Revell U-Boat re-released

I don't know.Some times it seems to take a while.The Republic Star Destroyer took quite some time if I remember correctly.

They reached the UK stores at the start of Oct. Is that the usual time you ahve to wait for RoG kits.

I just got my Squadron catalog today and the 1/72 U-Boat is finally in it!

thanks for that Division. I haven't heard of that site. Will have to have a prper read of that.

If you haven't seen it yet you might want to look at Siara's build over on Subsim.

Not to get off topic too much but where did you get that display (El Tanio)? Any details would be excellent. I am looking for more options as my first cabinet is full, lol!!

Will deffinatly look forward to seeing it. What other detail sets are you adding. I checked out the White Ensign PE set and don't think it will be worth it with the eduard as well, so i am just sticking to the eduard PE and wooden decks.

Hey Bish, yeah I'm going the full boat on this kit with PE, detail set,  and possibly a wood deck. I'm more of a WW I guy as I am very interested in ships military and commerce 1870-1920. The Germans really took submerines to their fullest potential in the early years 1900-1940 as far as implementing them in an effective naval strategy. Out of all types and configurations the type VII is the most succesful. This will be a centerpeice along with WW I U-Boats and WW I Dreadnoughts. We'll see.

mic, I take it the re-release hasn't hit your shores yet. But seems like your got a pretty good deal, despite what you have to fix. I hope your going to share some pics. Are you planning on getting any Am goodies for it.

I just got the Revell U-99 kit yesterday, thought I would do that first to practice painting and weathering. There’s a bit of a difference in size between these two.

Hannants currently have the Gato of special offer, just over £47. I'm not sure what the normal price is, but that not bad when you consider how much bigger it is than the U-Boat.

I just want to make sure i do a good job on painting the 72nd kit, and the only ships i have done was a long time ago and pretty basic when it came to painting. And beshides, i have aces equipment when it comes to planes and tanks, so i thought i would add the top U-Boat ace to the collection.

someone else, i think in planes a while back, mentioned he will get a 1/72 to practice on before building a 1/32.

Size definately does not matter with these 1/72 Revell subs.The U-Boats are usually twice the price of the Gato kits.That was before the re-release.I got my Gato for $65.At the time all the U-Boats I found were $125-$150.

I just got mine, finally after three years of wanting one, scored it off Ebay for $75.00 !!! (not including shipping). Wow this thing is big !! Bigger than I had anticipated. It was pre opened, you take a gamble with these, not bad condition altogether but someone tried opening some of the drain holes and was recently released from the institution/suffered stroke/parkinson's etc. not in horrible with some work but not perfect either although I'm happy. I can't wait to start this !!

Holy S**T, if i didn't have that U-Boat kit sat here next to me i would say thats rather small. I am guessing 5foot for the GATO. When it comes to sdhips i only plan on getting a select few German kits, but that GATO is impressive enough that who know's, one day i just might,

Does the GATO hull come in one piece like the U-Boat.

O ye, and well impressive builds as well.

Here is a better size comparo picture:

Got ur, thanks for the advice.

not bish but i thinned all the plastic from the inside until i could see throgh it. the round holes were simple drill, on the oval holes i used a pin drill at the 2 round ends and an xacto to carve all the remaining middle. plastic. IIRC on the lower bow drain holes after thinning i punched some holes with a drill and carved the remaining rectangle. i would use a scalpel now instead of an xacto. the drill won't give you the right angle on the rectangular holes.

Bloody hell that GATO is huge.

As for the sander, i had to think for a bit. Would i be right in saying you used it to thin the plastic from the inside until you had taken enough away that it just left the hole open. I was just thinking of drilling them out.

wayne, its not blasphemy if you are happy with it. I normally go over board with Am on my aircrfat and armour kits. But i don't plan on it with thsi kit. I think the Eduard PE and the wooden decks will be enough. I reckon i can get a good finish by concentrating on the paint and weathering and takeing my time.

The only ship kits i have built were the U-99 and a few airfix kits but that was years ago. But i would like to do a select fewerman ship kits, namely this U-Boat and a Bismark kit. o its nice to get some tips from you guys on this.

there were a couple of GATOs and a couple of lindberg kaiten subs at Nats. i used a dremel with a burr and thined the plastic on the inside and carved out the now super thin plastic in the venys. i agree, makes a big difference.

The Revell GATO class is even larger than the U-BOAT. Here is a size reference picture. Below there's a 32'' LCD and it wouldn't fit inside the showcase where my U Boat is in. Oh yes, those models below it are 1/72 including the SB-Dauntless

To open the vent holes, I did use a Micro sander like the one below. It makes the job a lot faster, but has to be careful not  to sand for too long in the same spot or one can mar the plastic. IMHO, it makes the heck of a difference if those vents are opened. I'm in for another U-Boat. Good luck with your build.

i know this is going to sound like blasphemy to some folks but i have mellowed when it comes to being obsessed with accuracy and exact colors. i have judged in 3 contest this year, 2 local and Nats. Nats is a whole different animal. it is likely the judges will be ship modelers, just not necessarily in that catagory. in local contest, usually the judges end up judging a catagory they don't build in because many of them have entries. i look for the basics as described in the ipms standards AND I READ THE DOCUMENTATION.  of course whern it gets down to the final 2 or 3, the additional work, if done well AND NOTED will make a difference.

ps i demeled thin and carved out all the rectangular vents in the bow under the dive planes. good thing it's painted a dark grey because i don't think any of them are pure rectangles. sure did learn a lot about what not to do.

Hello Bish,

I got that kit (WEM PE)purely to replace the 16 vents on the lower aspect of the saddle tanks (16 in total) as well as a few other items not covered by the Eduard set. I also did get the Model Brass kit for the torpedo cheek sections, but decided not to use them and dremeled them out- and they look quite good, but it took some work. Granted, the torpedo section is too long and placed slightly further aft than it is supposed to, but I am drawing a line as to the modifications that I am going to do- I've been picking and choosing. And whether I recreate every flood hole that was specific to U-552 is irrelevent to me- it will still be a cool looking model.

i have not seen the WEM set. my 1/72 has been a shelf queen for a couple of years. have taken seconds in local contests with a pair of type XXVII midget subs and just finished trumpeter 1/144 type XXIII. have a IIC and VIIC (early) at the paint stage to be finished this week.

my feeling on pe issometimes i don't think the cost and time are worth the results. from all the big u-boats i have seen (local and at Nats) a really clean build and quality painting and weathering (with appropriate documentatiion) is more than adequate. sometimes more is not necessarily better. i usually don't get aftermarket pe for armor, i do for ships if the kit doesn't come with railings. just my 2 cents.of course, since i have it i will use it when i get back to the big boat.

Nice to hear from other with the kit.

Max, i was thinking of getting the white ensign set, but after reading a review on it i am in two minds now. From what i gather most of it is decking that you can have open or closed. Seems a bit pointless if i am getting the wooden decks. Whats your take on the white ensign set compared to the Eduard one.

waynec, my initial impression of the eduard set is that it looks rather nice. Those wooden decks definatly look very nice. I would like to get a few more U-Boat kits, deffinatly going to get the U-99, Hannants still has one in stock, and might look at ne of the other ones as well. Thanks for the suggestion.

i have one of each in my stash. actually started on the VIIC carving out all the drain ports. what a pain but just saw one at a conyesy that didn't do that and it makes a big difference, especially the bow "see-through ones". also have an eduard pe set which may or may not be worthwhile (no offense to eduard or their set) and i  have the nautilus wood decks for both and they are worth it.

a suggestion would be to build the /144 first as i am doing, along with 10 other assorted kits. the builds are identical one is just a bigger mold of the other. there may not be a lot in the box but they are impressive when finished. another suggestion is to document the named sub. if you don't weather it a lot, say so as in "kust starting on a new patrol after a refit or returning to port after 60 days in the atlantic in winter. i have a VIID in the stash and U-215(?) was lost off the canadian coast on her first patrol so not a lot of weathering.

Hey Bish,

So far I have opened all the flood and drainage slots, and I am in the process of oil canning the hull (I regret starting this). I have built the engine, command and torpedo sections using the CMK kits, cut out the appropriate openings in the hull. I have Eduards and White Ensigns PE sets, ordered the Archer transfers for the rivets and weld seams, and have a 4 crew figures. this has taken me a few months to get to this stage, and I don't foresee getting the hull together any time soon. I have some WIP pics on the (A)SW GB II.

Rob

max, i almost got one on E-bay back in July. But then i saw on Hannants it was due to release, so i waited out. I think the ones i saw on E-bay went for a bit less than Hannants has them for, but at least mine is new and i get the figures. I got the eduard PE set for it and plan on getting the White Ensign set and the Nautilus wooden deck and thats it.

have you started on yours yet.

I will do. But it will be a while before i get round to it. I plan on doing the large kit over a long period, a bit at a time. maybe spend of week or so on it between other builds. Though my first job will be to drill out all the drain holes, and i might start that soon, just doing a few at a time.

As for the U-99, i might try and get one in the new year, but again, it will be a while before i build it.

I paid a small fortune on mine from EBay about 3 months ago. Got the CMK interior and all of the available PE sets. Glad to see it being re-issued- but I wish it was earlier! Now I would like to see a re-working of the HMCS Snowberry- a great complement to the VIIc.

Rob