Good luck with that Mark. It's a kit I always wanted to do so I will be watching but I am bit jaundiced by kits with mega etch sets so I am unlikely to attempt in the near future.

cheers
Michael

Wow Mark! Talk about coming back with a "bang"!

This is the way to do it, for sure!

Like Michael, I've always been curious about Tamiya's new tool Yamato, but always intimidated by both it and the AM available and hence stayed away. More than happy to watch you do battle with her though

I don't know why but Tamiya have split the Hull in an unusual way which means some careful Puttying and Sanding to come. Oh what fun....Cheers Mark

Mark, I'm really intrigued by Tamiya's approach to how this it goes together.

Indeed it is strange to see screws used to assemble the hull as opposed to glue. But, no doubt the intent by Tamiya is portray Yamato as accurately as possible. Perhaps they have taken what they have learned from their armor kits and applied it here?

So far, you're doing a great job!

That is a lot of screws, I don't think I seen as many on a 1/200 model ship than I seen on your 1/350 Yamato. I guess it is nice to know that the hull and deck strength is relied on by metal and not glue or alignment.

Mark

Hi Mark,

You are doing a great job concealing the seams on this Yamato. It looks to be a beautifully detailed kit.

I can't help wondering, though, what was the Tamiya design team thinking on this one? Even though the fit appears to be up to the usual Tamiya standard of excellence, they have taken a complex approach to solving a simple problem. Their old 1970s 1/350 Yamato had a very accurate single piece hull, and the main deck was only two pieces because they included access for motorization. This new design appears to accomplish much the same thing but with extra seams to fill.



Anyway, your build is looking very good so far - I'm looking forward to watching it progress!

I ran into the nearly the same thing on my current Shimakaze (by Fujimi) build.

No screws but the hull is built around a central skeletal structure, with lower hull, and port and starboard sides as well as a multi piece deck being added to the central core very much like a skin over a frame.

I am not a model engineer but the result is a very strong hull and absolutely no problems with fit or alignment issues. The seam between the lower and upper portion of the hull is so tight I see no need to fill it, a job I really dislike anyway. Always thought the Tamiya Kagero was good, but I think I like how Fujimi did shimakaze better.

That is a very clean seam job, and look forward to following the rest of this build closely.

Has anyone heard from Simon? It has been better than two weeks since he last posted.

Also I was wondering about Si also. He posts on a very regular basis and it is very unlike him.