TAMIYA 1/700 31211 WWII JAPANESE NAVY AIRCRAFT CARRIER TAIHO

Taihō (大鳳, "Great Phoenix") was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Possessing heavy belt armor and featuring an armored flight deck (a first for any Japanese aircraft carrier), she represented a major departure from prior Japanese aircraft carrier design and was expected to not only survive multiple bomb, torpedo, or shell hits, but also continue fighting effectively afterwards.

Built by Kawasaki at Kobe, she was laid down on 10 July 1941, launched almost two years later on 7 April 1943 and finally commissioned on 7 March 1944. She sank on 19 June 1944 during the Battle of the Philippine Sea due to explosions resulting from design flaws and poor damage control after suffering a single torpedo hit from the American submarine USS Albacore. 
 
This is an assembly kit of the Taiho near the end of WWII. Built with a new design philosophy, she was expected to be a mainstay of Japan's Mobile Fleet, but was sunk by submarine attack just 3 months into her service life. Distinctive features of the ship such as the armored flight deck and enclosed bow have been accurately reproduced. The bridge and anti-aircraft armament are also sharply rendered. Modellers can choose to depict the ship's mast in either cruising or battle stations position and the elevators can be assembled in either up or down position as well. Kit includes parts to depict Mitsubishi A6M5 fighters and Nakajima B6N torpedo bombers.