The official Submarine Warfare Group Build 2016 - 2017

Nice work on the Gato PlasticJunkie!

The rust looks great. I'm going to have to learn how to do that on my 

Hunley.

Not much to show on the Hunley. I've been Sanding the seams and the bow.

I put a thick coat of primer on today.

The bow is turing out ok.

I've started drilling out the dead lights. The kit comes with clear lenses for them, But I think I'll end up using crystal clear. 

Hopefully I'll get to restart assembally soon.

Thanks GH and Steve!

Just got you up and noticed I didn't have you on the roster 

All corrected now.

Fantastic build PJ 

The weathering if fantastic and the PE/AM just looks great.

Thank you for joining in. As always you're a great addition to any GB.

I'll put pic #1 on the wall.

PJ- You just sank my Gato.......Very, very well done.

D.-  Glad you decided to go with the Shapeways guns, you won't be disappointed.

My Gato is completed and I'm very pleased how it came out. The WEM pe set really dresses up the shears and the Shapeways 3D printed guns are a must to include. It's amazing how the lint magnifies over the black paint in the closeups but not as visible to the naked eye.

The paint was a combo of Panzer Grey, RLM 70 and Tamiya Nato Black sprayed in layers to replicate a worn Measure 9 scheme. The weathering was a combo of artist's oils and my home made oil washes. Double click on the pictures for closeups!

Steve, please use the first picture for the completed page listing. Thanks for letting me part take in this GB.

Thanks guys for the input, it is really appreciated. 

Too late for the Nautilus guns....... I had ordered them a few years ago and I was going to use them. However, the 4" deck gun is okay looking and the 20mms were unless. So, I just purchased the Shapeway guns to replace all of them. Man, at least in the pictures, they look beautiful! After seeing PJ's photos, I was sold! They won't arrive any earlier than 06 June, so it gives me time to finish up the hull, etc...

I am also going to use Tamiya's NATO Black since I really like the look of it as well as the usual oil treatment. 

I was thinking of using EZ line around the fairwater but I will try the WE PE first to see if I can form the railings. I like the WE PE even if it is on the small side, although the 1/350 scale PE I have used makes this look gianormous. 

Steve

Oh God!! Whatever you do Steve DO NOT get the Nautilus guns. They are junk. He gave me the runaround  for a refund and refused to cover the shipping charges. My set had bent and broken barrels and globs of resin for details. 

I highly recommend the 3D printed guns from Shapeways. The level of details is just mind blowing.

You would be way happier with the 4" and 20mm's from Shapeways than the Nautilus versions.  Lots less work and better detail.  After seeing pics of PJ's I had to  order them out, and they are SUPER. Quick shipping too. After her overhaul, she had 20's fore and aft of the bridge and on the aft deck gun mount.  4" on the forward mount. 

Tower looks good, I gave up on the shears PE and am going with just the radar setup as you did.

Hopefully can get back to her in a couple of weeks, but doubt I'll get the base done by the end of the build, so will be on a stand for the time being.

The fairwater looks very good Steve. The WEM PE sheet is quite a challenge to work with being so tiny.

That PE really looks nice!

That is looking nice.

Here are some pictures as promised.

Steve

That's great Steve. I'm excited to see her.

A quick update. I filled and sanded, filled and sanded the limber holes a number of times today until I got the hull looking the way I wanted it to. Also worked on the PE radar sets and almost finished the sail. I am hoping to glue the hull together tomorrow and finish installnig all the deck accessories too. I need to cleanup the Naultilus deck guns and get those finished.

I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Steve

Thanks Steve. I am not sure how far I am going to go trying to make this look like the Wahoo but we will see. I agree about PJ, I was going over the posts on this thread and I am in awe! There is some mighty fine modeling going on here.

Steve

I agree Steve. It was......fun.

PJ,

Thanks for the mounting advice. I am going to try something similar and hopefully it will work.

Anyway,

After doing research on the Wahoo, I found that the lower limber holes were not there. I am not sure if it was a Mare Island style vs. Electric Bosats in Conn. So I filled in the holes with Green Putty and sanded like nobody's business till i got it smooth. I'll hit it with some primer so see what I need to fix but I think it will work okay.

Also, I drilled 116 blowholes that were added on her last upgrade along the edge of the deck. Another bit of fun!

Here are some pictures to show what I have been up to.

docidle

PJ,

However did you manage to mount the 1/144 Gato on finials? I have been stuck trying to figure how to mount mine. I used the Nautilus mask to drill out the limber holes which did not work out as well as I would have liked but still... Not too bad. However it made drilling out the mounting holes a bit more difficult as well as getting the nuts secured. If I can figure out how to mount this sucker then I can finish it time.

Thanks,

Steve

Hopefully I can still participate in the GB. I have been out on medical leave. I have the Trumpeter 1/144 Gato that I want to finish as the Wahoo after it's last upgrade.

I want to say that there are some impressive work here guys! 

 

 

 

Hi dc (Steve) MC is also named Steve LOL.

Sorry for the late reply but the wife and I have been traveling thruout southern Spain for the last 2 weeks so I have been AWOL since LOL.

First, regarding your question I too sat there and finally figured out an easy way to mount the boat on the finials. I selected the locations and drilled the pilot holes on the hull. I then used a 1/8th wood thin dowel as the mounting points to the boat and the wood finials which were drilled with corresponding holes to accept the dowels. I then sneaked up on the correct diameter hole in the plastic by using the next sized drill bits till i got a snug fit aroun the plastic. The boat is then slipped over the dowels and has a nice snug fit not requiring anything else to keept it on and secured. It's a very easy and simple method. 

As far as the bottom flood holes go, it's easier and more accurate to join the hull sides first then mark the locations. I then used a sharp needle to mark the drilling points to eliminate any drifting.

Let me know if you have any other questions.  

Steve (MC)

I'm almost done and looks like it will be completed by this week. Most of the weathering was done before we left on vacation.  I'm still blown away by the level of detail the 3D guns have specially after the paint and drybrushing went on. Also the EZ line product is just amazing.

Trying to drill holes straight is tough even when you have a guide like a porthole.

Well, the drilling did not come out anywhere near what I wanted it to. I guess a saving grace will be that you will only be able to see one side at a time after it is mounted...... dang! I think I should have glued the two halves together before drilling. I only  had rubber bands holding them and slippage is apparent in the nonallignment of said holes.  

Steve

That is a fact! I drilled them out..... not really happy how they came out but I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Steve

That's a lot of holes that need work!

Using the Nautilus template I marked all the limber and drainage holes for the Gato. Next will be the drilling out of all these! 

Steve

Buried,

From what I can see of it looks good, and congratulations on our first in a long time. I'm honored you chose my GB to do it in.

I will wait for some new pictures to put on the wall.

What a lot of us do for photography is place a white or grey poster board behind the model.

I will lay the board half on the wall, half on the table and place the model on the table half. This way you don't see any seams in the backdrop but one continuous flow that doesn’t take away from the build. Sometimes I will make a picture backdrop and position the camera to make the build look it like it's in the picture. It's harder to do with a model that’s on a stand.

The poster boards are inexpensive and I’ve seen them for less than a dollar.

Well I have completed the Balao, first model in a VERY long time for me.  Of course I didn't have any of the paints that the kit called for, but I think I was able to mix and substitute to get close. 

I do know that my photography skills are ... lacking, I'm going to try and watch a few tutorials on how to photograph models and i'll try and post a better image soon as I can. 

PJ,

However did you manage to mount the 1/144 Gato on finials? I have been stuck trying to figure how to mount mine. I used the Nautilus mask to drill out the limber holes which did not work out as well as I would have liked but still... Not too bad. However it made drilling out the mounting holes a bit more difficult as well as getting the nuts secured. If I can figure out how to mount this sucker then I can finish it time.

Thanks,

Steve

Hopefully I can still participate in the GB. I have been out on medical leave. I have the Trumpeter 1/144 Gato that I want to finish as the Wahoo after it's last upgrade.

I want to say that there are some impressive work here guys! 

That looks like it's working well Mach.

Your job does take you away for a while.

I've been away from the build for a bit. 

I spent some time sanding and filling the hull seam. I'll have to rescribe and replace

some detail lost. The seam required more work than I expected.

I've started to add to the front of the hull, to remove the curve.

I'm using Aves Apoxie sculpt.

I'll let it be for a few days to let it set up.

Thanks guys, I managed to get the model assembled last night, I was suprised, it was a total of about 10 parts, and went together rather well.  I'll get some pictures of it tonight after I get some primer on it.  It really is a small little guy, maybe 5-6 inches long, but has some nice detail to it for that size.