By Chris Condon

The Death Shadow is the first ship commanded by Harlock during the war with the Illumidas. One of the most powerful ships in the Earth Space Forces, it is forced to become a refugee transporter as the war ended. Harlock purposely damages the ship when landing on Earth, forcing the Illumidas to decommission it rather than use it. It only appears in the movie "My Youth in Arcadia" briefly in the beginning. It is brimming with weapons.

At this scale, it takes a lot of patience to get the detail out of the model. I was stunned at the amount of parts for a ship that slightly larger than a dry eraser marker. I did change the color scheme, in the pictures it is green and light green, which I did not think was appropriate for a warship so I made them darker. The main difficulty with this kit is that the directions are in Japanese. On the other hand, it cost me $5 at an Anime convention. Moreover, what is not to like about a warship with a skull and crossbones emblem on the sides?

Image: Another starboard side view

Image: Looking down the upper deck

Image: Front view

Image: Rear view