Manufacturer: Fujimi
Scale: 1/700
Additional parts: parts from a Trumpeter Slava kit and from the spare part box. PE parts.
Model build: Jul - Oct 2017
Korean Missile Cruiser 드래곤 숨 (Deulaegon Sum)
Fujimi
1/700
1/700
Dragon's Breath: A Cold War Ghost Awakens
The year is 2017. The crisp autumn air hung heavy over the port of Nampo, North Korea. A hush fell over the gathered crowd of dignitaries and military personnel as a monstrous shadow emerged from the drydock. It was the Deulagon Sum, the "Dragon's Breath," a North Korean warship unlike any other.
This wasn't your typical, sleek modern destroyer. The Deulagon Sum was a Frankenstein's monster of a warship, its hull a testament to a bygone era. The once proud IJN cruiser Kinu, a relic of World War II, had been resurrected from the scrapyard, its bones grafted with modern weaponry. Its superstructure, a mishmash of Soviet and Chinese influences, bristled with radar dishes and anti-aircraft guns. But the true teeth of the dragon were sixteen massive launchers lining its deck, each cradling a SS-N-12 Sandbox anti-ship missile.
The man behind this unorthodox warship was Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. As a child, he'd dreamt of transforming the derelict Kinu into a weapon of immense power. Now, wielding the ultimate authority, he'd brought his childhood vision to life. The Deulagon Sum was a statement of intent, a tangible symbol of North Korea's defiance.
Captain Jin Lee, a veteran hardened by years of service, took the helm. A tremor of unease ran through him. The Deulagon Sum was a potent weapon, but its heart, the Kinu's salvaged machinery, was a ticking time bomb. He knew one wrong move, one unexpected storm, could send the vessel to a watery grave.
The Dragon's Breath's maiden voyage was a test of nerve and metal. Tensions crackled in the air as the warship patrolled the North Korean coastline, a shadow against the horizon. American and South Korean spy satellites tracked its every move, their governments scrambling to assess this new threat.
Captain Lee's worst fears almost materialized during a fierce nighttime squall. The aging engines sputtered and coughed, the hull groaning in protest. But Lee, his crew working in perfect unison, managed to nurse the Dragon through the storm.
News of the Deulagon Sum's successful patrol sent shockwaves through the international community. The world watched with bated breath, unsure of what this resurrected warship portended. Was it a mere show of force, or a harbinger of something more sinister?
Captain Lee knew the answer better than anyone. The Dragon's Breath was a gamble, a colossus built on the bones of the past. It was a weapon of immense power, but also a fragile reminder of the dangers that lurked in the cold waters off the Korean peninsula. The question remained: could this relic of a bygone era truly breathe fire, or would it become another forgotten ghost, swallowed by the sea it patrolled?
The small IJN cruiser Kinu was one of the six Nagara class cruisers build between 1920-1924. While it is believed that the Kinu was sunk by USN aircraft in the Visayan Sea on 26 October 1944, this is not true. Although the ship was heavily damaged during the attack, it was able to escape.
On its way back to Japan, a heavy storm caused it to detour to Incheon, Korea where it arrives in mid November of 1944. At the end of the war, the damaged cruiser was simply forgotten there as it was only worth to be scrapped.
In September 1950, when Incheon was overrun by North Korean forces, the Kinu - like other ships - were brought to the north. If not to be restored, the ships could be used to recycle the metal on it.
Again, after the Korean war, work to restore the Kinu was started as every ship was seen to be required to fight the aggressive South. This work only proceeded slowly, therefore by 1957, the ship was ready to get into service, now equipped with Russian/Chinese build weapons.
However, the ship was not used very often and stayed in port most of the times. But it maintained well and kept operational until 1991 when things changed.
On November 11th, 1991 the beloved son of the beloved leader Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong-un saw the ship for the first time when he traveled to several military bases at the age of 6. With his bright mind he directly saw the potential of the old ship, took out his paper and pencil and draw something what he called "Deulaegon Sum" - the Dragons Breath.
He tried to persuade his father to turn the aging ship into the most powerful weapon the Korean waters have seen, but somehow his genius was not seen and it was thought to be the crazy ideas of a 6 year old child.
When Kim Jon-un got into power on Dec 19. 2011, his first order was to start the reconstruction of the Deulaegon Sum into a weapon that would put the fear into the eyes of South Korean and USN sailors. With a outstanding efford of North Korean workers - with a few Chinese advisors - it took until 2017 until the Deulaegon Sum was completed.
With its 16 SS-N-12 Sandbox anti-ship missiles, the primary objective of the Deulaegon Sum is to take out Imperialistic American aircraft carriers which try to get too close to North Korean waters. The existence of this powerful weapon puts the fear into the confused old man who is sitting in the White House, as it it was reported by North Korean News in early October 2017.
The model shows the Deulaegon Sum when it was put into service in October 2017.
The model is a 1/700 Fujimi Kinu CL with additional parts of a Trumpeter Slava kit form the spare box part. Main additions are the Sandbox missiles, Russian artillery and the radar equipment. The ship is pained with Revell Aqua Color and fitted Eduard PE parts (railing and crew)
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