This model represents Yamato at the end of her service in 1945. With only enough fuel for a one way trip, the fleet flagship was sent to Okinawa to lend her massive firepower to the defenders. En route, she became the final proof that battleships could be eliminated by aircraft alone.
The photograph of the model shows the giant, Japanese, battleship sailing towards Okinawa in company with the light cruiser, Yahagi. Both ships were sunk before arriving off Okinawa.
The USA did not know that Yamato and her sistership, Musashi, had 18in guns until after WW2. A third sistership, Shinano, was completed as an aircraft carrier.