DBMiller's 1938 S-Class Sub

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Jun 28, 2016 6:19 pm

Well, once again I'm trying a build.
Blue Water Navy's 1/350 scale 1938 US Navy S-Class Submarine. You can see by the ruler that these were not big subs!
This will be my first resin kit. Wish me luck.

Post by **rodrant** » Tue Jun 28, 2016 10:09 pm

Nice subject and cool entry !

Post by **pourquoi61** » Tue Jun 28, 2016 10:50 pm

What a beautiful subject to model. Very very nice sub.

Post by **rwsmith14** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 5:05 am

Have the same kit.. awesome detail !!!

Post by **gaz45** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 9:35 am

Very nice looking kt

Post by **DBMiller** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 2:19 pm

rwsmith14 wrote:Have the same kit.. awesome detail !!!

I should just leave it the way it is. The way I've been going this is the best it will look!

Post by **Lysus** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 1:57 am

Ooh, nice!

Post by **rwsmith14** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 4:51 pm

DBMiller wrote:
rwsmith14 wrote:Have the same kit.. awesome detail !!!
I should just leave it the way it is. The way I've been going this is the best it will look!

I look at mine from time to time and it looks too nice just sitting in the box to do anything to it

Post by **d6mst0** » Sat Jul 02, 2016 2:50 am

Great choice. Those S-class subs really had an effect on the IJN during the first half of the war.

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 4:01 pm

Continuing with the introduction to the kit and the boat.

So, here we go again!
Here are the instructions and kit parts. Not much to either, which is good for me!

That’s it. One page.

Here it is up close. These are some of the photo etch parts. The rest of them are not shown, only described. This should be fun. Not.

The kit:

Casting is pretty good! But, since this is my first resin kit I have nothing to compare.

The references:

I’ve loved WW2 U.S.N. submarines since I was a kid. Run Silent, Run Deep, movie and book, are favorites of mine. But, I’ve never built one in any scale! I have a kit and I have the references but no builds. Odd. If this goes well I'll get on that other kit!

Wow, that S-Boat is pretty small!

This is a PDF file I bought online. It has some good info about several subs, including the very kit I’m building.

Diagrams and photos of the real boat:

And, a bit of fun!

An "S" Class submarine featured in the 1930 comic strip Tailspin Tommy.
Tailspin Tommy and a Submarine
Hal Forrest is usually given credit for creating the very first aviation oriented cartoon strip, Tailspin Tommy. The Bell Syndicate jumped on the aviation bandwagon, following Lindbergh's 1927 flight, and hired Hal Forrest, an illustrator and a fledgling cartoonist, and Glenn Chaffin, a newspaper writer and press agent, to put together a comic strip which would have an aviation theme. The earliest date for publication of the first strip (number 1) of the daily comic has been established by correspondent Steve Hathaway as Monday, April 30, 1928.
Forrest has been described as an "indifferent" artist whose style centered more on airplanes than people. The two collaborated on the strip until the end of 1933 at which time Forrest bought out Chaffin's interest in the comic strip. Forrest did both the writing and drawing until 1936/37 when he hired an assistant, Reynold Brown (more about him later), who became a "ghost" artist, doing the actual inking of the strip over Forrest's pencil sketches, but his name never appeared on the strip. It is universally agreed that the strip's illustrations improved with Brown's renderings - particularly drawings of personages.
Shown below is one of the daily strips from 1930, number 688, which story features an adventure involving a submarine rescue, a far cry from the usual airplanes that are woven into the strips series.

And, not so fun:

Three survivors of the sinking of the USS S-26. The men, who were all on the bridge at the time of the ramming by the Anti-Submarine Patrol Craft PC-460 are, L to Right are Lt. Robert E. M. Ward, XO of the S-2; LCdr. Earle C. Hawk, Captain of the S-26 and on far right is Seaman Joe B. Hurst, lookout from the S-26. Between LCdr Hawk and Seaman Hurst is Captain T. J. Doyle who was in charge of the rescue operations. The men are looking at a buoy launched by the men still trapped in the submarine. The men were never rescued and remain entombed in the sunk submarine 301 feet deep.
LCdr Hawk went on to place the USS Pompon (267) in commission in March 1943 as her Commanding Officer. Lt Ward went on to eventually command Sailfish (SS 192). It is not known where Seaman Hurst went after the sinking. By all accounts he survived the war.
On 24 January 1942 PC-460 mistook submarine USS S-26 (SS-131) at night for a German U-boat. PC-460 rammed and sank her in the Gulf of Panama, with the loss of 46 men. Three men in S-26's conning tower survived - the captain, his executive officer and a look-out.

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 4:11 pm

Sorry about 2 posts in a row. It was easier for me to write them up this way.

One of the tips given in the PDF book was how to cut the resin. Use the back of a #11 blade and score the casting block until it comes free. It worked very well and didn’t produce any resin dust, only resin ‘curls’ that just fell to the desk. Very easy.
There is one thing noted in that same book. The deck forward of the gun emplacement bulge has another bulge, but only on the starboard side. This is a mistake. The author spotted it while looking up references for his build. In one photo here is a shadow cast by something on deck that makes it look like there is a bulge in the deck, so the company included it in the casting. Why a company like this missed such a thing is a mystery.
The author removed the mistake. I will not be doing the same! It would require removing resin and re-scribing detail and I just don’t have the will to try it out! Sorry.

And cleaned up, leaving only a few air bubbles to fill!

You can see the rogue bulge clearly in this shot.

Be back soon!

Post by **Lysus** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 4:46 pm

I've never done resin; it's nice to have such an up-close look. Keep it up!

YouTube · Post by **Skullfish** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 10:47 pm

yup, good subject and nice kit. good luck with the build.

i'm looking for info on Gato class US subs..you got anything?

Jase

Post by **InitialProduction1** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 1:19 am

That's really an awesome looking kit, and small, my eyes would have a heck of a time making that kit. Looking forward to your update.

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 1:50 pm

Skullfish wrote:yup, good subject and nice kit. good luck with the build.

i'm looking for info on Gato class US subs..you got anything?

Jase

One of the prettiest boats ever built! I only have those 3 books I showed at the start of this thread but info on the Gato is pretty easy to find. This has some nice photos: http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08212a.htm
And, if you have the 1/180 scale Revell 'Lionfish' kit, as I have, you can get upgrades from this company: http://nautilusmodels.com/. They sell upgrades for many other types of ship as well.

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 1:51 pm

InitialProduction1 wrote:That's really an awesome looking kit, and small, my eyes would have a heck of a time making that kit. Looking forward to your update.

Same here with the eyes! At least there aren't too many parts, and the hull is in one piece.
Update just about done. I just have to get the photos uploaded.

YouTube · Post by **Skullfish** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 2:49 pm

DBMiller wrote: One of the prettiest boats ever built! I only have those 3 books I showed at the start of this thread but info on the Gato is pretty easy to find. This has some nice photos: http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08212a.htm
And, if you have the 1/180 scale Revell 'Lionfish' kit, as I have, you can get upgrades from this company: http://nautilusmodels.com/. They sell upgrades for many other types of ship as well.

Thanks for that, I've got the trumpet 144th scale sitting, wanted some upgrades for it.

Jase.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 5:29 pm

Cool subject, you are up to it for sure
Will just hang out and enjoy

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 1:17 am

Thank you all for commenting!

I gave the resin a coat of red automotive primer from NAPA auto parts. It's a spray can paint and sprays beautifully, even on something this small. I also primed the photo etched parts.

After a break for hot and humid weather I hit it free hand with Tamiya Hull Red. That seemed to spray pretty well but just to be safe I let it set a few more days before masking.

Some masking for the upper deck grey. I mixed my own light grey from Tamiya paints: Medium Grey, Neutral Grey, and White.

Not the best masking job but the weathering will help hide it. Next up is the dark grey deck, the rest of the photo etch, and the metal bits!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 2:17 am

Oh I love that primer, haven't used it in ages!! Sands out nicely too
Keep plugging away, you are doing great!!

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 8:04 pm

Yes, I'm still here and working on this boat but it was close to or over 90 degrees for several days and very humid! We finally had a few hours where the humidity wasn't dripping off the walls so I put on some more paint and added a few parts.

Put on the dark gray upper surface, badly masked, as usual. Also added the main gun. Some photos, including the box art, show it light gray. Some show it black or gunmetal. I'll see what happens by the end.

I added the periscopes as best as I could. As I wrote before, there isn't any reference for most of the parts except the cover photo so I used my references and crossed my fingers!

I also added the bent photo etch bit forward of the periscopes. I don't know what it is except that the guide lines pass over it but I do know that my photo etch skills are non existent!

I almost added the diving planes but decided that they would get broken off half a dozen times before I was done. I'll wait.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 9:43 pm

Hard to do anything when it is so hot out...late night when it cools down perhaps
Good to see you got the mojo working back for you, sub is looking great

YouTube · Post by **NorthernModeller** » Wed Jul 27, 2016 12:33 am

Great work

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 3:07 pm

I'm asking for help from all of you in the British Isles.
See the little bit of photo etch I'm pointing to here?

There is supposed to be another one up front. I had a tweezers incident. As near as I can tell the part was last seen heading in your direction. If one of the carpet monsters over there disgorges it sometime would you be so kind as to let me know? Thank you.

After hours of searching (and I don't have a carpet!) I went on to something else. I gave the rails a go. Did I mention that I hate photo etch? Who ever invented it will spent the rest of eternity cleaning up attachment points, trying to get the parts to stay put while the glue sets, looking for lost bits, and trying to fix the parts he bent removing attachment points.

Did I mention that I knocked off the rudder again? For the third time! Oh well, I'm almost done. I just have to figure out how to make a part to match the one I lost. It's kind of important since the rigging attaches to it.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:03 pm

Your big toe will find it at about 2am on your way to the bathroom

STASH · Post by **Cymru** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:26 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote:Your big toe will find it at about 2am on your way to the bathroom

Ain't that the truth

Post by **gaz45** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 6:54 pm

That is some very nice work there mate

Post by **DBMiller** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 1:46 am

So, getting back to my disaster of a build. I never found the photo etch part that launched into orbit so I decided (after a break) to build a copy. Right.
I tried to use plastic card at first; thinking it would be easier to shape. That came out awful.

Next up was using some brass strip. I had some fine twist drill bits that were about the right size for the holes. I got one drilled and broke the bit. I can't find the other bit. Figures.
So, I went out today and bought a set of bits and a twist drill. I broke the first two bits I tried.
What is it with me?
I eventually got the holes drilled without breaking any more bits! I used a Dremel tool to shape the rest of the part. The holes are lopsided and the whole thing is a bit canted but I can live with it!

If it bugs me too much by the time I'm ready to rig the boat at least I know I can build another!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 2:14 am

You did great!!! That custom part is perfect
I break those little twist drills all the time.....some in my finger
Chin up man, you did good

YouTube · Post by **Skullfish** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 2:32 am

Brilliant carpet monster recovery!

you smashed that one in da face.

Jase

Post by **DBMiller** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 1:20 pm

Skullfish wrote:Brilliant carpet monster recovery! you smashed that one in da face.
Jase

Thank you both, but I don't know about 'brilliant'!
It kind of looks like

But it will do for now!

Post by **DBMiller** » Sun Aug 28, 2016 3:39 pm

Almost there! All that is left for parts are the 2 props and the rigging! After that comes the weathering and the base.

Up front, just behind the rebuilt rigging mast, is the hydroplane and guard. These were the last parts I put on and what a pain! They would not go on square in any direction and I lost the hydroplane three times! I can't believe I found it. After a bit of touch up paint I'm ready for the props (screws?).

I also repainted the deck gun dark gray. I liked it better and there are photos showing a dark gun.

Ready for cutting, bending to shape, and losing. I mean gluing.

I'm going to try this for rigging. It is fine enough to fit through the holes provided. With any luck (right) I will NOT pull off the parts I need to thread!

Post by **DBMiller** » Sun Aug 28, 2016 10:22 pm

Props are on! I have to touch up the paint that was damaged slightly when I bent the blades to shape. But those were the last parts!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Mon Aug 29, 2016 1:53 am

Good stuff man, that mojo is cooking along nicely

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 7:47 pm

Another quick update just to show I'm still on target!

A touch up of the hull then a coat of Aqua Gloss in prep for weathering and rigging!

I even have my plan for a base!

Post by **Lysus** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 9:16 pm

Looking really cool, man...

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Sep 13, 2016 10:58 pm

Oh so close!

Weathering done. I wasn't going to make it quite this dirty but I kind of like it after all. I'll clear coat this and add the rigging then it's on to the base.

Post by **DBMiller** » Sun Sep 18, 2016 10:55 pm

The rigging is mostly done, but, while I was looking at the photos of how the front and back lines attach I saw that the double lines are joined by insulators. It's not shown on the box top build or instructions but looks better. I tied the rigging line in little knots and put a drop of super glue to hold them in place. When that dries I will clip the knots closer.

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Sep 26, 2016 3:31 pm

Rigging finally done! I've cleaned up the loose ends since these were taken and the Boat is ready to show once the base is done. I also broke off one of the dive planes. Naturally.

What is this?

I'm trying for a museum display look with gravel surrounded by grass. I haven't done
too many 'diorama' bases so, as you can see, I'm having trouble deciding on the final look.

Keeping the grass and gravel separate is giving me fits but I'll get there.

Post by **Lysus** » Mon Sep 26, 2016 5:11 pm

Dude, the sub is looking sweet, but the museum idea...that's awesome.

Post by **digger303** » Tue Sep 27, 2016 12:39 am

Sub looks so good and now your gonna make it all rusted and dirty..

....