Newbie no more - Building the Revell 1/72 Gato

[trout]

What an impressive model!
The blue resin castings (upper left) are the Gato D&E Fittings Package from http://www.caswellplating.com/models/gato.html
First impressions of the Gato: Big, not too big, but decent. There are a lot of nice touches and details. Included are your mission papers with a code to see Charles Stewart share some his experiences aboard the USS Cobia in WWII.


The amount of detail LOOKS good and for the most part relatively accurate. Compare the edge of the bow on the left to the flood ports. They thinned it out for me!
Nice touch.


Time to get clipping. I trimmed the sprue trees to remove major parts, protect the delicate ones and group into areas of building. That way I am not hunting for parts as much.
There are a bunch of pins for bow, hull, and stern alignment. I put these in a 35mm film canister.



Speaking of delicate, look at this railing. Nice detail.


Created a tent to protect it. Tempted to build this in brass. Any of you that have built this, how has the plastic survived the years?

This radar reflector looks O.K. from the front......


but from the side or back it is too thick. I might have to detail this out.

A majority of the larger pieces were easy to identify, but the bulkheads were too close in shape and to prevent a mistake, I placed the part numbers on them. Once installed a coat of paint on the inside will cover the writing.


Trimming the parts took some time, the more delicate items were left on the sprue, but trimmed to group by like kind.
Speaking of sprues, I keep several just in case I need to plug a hole or using heat from a candle, stretch a sprue out to create an antennae or railing.
Time to watch one or two of the DVDs and see what might be the next step. The bow is aching to have the doors cut out for D&E torpedoes....Would it make sense to cut them out now and worry about purchasing them later? I would assume it is easier to remove now before the halves are put together, but have Dremel and blade, nothing can stop me from hacking at it later :-)

[trout]

@Chris - your work is an inspiration.
@jlday1256 - Thank you!
@David - Ahhh, my first kick in the pants. Whining stopped.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Just build the damned thing and stop whining!

David

[jlday1256]

Good luck...be strong

[oztruck]

Go for it TOM, Hay if the only thing you do is follow the instructions on the DVD's you will have a winner.

Take your time, take lots of photos, and NEVER be afraid to ask for advice or help.

Look forward to your posts.

Cheers Chris,

[trout]

I am making the plunge....I am entering the build contest. My goals are simple, 1) complete the submarine and 2) complete the submarine.


I do not think I will dazzle you with any techniques or super detailing, it is too easy for me to chase rabbit trails and get boggled down in the details. I have read so many posts that my eyes are crossed, but I did see some trends....many start, a lot do not finish. I will follow the directions of people that have built submarines that work, including 5 DVDs of instruction by the wizard, posts from others, and help from you as I go. This build will come from the perspective of one who is building his first submarine - Revell 1/72 Gato.


Welcome brothers to my 12 step accountability group - you.


Normally I try to have everything in hand before I build, but this time I do not. I am saving up and selling off old models. I need to purchase the innards (D&E Sub driver for the Gato, ESC, Angle Driver, and TX, RX). I have an old Futaba 4 channel, but I need to get that converted to the new ground frequencies - I will need more than 4 channels for the Gato. So, Later AFTER I BUILD MY SUB, I will convert it and build a sub for my boy to play with. He may want to help with this build (does a 7 year old disqualify me in the build contest if he helps?)


Nervous, me? It has been 15 years since I last built a model. Maybe I will post some photos of work I have done, but in the meantime I pray it is like a bike - once you know how you do not forget.


Certainly I am open to suggestions and input. In the next day or two I will post photos. Every build of the Gato that I have seen have some of the same shots - I may not be any different, but then again - mine might be. I went to my friend Joey at HobbyTown here in Las Vegas. He remembers me and was excited to see me get back into building. When I mentioned what I was building he was genuinely interested, maybe I can get some others interested in this wonderful hobby. Who knows... One step at a time.

Peace,
Tom