# USS Blueback build



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I'm wanting to build one, unfortunately the only kit is an obscure russian 1/350 kit or a large and expensive 1/96 RC kit.

A thought occurred to me that the Blueback and the Skipjack were both 1st gen teardrop hulls based on the USS Albacore. I decided to try and convert the Skipjack into the Blueback. 
The skipjack is larger but the proportions are very close.

Based on conversations on another forum I decided to start with the old Aurora kit from the '60s. Its been released many times. I found a 1990's Monogram release on ebay.

It's listed as 1/230 scale. That works out to very close to 1/200 for the Blueback. It's about 13 inches long.

The sail, tail, and limber vents will need to be reworked to convert her.

As research I visited the USS Blueback on public display in Portland OR.

Blueback:








Skipjack:


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Here is the kit.










The Skipjack, being an atomic sub so the kit comes with a reactor room and a hatch to show it. As the Blueback was diesel/electric it wont be used so the hatch will be glued in.










The hull fit is bad!



















I have to reshape the bow. The kit is too rounded.










Lots of sanding! All the surface detail had to be removed. It was all wrong.


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Took a tour of her back about a month or so ago, very tight fit.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I didn't go inside her, just a quick trip to get some photos. I'll go back when I have more time.

Working on the hull.



















Filling and sanding.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

The sub has a flat deck and flatish upper sides above the limber vents.

The kit does not have this. Everything is round. I decided to try to fix this. I used .010 sheet styrene for the top decking.










Then I cut some very thin sheet styrene for the sides and glued them at the top.










After it dried I glued the sides down with tenex.



















After letting thing set over night I took the tape off. 
Lots of glue to clean!


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Things are cleaning up well.



















Putty started.










and sanding.


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

If I remember right the Blueback is a movie star, she played the Dallas in Top Gun and or The Hunt For Red October.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Yup, She was the USS Dallas in "The Hunt for Red October"

I put a coat of primer on to see what areas still need work.



















A I suspected, the front and rear of the decking still need work. 

She is starting to look like a sub!


----------



## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

I like it! Nice "out of the box" thinking! :thumbsup:


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Thanks.

Some sanding and some diluted putty later...


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Sand, putty, repeat....

Getting close. I painted on some Tamiya surface prep/primer. It's drying now.
Hopefully after the next sanding session I can start final construction.


----------



## Hobby Dude (Aug 7, 2019)

Quick question, why are you removing the detail in the sub's hull? I see the Eagle in the back ground, its looking tight, Just curious bout the sub...


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Hobby Dude said:


> Quick question, why are you removing the detail in the sub's hull? I see the Eagle in the back ground, its looking tight, Just curious bout the sub...


It was way too heavy and incorrect, I think. The tie downs were basically just bumps.

I knew I had a lot of rework, blending, and sanding to add the deck and sides. Removing all of it just made sense.


I'll add either PE or shapeways tie downs and rope rings after I'm done all the modifications.


----------



## Hobby Dude (Aug 7, 2019)

Ah, I get it, you are going to re-create the bits you are sandin', got ya! Very creative! How about the Eagle, how that coming along?:nerd:


----------



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Man, that Skipjack kit is SO old. I remember getting it when I was a little kid.
A quick google says it came out in 1963. :O


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I really need to finish the eagle one of these days....
It's mostly built, just needs the landing pads and finish painting.

John, it's a very old kit! I probably built it as a kid and I'm 59. This version is from the mid '90s.

I think I remember playing with both the Skipjack and the Seaview in the pool a long time ago.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Work is keeping me busy. I found a bit of time last night and this morning to work on the Blueback.

I sanded the surface prep, Re painted a few spots, sanded again, polished her with a paper towel, and put another coat of primer on her. Polished again with a paper towel. I think it's finally ready.

There are a few very shallow imperfections but they should go away with another primer coat and paint.




























The big parts dry fit


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

A question out there for the sub guys. 

What color should the lower hull be? 

Flat red?

Red/brown?

Something eles?

Thanks

Mark


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Have you checked a web site called navsource?? They got images of almost ever vessel in the US Navy past nd present.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

I think it is closer to a maroon or wine color. Not really brown or an oxide.


https://www.reddit.com/r/WarshipPor...barbel_ss580_one_of_the_last_diesel_boats_in/


----------



## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

I'm kind of surprised to see the red on that sub if that picture was taken in 1988. I thought the navy switched in the 60s to a grey colored barnacle repellent.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

irishtrek said:


> Have you checked a web site called navsource?? They got images of almost ever vessel in the US Navy past nd present.



Thanks! great site, but not many color photos.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> I think it is closer to a maroon or wine color. Not really brown or an oxide.
> 
> 
> https://www.reddit.com/r/WarshipPor...barbel_ss580_one_of_the_last_diesel_boats_in/



Thanks! Perfect.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

MartyS said:


> I'm kind of surprised to see the red on that sub if that picture was taken in 1988. I thought the navy switched in the 60s to a grey colored barnacle repellent.



Yah, the photo of Dallas, really the Blueback emergency surfacing in "The Hunt for Red October" the whole forward hull is dark grey.


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

When I did the tour I didn't notice any red coloring below the waterline. Of course you could always contact OMSI and ask since they have a longer tour given by some former submariners.


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Hobby Dude said:


> Flat red...Goes with the period of vehicles back in the day...


Actually that should be insignia red I do believe.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

irishtrek said:


> Actually that should be insignia red I do believe.


Is there a tone/shade difference as a military color? :lurk5:


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> Is there a tone/shade difference as a military color? :lurk5:


I have no idea what you're asking, all I know is insignia red is a medium to dark red the US military uses for the lower hull color on Navy vessels and it's also the red used on the planes flown by the Thunderbirds. In fact it's also an MM color in 1/5 bottles.


----------



## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

The common name for it is "red lead", Pb3O4, it is toxic enough to preserve wood and prevent stuff from growing on any hull it's painted on.


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Hobby Dude said:


> Red bellies are found on old school, ww-1, and ww-2 vehicles, I just finished the Arizona, and I painted it to match the actual vehicle. Red bellies seem to have been the norm back in the day....https://youtu.be/lnehk99PApA


The newest aircraft carrier for the US Navy, the USS Gerald R Ford, has the hull below the waterline painted a dark red with a black band above it and grey above the black, so your comment about red bellies belies back in the day is inaccurate.


----------



## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

John P said:


> Man, that Skipjack kit is SO old. I remember getting it when I was a little kid.
> A quick google says it came out in 1963. :O


A local hobby store had dozens of Skipjacks and Dick Tracy Space Coupes for something like a buck each. I bought all I could and kitbashed all of them.

I made every sub I knew of, from fact and fantasy. Or approximations thereof.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

I carved out the vehicles and paint discussions to their own threads to give this one back to mach7 and his blueback build....

:cheers2:


----------



## Hobby Dude (Aug 7, 2019)

Dude, don't worry about it, take it away mach7, paint it any color you like, im sure it will look just fine....


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I've been away from home for 10 days. When I got back to my bench some of the putty had shrunk.
I've used the Vallejo plastic putty before with good results, I'm not sure why it shrunk this time.

Anyway I reputtyed and sanded. I'll try and get more primer on her tomorrow.

As of now my plan is to paint the whole boat semi matt black then mask and paint the bottom flat red.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Much work was done in the last 2 days, but the end result is I'm just a little farther along.

A few setbacks. While prepping for paint a hull seem opened up again. I glued it again and sanded it. I repaired a few other areas. Dropped her after painting on the rug, sanded off all the lint/dirt. repainted.

Finally I did something new! I made the diesel snorkle/exhaust.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Construction is complete except for the screw. That will stay off until painting is finished.





































And I hope the last coat of primer is on!


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Some paint 










I'm still looking for some decals. For the sail and the depth markings.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Red paint on:



















I have some left over tie downs from my Seaview PE set. I'll put those on.

I'm still trying to figure out the lower bow SONAR bubble.

And I'm waiting on some decals.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Looks good! :thumbsup:


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I've masked the periscopes and snorkel and put dots of Micro-mask on. When thats dry I'll hit it with some light grey.
Hopefully the Micro mask will come off easy. I've not had good luck with it in the past. This should make the camo look.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

I have heard of Duck Tape, but not Sub Tape....


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

On airplanes we use Speed tape. I'm guessing the sub uses FlexTape! :grin2:

I de-taped the sub. Oddly the micro mask had disappeared.

I went old school and used a micro brush and some flat black.


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Looks good.:thumbsup:
By the way a bit of trivia, did you know the USS GEORE WASHINTON started out as a SKIPJACK class sub???


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

No, I did not. Thanks.

I always thought the GW was a boomer, not an attack.

From Wikipedia:

George Washington was originally laid down as the attack submarine USS Scorpion (SSN-589). During construction, she was lengthened by the insertion of a 130 ft (40 m)-long ballistic missile section and renamed George Washington; another submarine under construction at the time received the original name and hull number. Inside George Washington's forward escape hatch, a plaque remained bearing her original name. Because the ballistic missile compartment design of George Washington was intended to be reused in later ship classes, the section inserted into George Washington was designed with a deeper test depth rating than the rest of the submarine.



Cool! thanks for the info.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

The decals came in from China. I ended up using just the hull numbers.

I used the depth markings from the Skipjack kit. That kit is 1/230, the Blueback is 1/200 so they are off a bit.


The decals from China behave slightly odd. They lift off almost immediately in water and they are very stiff. Micro sol/set do not seem to do much. 




















Edit:

Hmmm, looks like I'll have to try and reposition the port side sail numbers.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I think I'm happy with the diesel snorkel caps. I'll paint them and see.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I think I'll call this done. I might replace the stand later.


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Thanks for sharing the build! :thumbsup:


----------

