SPA Modeler

I've decided to jump on one of my Christmas haul kits; AFV Gato Class Submarine kit. The kit:




It comes with 3 sprue trees, PE fret, and decal sheet (a huge bonus to choose whichever sub number to do), and upper and lower hull halves.

Step 1 done...

Bottom hull inside tube done



Upper and lower hull together.



Length of submarine.

Excellent project! I love those 1/350 sub kits. They build up pretty rapidly, aside from the PE. Even then, they don’t have that much PE to fuss with. You’re off to a great start Tom.

Very cool! I've wanted to do a sub but I want to do a modern one.

Yeah, I think it's gonna be a fast build. Only 3 colors to use: Flat black, Brass, and Dark Grey. Easy enough for me.

I've been wanting to do the USS Nautilus (the first nuclear powered submarine) from my youth years. I also wanted to do the WW2 USS Nautilus but can't find one (or it doesn't exist)

There a lot of fiddly bits from here on forward. That much im nervous about snapping them off from the sprue or worse ... losing them into the vast nothingness. :bag

Forward deck and guide for main mast installed



From here on out, things gets harder. Framing to main mast - 3 parts the to deck. Deck area for main mast is 1 3/8 inch long.



I will be taking this real slow and careful. My goal is to get the bulky stuff installed to the submarine deck and get it ready for paint.

I haven't decided whether to have the forward fins up or down.

Main mast and 11 tiny anchor points glued on. I'm done for the night. A few more tiny pieces to go before paint on main deck.

Cool - love an occasional sub build!

Mike there's some great modern sub kits out there. My old builds long since gone

Looks like a fun project. Wouldn’t mind having a sub on my shelf actually….