-caliber Type 89 41cm twin guns. The defense focused on underwater protection, equipping the sides with massive bulges to counter torpedoes and prevent an increase in draft due to added weight.

All 21 boilers were converted to exclusively burn heavy oil, with four of them being large, allowing for an additional 2,000 horsepower with a total of 10 boilers, achieving 82,000 horsepower. Consequently, the two funnels were consolidated into one, and the familiar funnel cap disappeared. Despite an increase of about 6,500 tons in weight due to the extended stern and reinforced bulges, the ship could still sail at a speed of 25 knots.

Thus, "Nagato" was reborn on January 31, 1936 (Showa 11), as a modernized new battleship with a trial displacement of 43,580 tons and faced the outbreak of war in almost this form.

The assembly instructions consist of three parts:

• Assembly instructions
• A separate booklet with explanations of the actual ship (monochrome, 16 pages)
• A separate booklet for painting instructions and rigging indications