IJN Fuso in 1/350 now shipping...

Is that the new Fujimi offering?

Manstein's revenge

Is that the new Fujimi offering?

....Maybe....

Yes, it is Fujimi kit no. 600055.

Fujimi has been including their seamen set of figures in their offerings, which are quite nice; much better than the gingerbread men from Eduard.

I have the Aoshima offering in 700th and I bought AM wooden deck sections...very nice and unusual BB...

I could be wrong, but didn't it have the largest Pagoda style forecastle of any Japanese BB?

tigerman

I could be wrong, but didn't it have the largest Pagoda style forecastle of any Japanese BB?

Wow - look at the pagoda on that thing!

This ship is worthwhile enough to model just for its extreme naval architecture but it also has historical significance that is fascinating in its own right.  Fuso and sistership Yamashiro being the oldest and least modernized battleships in the IJN had been held back from most of the combat operations prior to Leyte Gulf.  At Leyte they were the heavy units of the southern force that was intended to wreak havoc among the American landing forces.  They and the rest of the force were intercepted by the USN bombardment group which consisted of the old US battleships on station which had some of  the rebuilt survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack in it.   After being torn up by PT boat attacks the Japanese force was finally destroyed by the old USN battleships.  Fuso and Yamashiro were both sunk in the action.

VanceCrozier

tigerman:

I could be wrong, but didn't it have the largest Pagoda style forecastle of any Japanese BB?

 

Wow - look at the pagoda on that thing!

Seriously though, why so tall? More accurate for observing & gunnery I'm assuming? It's like running up a "shoot here" flag though.

Iy was a "pissing" constest between the Yamashiro and Fuso to see who could stack more blocks...

Dreadnought52

Thanks for the update  . . . I have been waiting for that ship for a long time. I prefer Yamashiro, but Fuso will do for a start.  Their pagoda superstructures differed; Fuso being the first IJN battleship to be so modified and Yamashiro being second.  The IJN learned from those two ships, making subsequent pagodas "cleaner" in appearance as well as smaller.

Concerning Leyte, you forgot to mention the American DD force that hit both ships hard with torpedos and 5 inch shell fire, Fuso sinking from a magazine explosion resulting from uncontrollable fires before coming under fire from the US battleships.  Yamashiro survived the PT and DD torpedo attacks, suffering two torpedo hits that slowed her to about 15 knots before being sunk by Oldendorff's force.

Bill Morrison

I believe between the two being sunk only about three survivors were picked up...none of them could answer the question when asked...

Manstein's revenge

 

VanceCrozier:

 

 

tigerman:

I could be wrong, but didn't it have the largest Pagoda style forecastle of any Japanese BB?

 

 

Wow - look at the pagoda on that thing!

 

Is that your pagoda or are you just happy to see me?

 

Fuso to the Yamashiro: "My pagoda's bigger then yours".

Thanks for adding the bit about the DDs.  The first time I wrote it out I had it in there but made a mistake and started deleting stuff and out went the DDs!  

What a terrific subject for a diorama.  Charging DDs, PTs and then the shell fire from the USN battleships.  Those sailors in the Japanese ships just didn't have a chance at all.  WS

I just placed an order for mine which should be showing-up soon. The question I have is does the Fuso come with Blast Bags for the barrels? If they don't do you know where to get them?

Thanks   Joseph

Dreadnought52

Thanks for adding the bit about the DDs.  The first time I wrote it out I had it in there but made a mistake and started deleting stuff and out went the DDs!  

 

What a terrific subject for a diorama.  Charging DDs, PTs and then the shell fire from the USN battleships.  Those sailors in the Japanese ships just didn't have a chance at all.  WS

It was sweet revenge for the Pearl BB's.

The kit comes with both brass and plastic main battery barrels.  The blast bags are molded separately from the plastic barres and I "assume" that you can use them for either the plastic or the brass barrels.  The secondary battery is in plastic and comes with integrated blast bags.  All in all this seems to be a well thought out kit.   WS

Thanks, at least I won't have to get$$$ the metal barrels and blast bags separately. I am tempted though to get one of those pre-cut wooden decks, even though they are not cheap. But I figure they are worth it considering the price / detail of these 1/350 scale naval kits. I have a 1/250 scale Yamato which I haven't started yet because i want to detail this out properly / accurately which means not having other model projects going on at the same time.

                     Joseph

Why don't you wait to see the deck detail before ordering a wooden add on for the kit.  It looks pretty good the way it is!  Of course, if you don't like painting wooden decks then by all means go ahead and order one.  I took advantage of a Squadron Models sale last week to get wood decks for Prinz Eugen, Hood and Repulse.  These were the KA models decks and I must admit they are really nice to look at.  I haven't tried to install one yet as I am still working through my backlog of 1/700 kits.  I'm saving the 1/350 kits for later.   WS

I[ll give it a look-over when the Fuso arrives. If I get one of those pre-cut wooden decks, it will be  a "first" for me using one. Have you installed them on ship models before and if you have, any helpful hints or dos & don't's?

They really do look nice on ship models though. I've been to many military museums where they have had 1/48 scale WW-2 warships of various nations (mainly US Navy) that had real wood decks. The coolest ship I saw was a 1/48 scale Essex Class Carrier complete with it's aircraft at Pensacola Naval Air Museum. The starboard side of the model was made transparent so you could see the inside.

Joseph

Dreadnought52,

My pleasure! It was the perfect trap; both IJN battleships and the heavy cruiser Mogami were lost at very little cost. The diarama would show the DD's and PT's sinking Fuso, the BB's sinking Yamashiro, and the U.S. heavy cruisers pounding Mogami into ruins after colliding with Nachi. It would show a lot of action in a very small space!

On a larger scale, the Leyte operations constituted a major disaster for the IJN. Admiral Kurita's Center Force suffered the losses of heavy cruisers Suzuya, Chikuma, Atago, Maya,and Chokai, and battleship Musashi to submarines, DD's, and air attacks. The northern decoy force lost most of the remaining operational carriers.  Imagine a diarama that showed all of this! hmmmm . . . maybe in 1/2400 scale!

Bill Morrison

A truly ambitious diorama would be a segmented 1/700 one!  It would be so big that you could only put it together in a gym or a conference hall!  Now, there's a group project.  WS

That would be Great! A diorama of the Leyte Gulf Campaign! I'm sure whoever builds this would want to contact  WW-2 military museums about displaying it there. I saw a 1/72 scale version of a portion of the Battle of the Bulge at a military museum down in Texas. Really Great Work!

Joseph

Okay, are we talking seriously about a group build?  If so, I am in!

Bill Morrison

I can't imagine trying to fit even a small area of the Leyte Gulf battle into a diorama!  Even in 700 scale it would be massive!   My work area is just too small.   WS

Heck, even in 1/2400 scale, a gymnasium would be too small!  But, with all the action in that battle, it sure is fun to think about!

Bill Morrison

It would be one HECK of a Diorama! We had a guy build a 1/400 scale modern air base (at least it was modern when I was in the Air Force) which had operational runway & tarmac lighting plus tower and aircraft in-detail.

Joseph