¹⁄700

Build Up of the Tamiya 1:700 IJN Yamato

Superstructure and Detail Painting

Three coats of Tamiya IJN Kure Grey were applied to the components on the wood board. Each coat was let dry for one hour, and the final coat for several hours. While these dried I painted the unshielded 12cm and AA guns and searchlights both ModelMaster Steel and Gunmetal. I decided to use part W3 instead of W2 for the bridge searchlights since they are bigger and can be drilled. Two W2 search lights will just be painted and used for the signal lights on the mast platform.




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 yardarms so that the range finder would still swivel. The yardarm rigging and flag rigging was done at this stage since it would be easiest to access the superstructure before it was glued in place. The rigging for the yardarms and flags is a white transparent thin nylon thread from a sewing store. A length was cut from the spool and secured to the top of the counter and a weight added to the bottom and suspended above the floor. The weight was suspended overnight to help get the curve of the spool out and also allow you to paint the thread a full white color.




The thread was then cut and glued at one end to form two groups of three. I then made two groups of four. After these dried the groups of four were glued to the inside of the “U” shaped styrene we added to platform part A1 and the three grouping glued to the outer edge of A1. Once thoroughly dry each thread was taken and individually glued to the yardarm on both sides. After this was thoroughly dry a new hobby knife blade was used to gently trim the excess.

A piece of 32 gauge wire was bent, painted ModelMaster Dark Tan, test 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 superstructure. 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.

Hull Detailing(Bow)

Starting at the bow I added anchor chains spray painted gloss black. Each was cut a bit long and the ends were stuffed down the drilled holes. Caps were made of various sizes of circle punched double layered paper. Tom’s Modelworks gun bases and Gold Medal Models 25mm guns were painted first then added to the model. Fairleads and other details created and painted Kure Grey were also added per reference in the book.