¹⁄700

Build Up of the Tamiya 1:700 IJN Yamato

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.




I used Gold Medal Model’s bow railing for the main deck up to the four rear Shielded AA guns as shown in the photos. This railing is very durable and looks good, but can be hard to shape and bend. Tom’s Modelworks’ railing doesn’t look quite as nice, but is easier to cut and shape. The following pictures will demonstrate better what was done to the various portions of the deck to detail it. The guns labeled “F” in the kit instructions were added now and detailed. Detailing for them will be discussed later on as well as the crane assembly.







Now is the time to decide if and how any planes will be displayed on the Yamato. If you want a plane being launched, the catapults need to line up with the center booth that was hollowed out. Decide how the rails will be positioned on the turntables as well. There are photoetch kits available that let you redo the rails and turntables in greater detail if you so desire. The Gold Medal catapults are more detailed and durable so I decided to use them on the model.







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 painting.