Gato help

Looking forward to seeing the end result, friendly.

Thanks for the help guys. I think I'll go with the spirit of the movie and use an early Gato. I was thinking that it should have been a Gato as the movie starts right after Pearl Harbor and Balaos started in late 42 I think thats what it said online. I wanted this to be an quick easy something different build and not a exact copy of the movie sub.  Thanks again and once I figure out how to post pics I'll post some shots when shes in the pink.

Very good point, cthulhu77, you've got it right. If you want to do what appears in the movie, use Balao as a base.

BUT, if you want it historically accurate, you have to remember, that it's time line was early '42. In that case, you'd stay with the kit sail and early war armament. Or, possibly, even go for a pre-war sail, as on the Trumpeter Kit.

But, most of all, remember, this is your model. Do it your way. The rest of us are just kibitzing.

Mike K.

There are two schools of thought on this subject. If you want to build the version from the actual movie, you need a different sail, as the information above is correct, it was the Balao that was used for most of the pink scenes. (hey, that sounded wierd)

If you want to build the sub in the spirit of the film, go with an early Gato. Remember, all of the guns were removed !

That means you want post war pictures of these boats, before modernization. Balao would probably be best. Since the movie was made after the war.

 The kit conning tower won't get it. See Iron Bottom Sound and Nautilus for conning towers.

Mike K.

I believe that for all the "pink" scenes, the boat used was actually USS Balao (SS285).

Some of the other scenes featured USS Archerfish and Queenfish.