The Prince of Wales, the second unit of the King George V class, was finished in March 1941 and quickly entered frontline service, including the operation pursuing Bismarck. Later redeployed to the Far East to help defend Singapore, she was overwhelmed by Japanese air attack during the Battle of Malaya and sank. Tamiya captures the ship at 1/700 scale and supplies scale Type 96 "Nell" and Type 1 "Betty" bombers to depict the engagement.
On December 8, 1941 the Prince of Wales departed Singapore intending to disrupt Japanese landings in Malaya. Misguided intelligence sent the force to Kuantan, where enemy forces were absent. By December 10 Japanese patrols had located the battleship and air strikes followed, causing fatal damage and the ship's loss, a consequential early event in the Pacific war.
The Type 1 "Betty" came into service in 1940, powered by Mitsubishi air-cooled engines with a range over 4,200 km and the capacity to carry up to 1,000 kg of ordnance. The Type 96 "Nell", in service from 1936, had a similar engine arrangement, an 800 kg payload and an effective range near 4,000 km. Both bomber types are modelled in the kit to illustrate the strike profile.
Tamiya's Prince of Wales model at 1/700 scale is 322mm long and reproduces key fittings such as the 35.6cm L45 quadruple turrets and 40mm Pom-Pom anti-aircraft guns. The kit includes seven bomber models and a display stand that allows builders to suspend the aircraft above the ship for an action-packed historical tableau.
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