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The Japanese history drama that I’ve been watching is already nearing its end.
I don’t mind Ryoma Sakamoto, but I love Shinsaku Takasugi and Kaishu Katsu, if I had to pick
someone from the end of Edo Era. Hey everyone, Tomeko here, how do you do?
Yes, I mentioned Japanese history just so I could introduce this item here.
Black Ships (w/Ryoma Sakamoto Figure)
People into history may know of this, the Black Ships.
In 1853, fleet of 4 ships landed off Uraga, led by Matthew Perry.
The Edo Shogunate that had a policy of seclusion were taken aback by this, and went through a mess
of a time with the opening of the country and the Edo Shogunate reaching its end etc. and proceeded
onto the Meiji Era, so this is a ship that had made quite a mark on the Japanese history, this Black
Ship.
As this is a large kit, it would be put in the category of a fairly expensive kit for a plastic
model kit, but that can’t be helped, being so large and all.
I was thinking that only the people that really like these would buy them, if it wasn’t for
the Ryoma craze... however, seeing as these are still around even some time after the release, I
guess I underestimated the popularity of Ryoma far too much.
Oh and this kit also comes with a figure of Ryoma, made of white metal!
Is it just me, or does the head seems like that of Buddha...?
Oh, and the head being
severed detached, It’s supposed to be like that.
If you attach the head to the body, it will instantly become the famous Ryoma that are seen in
photos.
Right, there were a few Black Ships, but the ship for this kit is the flagship Susquehanna, and
would be formally categorized in the sidewheel steamer frigate.
This means it’s a Frigate that uses steam engine for power and advances by the side wheels.
Got that? Well, I don’t think you did, so I’ll simplify that for you.
The side wheel is basically just
something like a watermill shoved on the sides of the ship,
if that makes any sense to you.
↑ You can see the wheel positioned near the center of the body.
It also has a cover on the part of the wheel that’s seen above water surface, so that it
doesn’t create unnecessary splashes all over the place.
And for some reason, I was reminded of this... ↓
Paddle Boat
Just look at it, it seems like the power source just went from man power to steam engine,
don’t you think?
The size may be slightly different tho...
Anyway, when hearing frigate, we tend to picture the smaller ships that sizes below the destroyers
of recent days, but it seems that back in the days the sail ships were still active, the definition
of a frigate may have differed.
In the days the word frigate was created, it just meant a small galley. And as the time reached
around the 18th century, they began meaning the small, fast boats that were mainly used for patrol
or communication etc. and once they started loading cannons and heavier arms and became larger, they
started taking the roll of warships.
But with the technology of cannons advancing, the need for defense also needed to be put into
consideration. The frigates became armoured, and gradually gotten larger.
There were even some that were larger that the ships of the line (ships that were mainly used for
front on battle), and later evolves into battleships and armored cruisers etc.
The Susquehanna, loaded with the steam engine is also of the above, and although it may be a
frigate, it was a top class warship that even surpasses the ship of the line.
The reason of landing for the Black Ships were mainly for trade and opening the country, but there
must have been quite some thought put into sending such a bulky ship, I would imagine.
Could’ve been an unspoken threat to gain an advantage in the trade offers, or maybe they were
intending on starting a war there n then, the possibilities.
......so yeah, something that has quite a violent image, this Black Ship.
I imagine it to be like a dangerous beast that moves while roaring with the steam engine, but as it
also has the function as a sail boat as well, it may have stopped the steam engine and went with the
wind on a nice fine day.
But yeah, you would picture historical/political image first, when hearing the Black Ship, but if
you look at it just as a warship, it’s a ship of transition, shifting from the old sail ship
to the warship with new type engines, so this is one interesting item indeed.
As ships of this era aren’t produced very often as a model, it may be a great piece to add to
your collection if you love ships!
So yeah, that’ll be it for today!
Thanks for reading our blog, see you next week!
By Tomeko, that wonders about the next Japanese History Drama.