by Luigi De Maria
1/350 IJN Yamato (Tamiya)
So much has been said about battleship Yamato: simply one the greatest battleship ever made and a must for every warships scale model to build along with the three other DKM Bismarck, HMS Prince of Wales and USS Missouri.
So here is my version of the mighty Japanese battleship. Tamiya's kit as always is very good, all pieces are very nicely engraved and the fitting is superb (execpt some little complains about the rear deck half mounted on the hull). Such a good kit combined with the White Ensign Models Yamato/Musashi 1/350 Ultimate Set bring probably to the most satisfing and beautiful warship model that can be achieved.
As we Know the Yamato it's not an easy one to make. Apart the impressive 460mm (the biggest ever realized of the era and the heaviest , they were attached only by gravity if I well remember) main turrets and the 15.5 secondary turrets the ship mounted an impressive dotation of antiaircraft mounting of various calibre expecially on the middle were the armour of the hull was thicker.The whole thing took me about 11/2 a year but leaving the work away time by time for study motives.
All the paints used were the Tamiya acrylics and mainly the Deck Tan, Hull Red and Neutral Grey for the structures.
Etched parts are quite a challenge to deal with. The most annoing work was certainly the triple 25mm enclosed AA turret and the triple 25mm open mounting wich are present in a very large number. For the 25 mm in particular i don't find the result good despite the fact that the quality of the WEM set is unmatched. I've heard that these turrets are just made entirely, but now I don't remember the manufacurer that produces it now so you have to discover by your own. Another pain (and lot of swearing!)was fitting the etched rails on the aircraft deck section, I did a bit of scratching to remove the moulded ones.
Rigging was made of 0.5 mm fishing net. That stuff is good because it is quite resistent and respond very well to superglue. The little masts at both ends of the deck were reinforced with a thin pin to avoid them from broking.
About the location of the doors and the hatches I used as a reference the pics of the Yamato from this site but some others i placed by my own will.
I preferred not to weather the model but assemble it in "clean" configuration to better show the magnificent and imponent sight of the ship.
I wish to thank Giampiero Galeotti of the Regia Marina who provided me the WEM etched kit and helpful assistance with his huge experience and also thank this site, their owners and the others modelers for giving me continuing inspiration during the work. Next project will be the Revell 1/426 USS Arizona with GMM etched kits I think. The next will be Bismarck (this time with etched parts) the Missouri and Prince of Wales that I mentioned above
The ship is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather Luigi Gagliardi who was an artillery commander aboard the Light Cruiser Eugenio di Savoia of the Regia Marina during World War 2 and passed away one years ago.
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