Martin asked about my impressions upon seeing this amazing model, and I have to say that it's a fairly complicated task to sort them out, but here goes...
As I walked into the gallery that holds this huge model, my first impression was that it couldn't be a model, as it's larger than many large 1:1 boats. It's about as large as an Elco PT boat, for example. As a model warship builder, it was hard to wrap my head around its mere existence. It
feels like a real warship, and as you can see in many of the detail shots, it goes way beyond the call of duty in scale fidelity. Example:
Most of these details are invisible to virtually every visitor to the gallery, as they're hidden behind the splinter shield, for one thing, and the only way I was able to get this detailed shot was with a 300mm lens. Another example: Look at the detail shot of the scout plane cockpit: every instrument is there, as is a detailed representation of the rear-facing machine gun. Again, details that require a 300mm lens at full zoom to see. So, you have a dedication to scale perfection on a gargantuan level that seems not based on what the visitor can see and appreciate, but on some higher level that I have only the barest theory about.
The next impression I experienced had nothing to do with the craftsmanship with which the model was built, but with the fact that it was crafted in that scale at all, with an entire building and museum built around it. As I looked around at the other visitors, I realized I was the only non-Japanese person in sight, and I got the distinct impression that, while what I was seeing was a gigantic scale model of a warship, what the Japanese were seeing was a monument to the former glory and pride of the Japanese people. To them, this is the Yamato personified, in some strange fashion. It's a shrine. Of course, I'm saying this from a Western/American bias - and it's important to keep in mind that my late father served in the very fleet that destroyed the original, so it was a very personal moment for me - and I could be completely off-base here, but if what I'm suggesting has any merit, then it would stand to reason that the Japanese would build the world's largest battleship model to celebrate and memorialize the world's largest battleship.
Strictly from a practical point of view, the Japanese have no battleships or heavy cruisers from WWII that they could convert to museum ships, as they were all destroyed - the last being the battleship Nagato which, though it survived WWII, was sunk at Bikini atoll in 1946 during nuclear test Baker. The Japanese, always resourceful, simply built a huge model of their most famous battleship, and made a museum of it. Maybe GB could borrow a page from that same book, and build a 1:10 Hood museum. Wouldn't that be an amazing project?
By the way, the museum consists of a great deal more than the 1:10 Yamato model. On display are submarines, torpedoes, naval artillery ordnance and weapons, plus a fully-restored Zero. There are also other models of the Yamato in different scales, as well as a large glass case that contains a model of every class of IJN warship and submarine, all in the same scale. I tried to take photos of everything, so if there is interest, I could do a thread on the museum itself. As this museum is completely off the normal tourist routes in Japan, it's not likely that very many Mayhem subscribers have visited it, and the only website devoted to the museum is in Japanese, and only hints at the various exhibits on display.
Rob
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Topic: 1:10 Yamato Photos (Read 14224 times)