The official Submarine Warfare Group Build 2016 - 2017

Nice work there Tony.

I could not believe the size of the GATO when i saw one next to a Type VII, that thing is seriously big.

Yeah PJ I really want that 1/72 Gato but with its size.... I just can't justify something that big unless I give it away or sell it after.

I'm excited to see all the new goodies you've added to the hull. I'll bet that will really be a sweet build when you’re done. A real show winner! 

Gosh, the more pictures I find and the more research I do on this boat, the more details I find missing from the kit. I just added several grab handles and a bunch of tiny flood holes missing from the stern area along with 2 additional hatches totally missing from the kit. The two missing hatches look to be flush on the deck and may be for air circulation for the diesel motors.  

On a positive note the Shapeways 3"/50 main and 20mm guns are enroute to me so I'm very excited to see the actual details they have. If they are as good as they look on their site, I will be ordering  4"/50 main and single 40mm Bofors to make another Gato Class in 1/144 as a late war refit with the super low cut down fairwater and updated weapons setup. 

I have been keeping an eye out for the Revell 1/72 Gato which has some gorgeous detailed weapons but the darn thing is over 4 foot long! Very big taking lots of display room but very nice and detailed.

I'm interested in how you paint the bust since I'm so bad at figures. 

...and I've just primed the U-Boat.

Cheers

Tony

I sprayed the U-Boat captain today, this is the base coat, details, highlights and shades to come.

Cheers

Tony

PJ,

My latest conclusion is that the EB boats like Gato had the tight superstructure to hull joint, the government boats had the gap. I'll keep looking.

PJ, I sent a PM back, thanks,

I purchase 1/350 sailors from Shapeways on occasion. They are very detailed but the material is very brittle so be careful when cutting it.

Thanks Steve. Check your PMs I sent you one a week back.

I decided to go ahead and order some Oerlikons and a 3"/50 cal. main gun from Shapeways so let's see how that turns out. I have never used 3D printed details so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I just need to leave the shields off the two guns.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/N2C5W5JYK/oerlikon-depressed-mk4-base-usn-x-4-1-144?optionId=59947377

The main gun looks very detailed

https://www.shapeways.com/product/6A7AL96JP/3-inch-50-cal-1-144?optionId=59504941

GM

You mentioned that the stern should have a gap but I found this picture of the Gato and appears to be welded solid to the hull.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0821239.jpg

I copied the early Gato bottom drain hole pattern and used it to drill out the missing flood holes. These were easy to duplicate because the erly Gatos had plain circular drain holes. The later production ones had a mix of different shaped ones.

I finally completed all 368 holes that go along the deck lip. I actually drilled them out twice because the first time they were a bit small so I switched to a slightly larger bit.

Went to Hobby Lobby and got the pre routed base and wood finials. I think I have a plan for mounting it to the wood base. 

I hope I'm wrong but I think this guy from Nautilus is giving me the runaround. It's been a month and nothing. He has failed to answer two emails I have sent him asking for a status.

I might just pull the trigger on some 3D weapons from Shapeways. The computer illustrations look very tempting.

MC, please roster me in for both. I'm sure to finish at least one of them !

Cheers

Tony

That's great Tony, I'll put it back on the roster. I assume you still want the bust on the roster as well?

I'vwe had my Hobbyboss 1/350 Type IXB U-Boat back on the bench. Sorry guys, i had asked you to scratch this from the roster but it's found it's way back to the forefront. I've done a bit more construction.

Cheers

Tony

Thanks Steve

Hi MC,

That;s the first time I've seen your model sliding down the slipway. It's amazing. 

Cheers

Tony

That's a lot of work PJ. It will be a fine looking build when your done.

Well looks like the more I dig the more missing details I keep discovering missing from the model.

All the bottom drainholes are missing and need to be drilled out. I found the correct Early Gato pattern on the Nautilus site just like GM did. In the picture you can see the hull weld lines numbered where the flood holes will be marked and drilled out.

There is a line of small circular holes missing from the deck edge along the length of the boat. I made a template/jig and used a Sharpie to mark the the locations.

Used a piece of masking tape to keep the holes nice and stright 

The holes were drilled with a hand held pin vise, all 173 of them. The other side needs the same treatment. I also thinned the plastic where the flood holes are to make the thickness more to scale.  

The conning tower lookaout deck was finally trimmed to shape and still needs the railings and several other tiny pe parts.

goldhammer

PJ, take another look at the 8/43 pic I sent.  It shows a circular cig deck, but not sure if the dimensions are the same as the kit.  Also shows pipe railing on the front fairwater deck, and looks like cable on the cig deck aft, though some of what is seen is the antenna and insulators.

 

I zoomed 400% and looks like there is that circular section there so looks correct for the 43 re fit then. I was getting ready to slice them off then the little voice in my head said NO!!!. Verify first, wait for the book then check again. Thanks again GH!

PJ, take another look at the 8/43 pic I sent.  It shows a circular cig deck, but not sure if the dimensions are the same as the kit.  Also shows pipe railing on the front fairwater deck, and looks like cable on the cig deck aft, though some of what is seen is the antenna and insulators.

GMorrison

I will look for the cig deck detail for you also. The several photos I've looked at, Mod 2 in 1942, look to have stanchions and cables, not pipe railings, at the 20 mm up there.

 

Thanks GM!

I will look for the cig deck detail for you also. The several photos I've looked at, Mod 2 in 1942, look to have stanchions and cables, not pipe railings, at the 20 mm up there.

Funny about mentioning about the bottom flood holes as I was figuring out the same thing and was comparing the patterns from the Nautilus site.

Here I have the locations marked as per the Nautilus info.

Next will be the marking and drilling of the holes.

Here is the later cigarette deck circular extension added in the Sept. 44 re fit and not correct for my 43 version.

I need to carefully remove the sides and re form the brass railings to a tighter radius so that will be coming up soon. I'm waiting for my Gato Subs in Action book to arrive before I do any further surgery just to double check and be safe.

Yes the vent holes are strangely absent along the superstructure.

Nautilus sells a series of stencils for both the limber or vent holes up top along the bow and the superstructure for both EB and Naval shipyard patterns. 

And, the flood vents all along the bottom. Big round open holes.

For whatever reason the actual patterns are on their website. I printed them and reduced to scale.

GMorrison

PJ, funny you'd point that out. I am looking at the 1941 box art and it's not the same as the kit. The box painting shows her in Mod 2, with the fairwater around the cigarette deck removed and replaced with stanchions and rails, as well as stanchions and rails around the upper lookout. Which is bogus for the cigarette deck- Mod 2 had cables and stanchions.

But the kit is a straight Mod 1- the original high silhouette.

Such is life.

 

GM, looking at the picture you posted brings up a boo boo by Trumpeter.

There is another error to be corrected on the fairwater on mine. The cigarette deck is the correct one for the 1944 refit, having the enlarged circular extension for the Bofors gun but not correct for the 20mm.  The rest of the fairwater is the 1943 refit stile!

I need to remove the circular extension to have the correct stile for the 20mm mount. I also have to drill vent holes all along the deck edge.

GM posted this picture that shows Gato in the same time period that I'm modeling mine. As to the color, looks like she's black all over, Measure 9? 

PJ, funny you'd point that out. I am looking at the 1941 box art and it's not the same as the kit. The box painting shows her in Mod 2, with the fairwater around the cigarette deck removed and replaced with stanchions and rails, as well as stanchions and rails around the upper lookout. Which is bogus for the cigarette deck- Mod 2 had cables and stanchions.

But the kit is a straight Mod 1- the original high silhouette.

Such is life.

Ahh the joy of accuracy in model building sometimes will drive us nuts. As a side note, the Trumpeter box art for the '44 Gato is completely different to what's in the box. Even the artwork is wrong by having the incorrect limber holes, deck gun and periscope tower arrangement.

GM I think you will have an easier task doing yours than all the issues with mine.

Can't speak to the'41 kit, but the '44 has straight fairwater sides, rounded cig deck, and the back of the fairwater is a 90* angle where it drops to the cig deck. 

On the AFV 1/350's, one of them has the rounded cig deck, and one the more pointed MI version, but can' remember which one is which.  Also the limber holes are different in the two versions, reflecting the MI and EB versions.

GM,

Good eye. The 41 kit does look like an EB so for the Trigger, a MI boat it looks like all you need to do is change the fairing fore of the fairweather just a tad to more of an angle. Sure makes it hard when the builders added their own flare.

Fortunately when I was building the Puffer, I didn't worry too much about the supper detailing. She was still in production and so many things changed during her build that it's almost impossible to pin down exactly what was installed during her journey down the ways. But I went with what I could find.

Incase someone didn't get to see it.