BrandonK

 

 

modelcrazy

Not very fast, maybe 5 to 7 kts. Taking her time.

 

 

Trolling is done slowly. If you look closely...

 

Hey, that looks like me on my old cutter.

Lol!

'A little faster helm, the captain wants to waterski!'

Things are now slowing down, do to the PE. The wood attached to the deck, PE added and touch-up painted. Next is many, many pages of deck detail including numerous 20mm Oerlikon and ammo boxes.

Steve: That looks great- love the camo! 

Btw: Is that tape over the anchor chains? Are you masking them? I can't tell from the photo and can't enlarge it. 

Hey Admiral, she is looking great!

Steve, that is far more detail than my kit will have and it is looking great.

BK

I keep coming to check in, Lots of nice work!

I'm thinking maybe I want to do another boat. I started with the USS Blueback maybe I should build her again.

SS-326, the original Blueback. Does anyone have a suggestions on a kit?

I would like to build something bigger than 1/700 scale. 

Since the Balao was very close to the Gato, can I use a Gato kit and update?

From my very limited research, It seems the major change was hull strength.

Any thoughts/sugestions/ideas?

Thanks

Mark

I keep coming to check in, Lots of nice work!

I'm thinking maybe I want to do another boat. I started with the USS Blueback maybe I should build her again.

SS-326, the original Blueback. Does anyone have a suggestions on a kit?

I would like to build something bigger than 1/700 scale. 

Since the Balao was very close to the Gato, can I use a Gato kit and update?

From my very limited research, It seems the major change was hull strength.

Any thoughts/sugestions/ideas?

Thanks

Mark

Externally, they were very close, the major difference was in pressure hull thickness.

The major difference was in the periscope shears and the structure for them as they came out of the fairwater.  The Gatos had a lot of bracing on the scope tubes, and the follow on class had 3 heavy tubular structures that the scopes went through.

SD and SJ radars also mounted a little differently as well, and even that could vary between boats, just as it did in the Gatos.

You can get a 1/144 Gato in a 1944 fit from Trumpter, (about 2 ft length), deck guns (4", 5" and 20mm's) from Shapeways.  They are beauties in themselves.  Might be able to get a Balao tower and shears there as well, but have not dug into looking.

A 1/350 would be just under 12 inches for a Gato/Balao.

Hello again folks, 

First off, sorry for being away for so long (work gets kinda hectic around Christmas, so I didn't have that much time for building), but now that I'm on holiday, I can finally get stuck into my build!

A little intro on the kit: 

The SS United States was first released by Revell in 1955(!) and has recently been re-released by Revell Germany. As you can see, the parts are fairly good-looking for a kit this old...

... but the molded-in detail (especially those railings!) really hasn't aged all that well. 

Therefore, I decided to replace the railings with photoetch items from Artwox. 

So far, I've cut off the old plastic ones and cleaned up the areas where they were using (a lot of) putty and sandpaper.

I've also removed the lifeboats and their davits, with my plan being to make new ones (the old ones are, let's say, incomplete...)

Well, that's all my progress so far, guys!

As my build continues, I plan to open up the portholes (the molded ones are shallow to the point of invisibility) and, as previously mentioned, add new davits and aftermarket railings to detail the kit a little more. 

Happy modelling (and apologies for such a long post), 

Terry

Nice work Terry , enjoying your build .

Sorry for the double post.

Thanks for the info! 1/350 would be ideal. 

Shapeways is a great idea.

I've visited the USS Bowfin and USS Pampanito so I have some reference photos.

Thanks guys,

Gam, the chain race is PE that came with the wood deck, as well as anchor chain which I'll install last.

Nice work Terry.

Mach, I agree with GH, the 1/350 should be a nice size. The 1/144 is quite large. Of course, you could be completly out of your mind and get a 1/72. LOL

How's yours comming along GH? 

Mach...AFV makes a couple of Gatos in 1/350, but are in the $30 range.  They do an early war and late war.  Different limber hole setups on them, and the late one has the cut down tower that you would want.Don't know what shapeways would have in the way of hardware in that scale....quick look at wiki says she had a 5"/25 cal, 40 and 20mm.

MC ..havent done much, been busy at work.  Still working on the PE shears and fairwater decking and trying to finish up last years SS GB.

So--here is how my boondoggle came out.

Plan A, because of all the intricate masking it entailed, I attempted to hand paint the decks instead. Well, that came out looking like total "CxxP." Option B was not an option at all. Plan B was to disassemble and paint strip, but I did too good a job gluing. So--that leaves plan C. I purchased a second kit and started over with those sections. Fortunately, the kit was only $21. Heck, I blow that amount on a good meal with grog. ARRR me mateys... 

With that said, what a pain this turned out be. Cleaning up, refitting, repainting, and reweathering all those parts was time consuming. Hence, why I hate do-overs. 

Basically, I am now back to the point where I had left off. Sigh...  Next I will reattempt to add PE railing. We shall see how that goes. After that, I may turn towards painting the hull. 

I did a little weathering via oil washes, but the camera does a bad job showing it. I should have imaged it in RAW, more detail would have come through. I will do that with future images, maybe the final reveal.

That's all for now and Merry Christmas everyone.

mach71

SS-326, the original Blueback. Does anyone have a suggestions on a kit?

I would like to build something bigger than 1/700 scale. 

Since the Balao was very close to the Gato, can I use a Gato kit and update?

From my very limited research, It seems the major change was hull strength.

 

Any thoughts/sugestions/ideas?

 

Thanks

 

Mark

 

 

Model Monkey has a replacement Balao style fairwater that is probably available on Shapeways.

As is true of all subs, no two are ever quite the same, and change over time through refits while in theatre.Those guys on the tenders were real steel butchers.

Good to see you back on her Steve . $21 you must be a light eater and drinker my friend .

steve5

Good to see you back on her Steve . $21 you must be a light eater and drinker my friend .

 

Yeah buddy, I am cheap. 

Well, that's good looking Steve. Too bad you had to resort to plan C 

Bakster: Ack that sucks! In any case nice work there with the turrets! 

modelcrazy

Well, that's good looking Steve. Too bad you had to resort to plan C 

 

Thanks Steve. Yeah I hear you about resorting. Big picture it's a minor thing, little picture it sucks. But hey, it's all part of the process and if I am gonna spend all this time working on a model, another $21 and more time is a minor sacrifice. What comes out of this is that I need to learn how to hand paint better. It always looks streaky, blotchy, thick, and inconsisent in every way. I have read that this is a common problem with acrylics. If I could hand-paint a finish that an AB produces, (is it possible?), it might take me a long way to maybe cut time and solve some vexing masking issues.

This could be a good segway to start a hand painting discussion. 

Gamera

Bakster: Ack that sucks! In any case nice work there with the turrets! 

 

Gamera

Bakster: Ack that sucks! In any case nice work there with the turrets! 

 

Thanks Cliff!

Merry Christmas everyone!

My regrets that I have not tuned in in a while. There is is certainly a lot of wonderful ship building that I need to get caught up on. Had to set the Oakland aside for the time being until I got past the majority of Holiday activities and obligations. Look to be getting back at it tomorrow. 

With that said, let me hand out some oohs and aahs.

Steve: Your Spruance is a remarkable work of art. Beautiful workmanship there. I'm enjoying the tutorial on creating your base. That there is yet another bridge I have yet to cross and your example is certainly an inspiration. Your NC is coming along very nicely also. Love your attention to detail and the superb paint work so far. Kudos Admiral!

Brandon: Looks like your on solid footing now with the Peleliu. Nice start on a very cool subject.

Terry: Your choice to build the SS United States is outstanding. Nice to see you get a good start on some ambitious corrective action. That will definitely make a huge difference in the overall build. 

Bakster: I am indeed sorry to hear that your initial attempts to salvage the original did not meet with your expectations. Yet, I am immensely encouraged that you did not throw in the towel and opted to have a go at another kit. I've been there done that. The work you have done so far on the turrets and superstructure is really top notch and looks great. You've got this my friend.

Here's to hoping I have some progress to post right directly.

Cheers All, Joe

Here is where I'm at with the Gato.  There are 6 pieces of PE in this pic.  Finally got the outer legs glued up, and working on the inner piece now.  Tedious when you have 10 big thumbs...

Have the raised section of this piece of deck cut off and the PE decking glued onboth ends.  This is the front gun platform and the cig. deck on the fairwater.

Thanks Joe,

GH, that PE looks great, 10 fat thumbs my foot.

Well, I received a 1/350 Oliver Hazard Perry from my Secret Santa so that goes on the bench. Since it's a gift it gets top priority LOL. Oh boy, 3 kits on the bench . I received a set of PE to go with it so, off we go.

Man, I'm going to be busy.

Very nice GH , neater than l could do mate .

Thanks guys...looks better in pics than in hand.  At least it's twice as big as the 1/144 I gave up on.

GH, that is some fine PE handiwork there. Well done and nice progress.

GH: Yeah that big hunk of PE with 6 different parts cemented together looks like a pain to me! Good work!!! 

Steve: The Perry looks cool, looking forward to you digging into her.