Battleship Yamato - Revell 1/1200

[Tim Reynaga]

 

Most recently released by Revell Germany, this small scale Yamato was originally produced the Italian company Casadio as one of their pre-assembled "Miniships" way back in the early 1970s. Over the years It has been reissued many times as an unassembled kit by Revell UK and Almark in England, Revell/West Germany, ESCI in Italy, Sablon in France, and by both Model Power and MPC in the United States. The same plastic has also been marketed as the Musashi. Apparently the only differences among the various releases have been in the instructions and box art.

 

 

This toy/model from the early 1970s is a very simplified, snap-together affair designed for quick building. When I built it as a kid back then I was among those for whom the kit was apparently designed: wargamers and young modelers (even though it was snap-together, the instructions recommended kid-friendly NOTOX plastic glue... I can still remember the weird lemon scent of that stuff!) At the time I liked the snap together design, but the poor fit of the parts was annoying. And the model is very basic: while the one piece hull is recognizably a Yamato, the shape is vague and toylike. The complex main guns and funnel are reduced to single parts, and the prominent mainmast is missing entirely. Aircraft are only generalized single float monoplane representations, in any case wrong; if they are meant to be Aichi E13A "Jakes", they should have twin floats, if Mitsubishi F1M "Petes" they should be biplanes. The 127mm type 89 guns are only vaguely correct, and the numerous 25mm triples are molded directly to the decks and turrets.

 

Still, the kit has its good points. First of all, at a mere 27 parts the ship goes together quickly, and although basic, I remember that the completed model does resemble the Yamato. The bridge windows are neatly represented as recessed squares, and two alternate main turrets are provided so you can depict the ship at an earlier point in her career before she got the extra antiaircraft guns on the turret tops, or perhaps as the Musashi.

 

 

Examining the parts this time around, I was struck by the crudeness of the molding with its chunky shapes, flash, goofy pits and bumps... but oh, well. At least the simplified kit wouldn’t tempt me to go nuts superdetailing it!

 

Refering to the overall general arrangement drawing from Janusz Skulski’s Anatomy of the Ship - The Battleship Yamato, the model rides a little high, so I sanded about 2mm from the hull bottom. The hull shape is mostly ok otherwise ...except the bow. After gluing the deck down I added a plastic shim and sanded things into a little better shape.

 

 

There is adequate representation of planking on the main deck, but the second deck was also shown planked – this particular deck was actually steel, so I sanded the area smooth.

 

 

A bigger problem was the configuration of the antiaircraft guns. The model is pretty accurate for Yamato (or Musashi) in October, 1944 (Battle of Leyte Gulf) with all those 25mm singles on the main deck. Unfortunately, it also has the six additional 25mm triples along the deck edge amidships which were added to Yamato only later when the single mounts were removed, so the model as is wouldn’t be accurate for either time frame.

 

 

The simplest fix would have been to remove the center six 25mm triple mounts and go for a Leyte Gulf Yamato, but I liked the powerful look of those triples all lined up on the deck edge. Keeping these meant going for a Yamato in her final 1945 configuration. The 1945 Yamato would require eight more 25mm triple mounts, so I bought a second kit to raid for parts.

 

 

After trimming off all those 25mm singles (24 of them!), I added the eight 25mm triples from the spare kit in the appropriate places to make an April, 1945 Yamato.

 

]

 

It was a lot more alteration than I had originally intended, but the mini battlewagon’s air defense is now more accurate for 1945!

 

The main 18 inch guns, though reasonable, were too long compared with my references. Cutting the ends down was the obvious solution, but then the steps in the barrels would have ended up too far forward. Doh! To solve this I removed the barrels, drilled holes in the turret faces and reinstalled the rifles with much of their length pushed inside the turrets. This left guns of the correct exterior length with the steps where they should be.

 

 

 

After that I drilled out the tips of the 18 inch barrels with my X-acto and added Milliput blast bags.

 

 

Also, I improved the aft fire control station (part #12) by combining it with the forward fire control optic array (part

#13 with the radars removed) from the spare kit.

 

 

One of the strengths of this little snap-together kit is the combat bridge windows which are clearly defined, even see-through from the sides in places. I left the kit tower pretty much as is except for a simple wind baffle over the combat bridge using a part from a wrecked 1/350 Tamiya Musashi as a guide.

 

 

I also replaced the solid kit radars with simple photoetch parts. These were re-purposed floater net baskets from a Gold Medal Models 1/700 scale WW2 USN Cruiser/Destroyer Fittings set.

 

 

I wanted to avoid scratchbuilding for this quick battleship project, but a shortcoming of this kit is the absence of any representation of the Yamato’s distinctive mainmast. That mast was just too prominent a feature to ignore, so I went ahead and built one up using Detail Associates (part 2505) .015 inch diameter brass wire. This makes for a scale mast about 1½ scale feet thick in 1/1200.

 

 

Since the complex-looking mast assembly measures a mere ¾ of an inch in height, I made only a simplified representation of it.

 

 

This model is certainly no masterpiece of the kit maker's art, but it was superior to comparable Pyro and Lindberg offerings of the time, and it is still way less expensive than the various pre-assembled wargaming and collector models out there. I spent less than ten bucks for it, so taken for what it is, this little Yamato isn’t a bad kit at all.

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Excellent work so far. Im wanting to build Musashi someday so i think i might bookmark this build for reference. 

[Jeffrey Clarke]

 

Tim: Spent the last week working up the old plastic Yamato/Musashi 1/1200 Mini-ship kits initially made by Cassidio (Italy) and later by many others including Revell.  Mine seems sharper, better molded than your newer Revell version.  Offered were  2 x Yamato-, 4 x Iowa-, & 4 x Littorio-class BBs and 3 x Yorktown- & 1 x Shinano-class CVs.  Turrets were well-shaped, deck detail excellent, superstructures passable, but smaller AA and aircraft were notional, freeboard excessive, and differences between similar ships minimal.  However, at only $1.29 each in 1972 (at a local hobby store) they were a bargain!  Bought multiples.

 

Doing some background research on the two Japanese super BBs, found your excellent tutorial for the kits and incorporated many of your great suggestions into the effort: recessed & shortened gun barrels, rearrangement of smaller 25-mm AA positions, construction of identical complex wire masts, and so forth to produce in my case a 1944 Musashi and a 1945 Yamato.  Key parts were taken from the extra Mini-ship model that I also had (two Miniship Yamatos and one Musashi, as well as three Neptuns & one old Authenticast/Comet -- see px 1 for mine).  In addition, I added cranes to the rear derricks, reshaped the aircraft into bi-plane “Daves,” added anchors and PE radars, and substituted Paperlab twin 5-inch AAs for the notional, poorly formed square ones on each model.  For the Musashi, replaced the lower bank of 5” guns with additional triple 25-mm AAs and installed 6 x circular armored twin 5” turrets for the upper bank on both sides; for the Yamato, put circular armored ones on the lower banks and open twin 5” positions on the upper banks (see px 5-6 ).  Overhead combat photos by USN warplanes confirm the revised arrangements. 

 

Re painting, used Tamiya Kure Arsenal gray for hull and upper works, a washed deck tan for the planked horizontal areas, red/rust waterlines (to reduce freeboard effect in addition to sanding both bottoms a mm or so), pen & ink for fine details, and a splash of Chrysanthemum gold on the prows.  In general, the parts fit was so tight that no cement or glue was needed.  The results look pretty good for the time and effort spent (see px).

 

Did much of the same for the similar-in-size Cassidio Shinano CV, adding 8 x open Paperlab twin 5-inch AA positions and 12 x 28-barrel AA rocket launchers (px 14-16) in addition to the Flight Deck Decal transfer.  Next project might be an Alnavco/Superior Super Yamato, also bought many years ago (and all the parts are still there!!!  -- px 17).  This is my first time on the site, and I'm unsure how to attach photo px into the message, usually I just tag them to my normal E-mail messages..

 

For the record, price of the Neptun Yamato was under $20.00 in the early 1970s, but the Comet Yamato cost a hefty $4.00 in 1952, almost a month’s allowance for a young boy or four hours minimum wage back then!

 

Tx again for your great assist.  Jeff Clarke

 

[Tim Reynaga]

Thanks Jeff, it is great to see someone else still enjoying these old classic kits!

 

 

I sure had fun with mine, look forward to seeing your pictures!

 

[Themistokles]

On 05/02/2024 at 17:23, Jeffrey Clarke said:

 

Tim: Spent the last week working up the old plastic Yamato/Musashi 1/1200 Mini-ship kits initially made by Cassidio (Italy) and later by many others including Revell.  Mine seems sharper, better molded than your newer Revell version.  Offered were  2 x Yamato-, 4 x Iowa-, & 4 x Littorio-class BBs and 3 x Yorktown- & 1 x Shinano-class CVs.  Turrets were well-shaped, deck detail excellent, superstructures passable, but smaller AA and aircraft were notional, freeboard excessive, and differences between similar ships minimal.  However, at only $1.29 each in 1972 (at a local hobby store) they were a bargain!  Bought multiples.

 

Doing some background research on the two Japanese super BBs, found your excellent tutorial for the kits and incorporated many of your great suggestions into the effort: recessed & shortened gun barrels, rearrangement of smaller 25-mm AA positions, construction of identical complex wire masts, and so forth to produce in my case a 1944 Musashi and a 1945 Yamato.  Key parts were taken from the extra Mini-ship model that I also had (two Miniship Yamatos and one Musashi, as well as three Neptuns & one old Authenticast/Comet -- see px 1 for mine).  In addition, I added cranes to the rear derricks, reshaped the aircraft into bi-plane “Daves,” added anchors and PE radars, and substituted Paperlab twin 5-inch AAs for the notional, poorly formed square ones on each model.  For the Musashi, replaced the lower bank of 5” guns with additional triple 25-mm AAs and installed 6 x circular armored twin 5” turrets for the upper bank on both sides; for the Yamato, put circular armored ones on the lower banks and open twin 5” positions on the upper banks (see px 5-6 ).  Overhead combat photos by USN warplanes confirm the revised arrangements. 

 

Re painting, used Tamiya Kure Arsenal gray for hull and upper works, a washed deck tan for the planked horizontal areas, red/rust waterlines (to reduce freeboard effect in addition to sanding both bottoms a mm or so), pen & ink for fine details, and a splash of Chrysanthemum gold on the prows.  In general, the parts fit was so tight that no cement or glue was needed.  The results look pretty good for the time and effort spent (see px).

 

Did much of the same for the similar-in-size Cassidio Shinano CV, adding 8 x open Paperlab twin 5-inch AA positions and 12 x 28-barrel AA rocket launchers (px 14-16) in addition to the Flight Deck Decal transfer.  Next project might be an Alnavco/Superior Super Yamato, also bought many years ago (and all the parts are still there!!!  -- px 17).  This is my first time on the site, and I'm unsure how to attach photo px into the message, usually I just tag them to my normal E-mail messages..

 

For the record, price of the Neptun Yamato was under $20.00 in the early 1970s, but the Comet Yamato cost a hefty $4.00 in 1952, almost a month’s allowance for a young boy or four hours minimum wage back then!

 

Tx again for your great assist.  Jeff Clarke

 

Yes, where are the pictures? Because I am a big fan of improoving old 1/1200 kits too!

[Themistokles]

Me too got inspired by Tims ideas:

For all Musashi and Yamato enthusiasts I very much recommend the book "Battleships Yamato and Musashi, Anatomy of the Ship" by Janusz Skulski - superb work!

https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9781472832245?gC=8d41b708ad&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAoKeuBhCoARIsAB4WxteNw4Q5kRfPpSkodnFib-6G3A9aohXeBYCZ0lNcM2v8gG80fTQgPdYaAgSKEALw_wcB