The shields were the 5/8 octagonal metal shields. Here is where it gets tricky. I have seen them shown as mounted on the wood deck, or with a half-metal deck that extends to the ends of the shields and then comes straight across, or a full circle metal deck with the shield on one end.
They were DEFINITELY NOT "tubs, however. I'll see if I can get a few photos and attach them to this post. Unfortunately I have not seen any underwater photos of one of these, probably because they were all on the aft part of the ship that landed upside down. My sources on the above are several Japanese books and also some custom fittings for 1/350 Tamiya Yamato made by a fellow in Japan that are beyond amazingly detailed. I imagine if I could read Japanese I might have a better answer for you. In any event, whichever of the 3 configurations you make will be fine. Just remember, NO TUBS ON DECK.
