AFV 1/350 1943 Gato Finally DONE

Thanks for the tips, got a long way to go to get anywhere close to what you are doing.  Right now I have the heavy and super heavy from Liquitex, will have to get some of the more flowable stuff too, I think, especially for the smoother last coats.  Along with some different brushes too. This is the heavy stuff.  That blue is just the straight cerulean blue.  The green is a blend of tourquoise and grey.  Got to play with it some more.    For the 1/144 my rollers are a little deep for what I want, and the choppy version needs to be deeper for the same, if I go that route.  She will be running at flank with 2 or 3 shell splashes bracketing her off the bow.

Here are a couple of pics of first practices of techniques - big ocean waves and choppy water.

That is the acrylic color I got as well. (4 oz tube will last about 9 lifetimes-should have been a cat)  Tried one spot with just the waves and first coat of gel and now the towel and gel.  I'll tint the second coat and put up a pic tomorrow of both.

I have been doing Chris's method for all my seascape dioramas. I haven't tried the foamboard used for insulation but I do like the hard foam from HL. I use strips of paper to cover the boards texture so I don't go through so much gel. I will get the large medium gel from HL with the 40% coupon which lasts for a few builds. For the paint, I get tubes of artists acrylics, which cost a lot less. 

Starting to play and try different things with the big bead type of  foam board for the seascape for the GB, using a wire wheel in my cordless,  Just finished the first coat and towel as per the article in the latest issue.  May have to try and get some smaller bead hard foam, but HL only has 12 x 36, 1 inch stuff at $20 a sheet.......Need 3 of them to get my 2 inch, 16 x 32-36 for that seascape.  Oh man----- Am I going to go through the gel to make that one.  Also playing with acryic paint to tint the gel for starters.

Thanks for the kind words on my little lady.

Rest of the month is pretty much toast-   leaving for 5 days on Tues for USFS/BLM meetings halfway across the state, going to stop at Erickson's museum and the auto/air museum in Hood River for pics at both, and trying to get my dredge together to get it in the water and pulling some gold the middle of May when the season opens in one area about 70 miles south, and the other one opens first of June, 20 miles from me.

Great looking build GH, I know what you mean about loosing interest in a build. I have to fight that all the time. 

Thank you!  This will be the first completed kit in over 40 years for me, and also the first playing with an AB.  Have been away from it that long.  Hope to do Wahoo's memory justice in the GB later this year.

Got plenty of kits started, but have not finished any yet.  Seem to get enthused to start then lose interest in them half way through.

just caught up with thread , man some of those part's look small , excellent looking build

steve5

Have been busy with other things....sometimes life gets in the way of living.  Got the tower and guns put on her this morning, will get the PE antenna fit on her next w/e.All that will be left is painting the clear case base a dark blue, and epoxy the base to her and the base to the bottom of the case and attach the brass plate. 

Thanks, I suspected as much because of drag and noise when submerged.  I managed to dig up some more pics of my lady...All that stuff was gone, decks clean except for lifelines and weapons.  Flag on staff at end of cig. deck on tower.

Got the railings/lifelines up on the deck and the lookout railings and cig deck railing on today.  That leaves getting the tower on, guns mounted (2-20mm's and the 4") and the antenna PE on and then painting the PE.  And paint the base, epoxy the boat on the base and the base into the case.

Not knowing that kit, but deep into the weeds with my own 1/700 Tamiya Gato, I'm pretty sure the things that look like davits were used to load stores and whatnot when alongside a pier or tender, and would always be removed before leaving on patrol.

If the standard is at the tip of the bow, that's the one for the jack, the blue flag with 48-stars that is flown only when the ship is docked. The aft standard would be for the national flag, on some boats, or that standard was at the aft end of the sail. Both would be removed before submerging. Nautical trivia - any temporary flag staff was called a "pig stick," according to my Dad, God alone knows why.

Not being a naval person, I'm going to ask what might be a silly/dumb question.  The instructions show four, curved top uprights (I'll call them mini-davits for lack of knowlege and better word)1 forward and 3 aft of the conning tower, along with the forward, looks like nav light standard, and the flag staff at the stern.  How much of that would have been removed and stored on patrol?

Right now planning on using the railings on the main deck and the conning tower and the antenna standoffs and antenna setup from the PE, but the PE also has replacements for the kit styrene "davits". 

Will be either a blob of silly putty or modeling clay just to hold them vertical till the CA sets up.  Won't be pressed down tight for fear of pulling more paint.

BTW, got the tube, wire and rod for your boat, will get it sent next week when I get to the PO.

So what did u do to hold PE?

On Sunday got my paint problem fixed, and figured out how to hold the PE railings and the antenna standoffs till they set, will get some of that done this next w/e.

  Also ordered the brass plate for the case along with the quote plate for the GB later.  Can't ever get over to that shop during their hours.  Got back from my VA appt. in time yesterday to finally get it taken care of.

Bill, Thanks, I was kind of impressed with the detail on her in 1/350, along with the PE in the kit. 

mfsob- Thanks, those are impressive in their own right, very nice.  I know better than to even go there with my skillset and klutzy fingers.

As a retired submariner, I love to see threads about submarines!  Those 1/700 AFV boats are incredible models, especially for their dimunitive scale.  Great job! 

Bill Morrison

goldhammer

Doing this thing, I don't know how you folks doing 1/700 stuff do it.......I'll be so glad to get to the 1/144 version.

I dunno, 1/144 can be kind of small at times:

But, yeah, 1/700 is getting pretty small:

Really good job on your build, so far. I'm dreading trying to do weathered black on my pending 1/700 Gato sub build.

Funny thing, the '41 and '42 are under $20 and the '43 is around $35.  I know the '42 and '43 have PE, and IIRC so did the '41.  I think the first two are pretty close with most of the difference in the tower.  The 43 went from the full height front on the tower to the cut down front with a gun deck and railing, and a shorter tower and more rounded at the back instead of "boattailed" and pointy. So the upper hull is a different casting than the other two.  The 43 is also the Electric Boat design hull with limber holes only back to the tower area, and the other two are the Navy Yard built boat with limber hole inpressions all the way down the hull.  And there is a pic in the Squadron book showing USS Harder before her loss, with no limber holes at all. 

goldhammer

All my bad.  Didn't wash the sprues, no primer, just MM Acrylic. Theblack had a week to dry/cure too.  Used Tamiya tan tape and killed it on pants and shirt, but not quite enough I guess.  When I repair I will soft mask the upper edge with post it notes.  They didn't lift on the other hull I am using as a test bed. 

Probably going to have to get another '41 or '42 version for the 3rd 20mm that Wahoo carried.

Sounds like something I'd do!

I did note when ordering a kit that there are several year versions! I could Gato ,yself to death!

Jester75

Man,  much larger than I thought a 350th Gato would be but still tiny. Nice work so far! Too bad about the paint lift.

 

No biggie, at least it is a quick fix.

Thanks!

All my bad.  Didn't wash the sprues, no primer, just MM Acrylic. Theblack had a week to dry/cure too.  Used Tamiya tan tape and killed it on pants and shirt, but not quite enough I guess.  When I repair I will soft mask the upper edge with post it notes.  They didn't lift on the other hull I am using as a test bed. 

Probably going to have to get another '41 or '42 version for the 3rd 20mm that Wahoo carried.

goldhammer

As you can see, lost some of the black and will have to do a little repair on it.  Click the pic for the gallery and the rest of her to this point.

 

Man,  much larger than I thought a 350th Gato would be but still tiny. Nice work so far! Too bad about the paint lift.

WOW!!! 

As you can see, lost some of the black and will have to do a little repair on it.  Click the pic for the gallery and the rest of her to this point.

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Well, got the black (MM 4767 Aircraft Interior Black) on the hull, tower and main gun this morning,  will add pics after I get the grey fade on the decks.

Will be mounted in a clear case with black base, with the engraved brass plate.  Still undicided what color to paint the stand, torn between brass, gold or the same grey I do the deck with

Click on one of the pics above for the gallery, and then you can click on a pic for a bigger version.  Having problem getting them to load right now on here.  And I know it is me.....