The background, design and history of Takao was taken from the June 2025 review of Veryfire’s 1/350 Takao 1944 kit. That information applies to this new kit as well.

Background
The decisive defeat of the Russian Baltic Fleet by the Japanese Combined Fleet at the Battle of Tushima in 1903 helped usher in several decades’ adherence by the Imperial Japanese Navy to the idea of a decisive single naval battle deciding the outcome of a war. Subsequent Japanese naval doctrine was built upon this view, with a titanic battle between fleets of battleships deciding the outcome of that war. The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 served to alter their means of achieving such a victory, though not the goal itself.

The treaty halted all battleship construction for ten years, as well as setting ratios of capital ships between the signatories. As such, Japan found herself at a disadvantage given the 5 (US):5 (UK):3 (Japan) ratio in battleships. To help make up for her quantitative battleline disadvantage, Japan turned to a relatively unregulated category, that of cruisers.

Cruisers were not limited by ratios or an overall tonnage allowance, only that of an individual ship tonnage limit of 10,000tons and a main battery no bigger than 8 inches/20.3cm. Japan turned her focus towards building cruisers with maximized armament to supplement the battleline. Her naval doctrine evolved to include the cruisers as part of an advance force to help whittle down an enemy fleet prior to engagement by the battleline. They would do so with high speed, a heavy main battery and torpedoes, and preferably at night.

Design
At the time of the treaty, the Japanese had already embarked on an advanced cruiser design utilizing a 20.3cm (8”) battery, but on a lighter 7,500ton hull which allowed a broadside of only six 20.3cm mounts. The larger gun, plus surface launched torpedoes, classified the design as the Type “A” or first class, cruisers for the Japanese. Two such ships entered service in 1926, known as the Furutaka class. An additional two ships, the Aoba class, were an improved design on the same size hull. These entered service in late 1927.

A new class of four vessels was then designed to take advantage of the new treaty’s 10,000ton hull limit. These were known as the Myoko class and entered service in 1928-29. Their design was meant to maximize the armament that could be carried on a 10,000ton hull. The main battery was increased to ten 20.3cm mounts carried in five twin turrets. Originally designed without a torpedo armament, subsequent modernizations eventually included four triple torpedo launchers. Armor protection was greatly improved, along with the inclusion of an anti-torpedo belt. The powerplant was also increased in power, as was the ship’s range.

When built, these ships carried the heaviest armament of any cruiser class yet built. However, the ships were overweight by approximately 10% at 11,633 tons (standard load) and 14,980 tons (full load), mostly a consequence of attempting to place too much in the way of arms, armor and equipment on a treaty restricted hull. The extra weight affected their sea-keeping abilities, along with range. The accommodations for the crew were also cramped.

A follow-up class was designed to address the shortcomings of the Myokos. Known as the Takao class (and consisting of sisters Takao, Atago, Maya, and Chokai), these ships were approximately the same size as the Myokos, with a hull 668.5ft. long and 62ft wide as built, and having a displacement of approximately 12,000tons standard and 15,000 tons at full load. The Takaos retained the same main gun battery and layout as the Myokos, but also with improved features and habitability. They entered service in the early 1930s.

Their bridges were enlarged to accommodate fleet command and control functionality. The bridge was also moved slightly aft to reduce the length of the armored citadel. Their hull armor was strengthened with the use of Ducol steel instead of HT steel and slightly thickened as well. This was particularly true in the areas surrounding the magazines. Their rotating twin, four 61cm torpedo batteries were located aft to reduce potential damage from possible induced explosions. Two catapults for reconnaissance aircraft were also installed.

Still, this new class was also about 10% overweight, despite the use of the Ducol steel armor, some electric welding and use of aluminum in the bridge structures. The large bridge structures added some degree of instability as well, necessitating the addition of a few hundred tons of ballast. The Myokos had not yet run their trials when most of the design work for the Takaos had been completed, so the issues with weight were not yet completely understood.

All the Takao sisters underwent a refit during 1936 in the wake of the 4th Fleet incident. Their hulls were strengthened considerably, and minor improvements were made to their masts, fittings, searchlights and light armaments. In 1937, adjustments were also made to their fire controls to reduce the dispersions of their main battery salvos.

An extensive modernization was planned for the class in the 1938-1941 timeframe. Among the planned steps: a reduction in the size of the bridge to reduce top-weight, the addition of hull bulges to improve stability, torpedo protection and longitudinal hull strength, improvements to the powerplant, living quarters, communication facilities/equipment and flooding/counterflooding abilities, and the modernization of the antiaircraft armaments, torpedo armaments (increased from two to four per mount), fire controls, and aircraft handling facilities, as well as the installation of a new tripod foremast with improved RDF equipment. Upon completion of the improvements, the Takaos would remain the largest cruisers in the IJN.

Takao was modernized at the Yokosuka Navy Yard between May,1938 and August,1939. Atago was modernized between April,1938 and October,1939, though her modernization was split between Maizuru Navy Yard (hull and bridge) and the balance of work performed at Yokosuka. Modernizations for Chokai and Maya were planned for 1941, after modernizations for the Myokos and the Mogamis were completed.

However, the run-up to war required all work to be completed by June 1941. Six months were available for work but considered impractical given the scope of proposed changes. So, the modernizations for Maya and Chokai were postponed, and a small refit of their torpedo and AA armaments took place instead, along with an upgrade to their catapults.

All the sisters received incremental refits throughout the war, mostly to do with increased AA, improved hull integrity and radar installations. Maya would notably receive an extensive modernization and refit as an AA cruiser after incurring extensive bomb damage in 1943.

History
Takao is one of the more famous ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, both as name ship of her class, and in her own right. She was laid down on April 27, 1928, and commissioned on May 31, 1932. All four sisters were commissioned within a three-month interval and collectively designated as Cruiser Division (Sentai) 4. All would train together throughout the 1930s, excepting those times when the sisters underwent refits or modernization. Additionally, they jointly supported landings near Shanghai during the start of the Sino-Japanese war in 1937, as well patrol the waters off northeast China.

At the outset of the Pacific War in late 1941, Takao and Sentai 4 participated in the landings in the Philippines, then spent much of February and March 1942 operating in the waters off the Netherlands East Indies out of Palau and subsequently, Staring Bay. From there, Takao helped intercept Allied shipping trying to escape as the Japanese overran those islands. She sank multiple merchant ships as well as several lighter naval units from the Allied ABDA forces.

She returned to Yokosuka in mid-March 1942 and received a light refit, including additional 25mm AA guns and the replacement of her secondary battery of four 12cm mounts with four unshielded, twin 12.7cm mounts. Still at Yokosuka in late April, she sortied in the company of Maya and Atago as part of an unsuccessful pursuit of USN TF-16 (the Doolittle Force) that had bombed Japan, using B-25 bombers flown from the deck of the carrier Hornet. In early May, she and Maya rescued crew from the sinking seaplane tender Mizuho, torpedoed by USS Drum off the coast of Japan.

In late May, Takao and Maya joined with the Northern Force for the successful attack on Dutch Harbor and the capture of Attu and Kiska Islands in the Aleutian Islands in early June. Both ships returned to northern Japan, then sortied again as a convoy escort for a resupply mission to those same islands. They subsequently returned to Japan.

In early July, Chokai was detached from Sentai 4 to act as flagship for the newly formed 8th Fleet, charged with operations in the South Pacific. After the invasion of the island of Guadalcanal by American Marines in early August, the other three sisters of Sentai 4 advanced to the fleet anchorage at Truk Atoll along with other heavy elements of the fleet. They were staged at Truk as part of a larger plan to retake Guadalcanal.

In mid-August, the Japanese initiated their plan by sending a heavily escorted reinforcement convoy to Guadalcanal from Truk. On the 21st, three Japanese task forces departed as well in support. One was a carrier group, the other two were surface forces looking to entrap and destroy elements of the US fleet after the carriers had neutralized any interference from US carriers and land-based air assets utilizing a crude airstrip known as Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. Sentai 4 was part of the Japanese “Advance Force”.

In what is now known as the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on August 24-25, only the Japanese carrier group and ships of the Reinforcement convoy engaged American forces. The Japanese lost a light carrier, a destroyer, and several transports, while suffering considerable damage to a fleet carrier, a light cruiser and a seaplane tender, along with the loss of many aircrews. A US fleet carrier was heavily damaged, but air crew losses were low. Neither Takao nor her sisters saw any action.

All Japanese fleet elements returned to Truk. There were several operational sorties from Truk throughout September for Sentai 4 and the Japanese fleet, but without any consequential actions or engagements. That changed in October when Takao and Sentai 4 sortied with the Japanese fleet as part of a new operation to retake Guadalcanal. The ensuing confrontation is known as the Battle for the Santa Cruz Islands.

Again, Sentai 4 was part of a large surface task force. Also again, the battle was primarily a clash between opposing carrier forces, with significant damage and losses to both sides. Losses were high on both sides regarding carrier air crews, but more so for the Japanese. More importantly, the Japanese effort failed short of retaking Henderson Field on Guadalcanal; the ownership of the airfield now acknowledged as being the key to success for either side. Sentai 4 again failed to see any action.

Once more, the Japanese fleet returned to Truk. Still another attempt to retake the field was planned for November. Various heavy units of the fleet, including Maya but not Takao or Atago, participated in several nighttime bombardments of Henderson Field to destroy American air forces based there. These were only momentarily successful, but they did help set the stage for several battles over several days that took place in mid-November. These encounters became known as the Naval Battles for Guadalcanal.

A first clash between IJN and USN forces occurred on the night of November 12-13th, in which ships engaged each other at very close range for almost 40 minutes. The outcome was costly, yet indecisive. The Japanese lost one battleship and two destroyers in this encounter, with many other IJN ships suffering various amounts of damage. In turn, the American lost two light cruisers and four destroyers, plus several of their remaining ships incurring various amounts of damage.

This first round had not included any members of Sentai 4, but the following night, Maya returned to bombard Henderson Field in the company of heavy cruiser Suzuya while sister Chokai, heavy cruiser Kinugasa, and several destroyers acted as a covering force and distant escort for a large group of transports headed to Guadalcanal with troop reinforcements. The night’s bombardment proved ineffective because the following morning, surviving aircraft from Henderson Field, in conjunction with aircraft from the carrier Enterprise, inflicted considerable damage and loss upon this cruiser force as well as the transport force. Kinugasa was sunk and Maya was moderately damaged by a dive bomber that inadvertently crashed into her,

Subsequently, Atago and Takao, along with the battleship Kirishima, two light cruisers and eleven destroyers were tasked with one more bombardment of Henderson Field on the successive night of November 14-15. In doing so, they clashed yet again at close range with an ad hoc USN force of two battleships and four destroyers similarly tasked with preventing the bombardment by the Japanese.

Despite damaging one of the American battleships and sinking three destroyers, the Japanese were again denied the opportunity to eliminate or retake Henderson Field. They also lost Kirishima and a destroyer, while Atago incurred light damage. Atago and Takao did score several gunfire hits of multiple calipers upon the first US battleship (South Dakota) but missed in their attempts to torpedo the second USN battleship (Washington).

Afterwards, Sentai 4 retired toward Truk with the remaining IJN forces. Takao and Atago eventually returned to Kure, Japan at the end of November for a short refit.

In January 1943, Takao returned to Truk, eventually participating as part of the supporting forces accompanying the successful evacuation of Guadalcanal by Japanese destroyers over several nights in early February. Afterwards, she remained at Truk with Atago and other heavy elements of the Fleet until July.

Takao and Atago returned to Yokosuka at the end of July for further refits and some upgrades. Among them were the addition of two triple 25mm AA mounts and windshields for the compass bridge level. More significant was the addition of a Type 21 air search radar atop the foremast. Within the foremast, the RDF room was converted to a radar monitoring compartment and the RDF monitoring function moved within the bridge.

Takao returned to Truk in August with other heavy elements of the fleet. September and October were spent mostly at Truk, excepting some sorties with the fleet in attempts to intercept various American task forces as they conducted raids on Wake and various other movements.

On November 1st, American amphibious forces invaded the island of Bougainville, which was further up the Solomons Islands chain to the northwest from Guadalcanal. The Japanese reacted immediately, sending troop transports and a covering cruiser/destroyer force. The Japanese forces ran into a similar USN cruiser /destroyer task force, which inflicted losses and damage to the Japanese with little of their own. This encounter, the Battle for Empress Augusta Bay, also denied the Japanese the opportunity to land their reinforcements.

A larger, more powerful Japanese force including Takao, Atago, and Maya of Sentai 4, plus four other heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and eleven destroyers were gathered at Truk for another attack against the American forces on and around Bougainville. This force departed Truk on the 3rd and after a quick 800-mile trip, entered Rabaul’s harbor around 6AM, November 5th. Several of the ships proceeded to refuel from tankers already stationed at Rabaul.

As a means of forestalling this new force, the US Navy took a very serious, calculated risk and sent two aircraft carriers (the fleet carrier Saratoga and the light carrier Princeton) to attack this cruiser/destroyer force while at Rabaul. Around noon that same day of November 5th, 97 US-carrier based aircraft from this carrier group attacked the Japanese cruiser force in Rabaul Harbor. An hour later, a small group of land-based B-24s of the US Fifth Air Force made a follow-up attack as part of a coordinated effort to inflict maximum damage upon the Japanese.

Five of the seven heavy cruisers were damaged, four (Takao, Atago, Maya, and Mogami) badly enough to warrant a return to Japan. A light cruiser and three destroyers were also damaged. Takao was hit by two 500lb. bombs near numbers one and two turrets. 23 men in turret number one were killed, and her hull holed below the waterline. Accompanied by Atago (three near missed bombs also holed her below the waterline and killed 22 men), she returned to Yokosuka Naval Yard for repairs, arriving on November 15th.

During Takao’s time in drydock, her battle damage was repaired, she had a refit and underwent some modifications. Her watertight integrity was improved with the sealing of her lower row of portholes. She saw the addition of eight single 25mm AA mounts and a Type 22 surface search radar was fitted to the top of her bridge superstructure. It was also likely at this time that a Type 93 Mod 2 hydrophone was installed up forward under the waterline. Atago’s refit was identical.

Repairs were completed on January 18, 1944. Takao sailed for Truk in the company of several ships, but she and destroyer Tamanami were diverted to assist the escort carrier Unyo. Unyo’s bow had been lost to a torpedo hit, with damage compounded by rough seas. With the assistance of other destroyers warding off US subs, Unyo was successfully escorted back to Yokosuka.

Takao departed again, this time for Palau, arriving on February 20th. There, she joined with Sentai 4 sisters Atago and Chokai, along with Sentai 5’s Myoko and Haguro. Collectively, they conducted training exercises. Sentai 4 was also transferred administratively to Admiral Ozama’s First Mobile Fleet.

Both Sentai 4 and 5 departed Palau on March 29th, accompanied by several escorts, to join the main fleet (now called the First Mobile Fleet) at its new anchorage at Lingga Roads, Singapore. They stopped enroute at Davao, Philippines. Departing Davao, the cruiser force was attacked by US submarines, but all torpedoes were avoided. This force arrived at Lingga on Apil 9th. Between that date and May 11, Takao and Sentai 4 conducted training and simple maintenance, as did all the other elements of the fleet. In the meantime, sistership Maya had rejoined Sentai 4 on May 1st, resulting in the Sentai being fully constituted.

The entire fleet moved again to Tawi Tawi, an anchorage off Borneo’s Tarakan Island which adjoined the Philippines Tawi Tawi Islands group, arriving on May 13th. It did so to be closer to fuel supplies and a potential fleet action. The fleet action came about a month later, when the First Mobile fleet sortied on June 13th to interdict American forces planning to invade Saipan and the Marianas Islands. The ensuing battle was called the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

The Japanese fleet sortied in three task forces, each built around a core of three aircraft carriers. Sentai 4 sortied with the task force known as the Vanguard Force. This group, with three light carriers and a heavy escort of four battleships, eight heavy cruisers, one light cruiser and seven destroyers, was placed 100 miles in front of the two main carrier task forces as an intercept force.

Fleet combat took place between June 19 – 20th. The battle was a disaster for the Japanese. Three fleet carriers and three fleet oil tankers were sunk, along with several submarines. Worse, Japan lost about 350 carrier-based aircraft and another 100+ land-based aircraft. Still worse was the loss of the large number of air crews. American losses were about 110+ aircraft and associated air crew. The battle essentially eliminated the Japanese carrier force as a viable fighting force. Sentai 4 did not directly engage in any action.

The First Mobile Fleet returned to Japan where both Takao and Atago underwent another refit at Kure during the last week of June. This refit lasted until early July. Four more triple 25mm and twenty-two single 25mm AA mounts were added to Takao’s AA suite. A Type 13 air search radar was fitted to the aft portion of her foremast. Atago’s refit was again identical to Takao’s.

Takao and Atago departed Kure on July 8th for Singapore, arriving there on the 16th. For some unclear reason, both ships went back into drydock at Singapore at the end of the month. Coming out of drydock after a few days, both ships headed to the Lingga anchorage. Both sisters circulated between Lingga and Singapore while focused on training until mid-October.

Aware of American intentions to invade the Philippines, the Japanese fleet, Sentai 4 included, sortied for Brunei on the 18th, arriving on the 20th, where all ships refueled. The Japanese again divided their fleet into three groups. Sentai 4 was included as part of the Center Force, a very powerful surface group including five battleships, ten heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and fourteen destroyers. The Center Force’s orders were to attack and destroy the American landing forces headed for the island of Leyte.

All the Japanese forces sortied again on the 21st for battle. The Center Force’s intent, under Admiral Kurita, was to pass east through the Sibuyan Sea, then traverse the San Bernando Strait, exit into the Philippine Sea and turn south to hit the landing beaches. But first, to get to the Sibuyan Sea, the force had to pass through the Palawan Passage, which is an open, deep-water channel to the west of Palawan Island.

Unfortunately, Sentai 4 faired quite poorly during this passage. Two US submarines, Darter and Dace, were on patrol in this area to scout for any Japanese naval force that might be sent to the Philippines to attack the landings. They sighted the Center Force, radioed several position reports back to the US fleet, and then raced along the surface during the night to gain an attack position.

On the morning of October 23rd, the Center Force was passing through the Palawan Passage when Atago was hit by four torpedoes from Darter around 5:30AM. She sank shortly thereafter. Maya was hit about 20 minutes later by another four torpedoes from Dace. Maya, too, sank very quickly. In between these two incidents, Takao was struck by two torpedoes on the starboard side from Darter. No other Japanese ships were attacked, and the rest of the Center Force steamed on to confront the US fleet at the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea the next day and finally at the Battle off Samar on the 25th, where Japanese losses were heavy, and the mission had to turn back. The losses included the last of Sentai 4’s sisters, Chokai.

In Takao’s case, the two torpedoes struck aft, in the vicinity of the aftmost bank of torpedo tubes and again further aft along the fantail. Boiler rooms three and four were severely damaged, and Takao lost her outermost starboard propeller shaft. The inboard shaft was damaged, as was her steering. 33 men were killed and another 30 injured. Takao came to a halt and was unable to resume headway until 2100 hours, first making a speed of 6 knots and then gradually increasing to 11 knots. Steering was problematic using a jury-rigged rudder and destroyers Naganami and Asashimo had to escort her back to Brunei, arriving back there on October 25th.

After some emergency repairs at Brunei, Takao limped back to Singapore by November 11th. She entered drydock there in early January,1945 but the hydraulic steering pump could not be effectively repaired. Further attempts were made, including additional repairs to the rudder, in the hope of having Takao be able to return to Japan but these were also in vain. In March, the decision was made for Takao to remain in Singapore to help defend the island.

Her damaged stern was removed around frame 337 (between the aftmost propellers and the rudder) and emergency waterproofing measures applied to the remaining frame. She was then permanently moored as a floating AA battery. Camouflage paint was applied and non-essential personnel removed from the ship and placed ashore. Some of her 25mm AA were also removed and relocated to land-based emplacements.

By summer, her presence in the harbor (along with the similarly marooned and moored heavy cruiser Myoko) was considered a potential threat to pending efforts by the British to retake Singapore. Though her actual material condition was unknown to the Allies, the potential destructive power of her main batteries could not be ignored. Accordingly, the Royal Navy dispatched midget submarines with limpet mines and explosive charges to damage both cruisers.

On July 30-31, the British midget submarine XE3 managed to penetrate Singapore Harbor and attach several limpet mines to Takao’s hull. The subsequent explosions damaged the hull below the waterline, flooding several compartments, but without any injuries to Takao’s crew. A second midget submarine was unable to reach Myoko to attack.

Despite the damage, Takao remained fundamentally operational, with working boilers and generators. She remained in this condition until officially surrendered to the British in Singapore on September 21, 1945. Most of her crew were then moved ashore off the ship, but about 150 crew were retained aboard to keep the ship somewhat operational.

Eventually, Takao was taken over by the Royal Navy and a decision made to scuttle her. On October 27, 1946, Takao was towed into the Straits of Malacca and explosives placed on her hull bottom. In the late afternoon of the 29th, her Kingston valves were opened. Around 6:30PM, the explosives were set off. As she settled, the light cruiser HMS Newfoundland opened fire to help speed her demise. Takao sank stern first shortly thereafter, joining Myoko on the bottom, as Myoko had been scuttled in early July. Takao was struck from the Navy Register shortly thereafter.

1/700 Takao kits background
Aoshima released the first 1/700 injected styrene kits of Takao and her sisters as part of the waterline series in 1971. These original kits remained in production in various editions, often with new Waterline Consortium upgraded parts, until 1994. Though far simpler in detail than subsequent kits, they were quite popular. Which is not a surprise, given the popularity of the class. These kits were also released under the Minicraft label for a time.

Overall, they had very good hull and superstructure shapes with simple details. The hulls were also somewhat undersized by 5mm, a scale 11.5 ft. (I know this because I measured one for this review.) Nor did the hulls provide portholes or a degaussing cable. Fit was late war. Decks and bulkheads had limited details while weapons, boats and masts were on the simplistic side. This was unavoidable, given the limits of injection technology at that time.

Pit-Road released their own line of Takao kits in 2000. These kits were far more detailed and complicated than the original Aoshima kits and were extremely popular at their release. They also prompted some aftermarket manufacturers like FineMolds to produce even more detailed accessory sets targeted specifically for Takao and her sisters. The hulls are the correct length, but split port and starboard, so some seam lines may require filling. The hulls have portholes but no degaussing cable. Bridge details are sharp. The kits come with detailed weapons, boats and accessories, but newer aftermarket sets provide even finer detail these days. Releases included both 1942 and 1944 fits. These kits remain in production today, often with upgrades like small photoetch sets.

Aoshima countered with its own new tool version in 2001 and these remain in production today as well. Some versions have upgrades in terms of weapons, accessories and/or photoetch. These kits are also vastly improved over the original Aoshima kits. They have one piece waterline hulls like the original, but are very clean and substantial in terms of stiffness. Since Aoshima chooses to emphasize scale accuracy over detail, these kits tend to have fewer parts than the Pit-Road version, with correspondingly finer, smaller detail. The major components are crisply executed and, in some cases, more accurate than those of Pit-Road. The kit is also less complex in terms of parts than the Pit-Road kit, with very good fit. Like Pit-Road, there are 1942 and 1944 releases.

Fujimi entered this fray in 2011. Fujimi’s efforts focus on a lot of precise details that are crisply molded. The parts count is considerably higher than any of the earlier kits and there are many small parts. Construction is also more challenging than the earlier kits. The one–piece hull is very sharp, but thinner and less stiff than those from Aoshima and Pit-Road. It’s stiffened with the addition of the waterline plate and one-piece deck. The hull suffers slightly from a poorly defined torpedo blister on its aft, starboard side. (Subsequent releases of Atago and Maya, which had the same bulges, have separate bulges that are glued to the hull.) Otherwise, it’s a very nice kit, though complex to build.

It’s only offered as a 1944 fit kit, but as befits the Fujimi approach to marketing, there are countless variations available with full hull and various photoetch additions.

It should be noted that accessory manufacturers FineMolds and Bunker studios offer a broad selection of weapons, accessories and larger structural components in styrene and 3D printed resin. These alternatives are relatively pricey but offer considerably finer detail or ease of construction.

The Very Fire Takao
No stranger to 1/700 ships, VF has essentially downsized its brand new 1/350 Takao kit for its first 1/700 IJN release. As such, they take on a heavily contested class of kits. This review kit is a deluxe kit, packaged with both brass photoetch and 3D printed parts. At the time of this review, it is not clear as to whether a standard kit is to be released.

Like their 1/350 kit, this version depicts Takao in a late war configuration. The kit is well packaged in a sturdy, thick cardboard box. The styrene is hard and matt-finished, with no greasy feel to it. Flash is nearly non-existent. No sinkholes were observed.

This kit is a multimedia kit, comprised of styrene, brass and 3D printed parts. Ten styrene sprues comprise the core of the kit, including the hull. The styrene part count exceeds 200 pieces, most of which other than ship’s boats appear to be utilized in the build.

There are four frets of brass photoetch in the box. Beyond railings and a host of detail related parts, there are one-piece linoleum tie-down strip sections for the main decks. Not usually seen as part of a 1/700 package, these potentially add a higher degree of detail to this scale. Additionally, the kit comes with multiple turned brass mast and yardarm components.

Ten rafts of 3D printed parts are also included including main, secondary and tertiary batteries, directors, mushroom vents, funnel grills and many other items. Unlike the 1/350 deluxe kit, these are not offered as alternative parts to styrene versions but are meant to be used as the detailed parts.

This kit was released February 4, 2026. An earlier in-box review was posted in late February by Vladi and can be found here: https://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?t=418036

This review is a very good first take and it has additional views of the sprues, particularly the 3D printed rafts.
 

TThe hull is molded as a full hull, split longitudinally into two halves. Each hull half is connected to the same large sprue runner along its length, with runner extensions at the bow and stern. Thankfully, the full hull configuration will not leave waterline fans wanting, as a horizontal slot has been molded on the inside of each hull half to mark the actual waterline. The slot also accommodates a waterline plate that is provided as part of the kit.

The instructions suggest using a blade to cut the hull down for a waterline display. The modeler will have to cut carefully along the scribed inner seam and then sand the bottom flat. The hull is substantially rigid, but there are no inner hull stiffeners, so I would expect some flexing while cutting.

As with their 1/350 kit, the hull is beautifully rendered, with extremely sharp details. The ship was fitted with a notable torpedo bulge during its 1938-39 refit and that has been reproduced here as an integral part of the overall hull. Also integrated into the hull are the sides of the HAG deck. There is no hint of flash whatsoever.

The entire hull and bulge are plated with horizontal strakes which are alternately raised and recessed, along with intermittent, recessed lines depicting vertical plate seams. Unlike its larger sister kit, no riveting has been provided, which is entirely appropriate for 1/700 scale. Also, unlike the larger kit, discharge pipes of various sizes have been molded as part of the hull. So, there’s no need to worry about drilling holes to provide alignment and placement.

Other highlights include a molded-on, well-defined degaussing cable with brackets, both open upper and closed lower scuttles, eyebrows for the open scuttles, recessed anchor hawseholes, and raised coamings around the openings for the internal, rotating torpedo mounts. Plus, the mounting points for the propeller shafts, support brackets, and bilge keels. There are no openings for any water intakes or sea chests.

While I’m neither a fan nor an advocate of hull plating in 1/700, I have to say it’s a damn nice hull, superior to any of the previous 1/700 Takao renditions in my opinion. The only nitpick I have is that the sloping stern line is a little steeper than it ought to be because it begins a few frames further aft than it probably should. This slope has been reproduced directly from the VF 1/350 model, which presents the same nitpick. Most modelers won’t notice in this scale, or care.


The hull scales out extremely close to perfect. Takao’s particulars versus the scale and kit:

 * The order of difference is in scale inches. Any measurement error could easily be mine.
**because the kit hull is split longitudinally, it is difficult to measure this width without assembling the hull.
*** A half width was measured with the hull lying flat on its side, then doubled.

For the rivet counters:
Plating – the plating pattern follows the pattern depicted in the AOTS Takao book and several other sources. As best I can tell, it is correct, at least as far as the horizontal strakes go.

Configuration - timing-wise, the presence of sealed scuttles dates the kit after Takao’s December 1943 - January 1944 refit and repair.

Degaussing cable – It is well-executed and correct for Takao, based on the most recent, available evidence.

A large sprue, this holds the entire, one-piece main deck, the bilge keels, the aircraft handling deck, and the 01 High Angle Gun (HAG) deck. Everything is very crisply detailed.

The one-piece main deck eliminates any seams needing to be filled. Perhaps even more significant is that the deck areas typically covered by linoleum with brass tie-down strips on Japanese warships (and represented by raised lines on kit decks) are stripped of detail and are completely smooth.  This also includes any deck equipment or fittings.

In doing so, VeryFire has replicated its 1/350 scale approach of providing complete, fully shaped, one-piece brass tie-down sections (four of them) that are each glued on in their entirety, now in 1/700 scale. To the best of my knowledge, the is the first time this arrangement has appeared on a 1/700 scale ship. For those who like to add the brass tie-downs in this scale, this is a significant improvement over the laborious task of scraping off molded tie-downs and custom cutting and gluing brass versions.

The photoetch tie-down strip sections are self- explanatory. They just need to be positioned and glued in place.  Also included with these photoetch pieces is the aircraft trolley rail track which is placed on top of the aircraft handling deck, the track rails, launching cradles for aircraft, hawser reel frames, and the support girders for the aircraft handling deck.

The smooth deck also aids in painting with a minimum of masking. The underside of the deck is molded with small recess guides for drilling holes to add numerous ventilators on the top surface after the deck paint has been applied. The bilge keels are well-formed and are glued into matching recesses on the hull.

The 01 HAG deck is sharply formed and highly reminiscent of the 1/350 kit version, excepting one important change. It’s covered with a treaded metal surface, unlike its smooth 1/350 counterpart. This same change was not enacted for the surface of the aircraft handling deck. I don’t know why. Not everyone will care, but the rivet counters will certainly take note.

For the rivet counters:

Brass tiedowns for the linoleum deck coverings – as ingenious as VeryFire’s approach is, it’s an overscale effect for 1/700. I fully recognize that in this day of digital photography and improved production technology, it’s become highly fashionable to show off the maximum amount of detail possible, even in this scale. And, that detail can be stunning in appearance. But doing so overemphasizes aspects of a ship that could not be seen in actuality without one’s extremely close physical proximity to that ship. In this way, it’s the same as the trend to use overscale hull plating. Or hull riveting.

I get it. Maximizing overscale detail is attractive and trendy, it’s popular among newer, younger modelers, and here, it conveys a certain advantage to VeryFire’s Takao kit over the other 1/700 Takao kits for those who like it. Still, I think I must call it out for what it is. Or what it isn’t, which is accurate for this scale.

Metal deck treading – The common wisdom in Japan and elsewhere for decades has been that metal treaded decking covered Takao and Atago’s HAG decks. I endorsed this view for the longest time, but my opinion on this aspect of the 01 HAG deck has changed somewhat since my recent review of the 1/350 kit.  It’s now clear from 1941 photographic evidence that Takao’s virtually identical sister Atago has linoleum covered surfaces forward of her secondary battery, surrounding the bridge and under the 9m cutters. To their credit, VeryFire has gone ahead and provided an additional brass tie-down section for this area in its subsequent 1/350 Atago kit.

If we accept that Takao and Atago were reconstructed to the same spec, then Takao likely had linoleum covered surfaces in this area as well. I would have thought Veryfire would have carried this tweak down to their 1/700 versions. They did not but having metal treading here instead of a smooth surface is still a laudable improvement. As it is, the after portion of the HAG deck had a mostly treaded metal surface

Likewise, photos of Atago’s aircraft handling deck in early 1942 clearly show metal treading over its entire surface.  Again, taking the position that the sisters were reconstructed identically, then this area on Takao would also have been metal treaded. Unfortunately, this kit, like both its 1/350 siblings, does not have any treading. A determined modeler can cover this area with aftermarket treaded deck photoetch cut to size, while the more casual modeler won’t likely feel the need to.

This is the ship’s boats sprue. It carries the components to a variety of boats including a 15m Admiral’s (motor) barge, one each 11m & 12m motor launches, one each 11m & 12m motorboats, and one each 9m cutter and motor launch.

Not all boats are used for this kit. The boats are crisp and well formed, including planked wooden decks and footings, as well as planked strakes for the 9m cutter. Which is well executed and quite impressive in this scale.

It holds the parts to one Mitsubishi F1M2 “Pete” floatplane. The aircraft has recessed lines to denote panel lines and fabric control surfaces.

Technically, the “Pete” was deleted from the cruiser’s aircraft inventory after March 1944. See below.