Launched in November 1919, the 45,816-ton displacement IJN Battleship Nagato was the first warship in the world to be fitted with 16" main guns. Added to this firepower was quickness, as the Nagato had a top speed of 25-26 knots, although the "official" speed was listed as 23 knots at the time as a military secret. The Nagato participated in the start of the Pacific war by giving the order "Niitakayama nobore 1208" ("Climb Mount Niitaka on December 8"), commanding the Japanese carrier strike force to commence its attack on Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941 (Japan time). The Nagato then went on to support the Battle of Midway (rescuing survivors of the sunken carrier Kaga), the Marianas Campaign, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, seeing actual combat only during the Leyte Gulf battle. She returned to port after sustaining damage, and was used as a coastal defense ship due to lack of fuel and materials. The only Japanese battleship still afloat at the end of the war, she met her demise as a test ship in the Bikini Atoll atom bomb testing in 1946. She survived the first air detonation with little damage, but was finally sunk by the second underwater blast that severely damaged her hull.

Hasegawa follows up on their Nagato 1941 kit with this "Special Edition" release of the Nagato as it appeared during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944. This release features superb molding and details, with around 850 parts to create one of the most accurate and detailed 1/350 ship models yet. The hull features bulkheads to offer greater structural integrity, the characteristic towering "pagoda" bridge structure is perfectly recreated, and the three Type 95 Reconnaissance Seaplanes are painstakingly detailed. The kit of course includes a bevy of newly tooled plastic parts and photo-etched metal detail parts to build the Nagato as it appeared at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Includes comprehensive instructions in Japanese and English, as well as a 13-page booklet of Nagato facts and photos, also in Japanese and English.