Size of 1/700 Subs?

The Kilo is a dinky little sub, only about  240 feet long (LOA).   In 1:700 scale thats just a hair over 4 inches (LOA).

The HobbyBoss kit is nice but very simplistic.

The HobbyBoss Seawolf is about 6 inches (LOA) and the Carter about 7.5  inches  (exact measurements are at home).  Both are better (IMO) than the Kilo.  

Thanks! It was the HobbyBoss kits I was talking about, sorry I didn't mention that. Could the Kilo be improved at all with scratchbuilding, or is it better to just get the Seawolf or Carter?

There just isn't much you can do with the Kilo.  Likewise the Seawolf & Carter.  At least their propulsors can be cleaned up with a file and made to look more functional.  I knocked them out in a day - even allowing for the paint & decals to dry.

Are you committed to small scale?  The November by Zveda [sp] in 1:350 scale is pretty good and is more substantial.     The Mirage U-Boats in 1:400 scale are nice - and when paired with their etched sets can be spectacular.   I picked up a AFV Club Type XXI U-boat in 1:350 last weekend.  It is nice too.   Then you have the Special Navy 1:72 scale Type XXIII U-boat or one of the big Revell kits.

A nice small, large-scale kit is the Italieri SLC "Pig" manned torpedo in 1:35 scale.  It qualifies as a submarine.   It is about 8 inches long

If you want to go small & detailed get the Tamiya (ex Skywave/PitRoad) Gato sub in 1:700 and pair it with the Loose Cannon corrected conning tower and Toms Modelworks PE.   That makes into a nice piece of work 

Thanks...I'm looking for something cheaper, which is why I mentioned the Kilo ($5.39 from Squadron) But now that you said the S.L.C 200 from Italeri is 8 inches long (and it comes with P/E, a photographic reference book, and other goodies), and I've been wanting to build it, I think I'll probably do that.

The basic problems with subs in that scale is ... subs are, by nature, quite plainly finished. And 1/700 defines small (Forget 1/1200, etc., I'm not gonna go there!) ... so you end up with a rather smooth-looking rectangle with pointy ends. I was kind of excited when I found a Tamiya I-58 (late version) marked down to $3 at the local hobby shop, until I got it home and opened the box and realized how little detail there really was.

The extra money for larger scale is worth it... I just got a parcel containing a lot of 1:700 subs I got from ebay (I know I know....)... 12$ for 7 subs.... not bad! except... they are almost unbuildable except as toys... 3-4" max (ARII is the maker, all subs are cold war types), very simple..and 12 pieces each (I counted each aleron separate!). Was hoping to use them for the Sub GB but maybe not... anyways, subs are simple enough as they are (unless you open the hull and show internal structures), 1:700 there are just (small) grey cigars... no need to go 72 scale, but higher than 700 for sure! My itty 2c worth....

Yea, that's why i went for the 1/144 Trumpeter Kilo-Class..

Mirage Hobby from Poland has a ton of differnt U boats in 1:400 scale; revell/germany 1:144 and 1:125 U boats; trumpeter has U boats, gato and your kilo in 1:144; Yankee Modelworks has very expensive detailed 1:350; Zvezda Models has some cold war 1:350; Verlinder has 1:35 minisubs

Next time Ill do my research BEFORE I go into Ebay lol

 

 

Cool, I'm gonna go look at those Verlinden mini-subs...