With the upcoming reissue of Nomura's 1:1300 Yamato by Mimuko, I thought it is appropriate to include a toy review on die-cast Yamato.

Space Battleship Yamato which first syndicated in America from 1979 to 1980 as "Star Blazers" was one of the first serious sci-fi animation released during the golden age of giant robot anime. The show performed admirably in Japan, but was not as successful in America.

The basic plot sets in the Year 2100 where Earth is invaded by an alien race, the Gamilon Empire.  The high radiation level accumulated on Earth from Gamilon Star Bombs threatens all living lives.  Earthlings' only hope to eradicate the radiation is to go to a distant planet Iscandar and bring back a radiation cleansing device, the Cosmocleanser D.  Thus, Yamato embarks on the journey to save Earth.  

I have always been fascinated by the design of Yamato, which according to the story, is secretly constructed inside the wrecked hull of the legendary Japanese W.W.II Battleship Yamato in order to disguise from Gamilon Empire's detection.  The real W.W.II Yamato is one of the largest battleship ever built, and the anime Yamato retains all her majestic appearance. The seamless integration of stately features of the vintage W.W.II Yamato with the artistic impression of a futuristic space cruiser is no less remarkable, even by today's anime standard.

Nomura 1:1300 Yamato (3.25*)

A nicely detailed Yamato model with operating wings.  However, it doesn’t have any projectile weapon so you really cannot "play" with it.  The new die-cast Yamato is a reissue of this toy, but with different packaging.   Accessories for Nomura 1:1300 Yamato include a cardboard backdrop, a display stand and 3 small jet fighters. Size: 8" in length.

Nomura 1:850 Yamato (4*)

This is by far the heaviest of all die-cast Yamato. It probably weighs twice as much as its Popy counterpart. It does fire torpedoes and "chimney missiles". Other functional features include operating wings and cargo bay door. Accessories include 3 chimney missiles, 6 torpedoes and 3 small fighters. Size: 12" in length.

Popy ST 1:1300 Yamato (3.75*)

The Popy ST Yamato is an interesting toy. It has wheels underneath the ship and a retractable lower observation deck that recedes to allow the ship to be rolled on the ground. However, you cannot lower the observation deck when displaying Yamato on its stand due to the poor design of the display stand.  This is disappointing since most people would prefer observation deck to be shown when the ship is in display. The front of the ship can open-up to reveal a probe sensor. Other functional parts include retractable wings and a missile firing "Wave Motion Gun". Accessories include a Popy strip catalogue, an instruction sheet, and 6 Wave Motion missiles. Size: 8" in length.

Popy DX 1:850 Yamato (5*)

This is a Popy masterpiece. One word that sums up this toy is elegance. From its clear acrylic display stand to its red translucent acrylic Wave Motion Gun missiles; it sets itself apart from the others. The numerous operational parts of this toy rival the larger plastic Popy 20" DX Yamato, yet it retains all the  graceful attributes of a high quality die-cast toy. The side panels of the ship can open up to eject shuttlecrafts. The front hull of the ship also separates to reveal its probe and radar. The dial on both side of the ship rotate the main guns. The landing gears and wings can retract and of course, the Wave Motion Gun is functional. I also like its light metallic silver paint scheme instead of the traditional blue color. It almost resembles the Yamato shown on the Exhibition page. Accessories include 10 Wave Motion Gun missiles, 4 shuttlecrafts, 2 Popy catalogues, 1 and 1 instruction sheet. Size: 12" in length.

Epilogue:

About 3 or 4 years ago, I stopped by at the long out of business "Toy Planets" in Santa Monica. I saw a goofy looking die-cast Yamato. It is about 7-8 inches long and quite "chubby" for its size. The paint scheme is all wrong. It is painted in gun-metal gray and black. It also has many operational parts that resemble a Popinica, but I no longer remember the maker. Being an ignorant collector, I didn’t pick it up for a mere $150. Of course, I regret it every since. If any one has information regarding this toy and any other die-cast Yamato not pictured above, please send me an e-mail. Your contribution will be most graciously appreciated.