Preview: IJA 28cm Howitzer Russo-Japanese War 1905 in 35th scale from Border Models

We saw this in a part of a photo from Shizuoka. A new tooled 1/35th scale  Japanese Army 28 cm Howitzer Russo-Japanese War 1905 from Border Models. We have some history of the real thing along with boxart & CAD images of the kit to show you in our preview...

Preview: IJA 28cm Howitzer Russo-Japanese War 1905 in 35th scale from Border Models

IJA 28cm Howitzer Russo-Japanese War 1905

From Border Models

1/35th scale

Product No #BT030 

Plastic & Photo-etched kit.
New tool kit

Expected: July Release

Price: $34 USD on the Hobbylink Japan Website

The guns in history:

A Japanese coastal and siege howitzer, the 28 cm L/10 was built in Japan. It was developed by Armstrong before 1892 and was employed in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War during the siege of Port Arthur.

The gun in use during the Russo-Japanese war

The British Armstrong Company developed the 28 cm Howitzer L/10 in 1884. In April 1884, Major Pompeo Grillo, a heavy artillery specialist, was hired by Armstrong to assist with the development of artillery at a new plant in Osaka. Armstrong had an Italian affiliate that built guns for the Italian Navy. The howitzer was a 28-cm rifled breech-loader of cast iron, 9 calibres long, built in Osaka, based on the designs of weapons made for the Italians by Sir W.G. Armstrong, according to the description from Brassey's Naval Annual of 1892.

A colourized photo of a 28cm howitzer during the siege of Port Arthur.

The gun was made by the Italians in a variety of lengths. The Osaka Artillery Arsenal produced about 220 pieces for Japanese coastal defence. It was fastened to a steel firing platform by a turntable that was installed on top of it. Setting up for firing took two to four days. To make loading easier, an ammo crane was mounted to the carriage. The howitzer, which had been built for anti-ship operations, was put into service in 1892 and deployed in shore batteries in forts facing Tokyo Bay and Osaka Bay. However, due to a dearth of heavy siege cannons during the Russo-Japanese War, it was used as a siege gun.

Japanese 28 cm Howitzer during the Siege of Port Arthur.

During the Sino-Japanese War, a railway tunnel was rendered inoperable for more than three months by 28 cm howitzers that were stationed along the Yellow River during the Second Sino-Japanese War in November 1939. 

A Japanese 28 cm (11 in) gun of the type that killed Korotkevich shelling Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese war. The 500 pound (250 kg) shell can be seen in flight above the gun.

In WWII, the Japanese reactivated the 28 cm howitzer for coastal defence in 1945, anticipating the arrival of the Allies, due to a lack of alternatives. On Kyushu, there were thirteen guns, on Shikoku, six, on Honshu, and ten on Hokkaido. Additionally, during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945, the 132nd Independent Mixed Brigade deployed two batteries of 28 cm howitzers in Dongning, Heilongjiang. The Najin Fortress Garrison in Rason was equipped with two batteries of 28 cm howitzers.

A preserved gun on display in modern times.

The Kit: 

This new kit by Border Model represents the Japanese Army 28 cm Howitzer, infamous from the Russo-Japanese War 1905 in 1/35th scale. This kit is already listed in some shops, but we only have box art and some small CAD images so far.

Border Models have only small CADs to show us so far, and we do know that the gun is supplied with ammo and it can be posed rotated and elevated depressed as did the real thing. The mention of a new moulding technique to replicate the rifled barrel of the huge gun sounds interesting!

The new 1/35th Japanese Army 28 cm Howitzer Russo-Japanese War 1905 by Border Models is already on sale at Hobbylink Japan. You can also check out the Border Models website for more information...