1/200 Trumpeter IJN YAMATO - issued by MRC/Gallery Models

[ccoyle]

Just call it "market research."

[CDW]

4 hours ago, chris watton said:

I am in very deep trouble when my wife gets home, it is way too big to hide anywhere!

 

Oh, but what a glorious way to go.

[Roger Pellett]

Chris,

 

Tell her that you are checking the competition!

 

Roger

[mikegr]

On 8/12/2022 at 11:24 AM, chris watton said:

I am in very deep trouble when my wife gets home, it is way too big to hide anywhere!

you can print out a pic of a Christmas tree and glue it over the box.

This is what i am going to do. And after completion i would do the same, like this

[mtdoramike]

On 8/12/2022 at 4:24 AM, chris watton said:

I am in very deep trouble when my wife gets home, it is way too big to hide anywhere!

You do what we all do, the walk of shame. Don't worry, your in good company, I have had to do this walk a few times lately.  

[therealhighlander]

On 7/1/2022 at 10:03 AM, mikegr said:

Yes it is a bayonet fight variation, called Jukendo in fact

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jūkendō

 

But my wonder is different.

Are these big kits really complete?

Or extra PE are required to get the most details out of them?

I have the 1/200 Arizona, Missouri, Hood and Yamato (from Glow B2B Germany... same kit off Amazon about 9 months ago for $525 including shipping when I bought it before MRC slapped a sticker on the outside of the box and imported to US). I had previously bought all the Fujimi 1/200 Yamato detail kits and planned to do the Nichimo kit with augmented parts from 3d printing... till this one came along! I can say that the Yamato lacks metal gun barrels (main guns all the way down to AA which are readily available) and a wood deck... but has all the needed PE supplied. ALL the other ones come with some PE, but IMHO need the complete PE and wood decking, which generally is $300+ in addition to the purchase price of the kit

[yvesvidal]

I just received a supplement kit with the wooden decks, metal guns, chains and masks for the deck. This was purchased on E-Bay. There are no instructions but hopefully, once you get the QDDR code on your phone, something should happen.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

The overall kit was about $100.00. I just wish they printed a sheet of instructions....

 

Yves

 

 

[CDW]

My heart is racing at the prospect of a 1:200 Yamato

[yvesvidal]

On 10/1/2022 at 7:36 PM, CDW said:

My heart is racing at the prospect of a 1:200 Yamato

 

Go for it Craig: it will be a master piece, done by you .

 

Yves

[CDW]

32 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

 

Go for it Craig: it will be a master piece, done by you .

 

Yves

For the time being I am a spectator looking forward to your model. With your attention to details I am sure it’s going to be spectacular 

[yvesvidal]

A few pictures from a French Forum, showing the YAMATO in 1/100 scale, basically 8 times bigger than the Trumpeter model: 

 

 

The gentleman who built the Yamato, also built a few other battleships, all in 1/100 scale: 

 

 

Yves

[mtaylor]

Way back in the past, the first MSW splash page (the one you got when you put only the address in your browser at that time) had photo of a huge model of this ship.  

 

Edit... found a link.... 1/10th scale.   https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1ZCEB_enUS832US832&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=largest+yamato+model+1/10+scale&fir=ESg5s02bKX9NfM%2ChyOLwZERsosueM%2C_%3BdiugppkVDdRDTM%2CvaG-9bCFdijE-M%2C_%3BiD3N-PbAQdjz3M%2C7dEc_NJBrPuOlM%2C_%3BWYKBjj8zMGHWXM%2CvaG-9bCFdijE-M%2C_%3B8zFal9UpyQa0iM%2CRqrdsxpbGAOYQM%2C_%3Biv9QLgfT-lYmVM%2CSFhKgowXU9LcHM%2C_%3BKo0ukWCbzdOoVM%2C0C3KWc71auK_YM%2C_%3B6_mNbQDYRughpM%2CcKMZnaGgb0am2M%2C_%3BBUtYtJftM_747M%2CZ-qLQSpcQwWE8M%2C_%3BMeK-lmfapyROiM%2Ctc3sWcLemXUDPM%2C_%3BkeV3eE5LXaP0dM%2CSr9TjX4bS3QtXM%2C_%3BHnIXzFmye9gq1M%2C7dEc_NJBrPuOlM%2C_&usg=AI4_-kT4OIPnj83kRhs1L7WYzDx5w_i4qw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwix3M22juv6AhWNLEQIHQrLA-4QjJkEegQIExAC&biw=1431&bih=734&dpr=1

[yvesvidal]

Mike,

 

Yes that 1/10th scale model is located in the Japanese museum, commemorating the Yamato, if I am not mistaken. That model is incredible.

 

Yves

[Kusawa2000]

On 10/19/2022 at 5:34 AM, yvesvidal said:

Mike,

 

Yes that 1/10th scale model is located in the Japanese museum, commemorating the Yamato, if I am not mistaken. That model is incredible.

 

Yves

Yves: I managed to get over to Kure in Japan and see the model. It is totally insane. Amazing level of detail and with the way its displayed you can check out every angle of the model. If you are thinking to build the Yamato it's the place to visit. The rest of the museum is interesting as well. They have the Zero airplane as well as flags and other memorabilia from the Yamato. They have also laid down a footprint of the actual size of the ship near the museum as well so you can appreciate the size of the battleship. 

 

Mike Draper

[Kevin]

Japanese Battleship Yamato (1/10 scale model 26.3m) - Bing video

[mtaylor]

I have seen a model that the owner actually sat in to cruise around a lake.  Need a good size trailer to hull it and a friend to be on  board also to help run it.  Maybe we model builders are bit on the crazy side? 

[ted99]

As I was about half-way through my 1:200 Amati Bismarck, I hatched the idea to build the three most modern and major battleships of WW II in 1:200 scale: Bismarck, Yamato, and Missouri.  Searching, I found that I would have to do this in Plastic for the latter two and the old Nichimo kit was the only one I could find for Yamato.  So, I bought a used one on eBay and all the Scale Decks, Nichimo and Gold Medal PE detail kits for my next build after Bismarck was completed.  I also bought the Trumpeter Missouri, plus the Pontos detail set so I would have it in case things went in short supply.  About the time I completed Bismarck, I decided that I should also add the type of ship that rendered the Battleship obsolete for it's intended purpose--the carrier-- and bought the Trumpeter CV-6 Enterprise and it's detail kits.  I might round out the nemesis of all--the Fleet Submarine--but keeping things in 1:200 scale makes for a rather small model.

 

So now, I'm partially into the Nichimo Yamato (build log underway) and Yves points out this thread.  His description of the MRC kit hits EVERYTHING that I was finding bad about the Nichimo kit.  I'm considering abandoning the Nichimo kit to go with this (which I have now learned is done by Trumpeter) MRC kit.  Unfortunately, I had "completed" my research into kits back at the beginning of the year and completely missed out on this new offering.

[mtdoramike]

On 10/21/2022 at 2:39 PM, mtaylor said:

I have seen a model that the owner actually sat in to cruise around a lake.  Need a good size trailer to hull it and a friend to be on  board also to help run it.  Maybe we model builders are bit on the crazy side? 

You think?

[ted99]

Looking at the information posted by Yves and comparing it to my experience, so far, with the Nichimo kit; I offer my observations to anyone deciding between the two.

If I don't specify which model, I am referring to the Nichimo:

1.  The hull and deck castings are Styrene plastic and all the detail plastic parts are ABS plastic.  One needs a special cement for ABS (Plastruct).

2.  The hull plating details are vastly inferior to the MRC kit.

3.  The hull desperately needs the interior reinforcing that the MRC kit provides.  After assembling the hull and decks, I had to add (belatedly) interior reinforcement in the mid-ships area to bring the deck up to "level" to allow the superstructure to sit on the deck properly.

4.  The plastic decks are child-like and you will need to purchase an aftermarket wood deck.  Parts of the wooden decks from scaledecks.com do not line up with cast-in protrusions in the Nichimo decks requiring alterations to one or the other. This wood deck is an extra cost of almost $100, depending on your source.

5.  The instructions are "scanty", at best.  For instance, line drawings of fully assembled deck modules are provided, but not step-by step drawings.  You have to pick out each part, locate it on the plastic sprue and puzzle out the best fit.  It's doable, but subject to error.  A lot of space is devoted to motorization of the guns and other bits.

6.  The ABS plastic detail parts, like radar antennas, cranes, dollies, etc are crude at best.  If you are a serious modeler, you will need to throw all this away and purchase the PE detail parts from Nichimo, Toms River and Gold Medal Models at an extra cost of at least $300.

7.  The main gun turrets are designed for motorization and compromises have been made to accommodate the "ability" to rotate and elevate the gun barrels.  As a consequence, you can purchase after market metal gun barrels for the MRC kit, but you are stuck with Nichimo's toy-like offering.

8.  Original versions of the Nichimo kit were manufactured almost 50 years ago and I'm sure that many kits now found on resale sites date from that era.  My hull seems to be brittle and modern kits rarely use ABS plastic.  Also, has the grade of styrene plastic used in models improved in 50 years?

 

I'm only at the hull closure stage, now; but I have used time waiting for cement to set to pre-assemble parts of the superstructure.  Check out my build log for more information as I do not expect to make further contributions to this thread.

 

I'll offer the following generalization.  The Nichimo kit is well-served as a "stand-off" motorized model for deployment on water.  It is NOT a display-quality static model.  With the addition of $300 to $400 of detail parts, it can be one; but the added hull detail (and probably more modern plastics) of the MRC kit makes it a better choice if a display model is your desire.

[ted99]

Sorry, in the above I used the label Nichimo when saying that you will need to purchase PE detail parts.  I should have said "Fujimi".

[ted99]

Yves--  I know I said I wasn't going to post here, anymore, but I just started reviewing the completed build log by RGL for the 1:350 Tamiya Yamato.  I was struck by all the  interior detail for the boat hangers and the aircraft hangers.  The Nichimo kit doesn't even do the full depth of the aircraft elevator deck.  How is this area done on the MRC kit?

[mtdoramike]

On 10/29/2022 at 12:43 PM, ted99 said:

Looking at the information posted by Yves and comparing it to my experience, so far, with the Nichimo kit; I offer my observations to anyone deciding between the two.

If I don't specify which model, I am referring to the Nichimo:

1.  The hull and deck castings are Styrene plastic and all the detail plastic parts are ABS plastic.  One needs a special cement for ABS (Plastruct).

2.  The hull plating details are vastly inferior to the MRC kit.

3.  The hull desperately needs the interior reinforcing that the MRC kit provides.  After assembling the hull and decks, I had to add (belatedly) interior reinforcement in the mid-ships area to bring the deck up to "level" to allow the superstructure to sit on the deck properly.

4.  The plastic decks are child-like and you will need to purchase an aftermarket wood deck.  Parts of the wooden decks from scaledecks.com do not line up with cast-in protrusions in the Nichimo decks requiring alterations to one or the other. This wood deck is an extra cost of almost $100, depending on your source.

5.  The instructions are "scanty", at best.  For instance, line drawings of fully assembled deck modules are provided, but not step-by step drawings.  You have to pick out each part, locate it on the plastic sprue and puzzle out the best fit.  It's doable, but subject to error.  A lot of space is devoted to motorization of the guns and other bits.

6.  The ABS plastic detail parts, like radar antennas, cranes, dollies, etc are crude at best.  If you are a serious modeler, you will need to throw all this away and purchase the PE detail parts from Nichimo, Toms River and Gold Medal Models at an extra cost of at least $300.

7.  The main gun turrets are designed for motorization and compromises have been made to accommodate the "ability" to rotate and elevate the gun barrels.  As a consequence, you can purchase after market metal gun barrels for the MRC kit, but you are stuck with Nichimo's toy-like offering.

8.  Original versions of the Nichimo kit were manufactured almost 50 years ago and I'm sure that many kits now found on resale sites date from that era.  My hull seems to be brittle and modern kits rarely use ABS plastic.  Also, has the grade of styrene plastic used in models improved in 50 years?

 

I'm only at the hull closure stage, now; but I have used time waiting for cement to set to pre-assemble parts of the superstructure.  Check out my build log for more information as I do not expect to make further contributions to this thread.

 

I'll offer the following generalization.  The Nichimo kit is well-served as a "stand-off" motorized model for deployment on water.  It is NOT a display-quality static model.  With the addition of $300 to $400 of detail parts, it can be one; but the added hull detail (and probably more modern plastics) of the MRC kit makes it a better choice if a display model is your desire.

Well your review indicates you are loving this kit and having loads of fun building it.

Edited October 31, 2022 by mtdoramike

[ted99]

2 hours ago, mtdoramike said:

Well your review indicates you are loving this kit and having loads of fun building it.

I love building complicated kits and if all the aftermarket detail bits are added, the Nichimo is nothing if it is not complicated.  I also like puzzling out data gaps and ambiguities in the "plans"(not).  Obviously, I'm not at the scratch-building level of modeling. I expected the shortcomings of this kit when I started it.  I did not expect that a much better kit at a cheaper overall price would appear in 1:200 scale, so that is my source of buyer's remorse.  After almost 50 years with no new Yamato offerings in 1:200, I was not expecting a new one.  Yes, I'm having fun; but if I can provide an OPINION that may be helpful to other's decision-making, I'm happy to do it.  YMMV.

 

I started my Battleship build with the Amati Bismarck, because it looked like a fun thing to do and it was BIG allowing a lot of detail. Then, my thinking evolved to doing the "set" I describe in my Yamato build log.  If I had it all to do over, I think I would have gone for 1:350 scale for the set.  Seems like there is a better choice of kits in that scale and there would certainly be more room on the wall for four 1:350 ships than 1:200.  The 1:350 build log of the Tamiya Yamato by RGL certainly shows that there is plenty of detail in 1:350 scale.

[yvesvidal]

1 hour ago, ted99 said:

If I had it all to do over, I think I would have gone for 1:350 scale for the set.  Seems like there is a better choice of kits in that scale and there would certainly be more room on the wall for four 1:350 ships than 1:200.  The 1:350 build log of the Tamiya Yamato by RGL certainly shows that there is plenty of detail in 1:350 scale.

 

I am not sure that 1/350 would be easier than 1/200 kits. It is about the same amount of work and probably more tedious and delicate work with the smaller scale. The final result will be so much more impressive at 1/200 scale, if you have the room to display these mastodons. Yes, I agree that displaying a Bismarck, a Yamato and a Missouri all in 1/200 scale would be a major statement in a household.

 

Yves

[mtdoramike]

4 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

 

I am not sure that 1/350 would be easier than 1/200 kits. It is about the same amount of work and probably more tedious and delicate work with the smaller scale. The final result will be so much more impressive at 1/200 scale, if you have the room to display these mastodons. Yes, I agree that displaying a Bismarck, a Yamato and a Missouri all in 1/200 scale would be a major statement in a household.

 

Yves

I will not be displaying the USS Missouri when it's complete. My goal is to find it a good home with someone who would appreciate it and hopefully run it in their local watering hole, which will put the display burden on them. I try not to have buyers remorse and just try and make do with what I'm presented with, but it can be a might disconcerning at times.

Edited October 31, 2022 by mtdoramike

[gak1965]

21 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

I am not sure that 1/350 would be easier than 1/200 kits. It is about the same amount of work and probably more tedious and delicate work with the smaller scale

I'm with Yves here. The difference on a sailing ship between 1:96 (say the Revell Connie) and 1:150 (the Heller Passat) is obvious and that's slightly less significant than the difference between 1:200 and 1:350. I remember wishing the Passat was 1:96 as well when I had to anchor multiple lines in constricted spaces even if it would mean a ship 1.1 meters long!

 

Ultimately, nothing is going to beat the impact or detail of a high quality, large scale model. Compared to 1:350 (or the old "box scale" kits I built as a kid) it gives you a sense of the size of the real things. I suspect that for the largest ships we've hit the limits of how big you can go on the commercial market, but I could be wrong.

 

My grandfather's Nichimo Yamato was displayed (back in the 60's to the 80's) in a long window we had in our rec room and first time visitors always gravitated to it, I expect the same will be true for you. All four will ships will be a challenge, but I'm sure you'll find a place. I have a similar problem as I have to figure out what to do with the Flying Fish I'm working on now. I gave my parents my Connie, the Passat is in my wife's home office, Pride of Baltimore in the sun room, and I have the Niagara in mine. Not a lot of room and these sailing craft take up a lot more vertical space, so I don't think I'll be able to stack the cases for the Niagara and the Fish.

 

Regards,

George K

[ted99]

I've already got two of the shelves on the wall, with Bismarck on one and "parts" waiting assembly on the other.  When I finish the third model, the other two shelves will go up, above the first two.  

 

Oh yes, I far prefer 1:200 scale, but it just looked to me like a more modern kit of the Yamato was available in 1:350 and something I would have paid more attention to if I had thought of multiple battleships/carriers when I started out.  I only mentioned it because it may trigger a thought for some future builder.  In any event, the MRC Yamato really brought my "four" into being equally modern and detailed 1:200 kits, so 1:350 would have been moot for me.

 

I'm even gonna add a fifth model--a 1:200 WWII Fleet Submarine-- in the center of the four shelves.  The ultimate downfall to all of the other four warships.  It will look tiny compared to the other four and David to the Goliath's.

[ted99]

Photo of the wall with Yamato temporarily on the shelf.  My other wall for future expansion.  Missouri and Enterprise CV-6 will go on shelves above.  The sub squeezed into a point above the bows

[mtaylor]

10 hours ago, gak1965 said:

Ultimately, nothing is going to beat the impact or detail of a high quality, large scale model. Compared to 1:350 (or the old "box scale" kits I built as a kid) it gives you a sense of the size of the real things. I suspect that for the largest ships we've hit the limits of how big you can go on the commercial market, but I could be wrong.

 

There's a place for larger scales but it's not battleships or carriers at least for the average person to build and display at home.  Unless they live in a warehouse or museum of course.

[Joe100]

I do believe the stern on this kit is incorrect. Recent developments have shown we’ve had it wrong for a while. To my knowledge, the 1/700 Pontos kit is the only one out depicting the ship with the correct stern profile.