Model Art Issue 920 is typical of other Model Art magazines in that it is written entirely in Japanese, with occasional English words, usually in article titles or in captions. The Vessel Model Special is a quarterly issue that focuses on naval subjects. Advertising comprises the inside covers (and back cover) along with another 4 pages showing what is available and new, always useful for building up that wish list. I counted 410 photos (mostly in color) along with 21 side view or top view drawings. Additionally there are a lot of scrap drawings highlighting details.

The Feature article is on two builds of a 1/350 IJN Shimakaze that goes for twenty-one pages. After a 1 page build of a 1/20 anime figure, you’ll find eighteen pages of three different build-ups in 1/700 scale. Next up is a six page build of a modern day JMSDF Missile Destroyer, DDG-172 Shimakaze. The Shimakaze section finishes with six pages of period photos, profiles and scrap drawings.

Contents:

Academy, the prolific Korean kit maker, continues to appeal to a broad spectrum of model makers. Kits that are easy to assemble have always been an entry point for modeling. Academy continues this trend with this very easy to assemble kit of the Titanic. There’s no need to retell that story here. The Titanic has been the subject of many kits, so here’s another one to add to your Titanic collection.

The Kit

The seven sprues have specific ‘Titanic’ colors, so they don’t require paint. The pieces are well molded, with a just a small amount of flash, something that a new modeler would more than likely not be too concerned about. The hull pieces are packaged separately with seven additional sprues of parts, including a small sprue of gold plated parts (the anchors and three props). Rather than water slide decals, the kit includes a small sheet of stickers.

Thanks ahead of time to Tamiya USA for providing IPMS USA this review kit, and thanks also to the reviewer corps leadership for sending it to me to build and review!

This kit was originally released by Tamiya back in 2006 as the “Yukikaze”, which was the only survivor of the Japanese Kagero-class “A” of Destroyers in World war II. This new release of the kit is the lead ship Kagero itself. Kagero definied in English translates to “Mirage” or “Heat haze”. The net has a lot on it; I just found it interesting to read the history.

Tamiya has, to my mind, an excellent sales process. The kit box captures your attention; a professionally-painted rendering of the actual ship in action, side-view diagrams of the craft, pictures of the assembled model with or without full hull, photographs of the metal parts, and a feeling that “you really want to buy this model” ensues. It works…

First launched in 1991, the SHINKAI 6500 is a manned submersible that can dive to depths of 6,500 meters (20,000 feet). Operated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Shinkai has completed over 1300 deep dives in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, as well as the Sea of Japan.

In 2012, the vessel underwent a major upgrade, including conversion from a single aft prop to two thrusters and the addition of one more horizontal thruster for maneuverability. Hasegawa offers the kit with two build options to reflect the original and upgraded version of the submersible. To clarify the build process and the differences, the instruction sheet includes complete build sequences for each version. It's worth taking the time to go through the instructions – particularly since other sub-options are offered within each build – to end up with the configuration you've chosen.

Osprey Publishing’s latest edition in their Raid series looks at sinking of the HMS Royal Oak by German U-boat U-47 in 1939. From the website: "At the outset of World War II, Scapa Flow was supposed to be the safe home base of the British Navy - nothing could penetrate the defences of this bastion. So how, in the dead of night, was Gunther Prien's U-47 able to slip through the line of protective warships to sink the mighty Royal Oak? This book provides the answer with an account of one of the most daring naval raids in history. Drawing on the latest underwater archaeological research, this study explains how Prien and his crew navigated the North Sea and Kirk Sound to land a devastating blow to the British."