Hi, I have been spending much time scrolling through this forum looking for answers on how the Yamato appeared during Operation Ten Ichi Go 1945, to help me with my construction of the 1/350 Tamiya Premium Yamato kit and various aftermarket (MK.1 Deluxe, Eduard New Yamato and Flyhawk Yamato). I have been using the latest AOTS along with real images of the ship, the 1/10 Kure museum model and even the relatively new VR Yamato tour PC game as primary references, yet I am still left with a lot of questions on clashes and possible inaccuracies found between these sources. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any footage of the wreck expeditions and only have the images of the wreck shown in AOTS. If anyone can help answer any of these issues that would be great, if any questions have already been definitively answered on this forum I apologise. Image links to imgur.
Anyway, to begin with, did the open 25mm triple mounts have shields during Operation Ten Ichi Go? AOTS depicts the 1945 fit as with shields, even though this conflicts with some prior sources. Also, just about all the detail kits and the Tamiya kit itself come with the option to use the shields. I have seen a few people ask this question but none really received an answer with much evidence.
AOTS depiction 1945
https://imgur.com/a/NFAIDXJSecondly, AOTS states the forward anchor deck were unpainted zinc-coated of a light grey colour and in all 3D diagrams in the book, the plates are depicted as a much shinier and lighter shade of grey than the rest of the ship. One of the Pitroad 1/700 Yamato kits recognises this on its colour call out, yet I have not seen a single build that incorporates this detail or any other mention of these unpainted zinc plates outside of these two sources. Furthermore, the colourised pictures of Musashi's anchor deck lead me more towards the idea these plates were painted the same grey as the rest of the ship, but the photograph is too low quality to really tell.
AOTS depiction
https://imgur.com/a/FQCUd2fReal picture
https://imgur.com/a/IZi3wAJAnother discrepancy between sources is the supposed ventilators depicted on the Kure model on the side of the boat storage area near the stern of the ship. Pretty much all the detail kits also depict these portholes as the square ventilators, however, AOTS depicts them as simply larger diameter portholes, which is consistent with the Tamiya kit. Furthermore, all good quality pictures of the Yamato (including some very clear closeups) show these as large portholes, although the fan ventilators could have been added late war possibly?
Ventilators in bottom left of this picture of the Kure model
https://imgur.com/a/ecdBtyOReal picture showing them as portholes in 1941
https://imgur.com/8RUV4SVThe rear AA platform is also a feature which most sources disagree on. The Kure model has two connected octagons with a flat side and a single ladder facing the stern, the Tamiya and Flyhawk kits have a similar design but without the flat surface. AOTS on the other hand depicts the AA platform as two separated hexagons, each with its own individual ladder. All pictures of Yamato during Ten Ichi Go are too unclear to really tell which style is correct.
Kure museum style
https://imgur.com/HUSxYBLAOTS depiction
https://imgur.com/undefinedAlso, a minor discrepancy is the style of type 22 search radar is often conflicted. The Tamiya kit and Pontos upgrade depict it as a significantly larger lower horn, whereas AOTS and the Kure model depict it as your standard universal type 22 with two equally sized horns.
AOTS depiction
https://imgur.com/a/u6Fd6BsFinally, a question which I think I have solved myself is the shape of the stern. AOTS depicts a different design, where there is a very thin section leading into a triangle. The Kure model simply has one large triangle. I read a response from years ago with someone claiming that the new AOTS depiction was incorrect to the Kure model. However, none of the attached pictures he claimed to prove this worked. Upon my own research, there is an image of the wreck of the Yamato in AOTS clearly showing the stern to in fact be consistent with that depicted in AOTS.
Photo of stern on wreck
https://imgur.com/a/O8pjrOMAOTS depiction
https://imgur.com/a/9KwL2b7Sorry if this post is asking too much, I just figured to ask all my questions now and see if anyone can answer some or all of them. If no definitive answer can be achieved, I will probably just follow whatever is presented in AOTS as it seems to be the most accurate reference currently available.