Tamiya 12645 - 1:350 Yamato Deck Sheet

Self-adhesive real wood deck for the Tamiya 1:350 Yamato battleship (78025)

The wooden deck is one of the most visible features of any ship model — it covers a huge area and is the first thing the eye lands on. Tamiya 12645 replaces painted plastic with real wood: a self-adhesive deck made from 0.25 mm thick wood veneer, cut precisely to the shape of the 1:350 Yamato battleship's deck.

The set contains two sheets with laser-engraved plank lines. The deck comes with a factory finish and requires no painting — the natural grain and texture of the wood are the finish. The sheets have an adhesive layer on the underside: peel them off the backing and lay them over the kit's plastic deck parts. The set is intended for the Tamiya 78025 (Yamato battleship in 1:350), which is sold separately and is not included here.

What's in the box:

• Two self-adhesive wood veneer sheets, 0.25 mm thick, pre-cut to the shape of Yamato's deck
• Laser-engraved plank lines, factory finish

Set specifications:

• Scale: 1:350
• Product code: 12645
• Manufacturer: Tamiya
• Type: self-adhesive real wood deck
• Material: 0.25 mm wood veneer with adhesive backing
• Dedicated kit: Tamiya 78025 (Yamato battleship 1:350)
• Deck requires no painting
• Ship model sold separately — not included in this set

Real wood decks – an effect hard to achieve by painting plastic

Reproducing a wooden deck with paint takes many layers, glazes and patient shade variation across individual planks — and even then the irregularity of natural grain is hard to imitate. Wood veneer solves the problem at source: it is real wood, so the grain pattern and surface texture are authentic rather than painted. At just 0.25 mm thick, the deck barely alters the geometry of the model.

Fitting is straightforward but calls for care: the sheets are thin and delicate, so it is worth dry-fitting them onto the plastic deck parts first, checking orientation and cut-outs, and only then peeling off the backing — slowly and gradually, supporting the sheet rather than tearing it away in one go. The model surface should be clean and free of grease. The deck comes factory-finished and needs no painting; modellers who want to go further sometimes vary the shade of individual planks slightly or accent the lines between them, but that is a matter of your own vision for the finished piece.

About the ship – Yamato:

Yamato was the largest battleship ever built — the pride of the Imperial Japanese Navy and a ship meant to offset America's numerical superiority at sea with qualitative superiority. She carried nine 46 cm guns, the heaviest naval artillery ever to enter service, with a range of around 41 km.

Yamato's vast wooden foredeck was one of the most distinctive features of her silhouette — and it remains so on the model. The ship was sunk on 7 April 1945 during her final mission, the sortie towards Okinawa, after an attack by American carrier aircraft. She remains one of the most frequently modelled warships in the world.

Original specifications (Yamato):

• Type: battleship
• Main armament: nine 46 cm guns in three triple turrets
• Main battery range: approx. 41 km
• The largest battleship ever built
• Sunk: 7 April 1945, during the Okinawa operation

About the manufacturer – Tamiya:

Tamiya is a Japanese company from Shizuoka, in business since 1946 — originally as a timber works, and from the 1960s as one of the most recognisable plastic model manufacturers in the world. The brand built its position on precise tooling, clear instructions and predictable parts fit. Alongside its kits, Tamiya develops a range of detail-up accessories for its own models: wooden decks, turned metal parts, photo-etched parts, figures, and modelling chemicals and tools. The 1:350 ship accessories are designed as a complement to the company's line of ship models.