Yamato Modeling Thread

[arbit]

As Yamato was my first passion as a teensie weensie 8-yr old around 1980, I wanted to inaugurate a thread for everyone to share their Yamato models (That means you: Nyankodevice, Mechtech, Derex3592, Thom, et al.) 

This was a terribly long and painful, yet extremely fun project.

I will detail the build further in the coming weeks. In summary I could not have got anywhere with it if not for Mechtech and NZEOD's patient advice.

I hope you get a kick out of it.

 

[Thom]

That Yamato looks great. I love all the lights and sounds you stuffed into it.

And nice idea for a thread too. Allow me to contribute!

First up is my 1/1000 Yamato, built just about a year ago. She's slightly modified, with the crown of the bow lowered and the roll-up doors on the aux bays replaced so the corrugation goes all the way up to the top of the bulge.

The next is my first Yamato series build, the older Yuunagi class cruiser, EDF Interceptor. It was modified with a new 'scoop,' scratchbuilt guns and the exhaust nozzle from a 1/48 SR-71. It's a perfect fit! An exhaust from a Batmobile and a pen tip are added to that. I also made aux engines for the underside and a new command tower made from misc Gundam parts. I believe the scale is 1/700, but it looks close enough to /1000 that I'm considering rebuilding her with that scale in mind.

And last but not least, my fleet flagship, the Nike. An older 1/700 Andromeda model, she was heavily modified with a lengthened hull, scratchbuilt 'scoops' for a deeper profile, a new engine section and new side pieces to replace the ovals that are normally there. The bridge was also modified with a new command deck with a panoramic roof and trenches were built for AA guns running along the sides. The turrets were lengthened and given brass barrels and the aux engine bells were replaced with video cable connectors. I was happy to find out that the new Andromeda model will probably be similar in size to the older Bandai kit, so she won't be getting a rebuild!

Hope you like 'em!

Edited February 4, 2017 by Thom

[arbit]

Love the paint schemes!

You have a unique style that matches well with the Leiji Matsumoto universe.

Edited February 4, 2017 by arbit

[arbit]

This is the most beautiful Yamato I have seen:

http://www.gunjap.net/site/?p=165802

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by arbit

[mechaninac]

... and there are these guys

[Dobber]

Cool thread and 

great models guys!

Here is my big 1/500 2199 Yamato. Some of you may remember when I was posting the progress on it a few years ago. I got a little burnt out but have recently started work on her again. Here are some pics of her. Since these pictures were taken, I have more or less finished Yamato herself and started working on the Airwing.

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by Dobber

[arbit]

On 2/4/2017 at 5:26 PM, mechaninac said:

... and there are these guys

Wow, they just build their own form scratch. I can hardly mold a thing.

On 2/4/2017 at 5:28 PM, Dobber said:

Cool thread, and great models guys!

Here is my big 1/500 2199 Yamato. Some of you may remember when I was posting the progress on it a few years ago. I got a little burnt out but have recently started work on her again. Here are some pics of her

 

Great talent Dobber. Hope you see it through!

Edited February 6, 2017 by arbit

[Thom]

Some lovely looking Yamatos! The petals on that /500 are awesome and the paint on Squadron Leaders looks fantastically worn!

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

Wow, those Yamato models look great.  Need to get a 1/500 to build looks fun.

[TangledThorns]

Man... I'd love to get into this if I had the time but raising a toddler limits my free time to about ninety minutes a day.

[arbit]

18 minutes ago, TangledThorns said:

Man... I'd love to get into this if I had the time but raising a toddler limits my free time to about ninety minutes a day.

I know how you feel.. 4 kids buddy. Just got back into modeling a couple years ago.

Good news is there have been some serious advances in the kits, tools and paints; and best of all you can learn anything on Youtube to save time and stress. Go for it.

Edited February 6, 2017 by arbit

[Thom]

21 hours ago, TangledThorns said:

Man... I'd love to get into this if I had the time but raising a toddler limits my free time to about ninety minutes a day.

A lot of these newer kits just fall together, especially the Earth ships, and they are colored already so you can skip paint if you want. I'd say buy a kit and just throw one together to see how it goes.

[arbit]

My favorite view.

And a little bit of chilling.

 

 

[arbit]

This is the build summary for the 1/1000 Yamato Arduino Custom, in case anyone needs some ideas: 

First I tested all the wiring and sounds with the Arduino on the breadboard one at a time, until it grew to this mess.  All the effects are directly from the existing Arduino libraries. This can all be set up in a few minutes on the breadboard even if you have no electronics background what so ever. Everything you need to learn Arduino, and the add-ons and power requirements, is on the Adafruit website. They also have soldering tutorials and the best led resistor tutorial. You don't need to know anything to start except to get an Arduino Genuino Uno starter kit. I was a complete beginner and learned Arduino as I went for this build.

Hollowed out the engine as needed and used candle flicker leds.

Hollowed out the bridge with a Dremmel, used a marker to color desired areas in order not to touch the exterior. Hollow styrene tubes for the guns... Couldnt find hollow brass tubes.

Slow Flash SMDs for the warning lights. I used flashing SMDs because it is too difficult for me to program the Arduino to continuously flash a light, while doing all sorts of other effects at the same time.

 

Recast third bridge and port lights in clear resin.

Eduard 1/1700 IJN Yamato photo etch set. Really flimsy stuff. But I fell in love with ship photo etch. So much fun. Drilled about 20x 0.5 mm holes for fiber in the Pulsars (Kind of a short cut due to the small scale, but my favorite effect!). 

Fiber optics drilled. I used 0.5 drill and 0.5 PMM fibers from the Fiber Optic Store.

I used the exact same wiring as planned on the Arduino, but I switched to a smaller Adafruit Pro Trinket for minimizing space. Every centimeter of the interior hull is hollowed out with a Dremmel for space. 

I installed styrene tube tracks for the moving leds cables leading to the turrets. The turrets have smds, small enough to fit in the tubes. Wiring electronics for leds is actually easy, but when you introduce moving parts like servos, everything becomes more difficult. I used the tracks to allow some movement without messing with other wires. 

I also customized Styrene blocks to hold 3x micro servos for moving the guns. Magnets connect servos to the guns, not permanent connections.

I started priming and painting only when all the customizing, drilling and wiring was done. Still, I ended up drilling more to hollow out the hull till the last minute to help all the wiring fit.

Streaking grime wash and dry brush gun metal everywhere.

15 hour soldering marathon to put it all together (Not fun!). I used styrene trunking to lead wires for speaker, amp, battery and other stuff from the hull to the base. In retrospect, I should have put ALL the electronics and boards in the base, and lead all the wires down there, because it is too difficult to solder wires to the Trinket inside the model.

Micro USB out the side to recharge battery and reprogram Trinket.

With the Pro Trinket (mini Arduino), I have control of about 10 functions plus the sound on an SD card. I can change the entire "sketch" by reprogramming and uploading it, without opening the model.

And Done.

 

Overall, 1/1000 is too small for this project. I barely pulled it off and it needs a lot of maintenance due to the cramped space messing with the connections.  The kit itself is also flimsy, I don't recommended it, neither as a kit, nor for electronics.

1/500 would be perfect for wiring.  1/350 even better!

 

 

Edited April 16, 2018 by arbit

[Thom]

Small size or no, you did some great work on that. As for the kit, I think it's pretty good. The fiddly bits with the engine access panel would make it a little flimsy, but glue it all together and it's right good.

[arbit]

6 hours ago, Thom said:

Small size or no, you did some great work on that. As for the kit, I think it's pretty good. The fiddly bits with the engine access panel would make it a little flimsy, but glue it all together and it's right good.

It is solid overall. I was thinking only of the anti-aircraft guns as being "flimsy". They are so thin at this scale, and easy to break.

The 1/500 is better suited for the smaller details. 

Edited February 15, 2017 by arbit

[Thom]

I started up another kit, even as the modeling table is groaning under the weight of 'active' projects...

This one is the Kirishima, from the Combined Cosmo Fleet 1 set. Pretty quick to go together. I painted while it was still apart to get around the whole masking bit. Made life easier.

Here she is just before decals.

Edited February 19, 2017 by Thom

[Dobber]

Great work fella's

Chris

[arbit]

Thom, what are you planning for the panel lines? 

[Thom]

I did the panel lines before painting with a Gundam paint pen. Then I cut the red too much with thinner, so it took a few extra coats to cover. They're still there, but very subtle. If I do more, it'll be a wash to deepen them, but lightly. At this scale, panel lines wouldn't be too stark, so I just might leave it as is. The are slightly more apparent in person.

[Thom]

My Kirishima is DUN! And yes, I did do pane lines...

It's a real fun kit, and I highly recommend it!