It might not be as well known as shmups such as R-Type and Gradius, but Namco's 1989 arcade title Dangerous Seed is a pretty memorable blaster.
Powered by Namco's System 1 coin-op system, the game's unique hook is that the player's craft can combine to create one 'super-ship' called the Moon Diver – which, in our humble opinion, is one of the coolest crafts in any shoot 'em up. The title was ported to the Genesis / Mega Drive in 1990 but never saw a Western release.
In Japan, it's not uncommon to see iconic ships from shmups get turned into plastic model kits, and that's precisely what has happened with the aforementioned Moon Diver. As spotted by former Namco staffer Yuichiro Shinozaki (who was the lead designer on Dangerous Seed), Japanese company Overwork has produced a kit which replicates the appearance of the Moon Diver perfectly.
The company has also produced model kits for the ships in Konami's Thunder Cross II and Namco's Thunder Ceptor – both of which, along with Dangerous Seed, are playable on Switch thanks to Hamster's Arcade Archives range.
Thanks to Ryan Lambie for the tip!