Mike Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 I've been watching the 2nd animated series of this, and have kind of got into it and kind of fancy a Yamato for the collection, so I'm wondering which one of the many kits in different scales offers the best value versus detail and size, with a view to keeping it reasonably cheap. I can't seem to find a model of the Seagull either - does one exist, or has it been overlooked so far? I like the design, and it reminds me a lot of an OV-10 Bronco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misrule Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 No model Seagull I'm afraid, though there is great demand for it so it might happen So far the only 1/72 kits are the two Earth fighter designs. For the ship herself, they just released a new 1/1000 scale version this week which is the same basic kit as the previous 1/1000 but with some extra bits and accessories. There are two 1/500 versions out there too, one from about a year ago which is a massive and extremely detailed kit, and a somewhat simpler version from 2010. I'd probably say go for the 1/1000, lot of tiny fiddly bits but its a reasonable size and nicely detailed. If you can find the older 1/500 its a fine kit too and probably not so much in demand since the newer version came out. Plus there's a huge number of enemy warships too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 Thanks for that. I spotted the later kit, and it does look tempting. Finding it at the right price might be tricky though. All the 1:1000 kits I've seen look a bit toylike, but whether that's down to the painting I don't know I find it difficult to distinguish between the original series, the re-boot and the newer live-action version at times, as I've not watched the original, and haven't yet watched the movie yet either. I'll be up for a Seagull when it arrives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misrule Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 (edited) I have a bit of a build thread going on here... http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234967497-space-battleship-yamato-general-thread/ with some bad pics of a bunch of 1/1000 ships and the old 1/500 There seem to be two waves of available kits, a lot are re-pops from the original 70s series run, these kits are very cheap but also pretty much what you'd expect from forty year old moulding. They can look good but the newer 2199 series kits are greatly superior HLJ had the 1/1000 2199 Yamato at I think £16 last I checked, though its another £6-7 for shipping. That said its a lot of plastic for £25 or so quid I'm pretty average at building but Madhatter has done a couple of 2199 kits that turned out like film props Edit- Bit of my 1/1000 selection Edited December 5, 2014 by Misrule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 I was trawling through that thread to try & get my head around it, but ended up confused... I think it's a day for being confused for me - the old brain ain't what it used to be. I think I'd want to go new tooling and 1:500, as the price of the 1:350 Yamato is a bit rich for me. I think the 1:500 is 66cm long anyway, which is plenty. Are there any 1:500 enemy ships knocking about? Couldn't find any, but I was only looking on HLJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misrule Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Just Yamato herself in 1/500 (Three times ) The most recent is definitely the best, though bit pricey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 Ain't it though... I had my Christmas money early though, so I might treat myself. It's currently out of stock at HLJ, so I'm in for a wait whatever I choose. There seems to be quite a weird & wonderful range of scales about, with none of them doing the full job for anyone that wanted to collect lots of these things. Obviously, the Zeroes, Seagull and Falcons, plus whatever the Green/red fighter thing* that Melda/Meada flies would need to be 1:72 or larger, but it's a bit of a pest * it looks like the offspring of an F-18, A-4, and a Stuka. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misrule Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 I definitely want to see the two main enemy fighters, love the red one that looks like a space Me-262 I have seen images of a 1/72 version of both that and the Stuka-esque dive bomber which are said to be prototypes for production kits, but at the moment I think Bandai are concentrating on kits for the new film that just came out. Hopefully in the future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Vor!!! Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Ain't it though... I had my Christmas money early though, so I might treat myself. Really?? Thought you allready had treated yourself?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 I'm always treating myself... didn't you notice the money tree at the bottom of the garden? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Vor!!! Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 No i couldn,t see past the dog on my lap !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I might be wrong, but it looks like there's not all that much difference quality-wise between the 2010 new-tool 1/500 Yamato and the 2013 new-tool 1/500 Yamato 2199? Although the latter is definitely bigger going on HLJ's stats, and a couple of thousand Yen more expensive. My experience with the 2010 version was pretty positive, I only stalled because I had a load of electronical things of my own making to deal with. [edit] They aren't enemy ships, but Fine Molds makes two more Earth Fleet ships in 1/500: http://www.hlj.com/product/FNMMC-01 http://www.hlj.com/product/FNMMC-02 These aren't licensed Yamato designs, but they're licensed from Leiji Matsumoto (the guy who designed the ships) or something convoluted like that. The second one looks a lot like Yukikaze. [edit] Both 1/500 Yamatos are in stock at 1999.co.jp, and from the manuals are quite similar. More steps in the newer one, but not many more. YMMV Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madhatter Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 They look pretty small - even for 1/500. 18.5cm long. For a flag ship, that's tiny. No wonder they got their butts kicked 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmonk Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Mike, I have the new 1/500 Yamato 2199 and expansion pack, unfortunately it's for an online magazine build so can't show anything. That said the kit is very nice, almost snap fit like most Bandai kits which I think gives them a toy like look but don't be mislead they are far from toy like and the possibilities for lighting it are good!! Would highly recommend it. Cheers, Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misrule Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 There have been I think on the order of 7 basic designs for the Yamato over the years Original from 1974 Slight update for the sequels A far future Yamato 2525 design by Syd Mead A redesign in the 90s for the Yamato Video games The 2009 'Rebirth' Movie version The 2010 Live movie version The 2199 version Each one of those has a kit available, several in some instances, apart from the movie versions. The 1/350 for instance is based on the Video game design which has plenty of detail but looks a bit lumpy for my taste The 2199 version is the best, a much more lean and tidy design with plenty of detail. The 1/500 2010 version is the same basic design of the show but scaled to the length of the original Yamato (250 metres or so) While the more recent version is scaled to what we see on screen (About 330 metres) Accounting for the differences in size. They are definitely engineered for simplicity to presumably appeal to a wide market, one of those things thats easy to do but still has scope to be a real showstopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 Thanks for all your help on this... I'm just hoping now that I don't get all obsessive about it & end up with a full fleet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madhatter Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Hahaha! I said that to myself and have now bought a few of the Garmilla ships. Once you get a taste for the designs, there's no going back and before u know it your hooked. I blame Misrule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 I blame Akira Yamamoto myself. I'm not quite convinced about the big flicks of hair that most of the female characters have, and Dr Sado is a giant PITA, but there always seems to be a caricature in most Animé/Manga that I've read/watched. Analyser is a bloody weird design too. Bit of a missed opportunity there... could have been cool. Especially when he was mated to the Mecha-exoskeleton thingy. Aspects like these seem quite old-skool and ill at ease with the seriousness of the rest of the storyline when you consider it's a pretty new show - 2012? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misrule Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Yeah, the robot and the Doc are a throw back to the 70s which was a lot less grounded, ditto the sound effects. They've definitely added a lot more gravitas as you'd expect in a mission to save the world, and the tech and ship designs also seem a lot more grounded, they even explained why the Yamato looks like the WWII version when the other Earth ships are a lot more sci fi. A remake done right, they kept the spirit of the original and the strong elements, but ditched a lot of the silly stuff and added more characters and background, especially among the enemy. Worked out good, roll on the second series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 I'm just hunting down a copy of Space Pirate Captain Harlock... just in case it's any good, you understand I think the sooner the old aspects go, the more likelihood of a wider acceptance in the west will be. I don't understand the motivation for such characters, and sometimes don't understand the motivation of such characters either. I read that in the original series the robot Analyser actually sexually harasses one of the female crew members. Whaaa? Although the female leads in the latest series are have more depth, there's still that underlying letchiness of some of the camera angles, and subdued examples of that school-girl-in-pigtails thing peculiar to Manga that I just don't understand Worst movie I ever watched? Steam Boy... Manga/Animé Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misrule Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 The CGI Harlock is pretty nifty, bears absolutely no relation to any of the Harlock TV series but as a stand alone film works nicely. Certainly doesn't short change you on the battle scenes It's nice they've updated the female characters in Yamato but there is definitely what can generously be called 'fanservice' in there Those spray on uniforms are a bit much, especially as the early episodes showed us Regular uniforms were much more tasteful and practical. I assume they are appealing to the young male demographic with a bit of animated totty, but at least the girls in this series aren't the usual damsels in distress. Yamamoto especially. It's progress, but still could do more and not a patch on the female leads in shows like Fate or Attack on Titan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madhatter Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I'm just hunting down a copy of Space Pirate Captain Harlock... just in case it's any good, you understand I think the sooner the old aspects go, the more likelihood of a wider acceptance in the west will be. I don't understand the motivation for such characters, and sometimes don't understand the motivation of such characters either. I read that in the original series the robot Analyser actually sexually harasses one of the female crew members. Whaaa? Although the female leads in the latest series are have more depth, there's still that underlying letchiness of some of the camera angles, and subdued examples of that school-girl-in-pigtails thing peculiar to Manga that I just don't understand Worst movie I ever watched? Steam Boy... Manga/Animé The west have annoying characters that make no sense as well - AKA Jar Jar Binks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmonk Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 The west have annoying characters that make no sense as well - AKA Jar Jar Binks I sa resents thata statesment!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 BTW - I've been looking into the late 1:500, and in the instructions it mentions LED in amongst the kanji next to the clear parts, but there don't seem to be any included in the box. Is there a set included in the upgrade set that covers the hangar bay & atmospheric wings, although I can't see it mentioned, or are you on your own there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misrule Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 The LED sold seperately I'm afraid, seen a few Gundam builds that use them and they seem to be a standardised fit for the newer Bandai kits. About a fiver for a self contained set of two There is an upgrade set available out there for the air wing and extendable wings, some PE too but thats a bit harder to locate http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10267328 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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