5/14/2007 update - Here is the link to the photos. A lot more Yamato pics to come as I keep working on it..
http://bucketfoot-al.tripod.com/DinoMod ... n?i=81&s=1
http://bucketfoot-al.tripod.com/DinoMod ... s?i=80&s=1
You will note that I have actually cut the openings in the ends of the 'winglets'. I will be placing either a clear plastic sheet or colored sheet in the interior of the opening to simulate glass as these were secondary stereoscopic optical aiming devices (to the best of my knowledge).
***********************************************************************************************************
Well, I've been busy this week. I've started on some of the pieces of the Nichimo kit, the guns will be first to be assembled.
I've already switched out ALL of the main and secondary barrels with metal barrels, and have partially assembled the first main turret (a lot of trial and error but in the end it survived several 're-openings'!! - the other 2 will benefit from the 'birthing pains' of the first one.)
One of the least mentioned shortcomings of the GREAT Nichimo Yamato kit also happens to be one of the WORST SHORTCOMINGS of the kit - the 3 main turrets are too small and too rectangular in shape, instead of flaring into the great turtlesque semi-circle up front.
After studying many photos and diagrams of the Yamato - especially Janusz's book and the SINGLE great close-up 'overhead photo' of the Yamato at Leyte gulf (not the one where she is taking the bomb hit, but the other one where she is glistening in the sun, no fires or any obstructions) in which the sun outlines Turret #3 so well that its outline is visible all the way around, I threw caution to the winds and decided that nothing short of a complete re-sculpt - with Quickplastic putty - would be satisfactory.
The raw results are now visible on my website linked below. The side ladder which was covered up will be added in the final phase of the ship construction when the photoetched parts are attached. In 2008 or 9 most likely
The metal barrels - main 9 are silver, the 30 secondary ones are brass in color - were obtained from a Polish Internet modeling shop for $12 (you read that right.) Here is the link - these folks have a TON of stuff and the values are AMAZING!
http://www.gpm.pl/eng/index.php
And if you study the barrels carefully it becomes obvious how to attach them. The main 9 18" barrels are made to be inserted into the fat end of the plastic barrels at the point where it goes into its holder inside the turret. Very ingenious and practical, I must say - though - *DOH* - it took me a while to figure it out.
A serious question (well, OK, maybe not so) - Should I paint the metal barrels with the correct colors, or should I leave them unpainted for a nice flashy display?
I am undecided, and would appreciate your votes. I will post various update photos of the kit as I customize various other parts - it will be as close to 100% accuracy of the 'Ten-Go' configuration as my modest talents will permit me to make her. There will be a LOT more customizing, but the failure of most folks to 'deal with' the turret dilemma really puzzles me.
I feel like saying - people, you've built some amazing Nichimos that I can never, EVER hope to match - BUT DIDN'T YOU SEE THAT THE SHAPE OF THE TURRETS WAS TOTALLY WRONG??????
Well, now you can see why I got the moniker "The Dr. Frankenstein of Dinosaur Customizers" for my earlier works. That talent - and my capacity for 'throwing caution to the winds' when something cries out to be fixed - is now going to pay HANDSOME dividends. I am already enjoying building this ship more than I have enjoyed any of my other dinosaur/critter/figure sculpts/kitbashes over the past 5 years.
Make no mistake - my Yamato will in NO WAY approach the work of some of the true masters who have built real wood decks, added amazing detail, paint, weathering, etc. But it WILL be unique. And I'm talking about a LOT MORE than just fixing the main turrets. The 2005 Yamato film and the research that went into it has clarified many things that nearly everyone has gotten wrong - like the shape of the machine gun emplacements, for example - hint - they were NOT round!!
I have absorbed all of that stuff and like a great TRex that smells a tasty dead Hadrosaur 3 miles away, I am salivating every time I look at this great kit.
32 years in between doing ships - and well-worth the wait!!
Now please, the link to the 'in-progress' turret - and don't forget to give me your vote on whether to paint the metal barrels or not!
http://bucketfoot-al.tripod.com/DinoMod ... 1?i=83&s=15/14/2007 update - Here is the link to the photos. A lot more Yamato pics to come as I keep working on it..
http://bucketfoot-al.tripod.com/DinoModels/index.album/contrast-nichimo-main-battery-and-custom-resculpted-version?i=81&s=1
http://bucketfoot-al.tripod.com/DinoModels/index.album/customized-1200-nichimo-yamato-main-batteries?i=80&s=1
You will note that I have actually cut the openings in the ends of the 'winglets'. I will be placing either a clear plastic sheet or colored sheet in the interior of the opening to simulate glass as these were secondary stereoscopic optical aiming devices (to the best of my knowledge).
***********************************************************************************************************
Well, I've been busy this week. I've started on some of the pieces of the Nichimo kit, the guns will be first to be assembled.
I've already switched out ALL of the main and secondary barrels with metal barrels, and have partially assembled the first main turret (a lot of trial and error but in the end it survived several 're-openings'!! - the other 2 will benefit from the 'birthing pains' of the first one.)
One of the least mentioned shortcomings of the GREAT Nichimo Yamato kit also happens to be one of the WORST SHORTCOMINGS of the kit - the 3 main turrets are too small and too rectangular in shape, instead of flaring into the great turtlesque semi-circle up front.
After studying many photos and diagrams of the Yamato - especially Janusz's book and the SINGLE great close-up 'overhead photo' of the Yamato at Leyte gulf (not the one where she is taking the bomb hit, but the other one where she is glistening in the sun, no fires or any obstructions) in which the sun outlines Turret #3 so well that its outline is visible all the way around, I threw caution to the winds and decided that nothing short of a complete re-sculpt - with Quickplastic putty - would be satisfactory.
The raw results are now visible on my website linked below. The side ladder which was covered up will be added in the final phase of the ship construction when the photoetched parts are attached. In 2008 or 9 most likely :jump_1:
The metal barrels - main 9 are silver, the 30 secondary ones are brass in color - were obtained from a Polish Internet modeling shop for $12 (you read that right.) Here is the link - these folks have a TON of stuff and the values are AMAZING!
http://www.gpm.pl/eng/index.php
And if you study the barrels carefully it becomes obvious how to attach them. The main 9 18" barrels are made to be inserted into the fat end of the plastic barrels at the point where it goes into its holder inside the turret. Very ingenious and practical, I must say - though - *DOH* - it took me a while to figure it out.
A serious question (well, OK, maybe not so) - Should I paint the metal barrels with the correct colors, or should I leave them unpainted for a nice flashy display?
I am undecided, and would appreciate your votes. I will post various update photos of the kit as I customize various other parts - it will be as close to 100% accuracy of the 'Ten-Go' configuration as my modest talents will permit me to make her. There will be a LOT more customizing, but the failure of most folks to 'deal with' the turret dilemma really puzzles me.
I feel like saying - people, you've built some amazing Nichimos that I can never, EVER hope to match - BUT DIDN'T YOU SEE THAT THE SHAPE OF THE TURRETS WAS TOTALLY WRONG??????
Well, now you can see why I got the moniker "The Dr. Frankenstein of Dinosaur Customizers" for my earlier works. That talent - and my capacity for 'throwing caution to the winds' when something cries out to be fixed - is now going to pay HANDSOME dividends. I am already enjoying building this ship more than I have enjoyed any of my other dinosaur/critter/figure sculpts/kitbashes over the past 5 years.
Make no mistake - my Yamato will in NO WAY approach the work of some of the true masters who have built real wood decks, added amazing detail, paint, weathering, etc. But it WILL be unique. And I'm talking about a LOT MORE than just fixing the main turrets. The 2005 Yamato film and the research that went into it has clarified many things that nearly everyone has gotten wrong - like the shape of the machine gun emplacements, for example - hint - they were NOT round!!
I have absorbed all of that stuff and like a great TRex that smells a tasty dead Hadrosaur 3 miles away, I am salivating every time I look at this great kit.
32 years in between doing ships - and well-worth the wait!!
Now please, the link to the 'in-progress' turret - and don't forget to give me your vote on whether to paint the metal barrels or not!
http://bucketfoot-al.tripod.com/DinoModels/index.album/customized-inprogress-yamato-main-turret-1?i=83&s=1