Editors note: The reviewer has included Cyber-Hobby Models Photo-etched Railing Upgrade Set for “Scharnhorst” Kit Number CHC-3880 ($19.95) with this review.

The Dragon 1/350 scale model of the German Battleship Scharnhorst is one impressive kit, not only in the size of the model itself but the enormous number of parts. The large box was stuffed full with 28 individually bag sprues, 5 photo-etched frets, an upper hull, a lower hull, a plastic base, a decal sheet, and an instruction sheet. If that was not enough, there wis also a supplemental photo-etched set of railings and other miscellaneous items provided by Dragon that was used as part of this build.

Introduction

In 1941, the IJN battleship Nagato(already 21 years old and 5 years after her last major re-fit) was the flagship of the Combined Japanese Fleet, flying the flag of Admiral Yamamoto. On 2 December 1941, Nagato transmitted "Niitakayama nobore 1208" to the fleet, which translated into "Climb Mount Niitaka on 12/08" (12/07 Hawaii time).

In mid-2010, Fujimi released a 1/500 scale rendition of Nagato, as she appeared in 1941, at the 'Outbreak of War'.

First, many thanks to Fujimi for providing this kit for review. This kit is well thought-out, engineered and designed and features excellent detail and fit for a 1/500 scale kit.

In the Box

Inside the box are 21 sprues of gray, black and clear individually bagged parts, a 9 1/4" x 14 3/8" instruction booklet, decals, a metallic nameplate label, a length of anchor chain and a 1:1 size, 5-view color chart for reference.

History

“The Mongoose” is a name that conjures up a lot of memories for me. I remember the Hot Wheels renditions of the “The Snake” and “The Mongoose” as any Hot Wheels collector worth their salt had those cars in their case. What I didn’t realize at the time was the marketing savvy behind those shiny little toys cars. As it turns out, Tom McEwen, the driver of “The Mongoose,” was a master of promoting drag racing and one of the key figures in developing sponsorships that although common today, were a novel idea in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Toms racing career would span 40 years and while he didn’t accrue the winning record of his nemesis Don Prudomme, the rivalry Tom created with the Snake and the Mongoose has become the stuff of drag racing legend.

The Kit