Epitomizing the phrase “go big or go home,” the Japanese designed a class of super-battleships that were intended to win a “decisive battle” against their likely U.S. Navy adversaries. Armed with massive 18.1-inch rifles, the Yamato-class were the largest battleships ever constructed.
Mirroring the mammoth dimensions of the real thing, Takom has released a 1/72 kit of Yamato’s No.1 turret — the forwardmost mount of the ships three. A large chunk of deck is included for display.
A photo-etched metal (PE) fret supplies turret details and a lightly engraved nameplate. Also included is a length of clear nylon monofilament (fishing line) for the safety railings atop the turret.
Two sets of blast bag halves are supplied, allowing the builder to install each rifle at maximum or minimum elevation. Fine molding gives the muzzles rifling inside and the stanchions are molded with openings for both upper and lower railings; a handful of extras are provided.
Planks mark the deck section along with various deck fittings and a couple of separate hatches. I attached the structural details to the turret ring, leaving the hatches off for painting and finishing. The instructions show the sides of the display base painted gray, but with so much gray to come, I painted mine black.
For the deck, I used Testors Model Master fabric tan with a spray can. (This thing is kind of big for my poor little Paasche airbrush). Then, I shaded various planks with a light tan pencil and coated the entire base with Krylon UV-resistant acrylic clear. Oak craft paint was thinned as a wash and applied to the entire deck, then coated again with the acrylic clear. I left off the PE nameplate because the etching was too light and mine had minor damage.
The large turret parts required a good deal of force for a flush fit between upper and lower pieces. I carefully trimmed the front plate so it sat completely inside its recess.
The range finder housings required filling underneath but fit the turret seamlessly. The rangefinder inside is designed to turn slightly independent of the turret. I glued mine in place facing directly forward.
Takom included what I assume are hydraulic “snubbers” that mount underneath to prevent the turret from rotating a full circle. This also prevents the modeler from turning the turret the wrong way on the base.
Be careful installing the cradles that attach the gun breeches to the turret base, so the guns are free to move. With only two elevations to mount the guns and if you attach the breeches at the wrong angle you won’t be able to mount the blast bags without significant work.
The stanchions and tiny cable runs on top of the turret clean up easily and fit well. The vision ports on the sides do not fit as well and required a smear of putty wiped off with a wet finger. I took care removing and cleaning up the ladders.
The PE baskets under each of the outer guns were difficult to bend; I used a dedicated folding tool and even then, they did not crease crisply. The small PE pieces for the turret roof fit well, but since the metal was thick, I removed the fold-over tabs and attached them directly to the roof.
Be careful adding the rear hatch plate. I managed to get it upside down even after checking the instructions — it fits perfectly either way. A bit of trimming got the rest of the parts in place.
The long barrels are molded in halves. They fit well, but I had to do some work to eliminate the seam. The gun muzzles fit well, needing just a touch of sanding. I appreciated the blast bags as no two are identical. The blast bags must be assembled to the barrels before attaching them to the breeches. Therefore, I left the barrels off the turret with the blast bags attached for painting.
I base-coated the turret with Krylon deep gray from a spray can then weathered it with Tamiya light sea gray (XF-25) and ocean gray (XF-82). Flory dark dirt and mud brown washes enhanced the weathering, but Yamato spent most of its time in port, so I kept it light. The blast bags were painted Tamiya flat white (XF-1) mixed with a touch of deck tan (XF-55) and shades with straight deck tan.
I attempted to use the nylon monofilament for the safety railings, but it was far too stiff to make the corners by the ladders. I replaced it with EZ-Line heavy, which worked perfectly.
I spent just under 20 hours on this unusual kit. I wasn’t sure quite what to expect, but I enjoyed the build. With a few exceptions, the fit is good, and detail is adequate. It’s certainly an attention-getter. The only addition it really needs is a handful of crew figures or something else to the massive emplacement a sense of scale.