Japanese Submarines?

Nichimo does some IJN subs in 1/200 scale. I'm pretty sure they're still in production.

I *think* there's a resin company from Japan that's doing the I-700 class in a bigger scale, I know Konishi does one in 1/200 but it's in the hundreds of dollars.

Jeff

Just to continue the Japanese sub thread, there's a new film coming out next March here in Japan called "Lorelai, the Witch of the Pacific." Looks pretty good. I know nothing about Japanese subs, but what I've seen in the adds for this film sounds like the I-400, in that it has big hangar-type structures on its deck, as well as some fairly large turret-mounted guns.
Is this "Lorelai" a ficticious movie sub, or did it really exist?

I think they've taken a mix of the I-400 class, which had a hangar, combined it with the French Surcouf, which had turrets, and let the Hollywood nut cases rewrite history yet again...

Looks worse than U-501 or whatever that bad movie was they did a couple of years back...yea sure...drop 4 grenades down the conning tower hatch, spray the inside with 45.cal rounds from a Thompson, then go below to find not a single piece of glass broken in the control room...ugh....with the exception of a handful of films, Hollywood simply stinks when it comes to war movies...

Jeff

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jeff_Herne I think they've taken a mix of the I-400 class, which had a hangar, combined it with the French Surcouf, which had turrets, and let the Hollywood nut cases rewrite history yet again... Looks worse than U-501 or whatever that bad movie was they did a couple of years back...yea sure...drop 4 grenades down the conning tower hatch, spray the inside with 45.cal rounds from a Thompson, then go below to find not a single piece of glass broken in the control room...ugh....with the exception of a handful of films, Hollywood simply stinks when it comes to war movies... Jeff

Ah, heck, why not ; that's entertainment.
Just as long they don't say it's a true story....

i think tamiya does some 1/700 waterline, but im not sure

Hi, strangely enough, I watched a program on 'The History Channel' about that sub.
It featured the Smithsonian Institute who have recently restored one of the planes.
It explained how the I-400 was to approach the Panama Canal from the East, launch her planes, which were armed with 800lb bombs, and destroy the entrance to the canal. It also explained how after the war, that, and many other subs were scuttled in a place called 'Deep Point 6' which some refer to as the 'Submarine Graveyard'. Apparently the Americans didn't want the technology falling into the hands of the Russians.

A great programme, that I am sure will be repeated, try checking History Channels website for more info.
I found this page for anyone interested in this sub http://www.pacerfarm.org/i-400/ contains links to models too

Jeff when watching a hollywood movie you need to remember the everlasting six shoot and the majic bullets form the Kenndy assination.Now if you watch closely you will see that a bullet that missed it target the first time,will turn around and hit its target the second time.As for the subs spydurmonkey try the squadron shop on line and greatmodels on line.Greatmodels still have kits that have been discontinued and have a large selection of ships to choose from.Digger

the kennedy assasinations was definitely a conspiracy

I did a little digging on the Steel Navy website. It seems there have been two kits of the I-400 on 1/700 scale. Aoshima did one some time ago, and there's a recent one from Skywave. The latter is a bit pricey (over $20.00), and I haven't seen it myself, but on the basis of the firm's other products I suspect it's a beautiful kit.

A sub on 1/700 scale is pretty small. On the other hand, this one was a pretty big sub. It would be an impressive model.

Combat Sub has an I-400 in 1/350 scale... I got mine at Pacific Front Hobbies. Beautiful. Some company I can't think of at the moment did a 1/150 scale I-400...underhull is horrid(made for R/C), but upperhull would make a nice large waterline kit. When i get home I'll post the name of the company...don't know if they are still being made...got mine on EBay.

I found a bunch of I-401 kits today, by Doyusha, going for 1,600 yen (about $15.25 USD). Not sure of the scale, but the box was about 15-20 inches long.

Tamiya indeed has a couple of Japanese subs in 1:700 waterline series of which one with plane. Have a look at the bottom of www.tamiya.com/english/waterline/destroyer.htm
It's not the I-400 yet it concerns the I-16 en I-58 in different versionsm, but still.

Cheers,
Jan Martin Wagenaar

I have a 1972 copy of "Plastic Modeler" that shows the "new" kits for 1972. Aurora was coming out with a 1/300 scale I/400 class boat. I'd check ebay. It looked ok and came with the plane and open hangar bay.

Scott

Now that my senile memory has been jogged I remember that Aurora kit. It was actually pretty good - one of the best (and last) ships Aurora did before going out of business.

I seem to recall a review of it in one of the hobby magazines. The reviewer's biggest criticism was that the box was so big relative to the contents. This was at a time (the early seventies) when the American kit manufacturers were using cutthroat tactics in an effort to compete in the discount and toy stores. In those days you could find a big assortment of models at K-Mart or Woolco. Wal-Mart didn't exist yet. And I remember shopping for models at a local toy store called (gag) Kiddie Corner, which carried a remarkably comprehensive assortment of Airfix aircraft kits. The bigger the box, the less space on the shelf for the competitor's products.

If I'm not mistaken, that same kit came out at least once under the Monogram label after Monogram bought the old Aurora molds. It's worth looking for - a nice kit at a nice size.