Tamiya - 31615 - Battleship Prince of Wales

Description: Highly detailed 1/700 scale model of the Prince of Wales. Overall length: 322mm Fine detailed weapons, including 35.6cm L45 quadruple guns, dual-purpose 13.3cm twin guns and 40mm Pom-Pom guns. Kit includes 1/700 scale Type 96 "Nell" (3 units) and Type 1 "Betty" (4 units) Japanese bombers. Stand and base is included to depict Japanese fighter bombers in flight.

Class: The King George V-class battleships were the most modern British battleships used during World War II. Five ships of this class were commissioned: HMS King George V (1940), HMS Prince of Wales (1941), HMS Duke of York (1941), HMS Howe (1942) and HMS Anson (1942).

The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 limited all of the number, displacement, and armament of warships built following its ratification, and this was extended by the First London Naval Treaty but these treaties were due to expire in 1936. With increased tension between Britain, the United States, Japan, France and Italy, it was supposed by the designers of these battleships that the treaty might not be renewed and the ships of the King George V class were designed with this possibility in mind.

All five ships would see combat during World War II, with King George V and Prince of Wales being involved in the action on 24 May to 27 May that resulted in the German battleship Bismarck being sunk. Following this on 25 October 1941, Prince of Wales was sent to Singapore arriving on 2 December and becoming the flagship of Force Z. On 10 December, Prince of Wales was attacked by Japanese bombers and sank with the loss of 327 of its men. In the aftermath of the sinking, King George V, Duke of York, Howe and Anson provided escort duty to convoys bound for Russia. On 1 May 1942, King George V collided with the destroyer HMS Punjabi, resulting in King George V being sent to Gladstone docks for repairs on 9 May, before returning to escort duty on 1 July 1942. On October 1942 Duke of York was sent to Gibraltar, as the new flagship of Force H and supported the Allied landings in North Africa in November. Anson and Howe would also provide cover for multiple convoys bound for Russia from late 1942 until 1 March 1943, when Howe provided convoy cover for the last time. In May 1943 King George V and Howe were moved to Gibraltar in preparation for Operation Husky. The two ships bombarded Trapani naval base and Favignana on 11–12 July and also provided cover for Operation Avalanche on 7 September to 14 September. During this time Duke of York and Anson participated in Operation Gearbox, which was designed to draw attention away from Operation Husky. Duke of York was also heavily involved in the action that sunk the German battleship Scharnhorst on 25 December 1943. This battle was also the last time that British and German capital ships fought each other during World War II.

In late March 1945, King George V and Howe were sent to the Pacific as part of Task Force 57. On 4 May 1945, King George V and Howe led a forty-five minute bombardment of Japanese air facilities in the Ryukyu Islands. King George V fired her guns in anger for the last time in a night bombardment of Hamamatsu on 29 July and 30 July 1945. Duke of York and Anson were also dispatched to the Pacific, but arrived too late to participate in hostilities. On 15 August Duke of York and Anson accepted the surrender of Japanese forces occupying Hong Kong and along with King George V were present for the official Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay. Following the end of World War II, the ships were slowly phased out of service and by 1957 all of the ships had been sold off for scrap; a process that was completed by 1958

Warship: HMS Prince of Wales was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy, built at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, England. She was involved in several key actions of the Second World War, including the May 1941 Battle of the Denmark Strait against the German battleship Bismarck, operations escorting convoys in the Mediterranean, and her final action and sinking in the Pacific in December 1941.

Prince of Wales had an extensive battle history, first seeing action in August 1940 while still being outfitted in her drydock, being attacked and damaged by German aircraft. Her brief but storied career ended 10 December 1941, when Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse became the first capital ships to be sunk solely by air power on the open sea, a harbinger of the diminishing role this class of ships was subsequently to play in naval warfare. The wreck lies upside down in 223 feet (68 m) of water, near Kuantan, in the South China Sea.

Brand: Tamiya Incorporated (株式会社タミヤ Kabushiki gaisha Tamiya) is a Japanese manufacturer of plastic model kits, radio controlled cars, battery and solar powered educational models, sailboat models, acrylic and enamel model paints and various modeling tools and supplies. The company was founded by Yoshio Tamiya [ja] in Shizuoka, Japan, in 1946.

The metal molds were produced from plans which had the concept of being "easy to understand and build, even for beginners". Even the box art was consistent with this throughout the company.

The company has gained a reputation among hobbyists of producing models of outstanding quality and accurate scale detail, a philosophy reflected directly on the company's motto, "First in Quality Around the World". Tamiya Inc. has also been awarded on a regular basis each year, the Modell des Jahres (Model of the Year) award, hosted by the German magazine ModellFan .