1/700 IJN light carrier Chitose (Aoshima)
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by Christian Hoeltge |
1/700 IJN light carrier Chitose (Aoshima)
Here it is, my first finished Japanese ship model. It is Aoshimas Chitose, a model that I bought spontaneously at an exhibition in March. The Chitose was built as a seaplane carrier 1934 in Kure. The launching was on 11.29.1936. As a seaplane tender the Chitose could transport 24 seaplanes. She took part in several operations, such as the Battle of Midway and the Philippines.In January 1943 she and her sister ship, the Chiyoda, were rebuild into a light carrier in Sasebo. The conversion was completed in November and the Chitose was assigned in January 1944 to the 3rd carrier division. As a light carrier she could take 30 aircraft aboard. The length was 192,5m and the speed 29.9 knots. As AA armament Chitose had four pieces 12.7 dual gun, 10 pieces 25mm triple guns and later four 25mm single guns. In addition there were 6 rocket launchers. The last operation of the Chitose was in October 1944 at the Battle of Leyte. According to the operational plan Sho-ichi go the Chitose should, together with the Chiyoda, the Zuiho and Zuikaku work as bait. If the Americans attempt to land the carriers should lure the American carrier away so as to allow the battleships and cruisers to attack the landing forces. A loss of the carrier force was accepted in this context. And this order was perfectly handled out by the carrier fleet. The Chitose was sunk on 10.25.1944 by aircrafts from the carrier USS Essex.
The kit is from Aoshima. The detailing is very good, though not as good as from Fujimi. There is also a matching pe part set which also contains a wooden deck. Unlike Fujimi there are also sufficient onboard aircraft included. Some of them can be build with the wings folded, which is a nice detail. Also the kit contains a complete hangar deck, which comes handy for those who want to build a cutaway model.
In addition, I have used:
The model was painted with the special green colors from Mr.Color. The deck has been painted with most marks on it. However, there is also a decal for the deck included in the kit. The water was again made with the Water Effects of Vallejo, this time only the Pacific Blue. At last there came a layer of Nochs clear water.
- 25 mm triple guns, pe parts for the boats, carrier masts and ladders from Flyhawk
- 25 mm single guns by AKA Model
- 25 mm shielded triple guns from Finemolds NanoDread
- 12.7 cm AA guns from Ocean Spirit
- cable reel and aircraft pe parts from Lion Roar
- Pilot figures from NorthStar Models
- Sailors and binoculars from Shelf Oddity
It was a enjoyable build for me, though there were frequently setbacks. So the color peeled of when I was taping the deck for white-red stripes. But in the end I used the kit decal, which was super thin. Or I built seven aircrafts, but realized then I had only decals for six. The Zeros recieved a repainting of the wing and new decals from another kit. And of course, just before completion, I realized that the masts of Aoshima can not be built folded down. So I had to quickly order them from the Far East, just to realizing two days later they are avaiable again in Germany.
