1:700 Ijn Aircraft Carrier Zuiho (1944) - Full Hull Model

The light aircraft carrier Zuiho 1944

The carrier Zuiho in her state of 1944, as the name of the item gives it, in 1:700 scale from the Japanese brand Fujimi. The words Full Hull refer to the complete hull, that is including the part that is below the surface under way.

A conversion from an auxiliary vessel

The history of the subject is typical of Japanese light carriers. The Zuiho was not a carrier from the start. The hull was laid down as an auxiliary vessel and only the completion turned it into an aircraft carrier of smaller dimensions. Units like these supplemented the large carriers, took over escort duties and carried a smaller air group. In October 1944 the Zuiho became part of a force meant to draw the American carriers away from Leyte, and in that action air attacks sank her.

The flight deck under the airbrush

A carrier differs from a battleship in the procedure of the work as well: the leading part is played by a horizontal surface, not by superstructures. The flat flight deck is the largest visible area of the model, so every unevenness and every fingerprint will show on it. Spray it before the small parts go onto it. The sides of the hull and the superstructure can be handled separately and joined only at the close of the work.

A fitting addition to a collection for

• Collectors of smaller aircraft carriers
• Modelers interested in the fighting off the Philippines
• Builders of full-hull models for a base
• More advanced modelers

The model is unassembled and without a finish. Glue and paints are not enclosed, unless stated otherwise.