I'm a bit of a latecomer to this one, having had to endure a forced layoff from modelling, but I'm catching up.
I've built Revell Germany's Gato class as USS Flasher, one of 5 options given for the European release, straight from the box and I have to say I'm impressed.
As I've worked through it, however, I've noticed a few small items that no-one appears to have mentioned in any of the reviews I've read.
As has been said, these vessels were in a constant state of flux, in terms of their fittings, but in all of the (very few) photo's I've come across in researching Flasher, the deck fittings for the 1944-45 period given for this variation seem to show a good number of differences in the routing and support of the various antenna cables, with a similar set up on the foredeck to that included for the aft deck in the kit.
I've also noted that, as configured in Revell's offering, the 40mm on the cigarette deck cannot rotate without the platform coming into cantact with the railings. I compared this with photo's of Flasher's conning tower (sail) as displayed at Groton, CT. and can quite clearly see that the railings have been adapted to allow rotation of the gun platform. It is also clearly apparent that the cigarette deck has been extended radially in an arc, creating a circle of deck around the gun. The kit would seem to display the cigarette deck configuration as it would have been when the Gato class boats had a second 20mm fitted aft, or when the 40mm was fitted foreward with a single 20mm fitted.
It is also clear in these pictures that there is a broom attached to one of the antennas on the masthead, as done to indicate a clean sweep by a returning submarine. I realised then that the curiously broom shaped antenna head included by Revell is actually a representation of this broom and not an antenna at all! Why they've managed to include this small and transient detail as a permanent part of the masthead array, whilst completely missing the widened section of the cigarette deck is something of a bewilderment.
Another omission is the four exhaust outlets through the aft casing, which given the overall level of detail, is surprising.
If I build another of these, I may well correct these shortcomings and inaccuracies, the shape of the cigarette deck and it railings being the most challenging, but for this one, I am happy to let it slide and just get to grips with this impressive kit and its grand paint scheme.
Incidentally, for those who have mentioned it, the underside is anti-fouling black, which is a semi-gloss or satin, whilst the top sides and decks are a very dark grey (gray) for which Revell Germany's "Anthracite" is a good match, as is RLM 66 black-grey.