KG Wings - ACE 1:72 scale 2s1 Gvozdika Self-Propelled Howitzer

The Argo
(Space Cruiser Yamato)
From the animated cartoon drama
STAR BLAZERS

"In the year 2199 the Planet Earth was facing extinction as deadly radiation began to seep into the ground, threatening the underground cities built to protect it's peoples from the constant attack of lethal Planet Bombs by the Gamilon forces."

In order to save the planet Earth, the Star Force must travel 148,000 light years to the planet Iscandar, where Queen Starsha holds the key to their survival.

This model added to kgwings.com on January 20, 1999

The mighty Argo. Converted from the legendary Japanese WWII Battleship Yamato, the Argo is Earth's only hope of defeating the Gamilon Empire.

In order to save the planet Earth, the Star Force must travel 148,000 light years to the planet Iscandar, where Queen Starsha holds the key to their survival.

The Argo brissles with laser cannons of all sizes, carries it's own squadron of starfighters, and of course, the most lethal of it's weapons, the wave motion gun.

This Bandai kit is tiny, only about 5 inches long, but is a very good representation of the "real" ship. In fact, the kit is so small, it was very difficult to focus and many of the photos aren't as sharp as I'd like. If your eyesight isn't the greatest, you may want to check out Lasik Denver before you try to build the practically microscopic details of this ship.

About the photos... I placed my kit in front of the photos of Hans Wendler printed in an old copy of Zoom magazine. With a little better lens, it could be a pretty convincing shot.

This kit was really fun to build, and because of it's small size, you could put the whole series on one shelf... I guess I'd better get busy building.

Can the Argo and the members of the Star Force escape from the countless traps set to destroy them? You'll have to see the cartoon to find out.

The Real Battleship Yamato

In addition to being the heaviest battleship ever constructed at the time, and mounting the largest guns ever to go to sea, it was simply a very beautiful ship. The rakish bow, flowed aft past the tall, vertical superstructure and rearward canted funnel, to give an almost "streamlined" appearance. The secondary battery of six 6-inch guns (originally twelve) and anti-aircraft guns and gun tubs were clustered around the superstructure, giving the open decks a very clean appearance. Her three massive 18-inch gun turrets, two forward one aft, each weighing 2,510 tons (without ammunition), blended into this sleek structure very neatly.

YAMATO ended her career, as the ultimate kamikaze. On 6 April 1945, she sailed with one light cruiser and nine destroyers<19> from Japan's Inland Sea with orders to attack the US invasion fleet around Okinawa (1,500 ships). After fighting her way through, she was to beach herself on Okinawa and become a fortress to aid the defenders against the American ground troops. The next day, while still 270 miles north of Okinawa, the force was attacked by many aircraft from Task Force 58. YAMATO took 13 torpedoes, 8 bombs and sank, killing 3,063 men.

Kit: Bandai #1 in the Star Blazers series

Scale: Unknown
It's about 5 inches long (125mm).

Decals: None

After Market Parts: None

Customizations: None

Cost: I was given this kit from a friend (Thanks Walt!) so I don't have an exact cost, however at the time of posting it cost around $5.00+ (US).

Comments: This is a really fun kit if you want to see results fast. The kit is simple enough that the instructions are printed on the inside cover of the box. Construction is very easy, unless you have problems working with small parts. Tweezers are a must with all the tiny gun turrets and fins. The Argo is actually blue and red when animated, but I decided that the animators meant for it to be dark navy gray.

Research: W.C.C. Animation Comics Volume 3, Star Blazers (Original Title Space Cruiser Yamato)

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