1/12 Toys by Yamato
If toys are your jam, and you like Armored Trooper Votoms, the biggest and boldest came in 1/12 scale from a company named Yamato. That’s just over a foot tall, which makes for a very impressive display piece. From 2004-2009, Yamato released nine A.T.s and an equal number of accessory packs, along with action figures. They have all the mobility you would expect for a product that size, and it took a lot of ambition to bring them to life.
Below you’ll find a catalog of all the products in Yamato’s 1/12 lineup along with some bonus items. The following interview was published in a 2006 book titled Armored Trooper Votoms Real Toy Collection.
Photo by Anymoon
We will continue to develop this series so that people can play with this product for a long time to come
An interview with Toshihisa Yanagisawa, Yamato Product Development Division
The first project he supervised was the 1/72 YF-19 Valkyrie. Since then, he has worked on the Macross series, Votoms series, Megazone 23 series, and others.
Interviewer: First of all, please tell us how you came up with the Votoms products.
Yanagisawa: At the time, there were no new developments in the Votoms market. We were looking for content that would last for a long time like Macross. After much consideration, we decided that Votoms was the only way to go, because it’s something we could expect to develop in various ways, such as variations and worldviews. The project itself started from there. But to be honest, it was just because I wanted it. (Laughs)
Interviewer: That’s important. (Laughs)
Yanagisawa: Speaking of Votoms, plamodels have been in an unshakable position. Garage kits have been developed since the early days, but there has been no new release of finished products. We’re not a garage kit maker, so we thought the only way to do it was with a finished product.
It was around the beginning of 2002 that we finally decided on the specifications. Until then, we went back and forth. Although the scale was 1/12, we planned to use a simpler design. After all, size is size, so we didn’t build up to that level. Instead, we planned to keep the price at around 10,000 yen.
For example, we assumed the arm punch could be extended and contracted manually, not by a spring. In the end, we decided, “As long as it is expressed in this size, let’s build in the parts that should be built in.”
First of all, the descent [downform] gimmick had to be done at minimum, and the moveable parts had to be reproduced properly, and we had to build in the cockpit as much as possible. Then there was the inner frame structure…so the story grew and grew….
Interviewer: What was the reason you decided on 1/12 scale in the first place?
Yanagisawa: It just happened that way. (Laughs) I just wanted to make Votoms at that size. The scale was calculated afterward, and it was 1/12. (Laughs) We’re a new maker in the Votoms market, so we thought we had to use a different scale and approach to bring appeal to our products.
The scary thing is that people gradually get used to this size, and it doesn’t seem so big anymore. When I first saw it, I thought, “Are we stupid to make such a big thing?” But when I saw the 1/1 Scopedog, I thought, “We lost!” After that, I took a picture of the 1/12 Scopedog side by side with the 1/1 Scopedog. (Laughs)
Interviewer: The prototype was made by Kenichi Nomoto, wasn’t it?
Yanagisawa: He worked on many Votoms related models in the past. I asked him to do the prototype because I thought there was no one better suited for the job. However, due to our order, Mr. Nomoto changed his previous taste. The Votoms he makes are actually a bit more robust.
[Translator’s note: Kenichi Nomoto is one of the most respected Votoms model designers in the game, having crafted many garage kits for different companies and his own label, Nomopi. He participated in a round table conversation that can be read here.]
This time, we wanted to target not only fans but also people who are more toy oriented, so we asked him to make it smartly proportioned, more or less. That’s why some people said, “This one is different.” However, if there are 100 customers, there will be 100 different Scopedogs. We tried to make it the greatest common denominator among them.
Interviewer: How did you communicate with Mr. Nomoto?
Yanagisawa: When I first told him about this project, he was quite skeptical. He said, “1/12 scale…what on earth are you thinking?” (Laughs) So, when I explained, “It will be fully moveable and can descend, and will have a lot of detail,” he said, “Normally I wouldn’t do that kind of thing.” But as we talked about it, we thought, “Surprisingly, we can do this.”
“The price will be well over 10,000 yen. Is that OK with you?”
“That’s how much we’ve budgeted for.”
“Then, let’s go!” And there we went. (Laughs)
After that, things got even more amazing. He said, “If you’re going to build something this size, you have to go this far to make it work as a Scopedog. The arm punch should be a spring type. The cockpit should be more built up. The gliding wheels on the feet should be cooler. The handles should be removeable,” and so on.
The conversation went on and on. We pursued details that could not be seen from the outside, such as the inside of the calf and the bottom of the seat. We half-joked that the developers were becoming a production committee. The number of people who liked Votoms kept increasing, and the story got bigger and bigger.
Interviewer: Why did you make the armor plates removeable?
Yanagisawa: I thought it would be easier to modify the model if fewer parts had to be glued together. To put it bluntly, we wanted it to be played with normally, but also to be modified if possible. That’s why we didn’t apply stain paint to our products. Of course, there was a plan to include weathering in the beginning, but we decided to leave that up to the user.
Interviewer: Are there any other points you’d like to mention?
Yanagisawa: I’m not proud of it, but we used quite extravagant molds. For example, the head is actually made in one piece. The same goes for the body. If you take it apart, you’ll see. The dome of the head alone is one mold, and the internal frame of the body alone is one mold. We used slide molds everywhere. We put a lot of cost into the simple parts of the body. If the parting line was too prominent, it would just end up as an enlarged version of the plamodel.
There’s a good reason why the price exceeds 10,000 yen. When I was told the number of molds and the amount of money [for production], I practically fainted. (Laughs) But I didn’t want to end it with just one shot. We were thinking of releasing it over a long span of time as a regular product. So I decided to take the plunge. After all, it’s Votoms. It will never go out of style or disappear.
We’re also confident in our descent [downform] gimmick. We designed it so that it can be easily and naturally detached from the body without any unnecessary extension or contraction mechanisms. When I saw the prototype, I said, “We can do it! The Scopedog is awesome!” (Laughs)
Interviewer: What’s your plan for Chirico, which is sold separately?
Yanagisawa: At first, the figure was planned to be in a fixed pose. I had the intention of swapping out the lower body of the standing pose for it to sit. However, when the Scopedog itself became like this, I decided, “We have to make the figure poseable, too.” (Laughs) Through someone’s introduction, I was able to hire Maki Asai to do the Chirico figure.
Interviewer: It’s rare to have a poseable male figure by Mr. Asai, isn’t it?
Yanagisawa: Mr. Asai himself said, “It’s very interesting to make someone who looks like a bastard.” However, I had to ask Mr. Asai to make sure the cockpit and the figure were aligned. When I said to make sure it could fit into the seat, he said, “Eh, how do we get the legs and hips inside?” (Chuckle) But we devised a way to arrange the waist joint, and now we have a Chirico that can fit inside the product.
Interviewer: A weapon set was also developed.
Yanagisawa: We call it the “missile set.” (Laughs) Even the wings inside the missiles can move. It’s really funny. (Laughs) But that’s not the only thing. Normally it would be split vertically, but it’s split through the middle. We often get comments like, “The price is too high!” This is because we increased the number of parts by insisting on the split. You could call it self-satisfaction on the part of the developer, but we wanted to do everything we could do with this size.
Thanks to that, the weight became heavier than planned. We had to prepare supporting parts in a hurry. To be honest, that was a desperate measure. It was something we could not have foreseen when we were developing the product. We’ve learned from this experience and are currently upgrading the main unit. We have strengthened the ankle of the Strongbox, which is now on the market.
Interviewer: So the AT itself is also evolving.
Yanagisawa: Also, the second Solid Shooter has some innovations. We added a telescopic mechanism to the original. This is to hold the Solid Shooter level while carrying the Round Mover. In the anime, it does this with no problem, but in reality, it hits the back of the Round Mover. When I was wondering what to do, Mr. Asai came up with the idea of telescoping it. He said, “It’s something you’re going to play with anyway, so it’s okay to interpret it that way.”
At first, there was a proposal to change the Round Mover frame, but I thought this solution would be simpler and more natural. It’s not a good idea to include a lie that isn’t part of the setup. I prefer to challenge the idea that “this is impossible to reproduce.” (Laughs) I made the Parachute Sack a flip-up type, and the Round Mover a slide type, so that the descent pose could be done with the option equipment in place.
Interviewer: I see. And the Strongbox was released just the other day.
Yanagisawa: Actually, at first, we planned to sell only modification parts. We named it something like “Battling custom parts.” I had planned to sell a “just for fun” box, with things like the bonus visor for the Purple Bear. But in the end, we decided to commercialize it as a main unit. Originally, we didn’t plan to build that many parts. Even now, there are still controversial opinions. “Why the Strongbox?” “Is Yamato crazy?” (Smiles)
Interviewer: Now, please tell us about your future plans.
Yanagisawa: First of all, we’re currently developing variations of the figure. After that, we have the Brutishdog coming up. Also, we’re thinking of a generic pilot with a large build. Chirico has a smaller image compared to the cockpit because we wanted to have a size balance.
Interviewer: What’s your plan for AT releases?
Yanagisawa: We’re thinking of releasing one with a lot of weapons. I can’t say more than that, I’m sorry. (Laughs) But the emphasis of this series is on upgrade parts. Our aim is, “If you buy all the parts, you’ll end up with something really great!” Something like a turret lens with a real camera-like texture.
If we release too many ATs, users will have a hard time finding a place to put them. In the end, it’s so vigorous that everything is different except for the frame. (Laughs) We consider the Scopedog to be the basic set. Even if we release new option parts, we’ll never let it fade. We plan for people to play with it for a long time to come.
We’re planning to start this project in 2007. Thank you for your continued support.
(October 27, 2006 in Takadanobaba, Tokyo)
RELATED LINKS
Video review by Small Model Collector
The 1/12 lineup
Photo by Anymoon
Related Products
1/12 Scopedogs by ThreeZero
After Yamato discontinued their lineup, Hong Kong-based ThreeZero was the next company to release Scopedogs in the same scale. Their version was quite an upgrade, heavily detailed with parts made of multiple materials. They were released in standard green and Melkia color variations in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
RELATED LINKS
Thanks for this, Tim. I had thought of getting my hands on one of the Yamato ATs, but…too expensive for me and a bit too big! 🙂
I did notice that the 1/18 Takara “Dual Zwei” ATs were not covered–the ATs featuring a Microman figure and weapons and featuring detail work that was not present on the Yamato 1/12 ATs. The 1/18 toys included the regular Scopedog, the Scopedog Turbo Custom, the Space Assault Scopedog, the “Lido version” Scopedog, and the Rabidlydog and Ypsilon’s Strikedog, plus a Red Shoulder Custom conversion kit.
I have two of them, and they were less expensive and obviously not at large as the Yamato toys…but they are pretty cool and always got the attention of visiting nieces and nephews.
Thanks for your interest! I’ve got all the data on the 1/18 Takara products, I just haven’t covered them yet. One of many categories still on deck for future articles.