Background.

Frustrated by limitations imposed on her navy, Japan had withdrawn from the renewal talks for the second London Naval Treaty in early 1936, and subsequently embarked on an all-out naval expansion program. With the onset of war clearly on the horizon by 1941, the Japanese Naval General Staff sought additional, urgent warship construction. Among those types required were heavy cruisers.

Their last new heavy cruiser construction had been of the two Tone class ships, commissioned in late 1938 and early 1939, respectively. The four Mogami class vessels had also upgraded their main armament from 6 inch to 8-inch guns within the previous two years to qualify as heavy cruisers. Still, more heavy cruisers were seen as needed.

Consequently, two new heavy cruisers were authorized under the “Rapid Naval Armaments Supplemental Program of November, 1941, designated Warship numbers 300 and 301. At that time, resources for new design studies were extremely limited, with virtually all design and blueprint draft personnel already overburdened with current work. Expediency was the driver, so a repeat Suzuya-type design with some improvements was chosen

As repeat Suzuyas, the new ships had identically sized hulls to that class, with an increase in “official” standard displacement from 11,200tons to 12,200tons and slightly increased main deck camber. Overall length, width, and draft were unchanged at 200.6m, 19.12m (WL) and 6.043m (trial), respectively. The powerplant of eight Kampon type boilers and four Kampon type turbines was carried over, as was the total shaft horsepower of 152,000. Propeller size was increased slightly, and a top speed of 35 knots was planned. Range remained 8000 nautical miles at 14 knots.

The armor scheme was similar, while the armament layout was identical. In the latter, a main battery of ten 20.3cm (8”) guns was mounted in five twin gun turrets, three forward, two aft, with number three turret superimposed over turrets one and two. The turret model was changed from the E2 of the Mogami class to that of an E3 as carried in the Tone class.

The secondary battery was also identical, with four semi-shielded mounts containing twin 12.7cm/40 cal. HA dual purpose guns. As designed, the tertiary light AA batteries were also identical to Suzuya, that of four twin 25m and two twin 13mm AA mounts, but it was expected that these would increase over time.

The torpedo armament was increased from four triple 61cm (24”) torpedo tube mounts to four quadruple 61cm torpedo tube mounts, along with an additional four Type 93 torpedo reloads. This meant a broadside improvement from six to eight torpedoes, or 25%; in line with the refitted Myoko and Takao class cruisers.

Other changes included a relocated aircraft handling crane, an AA command position created atop the bridge from the outset, wind vanes for the bridge windows, a Type 21 air search radar mounted atop the foremast, and a bow mounted sonar array.

A Brief History

Both ships were laid down without names, as Warships No. 300 and No. 301, but the former was eventually named Ibuki on April 5, 1943. Ibuki was laid down at the Kure Naval Arsenal on April 24, 1942, while Warship #301 was laid down at Mitsubishi’s Nagasaki dockyard on June 1, 1942.

Within a week of Warship # 301’s constructive start, Japan’s naval superiority in the Pacific had been seriously curtailed. The disastrous loss of four of its front-line fleet aircraft carriers at the Battle of Midway that very week signaled the urgent need to rethink the Imperial Japanese Navy’s shipbuilding plans. Perhaps above all else, it demonstrated the need for air superiority in battle. While Japan had new fleet aircraft carriers both planned and building, quick measures were needed to bolster the current air fleet.

Accordingly, work on Warship #301 was halted and she was ordered scrapped on June 30^th to clear the ways for the Unryu class carrier Amagi, whose keel was laid on October 1^st. More advanced in construction, Ibuki’s work was allowed to continue so as to enable her launching. That was achieved the next year on May 21, 1943.

Work continued on Ibuki at Kure after her launch until July, when construction was halted while planners evaluated various alternatives for her. These included completion as a heavy cruiser, scrapping, conversion to a fast fleet oiler, or conversion to a light aircraft carrier. On August 25^th, the IJN decided to convert her into a light carrier. (Some sources state the Japan was aware of various USN construction programs, including the conversion of Cleveland class cruisers into the Independence class light carriers. USS Independence had been commissioned in January, 1943, arrived at Hawaii in July, and commenced operations in August, so there might be something to that.)

Based on the allocation of current and planned shipbuilding and repair, Sasebo Naval Arsenal was deemed the best facility to handle the conversion. Ibuki was towed there by the submarine tender Jingei, arriving on December 21, 1943. Completion was slated for March of 1945.

The conversion work at Sasebo included adding hull bulges to improve stability and removing the turret barbettes, which had already been installed. Ibuki’s belt and deck armor were thinned slightly. Also removed was half the power plant (four boilers, two turbines), which reduced her top speed from a planned 35 kts to 29 kts. The two inner propeller shafts and propellers were also removed. The now empty engine room was converted to fuel oil storage while the former turbine room was altered to stow av-gas. (note: CVs Amagi and Kasagi received the extra boilers and turbines built for Ibuki and Warship # 301, as both types utilized the same powerplant.)

A single hangar deck storing 27 to 30 aircraft (depending on type) was erected atop the hull. It was serviced by two elevators situated at each end of the hangar. A large flight deck was placed over the hangar, while a small island was erected on the starboard side where it was partially supported by a large sponson. Exhaust from the engine room was ducted through a medium size funnel placed aft the island and directed downward, in the original manner of most IJN carriers. A Type 21 radar atop the island was planned, while the sonar installation was to be retained.

The planned armament included sixteen triple 25mm AA mounts ringing the flight deck on small sponsons, along with two twin mounted 8cm/60 cal. Type 98 dual purpose guns mounted forward, one per side. These were the smaller version of the better known 10cm/65cal weapon used on the Akizuki class destroyers. The 8cm mount was also used on the Agano class light cruisers, and meant to provide a lighter weight but highly effective HA weapon on smaller hulls to help with stability issues.

The reconstruction proceeded in fits and spurts. Current Sasebo yard construction (including light cruisers Yahagi and Sakawa), material shortages, and the diversion of workers for urgent repair of damaged vessels slowed the project. On March 16, 1945, around the time of Ibuki’s originally scheduled completion date, the project was cancelled. Sasebo’s facilities were needed for the construction of small submarines to be used in the defense of Japan in anticipation of an imminent invasion by US and Allied forces. Ibuki was 80% completed at that point. She was moored in the harbor and essentially abandoned.

Postwar, the decision was made to scrap her after the bulk of the repatriation of Japanese soldiers and sailors was completed. She was placed in drydock at Sasebo for scrapping on November 22, 1946. Her scrapping was completed the following August.

Ibuki does not have a TROM record, but her Wikipedia entry can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cruiser_Ibuki_(1943)

The Kit

One thing I do really like about Fujimi is their willingness to produce “what-if” kits. Excepting their Super Yamato kit (Project A-150 design), their choices have been grounded in designs that actually began construction, such as their Akagi and Amagi battlecruiser kits. In the same vein, this latest what-if kit faithfully follows Ibuki’s heavy cruiser design as laid down, no doubt largely aided by her near identical resemblance to the Suzuya/Kumano heavy cruiser subclass, which Fujimi just happens to produce as well. I have to think that from Fujimi’s marketing perspective, issuing this kit made a fair amount of sense.

The majority of the sprues come from their recent (2019-2020 issue) Mogami class kits for Mikuma 1942, Mogami 1942, Suzuya 1942/44, and Kumano 1942/44 versions. It’s a good thing, too, because these kits are superior to their initial Mogami 1944 kit issued in 2012, with sharper, more detailed parts and a slightly harder styrene that molds the details sharper and crisply than their original Mogami kit. In many ways, the fidelity of the details as well as the color of the styrene is reminiscent of 1/700 Tamiya kits.

The kit is molded in a medium grey plastic that is hard and clean, with no flash nor soft or greasy aspects. There are 29 sprues with well over 700 pieces, but the kit probably only uses about 40% of those parts.

Note: Since a great many of the sprues are drawn from the Suzuya/Kumano kits, I will identify those sprues and/or parts specific to Ibuki. All sprues are shared with the other Fujimi Mogami class (excepting Mogami 1944) kits unless otherwise noted. Not all the parts from all sprues are used in this kit.

The sprue breakdown is as follows:

Sprue A (Hull)

This is a waterline hull molded in two longitudinal halves, with recesses for a hidden bottom plate. In addition to accommodating the hidden waterline plate, the hull interior also has multiple mounting points for internal styrene bracing rods that helps connect the hull halves together in a rigid stance.

The hull is very sharply molded with distinct, correctly scaled details. While the styrene itself seems a little harder than in the past, it is also thinner, giving a fair amount of flex to the hull. I want to believe that the addition of the hull stiffeners and bottom plate will eliminate much of the flex in the hull.

The impressive detailing includes: hull bulges, anchor recesses, portholes (open with eyebrows high up on the hull and all sealed covers for the lower row of portholes – correct for 1944 and later), a degaussing cable with brackets, many mooring bits, coamings surrounding the torpedo bay apertures, and molded on anchors at the rear. There are no real nitpicks here. There’s no hull plating, but I think that more appropriate for 1/700 scale anyway.

The hull scales out beautifully. Ibuki’s dimensions versus the scale and kit:

*because the hull is split in half, this measurement is only an estimate. However, I did use digital calipers to measure the components and I think the estimate to be accurate.

(Note for rivet counters – Fujimi uses the same hull for all of its Mogami class kits as well as Ibuki, excepting its Mogami 1944/44 cruiser/carrier hybrid kit. However, know that Mogami and Mikuma were actually built with a more pronounced knuckle than Suzuya and Kumano where the main hull meets the superstructure of the 01 HA (High Angle) gun deck. The 01 deck of this earlier subclass was slightly wider than the hull. The later ships had their superstructure deck narrowed slightly to reduce topweight. Strictly speaking, Fujimi’s kit hull is far more correct for Suzuya, Kumano and Ibuki.

In this one particular regard, the earlier Tamiya Mogami class kits are superior, as their respective kit hulls do distinguish between the two classes.)

Sprue A (Waterline Plate)

Here dwells Fujimi’s typical hidden waterline plate, along with two circular, splinter shielded tubs meant for two triple 25mm AA mounts placed on the aft main deck, a 110cm searchlight, and a small vent grill cover.

Sprue a (lower case)

This is the largest, non-hull sprue. On it, one finds the forward and aft sections of the main deck, the forecastle deck, an insert for the treaded plate portion of the stern deck, the 01 High Angle Gun deck, both halves of the funnel, the funnel grill, three secondary funnel pipes, a single piece consisting of the funnel truss support/additional AA crew quarters, the bridge base, two lower bridge air intakes, a midship deckhouse, and the raised 25mm AA bandstand platform that surrounds the funnel.

The forecastle and stern insert decks are covered with metal treading, very nicely scaled and sharply molded. Ditto the anchor chains, capstans, tie-down chains and even the plating seams on the forecastle deck. Likewise, the main and 01 decks have linoleum tie-downs and beautifully scaled hatches with dogs, skylights, boat chocks and what I believe are torpedo adjustment tables. Further, the decks appear to have a hint of camber molded in, but this is hard to confirm with the decks attached to the sprue.

The trolley rails for the aircraft dollies properly show treaded metal between the tracks as well as rail supports. The funnel, deckhouses, and AA platform are also sharply detailed. The funnel has subtle yet sharp grabrails molded on. The funnel grill is molded with a portion of the funnel lip and also nicely done.

Sprue B

This is one of Fujimi’s common sprues, used in a great many kits. It is composed of twenty 3mm diameter rods of varying lengths that are glued to both hull halves from the inside to stabilize the hull. Only four of the rods are used in this kit.

Sprue b (lower case)

It’s a small sprue comprised of the three bulkheads that make up the aft end of the 01 deck, the port and starboard grills for the main engine room air intake that sits under the funnel, some large equipment bins, and some specially shaped air intakes that sit atop the aircraft handling deck, situated in between the trolley rails.

None of these pieces are large or heavily detailed, but the bulkheads have hatches with dogs and some vertical access ladders, all of which are sharply molded and do standout.

Sprue C

This is a clear, one-piece sprue composed of the windows for the compass bridge (navigation) deck. The window frames are molded on.

Sprue d (lower case)

Specific to Suzuya, Kumano and Ibuki, this is a three-piece sprue consisting of two auxiliary funnel pipes for the aft end of the funnel, the compass bridge deck, and the roof of the compass bridge deck, which is actually the AA command position deck. Both decks have finely molded wind vanes in the front, and multiple position holes for optical equipment. The compass bridge deck has a 2kw light mounted to the outside of the wind vane, and a wood grating atop the finely treaded metal deck. The same decking arrangement covers the AA command position’s deck.

I have to say, the quality of the detailing is excellent. Along with the hardness and sharpness of the styrene, it seems more Tamiya-like than Tamiya itself.

Sprue F

This is the standard, common Fujimi sprue for twin and triple 25mm AA guns. As I’ve written numerous times in previous reviews of various Fujimi Imperial Japanese Navy kits, these mounts are overscale and less detailed than various aftermarket styrene versions such as the Fine Molds Nano-Dread or Pit-road NE versions. However, Fujimi recently began including a new 25mm mount sprue with its kits, including this one. That’s covered further on.

Sprue G x 2

This is a small parts sprue holding four types of deck vents, two types of ammo boxes, a stowed boat boom and two type 25mm AA directors. All are sharply molded and nicely scaled. I suspect this is a relatively new common sprue first used for the newer Fujimi Mogami class ships as I’ve not come across it before.

The parts layout indicates that a great many of the smaller vents are to be used, but I find the instructions unclear about placement. Apparently, one is supposed to open up a number of holes semi-formed on the underside of the decks, but without piercing all the way through the deck. Nor did I see any usage indicated for the boat booms on the instructions.

Sprue G (Boat)

This is an older common sprue containing various ship’s boats. Only the three 12m motor launches are utilized. These show wood planked decks and nice details such as hatches, skylights, canopy draped frames and subtle bumpers.

Sprue H

Fujimi’s common single 25mm AA sprue. According to the instructions, eight are used on the quarterdeck. I’m not sure how they made that determination, but any conjecture of her late war AA fit is open to debate. Fujimi’s version of the 25mm single is ok; it’s certainly rendered better than its triple barreled counterpart. Still, Fine Mold’s own offering is the styrene standard bearer for this type mount.

Sprue I

This sprue contains smaller ships boats, the 9m cutters. This is another of Fujimi’s standard boat sets. The shapes and detail are better than most versions in most accessory sets, but not nearly as sharply molded as Pit-road’s NE02 set or Fine Molds Nano-Dread set 2. Only three of the six units are indicated as being used.

Sprue J x 2

This sprue holds a multitude of small parts and is drawn from the original Mogami 1944 kit. Included are barrels with blast bags for the 20cm main guns, rangefinder hoods for the main turrets, an assortment of braces, supports, davits, molded access ladders, deck vents, enclosed navigation positions, anchors, gun carriages for the twin 12.7cm40cal HA guns, paravanes, instrumentation, searchlight platform bases, and some miscellaneous equipment.

Of all these pieces, just the 20cm barrels, gun carriages, paravanes, large anchors and enclosed navigation positions are used. The fidelity of most of the pieces is good. The barrel muzzles have a recessed opening.

Sprue K

This is another sprue drawn from the original Mogami 1944 kit. It holds a pair of 12m motorized launches, all four gun tubs for the 12.7cm mounts, four sets of twin 12.7cm/40cal barrels with recoil tubes, a rack with flotation lumber, three turrets and bases for the 20.3cm guns, housings for some large air intakes, two 25mm AA mount platforms, some bulkheads for the 01-superstructure level, and a large number of aircraft trolleys.

Here, only the main turrets and bases, the 12m boats, and the twin 12.7cm/40cal guns are used. The main turrets are very nice, molded with multiple, sharp but small and well scaled seam lines where the heat shield plating was joined together. The twin 12.7 guns are serviceable, but far better versions are available in styrene from Pit-road and Fine Molds, not to mention a number of 3D printed ones.

Sprue K (aircraft) x 2

This is an aircraft sprue, holding two Aichi E16A Zuiun two seat reconnaissance seaplanes. The sprue is drawn from Fujimi’s Ise/Hyuga aircraft battleship kits. Molded in grey styrene, each is complete excepting a separate propeller and twin floats. It’s nicely shaped, with sharp panel lines and an open rear canopy over the gunner’s position. However, there are noticeable mold seams on the fuselage.

The E16A was the successor aircraft to the E13A Jake. Introduced too late to see widespread use, it did sortie operationally with Ise and Hyuga after their mid-war conversion to aircraft carrier-battleship hybrids. Chances are that Ibuki would have carried two or three such aircraft.

Sprue N

Drawn from the original Mogami 1944 kit, this one holds the four semi shields for the Type 89 twin 12.7cm secondary battery along with Mogami’s aft deckhouses. Only the shields are utilized for this kit. The shields are sharp, with scaled but distinct reinforcement ribbing.

Sprue R

Common to all of the class kits excepting the Mogami 1944 kit, this one holds the main turret base ring for turret number 5, some bulkheads for the forward end of the 01 High Angle deck, some enclosed navigation and 25mm AA directors, some portions of the main bridge superstructure, some access ladders for the bridge, three searchlight towers, a practice loader for the 12.7cm guns the 6m main battery director atop the bridge, some travel stops for the 12.7cm batteries, two jack staffs, and the interior torpedo stowage and reload deck.

Per earlier comments on scaling and details, everything looks very good. The practice loader is far more detailed and distinct than usual. The only qualifier is that the spare torpedo layout shows three torpedoes per mount as was typical for the Mogami class as a whole, whereas Ibuki had four per mount (though some sources cite only eight reloads, which would have meant two per mount). Considering that this deck is mostly hidden and hard to see, one can’t really fault Fujimi for carrying over this part to the Ibuki kit.

Sprue S x 2

Another common sprue, this one has triple 61cm torpedo tubes, deck winches, support legs for the main gun director platform, access ladders, supports for the AA platforms at the bridge front and around the funnel, searchlight platforms, small hawser reels, a Type 93 4.5m rangefinder, a small capstan for the rear deck, main turret base rings, small AA bandstands, more barrel travel stops for the 12.7cm mounts, aircraft catapult, an aircraft trolley, davits, and what appears to be a 9m cutter.

Sprue T x 2

This sprue is specific to the Ibuki kit and it holds two unshielded, quadruple mounts for the Type 93 torpedoes and a Type 94 High Angle director. The tubes have exposed torpedo warheads. I think the attachment points for the director could be problematic for a clean cut. All are sharply molded and properly scaled.

Sprue U x 2

This is a late war sprue used with the Suzuya 1944, Kumano 1944 and this kit. It holds two of the gun tubs for the twin 12.7cm/40cal HA mounts, a pillar support and an enclosed 25mm AA director, and deck vents.

Sprue V

This, too, is a late war sprue used with the Suzuya 1944, Kumano 1944 and this kit. It contains all the components to the late war foremast, an AA platform and a bridge deck. The mast has some very sharp, nicely scaled details, including radars, enclosed operator’s compartment, and instrumentation atop the yardarms. The bridge deck has a nicely thinned bulwark with support ribs.

Sprue W

This is a common sprue for Fujimi for optical equipment, first introduced with the Hiyo CV kit in 2016. (It’s also offered for sale separately.) It includes numerous 12cm search binoculars, searchlight directors, small rangefinders, 25mm AA directors, 110cm main searchlights, and 30cm signaling searchlights.

Sprue X

This sprue is specific to the Ibuki kit. It holds all the components to the mainmast (tripod legs with enclosed operator compartment, a Type 13 radar, crane boom, the upper mast and yardarms), the aft deckhouse that supported the auxiliary (aft) main gun director, and the halves of a long, roll-off depth charge rack that would have been mounted at the stern. Everything is well scaled and finely detailed.

This is one of three new Fujimi sprues that revises their 1/700 25mm AA offerings. It’s not limited to this kit or the class as a whole, but being slowly rolled out as an upgrade included with all their new or re-released offerings. All three sprues are labeled with Japanese characters only.

This is the 25mm barrels sprue, thoughtfully molded in gunmetal gray. Seven triple, three twin and ten single 25mm AA guns are included. These are certainly an improvement over the ones included on sprues F and H. These versions are more on a par with the relatively new Pit-road NE series guns, though not quite in Fine Molds territory, in my opinion.

New 25mm AA Sprue x2 (Bases)

These are the carriages that the barrels are mounted on. The triple and twins have good detail. I still give the nod to Fine Molds for achieving slightly better detail. I think this pertains particularly to the single 25mm mounts, as there are now two pieces to assemble, which complicates their construction for little obvious gain.

I suppose the same can be said for the other mounts since Fine Molds achieves more within a one-piece unit. Still, these will work fine if you don’t care to take on the additional expense of another accessory set.

New 25MM AA Sprue x 2 (Ammo boxes and shields).

These new mounts do get splinter shields, but they are molded as separate halves. There’s enough for ten mounts. Molding them in halves makes it easier to apply to either triple or twin 25mm mounts, but it also complicates the assembly. These shields cannot be used for the single 25mm mounts, and none are provided for.

On the other hand, one gets two types of nicely rendered 25mm AA ammo boxes, with latches and hinges

Two nicely registered, identical decal sheets are included. Each carries three sizes of Japanese Naval ensigns, and of Hinomarus on a white background, plus markings for two seaplanes.

These come on one very long sheet of paper, printed front and back in black and white, segmented into multiple panels. It’s clearly illustrated, and labeled in Japanese. Assembly is shown step-by-step via exploded, three-point perspective illustrations.

Sub-assemblies are shown in good detail, and the construction process appears straightforward. One panel is devoted to the sprue layout and parts breakdown, with block outs denoting which parts should go unused. Another panel is devoted to the painting scheme and color callouts. The callouts are keyed to Gunze Sangyo Mr. Color paints.

As mentioned earlier, I found the portion of the instructions pertaining to the mushroom style deck vents to require several reviews in order to understand them.

Notes on Painting and Photoetch

The box art depicts Ibuki in her heavy cruiser configuration in a very late war camouflage scheme that resembles the pattern applied to the Imperial Japanese Navy’s aircraft carriers. That actual scheme was chosen to mimic the appearance of a merchant ship. The box art is strictly a speculative pattern as no such pattern was ever applied to its heavy cruisers. The heavy cruisers that remained intact at the end of the war carried a more splotch and dapple kind of camouflage pattern. Interestingly, the color call out in the instructions is the more typical gray hull and superstructures with linoleum decking that was carried by most IJN ships throughout the war.

However, as a what-if concept, there really isn’t just one correct way to paint the ship. It’s anybody’s guess as to how Ibuki might have appeared. I do think, though, that her very late war scheme would more closely have resembled that of the other cruisers. Thinking beyond the box a bit, an even more interesting scheme might be conjecturing possible service in another country’s navy as a postwar prize if she had survived. Or, perhaps as another test target at Bikini Atoll. Just some food for thought.

As of this writing, there is no dedicated photo etch set produced for Ibuki. However, as a repeat Suzuya type design, it is reasonable to assume that the Fujimi produced, dedicated, late war sets for Suzuya or Kumano would serve just as well. Undoubtably, 95%+ of the set would be usable, including all the key railings, booms, etc.

While there are dedicated aftermarket sets from Five Star and Artist Hobby for Suzuya, know that they are meant for the Tamiya versions. I’m not sure if the Tamiya and Fujimi kits are dimensionally similar, so it’s not a certainty on fit. Also, the AH sets are an early war fit set.

Final Thoughts.

The kit is essentially a re-boxed late war Suzuya heavy cruiser kit with some additional or modified parts. Which follows exactly what the actual Ibuki was originally planned to be.

Having built several “what-if” ship projects over the years, I admit to being pre-disposed towards this kit. I have always been intrigued by more realistic what-if designs, and this ship in particular. In fact, I converted a Tamiya 1/700 Suzuya kit to Ibuki 20+ years ago, and I still look upon it fondly. So, the arrival of this kit was very welcome news.

My bias notwithstanding, this is an impressive kit with a wealth of sharply formed, properly scaled details. It’s not quite a Flyhawk level of execution (or number of parts), but I think this one of Fujimi’s better 1/700 efforts. Which, I suppose, also speaks well of their more recent Mogami class kits, given how much of this kit is drawn from those. Hopefully, the fit will match what’s been produced in the box, which is impressive.

Highly recommended.

This review kit was courtesy of Hobbylink Japan. Suggested US MSRP appears to be approximately $44, though many discounted prices are available on international websites (including Hobbylink Japan), shipping not included.