Scale: not calculated. ‘Fuji’ (1896) and her sister ‘Yashima’ were ordered under Japan’s 1893 programme, which planned to build up the strength of her naval fleet as a counter to the Chinese fleet which already had two modern German-built capital ships. These two Japanese ships were British designed and built, and were an improved type of British ‘Royal Sovereign’ (see SLR1216), with more powerful guns of smaller calibre. Both sister ships took part in actions against the Russian fleet during the Russo-Japanese war. ‘Fuji’ was famed for firing the last shell at the Battle of Tsushima, 27 May 1905, which sank the ‘Borodino’. In 1910 she was re-boilered and refitted, her four 12-inch Armstrong guns being replaced by a Japanese model, and re-classed as a coast defence ship. She was completely disarmed and immobilized under the terms of the Washington Treaty in 1922–23 and used as a training ship. After a life that spanned almost fifty years, ‘Fuji’ capsized in 1945 and, after the end of the Second World War she was scrapped.

The model, like the ship it depicts, is a real period piece and very much a curio with its elaborate high-Victorian display case and table, and pseudo-Japanese-style supports that cradle the model itself. The floor of the case, on which the cradles sit, has an inscription along its length beautifully painted by a sign-writer.

It appears that the model was made for, and displayed in the boardroom of, Thames Iron Works, in Poplar, South East London, the yard in which the actual ship was built. The modelmaker has his name on the inscription: ‘E Roberts’. Not of the highest quality, the model does however demonstrate a spirited and competent attempt by Mr Roberts though his abundant use of lead for the model’s fittings and details has led to a fair amount of corrosion. The metal has oxidized, probably caused by a chemical reaction with the wooden case, which has resulted in white powder deposits. The hull’s paint finish has also blistered in places. Overall the model appears to be proportionately too short in comparison to its breadth.