The Japanese Navy light cruiser Kitakami returns to Aoshima’s 1/700-scale “Waterline” ship model kit series, with the common outfitting parts now newly molded for more precision and a higher level of detail.
Kitakami was a Kuma-class cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy, named after the Kitakami River in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
After the construction of the Tenry-class cruisers, the drawbacks of the small cruiser concept became apparent. At the end of 1917, plans for an additional six Tenry-class vessels, plus three new-design 7,200 ton-class scout cruisers were shelved, in place of an intermediate 5,500 ton-class vessel which could be used as both a long-range, high speed reconnaissance ship, and also as a command vessel for destroyer or submarine flotillas. Kitakami was the third in a series of five vessels in this class which were built from 1918-1921.
