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

The Aircraft

When the Germans were bringing out the Bf-109, the British had the Hurricane and were bringing out the Spitfire, and the USA had the P-40 and P-39, Fiat introduced the last biplane fixed gear fighter produced in any large numbers. Although the Falco was pretty much outclassed in speed, it was structurally very strong and highly maneuverable. It remained in service through 1944.

The CR 42 remained in production through 1942, and participated in the Battle of Britain. They were used by the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front and by Italy as night fighters, even though they had no radar or radio. While I’m still doing some research, apparently a Gladiator and CR 42 were in combat in December of 1940, probably the last biplane dogfight.