Bandai Space Cruiser Yamato

[Yellow13]

Hi all: My son is interested in building a model of the Star Blazers Argo Space Cruiser Yamato and asked me if I knew anything about kits of this subject. I'm strictly an aircraft modeler and haven't a clue. The kit he found is the Bandai one, does anyone have any experience with this kit? What level of experience is it and how easy a build is it? Are there better kits of this subject? Any and all info will be greatly appreciated. TIA John R.

[Will Vale]

There are several Bandai kits of Space Battleship Yamato. They come either from the original series (aka Starblazers) or the newer Yamato 2199. I don't think anyone else makes kits of these, but that's no problem as Bandai kits are very good (even the re-releases of the '70s and '80s kits aren't too bad from what I can tell.) They generally have pre-coloured parts and can be snapped together, although you'll get a better result with glue and paint.

 

The main differentiating factors are price and scale, although the top-of-the-line 1/350 kit also has electronic bells and whistles (literally) which make it eye-bleedingly expensive.

 

If you just want a model of Yamato, look at the Mecha Collection 2199 version - dirt cheap box scale model with nice details ca 120mm long. Seems to be out of stock in the usual places but I'm sure you could turn one up on eBay:

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10261970

 

For something a bit bigger, the 1/1000 version is really detailed and good value:

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10291281

 

The one that's listed there is the "Cosmo Reverse" version - I think this is a re-release with some extra parts and has more strike craft etc. than the original. IIRC it's about a foot long.

 

Bandai do a whole load of 2199 models in 1/1000 - these are a couple of smaller ships from the earth fleet I made last year, in-scale with the above Yamato, to give you an idea of the moulding quality - crisp but not always subtle

 

 

They're titchy

 

 

There's a thread on here which might be worth reading too: 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Will

 

[Madhatter]

Agree with what Will said above. You won't find any better kits than what Bandai do. I built the 1/500 Yamato (from 2199) and it went together flawlessly and builds up into a very decent sized kit

Not much difference in the Star Blazers version to the 2199  other than aesthetics. Its a different story however if you want to get into the technicalities of the series 

I got drawn into the series because of the author of the General thread above - Misrule. He is definitely an authority on the subject. If you want to know anything about the series - he is the guy to ask. The series itself is pretty awesome in a space opera kind of way. If you don't take it too seriously it's highly enjoyable and the graphics and ship designs are amazing.

There is also a live action version which is OK but some of the acting is questionable to say the least - but again, if you don't take it too seriously, it's highly entertaining.

I mostly watched it for the ships and the dazzling blowing up of stuff!

[Yellow13]

Thanks to all who replied to my post. I have forwarded them to my son.  Britmodeller is a fantastic resource. John R