1/250 Japanese battleship Yamato (Arii)
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by David Flynn |
1/250 Japanese battleship Yamato (Arii)
These are photos taken in the 1970s of a model that I built when I was about 12 years old. At the time it was advertised as the largest plastic model in the world at 42.7 inches long. If I recall correctly it cost a painful $25 at a time when the Aurora nuclear carrier Enterprise was $10.At the time I did not know that the Japanese did not use a boot stripe above the anti-fouling paint. Using electrical tape instead of architectural tape did not help add realism. I used clay for the blast bags on the 18.1-inch guns.
The model was molded in a metallic gray color. I used Testor's flat red spray paint for the lower hull, and I brushed painted the deck Testors enamel flat tan. The planes were painted a flat green.
The model used D-size batteries, and had a metal gearbox that powered 4 screws. I sailed it under power only once, and the batteries ran down by the time it got to the other end of an Olympic swimming pool.
The photos showing smoke were taken about five years after the model was built. The smoke was made with "smoke bombs" from my brothers' heating business, and did not damage the model. However the main gun director and a catapult were missing by that time. I think I gave the model to my neighbor's young boys when I went to college.
