¹⁄700

Build Up of the Tamiya 1:700 IJN Yamato

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 internals 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.

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. Various 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 modeler’s discretion but use logic to help with placement, like ropes near the reels and the fairleads. Also these elements 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.

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 removed 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.