Build Up of the Tamiya 1:700 IJN Yamato

By
Anthony J. Kochevar
Introduction
The Yamato was the flagship of the Imperial Japanese Paint
Navy(IJN) and was considered one of the most formidable I don’t mind using department store spray paint when pos-
ships of the time. The Yamato had two sister ships, the sible as it is durable and saves money. ColorPlace brand
Musashi and the Shinano, the later being converted to an Almond, White, Black and Fire Red purchased through
aircraft carrier after the battle of Midway. Yamato under- Wal-mart will be used on the model. I decided to paint the
went several refits during its career with the 1944 version of hull using Tamiya IJN Kure Grey in a spray can. This paint
the ship being the most impressive looking as it had the sprays and airbrushes nicely. It does not brush well, so I
most anti-aircraft guns mounted on it during that time pe- mixed a matching color using Modelmaster Dark Gull Grey
riod. It was the biggest battleship ever built. It was eventu- and Light Gull Grey. I tested the spray and color mixing on
ally sunk in April of 1945 during the “Ten-Go” suicide mis- scraps to get a feel for how to apply them. Several colors
sion it was sent on. It was said at the time that when the of the craft store acrylics and watercolor pencils will be
Yamato sank she took four-hundred years of naval warfare used for the decks and weathering. Testors Glosscote and
with her, as battleships quickly become outmoded by air- Dullcote in a bottle will be brushed on at various stages.
craft carriers during and after the war. Modelmaster Lusterless spray will be used to seal and fin-
ish the model.
Overview and Materials
The Tamiya 1:700 scale model of the Yamato was retooled Weathering and Other Details
in 1998. Tamiya really improved the fit and detail for this Weathering the ship and adding cargo, ropes, tarps and
retooling and the result is a excellent kit. The Hull and other items are entirely optional however I think they pro-
main deck comes as one piece as well as the superstruc- vide a certain realistic and “lived in” look to the model. The
ture base, which makes working with and painting the materials used for this will be artists chalk in earth tones
model easier than some other battleships. The aftermarket and several shades of grey from black to white. Also a
photoetch I chose were Tom’s Modelwork’s(TM) Yamato/ mixture of 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol and 1/4 teaspoon India
Musashi set, Gold Medal Model’s(GMM) Yamato/Musashi Ink will be used for detailing and weathering. Some craft
set and Lion Roar’s(LR) Yamato Main Gun detail set. I will store acrylics will also be used. The cargo and other de-
periodically refer to these sets by their initials given in pa- tails will be scratch built with styrene and stretched sprue.
renthesis. In addition, several sizes, shapes and sheets of
Evergreen styrene will be used. Brass tubing, paper, vari- Getting Started
ous sizes of wire and stretched sprue(plastic tree from the I read the kit instructions carefully several times to become
kit melted with a candle and pulled apart) will be used for familiar with how the kit is assembled. Likewise I read all
scratchbuilding other details. The book Anatomy of a Bat- photoetch instructions and marked which plastic parts will
tleship: The Battleship Yamato by Januzs Skulski is an ex- be replaced or augmented with the photoetch. I reviewed
cellent reference and a must for building this model. I the book several times as well and started brainstorming
made tread plate, out of fine mesh ribbon, paper spray ad- how best to recreate certain parts or replace them with
hesive and white glue. The process will be described later. photoetch. I choose to use paper and styrene instead of
You can buy photoetch tread plate but I choose to save a photoetch for the hatches and doors. I carefully reviewed
bit on cost. I also had several leftover Tom’s Modelworks all the kit frets to get an understanding of where parts are
IJN Aircraft Carrier photoetch sets that had inclined lad- located, and what will be modified and how. With a basic
ders. You may want to get this set as well as it has a good plan of construction formed I proceeded to build and detail
variety of parts for any IJN ship. the hull first. The modifications will be listed in the following
pages. In addition every part was removed when needed
Tools and Glues and the flash, edges and fret connection trimmed and
As with most models various shapes and types of X-acto or sanded smooth. Parts were test fit when possible before
hobby knifes will be used to shape and cut parts. Have gluing.
several replacement blades on hand as they tend to dull
quickly from use. A pin vise with various sizes of drills Disclaimer
down to #80 will also be used. A Dremel with cutting discs, The products used or mentioned in this document are
sculpting and sanding bits is also a must for this project. copyrighted and/or trademarks of their manufacturers and
Testors Model Sandpaper will be needed as well. The main do not constitute an endorsement or advertisement but are
glue will be liquid superglue(not the gel) purchased from a simply materials I used for the construction of this model. I
dollar store in small tubes. Testors clear parts cement and make no guarantees as to the use of the products, tech-
Tamiya Liquid Cement will also be used but only for certain niques or otherwise of any kind mentioned in this docu-
applications. Tamiya Model Putty will be used to fill seams ment. This document maybe distributed freely so long as it
and shape areas. Don’t forget various emery boards, remains unaltered.
tweezers, paint brushes, masking tape, needlenose pliers,
nippers and other basic modeler tools needed for the pro-
ject.

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Internal Hanger and Hull

I decided to cut off the backs of the hangers on the rear of

the decks and build the internals of these areas using the
book as a reference. Carefully using a Dremel cutting disk
and hobby knife I gradually cut away the backs of the boat
and plane hangars I then made the hangars out of styrene
sheets test fitting often until I got the right fit. Tracks were
made out of stretched sprue and glued down per refer-
ence to the Yamato book. The boat hangars are too small
for internal details, but the plane area will be set aside and
finished later before it is glued in place. The rear hatches
were drilled, shaped and an inclined ladder added for ex-
tra detail.
The flight deck grills and supports were cut off and re-
placed with the Tom’s Modelworks photoetch parts. Port-
hole blanks were styrene cylinders sliced thin, there was
no reference for placement in the book for these so I did a
combination of what looked good and what other modelers
had done online. Porthole eyebrows were made out of
thin wire coiled around a small drill bit and cut in half. The
part with the catapult turrets was glued in place, puttied
and sanded smooth. Parts for the side tunnel boat
launches were also glued on. Stretched sprue filled the
seam nicely and added better degaussing cable detail. I
continued adding blanks, drilling out portholes and adding
eyebrows to the rest of the model. The cable reels on the
deck and part B15 were notched carefully on both sides to
remove their “mailbox” like appearance. Any major altera-
tions to the model need to be completed now without the
risk of damaging fragile photoetch later on. Check the
model carefully and fill and sand smooth any seems be-
tween parts.

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Painting the Wood Deck

Once the major work on the hull is complete, I like to

paint the wood deck before finishing the hull details.
Painting the deck at this stage ensures you will get all
areas of it with little masking and worry about fragile pho-
toetch railing and details. We will then mask the deck with
a liquid mask film to protect it while we add details and
paint the hull. I decided to paint part B15 before gluing it.
The Yamato’s deck was a wood called teak. It looks a lot
like pine but has more of a yellow-gold look to it. I
masked off some areas with blue painters tape and
washed the deck with water and a paper towel to remove
oil and fingerprints. I don’t like to use primer on smaller
models as it sometimes ruins photoetch detail if applied
to thick. I first applied a generic ColorPlace brand of Al-
mond color from a spray can. After checking that the Once the acrylic paint has dried (which only took a few min-
coat was even and all nooks were covered, I let the coat utes), I lightly sprayed over the deck with a couple quick
dry several hours. swipes of the almond color spray again to finish the blend-
ing. Once dry, the deck was coated with ModelMaster lus-
terless flat spray to seal and protect the acrylic paint. This
was allowed to dry for several hours.

I next took watercolor pencils of various shades of

browns and white and drew lines at random across the
deck. In the open areas I chose a length of about 1/2
inch for a uniform look. I made sure all areas between
objects had some planking drawn on them as well. When After the flat spray had dried for several hours, the tape was
satisfied I mixed the water-based acrylic paints as shown removed and the edges cleaned up. The hull will be spray
in the photo until I got a pleasing gold color. This was painted with a can of Tamiya’s IJN Kure Grey, The brush
then thinned and brushed across the deck with a stiff flat bottle of this color does not go on unprimed parts well, so I
brush. The watercolor pencil lines and thinned acrylic mixed an empty bottle of the color with various ModelMaster
paint were slowly blended together until I was satisfied enamels and color matched it on a piece of photo paper for
with the result. printers. I painted the reels, deck hatches and other small
details with this color now. I then carefully brushed on the
liquid mask being careful to leave the gun mount edges ex-
posed so they would be painted. After several hours the film
was dry and I cleaned the straight edges around objects with
a sharp hobby knife blade. Part B15 had tape put on its deck
in front of the breakwater barrier and between it and the
reels, Testors clear Dullcote in a bottle was brushed on the
seam to seal the taped edge. The front of the breakwater
was then painted. After dry the tape was removed, B15 was
attached to the hull piece and the wood deck was masked off.
The gap between the breakwater barrier on B15 and the hull
was filled in from the other side with clear parts cement.

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Hull and Deck Detailing

After the deck film had dried thoroughly, I started at the

bow and using the plans in the book went through and
added photoetch, paper and styrene parts that I was able
to. There are difficulties detailing a ship this small, however
the amount of detail that can be added is limited only by
your modeling skills and materials at hand.
I made some homemade tread plate by using a fine mesh
crafting ribbon, spray adhesive, paper and white glue. The
wire edge was cut off the ribbon and attached to the paper
with a light coating of spray adhesive. Once dry, diluted
white glue was brushed over the ribbon to help eliminate
the weave look and make the item more durable. When
cutting out parts, cut edges diagonal to the weave pattern
for an accurate tread plate look. Circles were cut using a
scrapbooker’s hole and rivet punch set from the craft store.

Now is the time to decide if and how any planes will be

I used Gold Medal Model’s bow railing for the main deck up displayed on the Yamato. If you want a plane being
to the four rear Shielded AA guns as shown in the photos. launched, the catapults need to line up with the center
This railing is very durable and looks good, but can be hard booth that was hollowed out. Decide how the rails will be
to shape and bend. Tom’s Modelworks’ railing doesn’t look positioned on the turntables as well. There are photoetch
quite as nice, but is easier to cut and shape. The following kits available that let you redo the rails and turntables in
pictures will demonstrate better what was done to the vari- greater detail if you so desire. The Gold Medal catapults
ous portions of the deck to detail it. The guns labeled “F” in are more detailed and durable so I decided to use them on
the kit instructions were added now and detailed. Detailing the model.
for them will be discussed later on as well as the crane as-
sembly.

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After the glue dried, the hull was placed on a spare piece of
wood with looped painters tape. From this stage on the
model should only be picked up by this wood block and not
touched if it can be avoided.

The decals for the linoleum strips on the flight deck that
came with the kit were nice but the wrong color. I made my
own decals using Microsoft Publisher and Testors Custom
Decal Kit with the white decal paper. Small rectangles of
the white decal paper were cut out for the white weather
blocks. These were placed on the deck per the book’s ref-
erence. The flight deck linoleum decals were added to the
model. I then touched up paint were needed and painted
the rope section on the deck reels a flat tan. The hull was
then set aside.

Once I was satisfied with the detailing I had done, I applied

another layer of liquid mask over the wood deck to make
sure it was well protected. I left a few big globs of the mask
around to help aid in its removal after painting. I then used
water soaked and dry paper towels and cotton swabs to
gently clean the larger areas of the hull to prep it for paint-
ing.

Hull Painting and Finishing

The hull was painted with Tamiya IJN Kure Grey. Using
pliers, I held the hull by the center bar and sprayed a light
coat on from several different angles. After two hours I re-
peated the process. After several more hours of dry time, I
examined the model closely, removed any debris and made
notes of were more paint was needed to cover certain ar-
eas. A third coat was applied and allowed to dry for several
hours. I checked the final paint coat and was satisfied.
Being careful, I took a hobby knife and removed the mask
over the wood deck and brushed and blew the debris off.
Already, the model was looking very good. I then painted
the same hull color and finished the internal plane hanger
and glued it in place. I’ll cover planes and cargo details in
another section. The red base is pretty self explanatory as
to what needs done. I cut off the sprues, trimmed and
sanded these areas and painted the bottom and sides Col-
orPlace Fire Red and after it dried added the metal weights.
I glued the base onto the hull. The hull is bowed a bit so a
thin book was rested in the center between the rails, until
the glue dried.

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Armament Afterthought: After I finished painting the main guns, I
decided I was not happy with the AA platforms, and de-
Main Guns: First I removed the guns from the sprue and cided to make my own and carefully removed the kit ones
trimmed them. I trimmed the poles down a bit to ease the I had glued on the main guns. I’ll describe how they were
placements into their poly caps on the hull. I drilled holes in made later in this section.
two for the AA platforms and glued paper underneath them
to fill in the part that would overhang the deck mounts. This Secondary Guns: As with the main guns, paper soaked
paper was soaked with super glue then, when dry, sanded. I with superglue was put underneath to fill in the space. I
also trimmed off the square portion of the platform on the then filled in the wing bottoms with putty and sanded them.
front of each gun, being careful to keep the round portion I also filled in the sides with paper to help hide the mold
looking round as it should. Tom’s Modelworks ladders were indent. I then cut off the plastic gun barrels and replaced
added to the sides of the guns per the book’s reference. I them with brass tube. They are slightly over scale but look
used a thin wire for a target box cable on the tops. better. I added Tom’s Modelworks ladders to the front of
the guns in four places.

I then glued on the side wings and AA platforms notching I then added square and half circle styrene shapes and
them before and placing them as shown in the book and glu- some paper to make the various devices on top of the
ing a circle of tread plate. I added Gold Medal Model’s Main gun. I next added Gold Medal Model’s railing and some
Gun Railings and Lion Roar’s platforms. I cut and shaped small ladder to the top. I also added their blast bag
paper and tread plate for the platforms on the rear of the guards as well. I next folded their antenna towers. Note
gun. Then I removed each gun barrel and ran a hobby knife that they are different for each gun and should be placed
along the top of the blast bag to remove the seam. I then off center just like the real Yamato. I finished the guns by
carefully cut the barrel of, drilled a hole in the end of the adding Tom’s Modelworks ladders to the sides. There
remaining blast bag and glued the Lion Roar barrels on. I were complicated photoetch parts for these guns but they
used a spare piece of wood with holes drilled in it for assem- looked good with all the items on them.
bly and painting the guns. After both the main body and bar-
rels are painted IJN Kure grey, I painted the blast bags by I painted both types of these guns first by placing them
hand then glued them to the guns. upside down on looped painters tape and applied a coat
of Tamiya IJN Kure Grey spray paint. After they dried I
returned them to their holes in the wood block and painted
the tops with two coats of the same paint. When that was
dry I painted the blast bags on all guns ModelMaster Light
Gull grey, and glued the barrels to the main guns.

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Shielded 12cm Guns: I decided to create some internal Shielded AA Turrets: There are three variations in the kit.
detail by not using the kit’s barrel pieces. Instead I carefully The standard ones will go on the superstructure, the ten
added Tom’s Modelworks ladders to each side of the open- side-mounted ones attach to the ship’s side after they are
ing and filled the middle with stretched sprue. Once this painted, and four attach to the aft fight deck. The aft flight
was dry the top was lightly sanded to blend into the body of deck ones were the only ones needing modification. They
the gun. Barrels were made using .015mm steel wire and had too thick of a molded on base and each was sanded to
inserted into the ladders. A paper vent and Gold Medal about half what it originally was. You can elect to not use
Models railing finished the guns. These were cut out and the barrel pieces and have an open barrel area similar to
glued in place when the superstructure had been com- the Shielded 12cm guns. You can just bend a piece of four
pleted to the point of needing railings. Once painted Kure bar railing from a US navy photoetch set and place it in the
grey, paint all vents Steel and side notches Euro I grey. opening and create barrels with thin stretched sprue. I did
not have such a set available and choose to use the barrels
with the kit. Each gun had the barrel piece glued in place.
Then two sides of a section of railing were cut out and
glued on both sides of the barrels. The top section of four
pieces of Tom’s Modelworks railing was cut off, bent and
glued to the top-rear portion of the gun for a handrail. It is
slightly over scale but looks quite impressive. A paper
hatch on the back of the turret completed the modifications.

Unshielded 12cm Guns: These guns required a bit of

work to get them looking better than what is offered straight
from the kit. First a block was removed from under the left
side area using a Dremel and cutting disc. This was then
cleaned up using a hobby knife. A few had too much of the
block removed this was easily corrected with styrene. A
styrene triangle with a hole drilled for extra detail was then
added in its place. Very thin stretched sprue was added at
a diagonal on the large side and a straight piece was
placed on the opposite side. Paper hatches on the front
and back were added and a small section of Gold Medal AA Platforms: As mentioned earlier, after painting the
Model ladder was placed on the back. The barrel piece will main guns I decided I was not happy with the look of the
be left off until both it and the base are painted separately. AA platforms on them. The sides should be both deeper
Since I decided to paint the floor of each of circular area and thinner than the included molded kit parts. I used the
IJN Linoleum, these guns will not be glued to the model scrapbooker’s hole punch to punch 1/4 inch diameter cir-
until after that is done. cles out of styrene. I did just a size smaller for the tread
plate in the center of each of these platforms. I then glued a
styrene cylinder to the center of the styrene circle and cut
strips of 2mm high by 14mm long paper out with a ruler and
hobby knife. This length left a notch in the back of each
platform just as the real Yamato had when the paper was
glued. I gently curled the paper around a brush handle
then glued it to the outside edge of the styrene disc. The
tread plate was glued to the inside base. I then soaked the
outside edge paper with superglue to provide some
strength. The piece was then cut off with a set of nippers
leaving some styrene cylinder on the underside of the plat-
form to inset in the holes drilled into the deck. Two of the
platforms will need the styrene cylinder glued to the back
under the notch. These two will be placed by the vent just
after turret No.1.

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Unshielded Triple AA Guns: The guns on the W sprues
are done really well but the ones provided on the C sprues
are exceptionally good. I just made sure the bottoms were
clear of any flange and that the barrels had none in be-
tween them either. The base was then painted a Model-
master Steel and the barrels and rear were painted Gun-
metal. They will be touched up once removed from the
sprue.

Other Guns: There are just two types of guns left to make
and paint for the Yamato. The twin guns were made from
part W41. The sides, back and top were cut off to make it
smaller. The base was then painted ModelMaster Steel
and the barrels Gunmetal. You will only need two of these,
one each mounts on either side of the bridge on platform
B10. The 25mm single guns from Gold Medal Models
were more durable so they were used over the Tom’s
Modelworks ones. However Tom’s comes with bases for
these. Lightly etch an “X” across each base before paint-
ing. After all guns and bases are painted add them to the
model. If you are going for accuracy, there were few
25mm guns on the Yamato in 1945. 1944’s version had
the most. Use the book for a placement guide. I decided
to add a few extra just because they looked good, even
though it is not historically accurate.

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Superstructure Rear Bridge: The two halves were glued together and
the seams filled and sanded. Part A3 was added and the
The base of the superstructure is one piece, this was a good sides were puttied and sanded. Holes were drilled for the
implementation by Tamiya as it enables it to be painted sepa- vents and the upper ribs made with thin stretched sprue.
rately from the hull without the need for complicated masking. AA supports were made with cylindrical styrene. A
I’ll complete each section separately and add details as I go Dremel with a cutting disc was used to remove the inside
between the main sections. base area to make the piece more like the real Yamato.
Holes were drilled and cylindrical styrene was carefully
Main Bridge: There are two halves to the bridge tower, I first bent and cut to form the side pipes. Gold Medal railing
cut out the windows and vent areas and replaced the side was then added.
window with Tom’s Modelworks ladders. The top combat
bridge piece B34 had its windows carefully removed by a
Dremel with a cutting disc. I then glued the halves together
and puttied and sanded the seams on both sides. All molded
port holes were drilled out and a few will need drilled per ref-
erence in the book. The upper combat bridge was then glued
in place.

Funnel: The funnel halves were glued and the seam put-
tied and sanded. The searchlight base had very thin pa-
per strips cut and added one by one to make the grills
under the search lights. Paper doors were added and the
back vent slightly drilled out. I also drilled out the search-
lights then painted the insides of them a bright silver then
made cross braces out of stretched sprue. Testors clear
parts cement and windows maker was added with a pin.
After the main pieces were glued I finished adding the win-
The windows maker shrinks quite a bit so several appli-
dows to the lower compass and upper combat bridge. I then
cations were needed to get the round lens look. The next
proceeded to slowly add model pieces, scratch built parts
few photos will detail what was added to the funnel piece.
and photoetch around the bridge. The next picture will help
identify what was done.

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Superstructure Base: Despite not having any molded on The next photo shows more details added to the super-
detail, the shape and placement of the base is excellent. structure. At this point the funnel and front and rear
There was no need for any major modifications on this bridges have been glued in place. All the kit pieces except
piece. I started by adding tread plate where indicated in the the AA guns have been added as well and most of the
book and paper hatches and doors. Various shapes of sty- railings have been fitted using both Gold Medal and Tom’s
rene sometimes used in combination made the intakes and Modelworks depending on the size I needed. Paper and
other details. I slowly worked my way around the base add- styrene details were added in various places. Half circle
ing detail and test fitting both bridges and the funnel but not vents were created by slicing cylindrical styrene and cut-
gluing them yet. ting in half.

Rangefinders: The railing on these proved to be quite diffi-

cult to add but the results are impressive. The Gold Medal
Models version had some more detail and were sturdy so
they were used. The radars were first cut off part B26 and
sanded smooth from the front rangefinder. The Tom’s
Modelworks radar had internal detailing so they were used
over the Gold medal version. The pivot pole was lightly
scraped and sanded for ease of removal for painting. The
top portion of this forward rangefinder is painted white and
was test fitted but will not be glued until after painting. Rail-
ing, ladders, paper hatches and some styrene pieces were
also added to both rangefinders.

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Mast: The mast was assembled and the type 13 radars The Gold Medal type 13 radar was also removed and a Lion
removed. Tom’s Modelwork’s ladders were placed per Roar version that comes with several of these radars was
instructions and book references. The platform was cre- added in their place. They had a more three dimensional
ated with tread plate. Due to the scale of the ship it look to them. At this point the superstructure was ready to
needed placed higher than was originally on the real ship. be painted.
The smaller braces were made with stretched sprue. Part
A21 was omitted and the bottom portion of it was made
with styrene.

Other Deck Details

A few other deck details were crafted at this time. The most
notable is the pipe that sits between the rear secondary tur-
Finishing up: Now that all the main components were
ret and Main Turret No. 3. Various shapes and sizes of sty-
completed I went through and created several small de-
rene and paper were used for all these details. Everything
tails using various materials. Wire was used for the barrel
was then mounted in drill holes or on looped painters tape
guards. These were to prevent the guns from maneuver-
for painting with Tamiya IJN Kure Grey spray paint.
ing to a position that would allow them to fire into the ship
itself. They were test fitted several times before gluing.
Various platforms, antennas and other items were fabri-
cated using stretched sprue, styrene or paper. All
shielded AA guns were completed then glued in place.

I had originally intended to have this be the finished super-

structure but after a close examination of the book I was
using for reference, I decided to make some more im-
provements. I noticed I had missed two portholes on
ether side of the front molded-on fire control tower and
added them. I also created the “U” shaped areas on the
rear bridge platform out of styrene strips and added them.
The funnel also looked a bit plain. I took the top part of
some Tom’s Modelworks railing off leaving some of the
poles on it and curved it then glued it into areas of the fun-
nel to simulate the one bar rails that cover sections of it. It
was over scale but still looked good.

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Crane I then proceeded to add the crane tower being sure that
there would be a small hole on the top for a rigging pivot. I
The crane need worked very carefully. The pulleys would next added the Gold Medal middle length pulleys as in-
need gentle handling and I wanted the crane base to ro- structed. Then, using the book for a reference I created
tate as well yet be more secure than the current base additional pulley mounts out of paper on the base and a
allowed. Since the Gold Medal Crane was more durable Gold medal Pulley was bent and added to the boon. Then
and provided more detail I used it. I completed the boon Tom’s Modelworks pulleys were added in these three
as instructed. The crane base had all detail carefully cut places and 32G wire was used for the cabling between
off with a new hobby knife blade and sanded. The piece them. The hook was also added on the tip of the boon.
resembled a capital “T” when viewed from all sides when The base wire was cut off leaving just 1/4 inch to help se-
through. cure and aid in pivoting the crane.

I then drilled a hole in the center base and glued a thick

piece of brass wire to aid in assembly and provide a pivot
for the crane to turn. I next drilled a few small holes in the
top portion to provide a bit of detail as was on the real
crane. Some styrene triangles were fitted underneath this
area to provide some more detail. A block of styrene was
glued to the front to provide a mounting point for the boon.
The rear pulley arm was made with doubled up paper with
triangular cut styrene and stretched sprue added under-
neath after the paper was glued to the base. Making this
piece out of paper was a good choice as the piece moved
up and down slightly without damaging it or the glue point.
32G wire was put through the boon holes and then glued
to the mounting block. The wire was then cut and the ex-
cess bend downward. This method allowed the boon to
freely move up and down as well.

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Superstructure and Detail Painting The thread was then cut and glued at one end to form two
Three coats of Tamiya IJN Kure Grey were applied to the groups of three. I then made two groups of four. After these
components on the wood board. Each coat was let dry for dried the groups of four were glued to the inside of the “U”
one hour, and the final coat for several hours. While these shaped styrene we added to platform part A1 and the three
dried I painted the unshielded 12cm and AA guns and grouping glued to the outer edge of A1. Once thoroughly dry
searchlights both ModelMaster Steel and Gunmetal. I de- each thread was taken and individually glued to the yardarm
cided to use part W3 instead of W2 for the bridge search- on both sides. After this was thoroughly dry a new hobby
lights since they are bigger and can be drilled. Two W2 knife blade was used to gently trim the excess. A piece of 32
search lights will just be painted and used for the signal gauge wire was bent, painted ModelMaster Dark Tan, test
lights on the mast platform. fitted and glued to the underside of the yardarms. Flag lines
were made of a single strand of the white nylon thread and
two were added to the mast and one each for the rear and
front staffs on the hull. Use the book for placement of these.
All guns were finished, detailed and added to the superstruc-
ture. The four navigation light boxes were painted silver on
their insides and some fine stretched sprue was painted
green and red then glued into place in these boxes. The cap
of the bridge and the row boats I planned on adding were
spray painted white. The mounted binoculars on the bridge
top were created with stretched sprue.

After painting I proceeded to detail the superstructure

while it was unattached to the deck. First I painted the
Unshielded gun floors and top bridge deck with an acrylic
Burnt Sienna and after dry applied an extremely thinned
Testors Gray wash over the top. I then painted the funnel
and mast tops Testors Flat black. These were all painted
by hand with several fine brushes. Search lights were
then added to all points that should have them. The base
of two W3 search lights needed removed for the yard-
arms so that the range finder would still swivel. The yard-
arm rigging and flag rigging was done at this stage since
it would be easiest to access the superstructure before it Hull Detailing(Bow)
was glued in place. The rigging for the yardarms and Starting at the bow I added anchor chains spray painted
flags is a white transparent thin nylon thread from a sew- gloss black. Each was cut a bit long and the ends were
ing store. A length was cut from the spool and secured to stuffed down the drilled holes. Caps were made of various
the top of the counter and a weight added to the bottom sizes of circle punched double layered paper. Tom’s Model-
and suspended above the floor. The weight was sus- works gun bases and Gold Medal Models 25mm guns were
pended overnight to help get the curve of the spool out painted first then added to the model. Fairleads and other
and also allow you to paint the thread a full white color. details created and painted Kure Grey were also added per
reference in the book.

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Hull Detailing(Flight Deck) Some railing on the Rear bridge needed removed so that the
Tom’s Modelworks bases and Gold Medal 25mm guns turret could move freely. The India ink mixture was brushed
were painted and added as the book suggested. The over all vents to help them stand out.
crane cables were painted Modelmaster Steel and put in
place. Two AA platforms were glued in place. These two
are the only ones that have their notched backs placed at
an diagonal instead of straight to the center of the ship.
Scuppers were drilled with a no 78 drill bit just halfway
through the deck. I used the book to place these.

A signal cross was made out of HO scale 2x2 and 4x4

styrene pieces and assembled as shown. The whole thing
was painted with the Modelmaster mixture I made earlier
and then when dry, the signal lights were painted in the
color scheme as shown. The Yamato decal was also
added.

Hull Detailing(Midship)
The superstructure was test fitted onto the deck several
times but not glued. I used it for placement of small de-
tails that were painted with the superstructure. All AA plat-
forms were glued in place. The two with the pegs under
the notch were placed by the vents between main turret
no.2 and the first secondary turret. All guns were finished
and glued at this time as well including the 25mm Gold
Medal ones with the Tom’s Modelworks bases. Window
covers were added to the lower forward and rear bridge
windows. I created an arrangement where a few were up
but most were down. The inside of the ship was painted
white so the ones that hanged down were painted the
same.

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Rigging
Rigging was made of very fine stretched sprue and smoke
colored nylon thread. The long runs were made with
stretched sprue. They ended up bowing a bit but the ap-
pearance looked good. A pivot was made out of sliced sty-
rene and sturdy wire. It was painted, cut and inserted in the
top of the crane. Rigging was then attached to this, allowing
for the crane to pivot. I used the book for a reference, used
stretched sprue for straighter runs and the nylon thread
when a bowed or curved run was desired. Where possible
the section was glued then the excess trimmed off when dry.
All rigging except the yardarm and flag rigging was painted
black with a few white markers here and there for effect.
Navigation markers for the mast rigging were created with
sliced cylindrical styrene for the circular starboard side and
triangular paper was used for the cone on the port side.

I made my own flags on a computer and used them on the

model. I did use the ‘Ten-Go” mission banner from the kit
after scanning it into the computer in case I made a mis-
take. Using a ruler and sharp hobby knife I cut out each
flag, folded and glued them together with superglue. This
made the paper stiff and when bent, will keep the shape of
the waves made in each one. They were added to the
model and then the edges were lightly tipped with the In-
dia ink-alcohol mixture for a slight worn look. The banner
was made the same way except the leads which made the
triangle were created using stretched sprue and painted
black before adding to the model.

Final Ship Details

The final ship components are the flags, anchors and the
gold crest on the front of the ship. The forward anchors
had their middles bent back to be inserted in the holes and
the rear anchors had theirs only slightly bent; both were
painted Modelmaster Gunmetal. The large crest from the
W fret was also painted gold and then added to the model.

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The following pages cover optional components. If you The following photo shows the finished planes. Tom’s
are going for accuracy, the Yamato carried no planes or Modelworks photoetch propellers were added and all parts
boats in the “Ten-Go” mission. I decided to add a few and paint have been added. About every situation the
planes and boats to the model just to add interest. The kit planes could be in was made. A clear circle punched sty-
only comes with two of each type of the planes the Ya- rene sheet was used instead of a propeller to give the illu-
mato carried. Since the W fret with the kit is included with sion that the plane is getting ready for takeoff. Some
about every WW2 Japanese model made, I had a few ex- stretched sprue was used for cables to make one “Jake”
tra planes I could use on the kit. Tamiya’s Heavy Vessel able to sit on the crane’s hook. Gold Medal Models trolleys
ordinance set is also the same fret as the one included in and shuttles were folded, painted then glued to the base as
the kit. needed. The tail wire was made with stretched sprue for the
base and smoke colored nylon thread for the wire, then
Planes painted black. I had a better decal set leftover from my Ha-
There are two types of planes the Yamato carried. A float- segawa Ise battlecarrier model and decided to use this for
ing biplane or “Pete” as it was called, and a single wing the plane decals. Some fine wing details on the Jakes was
float plane called “Jake”. The plane components were first made from Tom’s Modelworks ladder that was cut in half.
cut from the W fret and spray painted flat white on the un-
dersides and all sides of the floats. After drying a few days
the nose tips were cut off and saved, and the engine
slightly drilled out for some detail. The molded on cano-
pies were sanded off with a Dremel and sanding drum bit.

With the planes done I carefully glued them to the tracks

and crane of the ship. The plane with the working motor just
had the shuttle underneath and will be glued onto the star-
board catapult to look like it is getting ready for launch!
At this stage stretched sprue was used to make the four
posts that would hold the upper wing of the biplane. The
upper portions of the planes were then brush painted with
Modelmaster Imp. Japanese Army Navy Green and the
interiors a very light blue. I used thick clear stretched
sprue for the “Jake” canopies. Since I did not have clear
sprue to begin with, I used clear plastic utensils instead to
make the clear stretched sprue.

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Small Motor Boats and Dinghies
Three types of boats come with the kit: dinghies with and
without bases, and several sizes of the motor launches.
The dinghies were stored on the tracks on the rear of the
ship where the crane base is and could also be hoisted up
on the side of the ship via the fold up mountings found on
the side of the hull. The dinghies without the bases had the
mold holes filled with putty and sanded smooth and were
spray painted flat white. The ones with bases had the inter-
nals painted Modelmaster Wood and brown and the bases
Gunship Gray. Since I chose to display the one without
bases with a tarp over the top, the internals will not be
painted. Candy foil, like the type found on Hershey’s
Kisses, is thin and makes great tarps for any model. Smoke
colored nylon thread will be used for the tarp tie downs.

The motor launches were a bit more challenging than the

dinghies were. There is no visible storage on the Yamato
for these ships as they were launched from the tunnels on
the sides of the ship just under the flight deck. I decided to
have one being launched from the rail at the top of one of
the tunnels. First I removed the molded on base on this
boat and made propeller shafts from stretched sprue and a
small rudder from paper. I then painted the wood deck
Modelmaster Sand. I then cut some of the smaller Tom’s
modelworks railing up, curved it and glued it to the front
sides and back of each boat to simulate it’s own railing. I
then brush painted the sides and deck details the mixture of
Kure Grey and when dry painted below the waterline a flat
red. Since I was planning to have the Yamato in a diorama
with a few of these boats in the water by it, I sanded off the
bottoms with a Dremel and sanding drum. The lift cables
for the hanging boat was made from four pieces of
stretched sprue similar to the way the planes were save
that a styrene block was put in the center. Stretched sprue
was also added as poles to the front and back of each boat
and painted Kure grey. Canvas boxes on the back were
painted Light Gull Grey and a wire was used to paint the
windows on the boats.

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Cargo, Ropes, Tarps and Other Details
All that is left is to add any human elements to the model.
These parts are not part of the ship but are miscellaneous
equipment that could be placed around the vessel. Vari-
ous sizes and shapes of styrene, 32 gauge wire, white and
smoke colored nylon thread, candy wrapper foil, paper
and stripped wire insulation will all be used along with the
every present stretched sprue to create these details.
Some photoetch parts, like the ladders, will also be used.

The above photo shows how to make the basic cargo, the
next few photos show how to make some more advanced
elements around the ship. Using the book as a reference,
I glued the ammo boxes on the deck and AA turrets first.
Placement of the other cargo and details is at the mod-
eler’s discretion but use logic to help with placement, like
ropes near the reels and the fairleads. Also these ele-
ments can be placed to help cover any small flaws that
you might see in the deck. This can be a lifesaver and
really make a imperfect model seem outstanding.

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With these final details created and added, as shown in
these photos the model was ready to be weathered. I was
very pleased with the look of the model. The model is only
attached to the diorama by a few pieces of painters tape.
This holds the model on securely but will allow it to be re-
moved if needed. I removed the model from the diorama
and put it back on a wood block for weathering and the final
clear flat finish.

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Diorama
By now the diorama base can be seen in the photos be-
fore this section. While it is possible to create more realis-
tic water than what I did, the method I used is quick, easy
and has the advantage of being able to remove the large
ship if I would like it displayed in another way. I enclose
my ships in a clear acrylic box to protect them. I’ve found
that the Pioneer 1:64 truck cases are perfect for holding
1:700 scale ships and can be stacked as well. I also used
light paneling with a random pattern(the kind used in low-
ered and panelled ceilings) and a teal and dark blue
acrylic paint.

The photos here show how and what was applied to the
model. I also used the weathering to help hide minor im-
perfections I could see in the model as well. When I was
satisfied with the look of the weathering the model was
coated with several light coats of ModelMaster Lusterless
Flat spay and allowed to dry for several hours. The planes
then had a gloss clear coat carefully applied to them. The
model was then reattached to the diorama base for finish-
ing.

The painted side of the light panelling had several strips of

looped painters tape added and attached to the Pioneer
display base. The model will be attached using the same
manner. This will allow everything to be removed if de-
sired.

Weathering
Weathering will be accomplished mostly with powdered
artists chalk in earth tones and black, grey and white colors.
I mixed up some acrylic rust colored paint using browns
and reds to get a shade I liked. The India ink mixture will
also be used sparingly in some instances. Since the Ya-
mato was the flagship and pride of the Japanese fleet it
was likely well taken care of. Therefore the weathering
should be subtle and not striking.

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Finishing Up
All that was left to do was bring everything together and
set the stage for the final look. As the Yamato carried no
planes or boats in operation “Ten-Go” I decided to depict
the ship a few days before the mission as stationary and
offloading its planes and boats, hence the busy flight deck
and boat launches. The smaller boats had to be glued
onto the “water” and a few white caps were painted
around these, around the Yamato and a few random
places on the rest of the water with gloss white paint. This
finished the model and the cover was placed over the top
of it for display.

Flight Deck Linoleum Lines

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