Calling all Yamato (大和) and Musashi (武蔵) fans

[mermaid]

Ya! That Lotus can probably start and accelerate? If they do a 1/350 Yamato what would they charge? a �1000?

[Atma]

Look that detail on that Lotus, and it cost 600+euros

I assume that the IJN Yamato will be around the same price tag ? And a 1/350 arround 2000+ euros

[Vladi]

Hi all,

just noticed the special edition of Ten-Go 1/700 Yamato by Fujimi is available again at http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10110046. I guess this may be good value for money, right? Is there any list of things to correct available anywhere?
Or are there any hopes for a total-new 1/700 Yamato (at a reasonable price tag - so except Model Factory Hiro ) soon?

Thanks for any hints!

[mermaid]

The Yamato you mentioned will be at least 900 USD. For some people its OK.

[bucketfoot-al]

Hello Folks - thought I'd share a few photos of this little gem I just finished assembling. I have not made the details such as the rails and rear platform/stairs, but wanted to share these photos anyway. It has a very interesting history and getting it was a really improbable circumstance.

The length from the back of the turret to the end of the barrels is 11". It is about 5.5" wide.

Let me know what y'all think. I'll give more info on this kit a little later. (No, its not commercially available - never was I am afraid.)

[bucketfoot-al]

Thanks for fixing the above post Timmy C !!

[bucketfoot-al]

Gee.

Such an overwhelming response.

Does everybody already have one these?

*LOL*

In case anyone cares, this turret was a raffle-type item that could only be won in Japan. The barrels are actually pens, and are the only part that were actually sold - you can find them on ebay - just look here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BATTLESHIP-YAMA ... 41689585ba

After getting the barrel-pens from this seller last year, I started scouring Japan auction sites via JAUCE.com until, by pure blind luck, I happened on an auction where a guy had the unfinished turret kit that the pens fit into. Dirt cheap, too (although the shipping was about as much as the final price.)

Nice display piece. I will eventually build the detail parts for the rails, etc.

[Vladi]

Hi bucketfoot-al,
this is really an unusual item then! I thought you just started a really large model of Yamato, having no suspicion it may be something like what it really is!
Good writing (with your pens)

[bucketfoot-al]

Thanks Vladi. Make sure you check out my Yamato photo archive when you have a moment. (Link in my signature block).

[bucketfoot-al]

I just added the following text to my introduction on my website. Its something that occurred to me while thinking about the subject over the past few years. Why does the story of the (Men of) Yamato resonate across the world so many years later? Musashi was just as big a ship, yet no one outside Japan is likely to have ever heard of her. What was it that made Yamato stand out the way that she does?

Well, here is the short version of my answer to that question:


"As a Japanese historian once noted - 'once you learn the story of the Yamato, it becomes an obsession.'

And, I might add, you need not be Japanese to share that obsession.

Why? After thinking about it for a few years, I concluded that the answer is exceedingly simple.

The story of Battleship Yamato touches on some of the most admired traits in human character - traits that cut across the ages, and across cultures. Honor. Courage. Selflessness. Sacrifice.

Two millennia ago, King Leonidas and his Spartans fell to a man blocking the pass of Thermopylae long enough for the Greek armies to escape from the Persian onslaught. In ancient times, a tablet was erected in their honor reading: "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie."

Similarly, the Jewish defenders of Masada who held out for over a year against the Roman armies of Titus, before dying to a man, are remembered to this day for their heroism.

Likewise the defenders of the Alamo during the Texan Revolution against Mexico.

Jesus said that love has no higher example than to sacrifice oneself for one's brother.

In historical terms, willingly sacrificing oneself for one's country when there is no hope of victory - or personal survival - is to earn what Theodore Roosevelt termed "Deathless Fame."

So it was with the Men of Yamato - whose actions earned for themselves, and for their ship, the same "Deathless Fame" as the defenders of Thermopylae, Masada, and the Alamo earned before them."

[Ryuji]

Chibimaruship Yamato and Musashi from Fujimi in Sept.
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10195696
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10195697

[sgtryan13]

That looks almost as inaccurate as nichimo's 1/200 yamato out of the box!

[Thomas E. Johnson]

As I recall the Yamato carried no aircraft or small craft during her final suicide voyage. Am I correct? That means there is no need to assemble and add them to the 1/350 kit. I assume Tamiya included them so people could "dress up" their models, even though its not quite correct. Does anyone know what the standard "at rest/at cruise" elevation for the main battery guns would have been? I kind of like having them set at the 45 degree elevation option that the kit allows. I think it looks more impressive.

[bucketfoot-al]

Hi Thomas.

Yamato carried no boats during her final voyage, but she did initially carry her planes for submarine recon - until she got out into the open sea. They were then sent home, despite the protestations of the pilots who wanted to die with their comrades. (BTW the crane tower, which had been removed prior to Ten-Ichi-Go did not affect the operation of the crane arm.)

I agree with your choice on the elevation of the main gun barrels. I have always assembled my Yamato models with the guns partly raised as if firing for the same reason.

[its jim]

Hi Bucketfoot
firstly, your web site is excellent, been on it a few times and im on it for hours..
i have posted in here before but you accused me of trolling...not true
the question is
the destruction of Yamato and Musashi the year before is well documented with photographs
did any of the US planes carry gun cameras ,because if they did , would this be the only footage of these ships afloat, and when we say that there is no footage, has there been any discoveries that you may know of, not holding my breath on that one as i would assume to find them on your site
thankyou in advance....jim

[bucketfoot-al]

Hi Jim, and thanks for the kind words.

You know, I have wondered the same thing ever since I became fascinated with the story of Yamato back in 2007.

So far, I have not found any reference to gun camera footage, I would think the Japanese researchers would have found it by now - they are the only ones who have scoured the National Archives looking specifically for any photos of Yamato and Musashi.

But given that so many planes were involved in Leyte Gulf and Ten-ichi-go I have thought that some gun camera footage must have been taken. Now, I have spoken to Robert Lundren at length about this, he has spent hundreds and hundreds of hours at the National Archives researching his soon-to-be-published work on Leyte Gulf - there are screen shots of some footage shot from the decks of several Taffy 3 carriers that he found and shared with me and that I have put on the site. He has purchased copies of this footage and he has some interesting observations based on that footage that he will discuss in his book.

He also thinks that some of the action photos of Yamato look like they may be stills from motion picture film, but so far he has not been able to locate any.

In all fairness, having seen much gun camera footage, I doubt that we would see much detail on such footage, given the shaking of the cameras and distance from the ship, but wouldn't it be awesome to find such a gem none-the-less?

As far as Japanese motion picture footage of the ships, I would say its pretty safe to say that since none has surfaced in the past 60+ years, given the Japanese love for the ship, none is likely to be found. The Japanese did a very thorough job of destroying all the files/military documentation/photos/films before the US forces came ashore after the capitulation. All the footage I have seen of the older battleships was taken before the war. Yamato and Musashi were so secret that its possible that all the film was held at one site, and when those were burned, that was it.

Hi Bucketfoot
firstly, your web site is excellent, been on it a few times and im on it for hours..
i have posted in here before but you accused me of trolling...not true
the question is
the destruction of Yamato and Musashi the year before is well documented with photographs
did any of the US planes carry gun cameras ,because if they did , would this be the only footage of these ships afloat, and when we say that there is no footage, has there been any discoveries that you may know of, not holding my breath on that one as i would assume to find them on your site
thankyou in advance....jim

[its jim]

Thankyou for your reply .

would there be no way of asking or interviewing the surviving pilots or crew of the carriers.
memories fade though .. its just so sad that nearly every single item was taken from us, and yes im aware of the love for Yamato in Japan . i have an interview where a worker had to sign the secrets act and then submit his drawings at the end of his shift, an he didnt know he was working on the Yamato and thats why i spend hours searching the net for just 1 unpublished pic or even better film,your answer has put me at ease now, but its just so sad ....
thankyou jim

[bucketfoot-al]

I doubt very many of the pilots are still alive, and I very much doubt any of them could recall that detail. In any event the answer lies at the National Archives.

There is always hope that something will turn up in someone's estate possessions in Japan, but looks unlikely ...

[Thomas E. Johnson]

Thankyou for your reply .

would there be no way of asking or interviewing the surviving pilots or crew of the carriers.
memories fade though .. its just so sad that nearly every single item was taken from us, and yes im aware of the love for Yamato in Japan . i have an interview where a worker had to sign the secrets act and then submit his drawings at the end of his shift, an he didnt know he was working on the Yamato and thats why i spend hours searching the net for just 1 unpublished pic or even better film,your answer has put me at ease now, but its just so sad ....
thankyou jim

If they destroyed all documentation of the Yamato, then how do we know so much about her, and did Janusz Skulski write his excellent book on the ship for the Anatomy of the Ship series? Seems like for a ship that was a ghost on the water, there is a lot known about her.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

Are there any good references for Yamato's rigging? The Anatomy of the Ship book on the subject is difficult to interpret the rigging, and Tamiya's instructions don't include any info on the rigging.