Okay,Here we go! The Revell 1/72 Gato is a kit i've wanted to build for years and now I'm finally build it! I'm not building it out of the box, I'm going to rivet and oilcan the whole ship as well as drilling out all the flood vents on the bottom as well as PE and a wood deck. I will start the build in about a week as I have not yet received the kit. I have started this blog early so if anyone has any tips and tricks or things to watch out for on the kit they would be appreciated. My only problem with it is so far is i'll need a bigger workbench....
And as always gonna start the build with some AC/DC!
I will be following your blog, I had great fun building mine, good luck oh, that weird antenna on the conning tower is actually a broom i found out too late
I will be following your blog, I had great fun building mine, good luck oh, that weird antenna on the conning tower is actually a broom i found out too late
Cool Mat thanks for following along! Ive seen your Gato build, and I must say it looks amazing! I'll be happy if mine comes out looking half as good!
Posted: Tuesday, September 08, 2020 - 07:32 AM UTC
Here we go lets start the build! The parts are very nicely molded with only a little flash, but the wood deck and PE parts really bring it up to the next level. I think ill start the the build with the 40mm Bofor.
And here it is with the main hull dry fit. ( It was bigger then i thought )
Posted: Wednesday, September 09, 2020 - 03:16 PM UTC
Ezra: Any particular reason you chose COBIA over many of the other more famous boats?
If I ever do that kit, which of course, due to its size, would cause me to build another room on my house, I believe I would do DRUM, which for many years was the Naval Reserve trainer in my home town of Washington, D.C. Not only that, I would do it with the TV antenna that she sported in her conning tower, in the name of complete accuracy of course.
Try and get Alden's "Fleet Submarines of the U S Navy" as a reference source for your build. Should be available from your local library. You will find it invaluable.
Posted: Thursday, September 10, 2020 - 09:54 AM UTC
Quoted Text
Ezra: Any particular reason you chose COBIA over many of the other more famous boats?If I ever do that kit, which of course, due to its size, would cause me to build another room on my house, I believe I would do DRUM Try and get Alden's "Fleet Submarines of the U S Navy" as a reference source for your build.
I was originally going to build the Drum, but I realized the Drum is significantly different from the Gato in the kit. ( It has a different limber hole pattern and the deck gun is different.) There's not really a reason i picked the Cobia. As for the size.... well lets just say im not sure where i'll live when i finish it... well hindsight's 20/20 I guess Whenever my local library opens back up all be sure to look for that book. ( Truth of consequences in still in part lockdown.)
Ezra: Part of those differences between Cobia and Drum are because they were built to slightly different sets of plans. Cobia, as was Gato your starting prototype, was built to Electric Boat plans while Drum was built according to plans from the Portsmouth, NH Navy Yard plans. The differences are many but slight, still you want to make your boat an accurate representation of the prototype.
I am old enough to remember when Hot Springs became Truth or Consequences, just as I am old enough to remember that TV antenna on Drum's conning tower.
Here we go! The hull is fully built, sanded and primed! Next I will start drilling out the flood vents and applying the deck PE.
The wooden deck detail in the kit is almost good enough to not use the wood deck in the kit. ( I will still be using the wood deck.) And the rest of the deck is very nice the only thing i will do is deepen the holes a little more.
If they demand your loyalty, give them integrity; if they demand integrity, give them your loyalty.--Col John Boyd, USAF
“Any plan where you lose your hat is a bad plan.”
Panzer_Modeler
New Mexico, United States Member Since: May 19, 2020
entire network: 419 Posts
KitMaker Network: 14 Posts
I had no interest in this model until you showed us what it can become. Now I want one! And the Lindberg 1/72 I-53.)
Those flak guns look amazing.
Thanks Fred, oh ya the I-53 looks like a cool kit! If this kit comes out ok im thinking of doing some more 1/72 subs so this is definitely on my build list!
Posted: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 - 07:37 AM UTC
Here we go, the fairwater is fully built and some minor filling and sanding done. It still needs a little more sanding but its almost there. The PE in the kit was a little thick but useable, and the wood deck i think looks very nice.
I also removed the fictional doors from the fairwater sides. They still need a little cleanup.