# 1/72 Gato - USS Cod Build



## Robert Hargrave

I've begun work on my revell 1/72 scale Gato Class Submarine. After looking at the 4 choices they say can be build from this kit, I have decided to go another route and using my book from the Oxford Press on the USS Cod. I assembled the center section of the hull yesterday, and that was a fun project the upper section and bow and stern areas of the central hull fit together very well. But during the forming process the keel area developed a bow, and when the two sections were fitted together the keel had a 1/2 inch gap in the center. I attached 4 layers of masking tape to the side of the hull and using a large C-clamp and 2 smaller C-clamps I cemented the hull and pressed the two sections together, using the clamps to compress the area with the gap, and a couple of spots along the top of the hull.
Today I started on the bow, and was about to cement the two sections together when I realized a piece was missing, I located the part and decided to check my book on the cod. After looking over photos of the Cod's bow I discovered I have a bunch of modifications to do before cementing the two sections together, there are numerous drain holes to be drilled just behind and above the torpedo tube doors. There are also going to be several changes to the conning tower and the periscope housings, the radar mast has to be moved to the rear where the radio mast is, the radio mast get moved to the rear gun deck, and all the forward and rear storage lockers mounted in the conning tower have to be flipped to the opposite ends to match the Cod. Photos later, the fun has begun.


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## Robert Hargrave

Tonight I did some work on the first half of the bow, using photos from the USS Cod book, I marked and drilled flood holes along the top of the torpedo tube outer doors, then directly behind all three outer door panels. The cast flood holes along side the forward buoyancy tank I also drilled these out. I have some baffles to build and attach between the limber holes in the area above the buoyancy tank and when both sides are finished this section will be ready to attach to the main hull.


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## Robert Hargrave

Here are the photos I keep mentioning 
In the first photo this is the center section of the hull for the USS COD after it was cemented together, with large C-clamps used to press the joints that had gapped open together, I placed several strips in the spots where the clamps were positioned to prevent them from damaging the hull.

http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/9146/cod1ec0.jpg

The second photo shows the two bow sections, the one on the left is the original look, the section on the right I have added flood holes across the top of the torpedo tube outer doors and just behind the doors. Looking at the photo here the flood holes behind the outer doors do not show up very well but there are 76 holes they are spaced 4 across and 8 rows down on the first door and 7 rows down on the other two doors.

http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/134/cod2tn7.jpg


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## rokket2001

Robert -

This is fantastic! You are breaking new ground on this model for the rest of us. The phots show some great work, and a lot of serious clamping!

I have produced some PE for the Revell VIIC, and am looiking at what will be needed for the Gato - do you think brass drill templates would have helped with the extra holes?

Also, if you don't mind, would like to link to this post fropm my Gato forum:
http://p104.ezboard.com/brevellgatosub

Keep up the great work! :thumbsup:


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## Steve244

Ahhhh pictures! I see you got out the industrial 'C' clamps for this project.


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## Robert Hargrave

Steve244 said:


> Ahhhh pictures! I see you got out the industrial 'C' clamps for this project.


Yeah it was either use the C-clamps or sit on the hull to close the gap in the keel, and I had other things I needed to get done. 
The bow has been attached to the main hull, and it went into place very well. Flood holes are being drilled in the stern along the upper deck center line along with the ones around the torpedo tubes. Other than that not a lot out of the normal going on with the kit, the big changes will be when I get to the bridge and a couple of small modifications to the upper deck. Oh yeah one other change to the main hull, I do not have any information on the underwater sound heads that can be retracted into the hull as to their correct size, so I'm just going to wing it there, I know their general location and I'm going to scratch build a set and mount then into 2 recessed wells in the bottom of the hull. Last point this is a model that I want to look like the USS Cod, The paint job I've chosen may not have ever been on the Cod but I like the look and have seen drawings of this paint scheme, it will be Light Ghost Gray top with red belly and White camo misting along the sides. I do not really care for the Black and Grey camo colors. More later...


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## StarshipClass

Great work! It's nice to see an in-progress build of this model. :thumbsup: 

In the photos, please point out the modifications you make for the customization of the boat to the _USS Cod._


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## Robert Hargrave

The work compleated last night was sanding the joint lines down along the keel and top joint seams, had a couple of arear where the plastic pieces were a little out of alignment, and rather than spread a bunch of putty, I shaved off the raised areas with some 240 grit sand paper attached to a balsa block with double sided tape. After I smoothed out the areas I went back with some 360 grit sand paper and smoothed out the rough plastic. Here's a shot of all the main hull sections joined together.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/5384/cod3jt9.jpg

For anyone wanting to do the flod holes n the nose area by the torpedo doors the measurements I came up with are 4 holes across set .050 apart by 7 holes down also set .050 apart. I used a #74 drill bit for these holes and the ones in the torpedo door are set .080 apart and also drilled with a #74 bit.
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4018/cod4yf3.jpg

The flood holes above the rear torpedo tube openings are along the seam line and are set at .080 apart and again done with a #74 drill bit. 
http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/8756/cod5rr0.jpg


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## StarshipClass

Amazing work! Looking great!


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## Steve244

yer gonna need a bigger bench.


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## Robert Hargrave

Steve244 said:


> yer gonna need a bigger bench.


Yeah the cleaning lady only comes on thursdays, and she seee my work bench and just starts laughing


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## Robert Hargrave

*Sound Heads and hull seams*

After digging through the "Nav-source web site" I located some drawings of exploded views of the different interior components of the Gato style submarine, like hydraulic line placement through the vessel, ballast tank locations, fuel oil tank locations. Any way digging through these many different drawings there were some good views of the Underwater Sound Equipment that gave me a general idea of how the units looked. Using those as my guide I dug through my odds and ends box, and I used a 1/4 inch wooden balls for the sound head, and 4 sizes of styrene tube to form the housing inside the hull of the ship, and the support arms that extend the unit from inside the hull. The last task was bending a strip of styrene to make the straps that hold the sound head to the support arms. My last project for today was to start applying putty around the openings I drilled for mounting the Sound Heads to the hull. then I started filling in the two joint lines where the bow and stern attach to the main hull. Photos to follow when the areas are completed.


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## Robert Hargrave

The newest photo shows the two forward sound heads as they will be mounted on the finished project, hanging down as the boat patrols enemy waters, with the sound man constantly listening on his head phones for the sound of propellers turning in the water Thump - thump - thump. The finished sound heads look very close to the drawings I found, with the mounting strap across the top of the balls, the tapered shaft. The mounting hole is a little small and the heads could not be retracted into it like the real ones because the ball with the strap is slightly wider than the hole. But it is there just as a representation of how the real ones looked. 
Work on the bow and stern joint lines is going very slowly, I ran two strips of masking tape on each side of the joint, then applied auto body putty to fill in the gap. After the putty was dry I removed the masking tape, and using a block of balsa wood with double stick tape applied to one side as a sanding block. I started to carefully sand away the putty, along the main area of the joint this works very well but up along side the cast on wield lines you have to be very careful, just get up to the line and stop. For removing the putty from along the wield lines I used the side of an X-acto blade, just lightly scraping it across the area removing a small amount of putty with each pass. With the balsa block method of sanding you cannot wet sand the area, so you have to keep wiping off the sand paper strip (which I do with an old tooth brush) and dusting off the area being sanded (there I use an old shaving brush) to keep the sand paper from gumming up. For the main sanding and to cut through the putty quickly I'm using 240 grit sand paper, this means I'll have to go back and smooth the areas with 360 grit paper later before I go to paint.

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9681/cod6cy2.jpg


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## rokket2001

Beautiful, beautiful stuff!


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## Robert Hargrave

My seam work along the joint lines at the bow and stern is finished, it leaves a little to be desired but I'm stopping at a point where it will pass the two foot rule. I'm stopping before I damage the cast on weld lines. I came up with a solution (of course after I had most of the putty work done), my solution is you could sand away the weld lines and when finished smoothing the joint lines, then cut pieces of .006 (maybe smaller) brass wire and cement them into place replacing any damaged or areas of weld lines removed on purpose. I've used that trick on Ho-Scale locomotives for adding the weld line across the top of the cab and around the fuel tank. Tonight I plan to start attaching the side panels that support the upper deck work along the bow area, also I want to tear into the forward escape trunk above the torpedo room. Revell did an okay job making it look close to the real one, but the hatch that allows entry into the torpedo room by the stairway from the upper deck in the side of the cylinder is to small. I'm going to open up the hatch and add a few details along the walls of the interior of the cylinder you can see into when viewing through the deck access way above.


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## Capt. Krik

Thanks for the pics, Robert. I just picked up the Gato this morning. I'm going to be following your progress on this build up.


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## Robert Hargrave

when I went to begin working on the forward torpedo room escape trunk, I had high hopes of adding some nice interior details to make it stand out. The attached photo will show I took the supplied part, drilled out the cast on hatch and using a curved hobby file. I widened the opening, then made the hatch taller by moving the top up slightly and the bottom of the hatchway almost to the deck, like the photos in the USS Cod book shows. I used a piece of .010 X .060 styrene strip to form a new hatch ring around the modified hatch opening, after setting the escape trunk in place I cemented the the side panels to the main hull, then attached the upper deck with masking tape to hold the side panels in place while they dried. Looking through the stairwell opening at the new hatch, I very quickly saw any added details inside the escape trunk would never be seen, no matter which way I turned the hull you cannot see any further that the now open hatchway. So much for that great idea, but the escape trunk hatchway really stands out now. It was a good idea, now all I have to do is build the new hatch....

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/544/cod7fw6.jpg


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## Robert Hargrave

At the beginning of this project I mentioned how I wanted to paint this boat with the gray upper body and white mist streaks, and a red underbody. This morning I went back through the navsource.org web site, because I remember seeing a line drawing somewhere in there of a submarine with this paint scheme. On the web site this coloring is noted as "Ms9" paint scheme, used around 1943. Attached is a photo of one of the Revell Loinfish 1/200 scale Gato submarine models I built a year or two ago and used this color combination on, I made several modification to this kit again using photos from nav-source as my guide. All the railings are made from brass wire super glued in place, and the bridge was cut down to a war time configuration, but because of the scale of the kit I couldn't upgrade the periscope, radar and radio housings the way I would have liked to. Another reason I have been awaiting the release of the great kit. 

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7973/cod8bn1.jpg


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## rokket2001

Robert, love the esacpe trunk, very, very nice. The detail - well, you tried! I admire that extra-extra-extra-effort! And again, it's coming along beautifully.


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## Robert Hargrave

Trying to divide my time between this project, and building a small Ho-scale switching layout in my garage, slows things down at times. Just installed a display shelf in the craft room to hold this monster and store it during the build process. Work is continuing on the hull and upper deck, This part of the ship is basically the same on all the boats, I'll just be adding a few extra details Revell may have left off. I'm also preparing to start making numerous modification to the conning tower to convert it to the war time configuration of the USS COD. As for the decals needed for the COD there are enough numbers on the decal sheet provided by Revell to piece together a set of numbers. For the emblem a skull with a torpedo through the forehead, I'm going to take a digital photo of the war flag and emblem from the USS COD book and see if I can convert that into a decal sheet for the display stand, and a set for the conning tower as I've seen when the ship is in port for refit, or re-supplying displaying their kills and damaged ship scores. As with the rest of the project when I complete a job or make a change photos will follow with information on the how it was done.


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## Robert Hargrave

In the first photo you see the support structure that holds the periscopes, radar masts and lookout positions. On the sides of each of the six legs marked (A) on the photo I cut away all of the fins there, I used side cut pliers, then to sand the sides smooth I used a block of balsa wood with double stick tape attached to it. When the leg is pressed onto the tape the pressure of the file and the adhesive hold the leg in place. To make these legs look like I-beams I attached .015 X .060 Styrene strips at (B) after the support structure is installed on the bridge then I'll add the strips at (D). The next thing to do is cut away the extension at (C) just in front of the mounting hole for the periscope, if your building the COD.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5920/codbsp9.jpg

Photo two is a full bridge drawing, the red line just below the running light arm that is the cut line for lowering the bridge side walls and across the front of the bridge. The hatch at (C) will need to be lowered for the modification to be done to the front of the bridge to build the curved edge and wave baffle. The light at (A) needs to be cut away and moved to (B). All the hatch structures with the black lines running to them do not install they must be removed a couple with be added but in a different location, and some must be swapped from the forward area to the rear of the bridge housing, more on hat later.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/5194/codcsm1.jpg

Here is a photo of the work started.

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/5100/cod9vn5.jpg


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## StarshipClass

^^Impressive! It's already starting to look a lot like your diagrams indicate it should.


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## Robert Hargrave

The superstructure has been cut down, to a war time shape. The raised area on the forward bulkhead for the hatch in front of the bridge has been sanded smooth. This hatch has to be lowered to make room for the new contoured edge along the front of the bridge. The biggest and most time consuming part of this change over is going to be the removal of all the raised lips where storage hatches are to be attached, many of these hatches are not in the right locations for the COD, or where a large hatch is located a small hatch is needed. The removal of these raised areas will result in the loss of some of the rivet lines in some sections of the hull. In the photo the new look of the bridge really stands out now after cutting down all the bridge panels.

http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/8277/cod10ik8.jpg


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## rokket2001

Robert,

Fine work, looking very, very nice.


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## Robert Hargrave

More destruction and mayhem on the bridge of the USS COD. Last night I took a fish-tailed router and starting in the center of each of the storage tubes cast on the port side of the hull, I drilled through and slowly cut away the raised areas until all I had left was a very thin lip of the outer edge. I then took a round hobby file and removed more material until the lip was almost translucent, then I used an X-acto knife to carefully cut away this lip from the hull. the front and rear storage tube mounting nubs were all sanded smooth, as most of these have to be swapped from one end to the other. On the starboard side I removed all of the storage tubes, except the one to the left of the hatch, this tube isn't in the correct spot but it is close enough it will do. next I cemented strips of styrene behind each of the openings, and will rough cut some other pieces and cement them into the openings to fill in the voids. Then body putty will be applied to fill any gaps.
Up on the bridge I cut away the raised platform that sailors would have stood on, I cut this down flush with the rest of the bridge deck, then I cemented a piece of .020 styrene to fill the opening left by cutting away the platform. I also cut away the small hatch mounting lip that was cast onto the lower ledge across from the conning tower entry hatch. On the USS COD the bridge deck runs flush right up to the forward bulkhead, but on the model the bridge deck drops down to a lower ledge, and I'm going to leave this alone it doesn't effect the overall look of the kit, and changing the height of this section of the deck would effect the forward hatch from the bridge to the forward gun deck. More work tonight.


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## rokket2001

Keep us posted and some pix of that would be great!


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## Robert Hargrave

rokket2001 said:


> Keep us posted and some pix of that would be great!


There will be a photo or two today, I did a couple of small items last night didn't have as much time as I would have wanted to work on the project.


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## rokket2001

Time - yes, I know all about it. But you're making great proress and doing great work.


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## Robert Hargrave

Here's a shot showing the work completed so far, the hatch mounting nubs are gone and in their place strips of styrene for attaching filler pieces and filler putty. Along the top of the bridge walls I attached .020 X .080 styrene strips to form the ledge seen in photos this will be extended down the end of the bulkhead after I add the wings on both sides of the bridge. On the inside of the wall panels I cut away the guide bars for attaching the fold down platforms for lookouts to stand on. That's all for now.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8721/gatohj6.jpg


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## rokket2001

Hi Robert,
Nice, thanks!

I just received mine yesterday, and I see what you mean about the clamps! Generally a very nice model, hull good too, EXCEPT FIT! I actually thought there was some kind of 3rd piece, a strip that went in there, because the hull does NOT close by itself! Oh Boy


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## Robert Hargrave

The new locations for the storage tubes have been drilled, then finished up with a round hobby file to the finished width. New storage tubes made of .250 styrene tube are in the process of being installed, and after some touchup work around the openings the hatch covers will be cemented in place for the small tubes. The two large storage tube have yet to be added. On the bridge deck the slots for that storage tube that is attached to the deck have been filled in, as it is not seen in any of my photos of the COD. The conning tower is almost ready to be assembled.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/1462/gato2gg5.jpg


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## rokket2001

Are you going to ahve any of the ammo hatches open?


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## Robert Hargrave

rokket2001 said:


> Are you going to ahve any of the ammo hatches open?


There are no plans to leave any of the hatches open, also I have no real idea what they looked like inside. Also if you look at the photo close, you'll also notice I've removed the set of lights that were mounted above the deck on the side of the hull, and they are now located in a more correct location just to the left of the hatch mounted on the bulkhead.


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## Robert Hargrave

All the new storage tubes are installed in their new locations, I'll wait to attach the hatches until I've done the touch up work around the sides filling in any gaps. The next task will be to sand off the deck planking from the rear gun deck, it is in the wrong configuration for the COD. I was looking through my bin of kitbashing supplies and found some .020 X .030 strip styrene, a tad oversized to match the planking on the main deck but from a short distance away should look fine. I'm going to install planking on the forward gun deck, along the main bridge area back to the first periscope housing, last replace the decking I sanded off of the rear gun deck extending this within a few feet of the SJ radar mast. Then the hard project will be coming up, changing the shape of the forward bulkhead adding the curved cap along the front of the bridge, I have an idea how it can be done, just don't know how strong the joints will be as it will have to be sanded in place to conform to the shape of the bridge bulkheads.


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## Robert Hargrave

Here is how the new planking looks installed almost half way done. After it's all in I'll go back from the underside and drill out all the covered up mounting holes, along with cutting off the sections that extend past the end of the deck. To try and keep the spacing looking half way right I would cement the back of each plank with slow ACC set it in place and run the back edge of the thinnest X-acto blade I have along the joint line. Doesn't look bad at all.

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/7264/gato3nr1.jpg


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## fluke

Robert,

I hope you don't mind if I take notes for when I finally do mine, man your doing some great work on your kit without all the aftermarket stuff thats not out yet. 

*Nice stuff!* :thumbsup:


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## rokket2001

Hi Robert,

planking looking very nice. Based on the Floating Drydock stuff, I think your strips of .020 x .030" are just right:

Full size
1.5 thick x 2" high, .75" gap
or metric
38 x 50.8mm, 19mm gap

scale
.020 x .027
or metric
.527 x .705mm

I'm very interested to see such scale planking success. I'm doing Grouper (SS214), and she was an all wood deck boat. The kit deck appears correct scale, but is flush instead of having that .020"/.5mm thickness, and the bow and stern are metal, so if I plank I have my work cut otu! (Was thinking of PE, but so much metal is hard to glue and will expand/contract different to rest of boat, and laser cut styrene gets melted and bitty, and wood would be too thick and require huge rebating.)

Keep the pix coming!


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## Robert Hargrave

(From Fluke) I hope you don't mind if I take notes for when I finally do mine, man your doing some great work on your kit without all the aftermarket stuff thats not out yet. 

Take all the information you like, that's what it is there for, to help some one else build a good looking kit.

(From Rokket2001) I'm very interested to see such scale planking success.

Once you get the cnter line marked and the first piece laid down the process goes very quickly, I work side to side laying one piece here, then do the other side, with the slow set ACC by the time I get back to the opposite side the ACC is set enough I can attach the next piece.


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## rokket2001

Excellent, thank you Robert. I didn't think to handle it like an actual flooring job (one side/other). Assuming you're using a shim for spacing? And just a few dots of CA?


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## Robert Hargrave

rokket2001 said:


> Excellent, thank you Robert. I didn't think to handle it like an actual flooring job (one side/other). Assuming you're using a shim for spacing? And just a few dots of CA?


the actual process of installing the planks is as follows. I marked the centerline of the deck, this is mainly to get the first piece laid straight. Then I lay one piece of the styrene strip on the deck measure, and cut to length leaving a little extra to hang off the end on the deck this has two reasons. 1-It gives me something to hag on to with tweezers when setting the strip into place on the deck. 2-After the deck is installed I'll cut off the excess, this will leave the planking going right to the edge of the deck, and it will also hide some of the joint between the conning tower hull and the deck where they meet. Holding the strip in place with tweezers I spread ACC along the full length of the strip ( I use old broken drill bit shafts, held in a old pin vise as a glue applicator this way I get a fine line of cement along the length of the plank). I set the plank on the deck right up against the next plank, then I use the back side of the thinnest X-acto blade I could find in my supply of blades to open the gap between the two planks and keep all of the gaps looking the same. Also don't worry about cement smearing on the deck, or if one of the planks hit ones already installed, a light sanding before you cement the deck in place will clean up any flaws there. 
And of course I ran out of strips this morning two short of finishing all the planking. And it's almost 25 miles to the only shop in my area that carries the stuff. Looks like a Saturday road trip. Here is how it looks now.

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/3617/gato4xc0.jpg


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## rokket2001

Thanks, Robert, very helpful. It works great because your deck is looking superb. There is hope for my project! Tahnsk for the detail. You're going to have a superb boat when finished.


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## roadrner

Can't wait to see this thing finished! :thumbsup: rr


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## Robert Hargrave

Did a little work last night on a couple of other areas of the conning tower, I just can never seem to want to read the instruction booklets. I gave in and installed the grab irons on the side of the conning tower, in the locations the manufacturer marked, not the correct spots but I can live with that one, but I didn't do it their way. I used a #80 drill bit and the small indention's in the hull were fine for guiding the drill bit working from the outside of the bulkhead and drilling into the inside, using a hand pin vice. I installed the grab irons and placed a strip of .040 X .060 styrene behind the rungs and applied cement to the ends of the rungs sticking through the bulk head. I checked the alignment of the grab irons and made any adjustments then set them aside to dry. The gaps around the storage tubes were filled in and the hatches were attached. Last I used a #62 drill bit to drill out the stanchion post mounting holes on the forward deck, I drilled these from the under side by placing the deck upside down on a scrap of balsa wood, then holding it firmly in place I drilled slowly through the original holes doing this prevented any of the new plank strips from breaking off and also left a smooth round hole with no flashing to scrape away. Tonight I want to get the conning tower assembled and the deck in place.


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## Robert Hargrave

All the bridge deck planking is installed, the storage tube hatches are all hung in place, the grab iron ladder rungs are in and I just finished cutting and adding the small end wings to the rear of the bridge bulkhead. After everything is dry I'll re-drill all the mounting holes for the railing stanchions, then trim off the excess planking that overhangs the bridge deck and the rear gun deck. For this I use a single edge razor blade and a small steel ruler, I lay the deck area where I want to trim the planking across a piece of square balsa wood, set my ruler in place and make a couple of cuts across the planking, I use my X-acto knife to pop off the ends I just cut off and I have a nice straight line on the planking. After I cement the conning tower, also adding the ( 2 ) large storage tubes to the front and rear of the conning tower and installing the bridge deck a couple of photos will be posted.


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## Robert Hargrave

Okay the conning tower has reached the 50% zone, so here are the photos I promised.

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2499/gato5jl0.jpg
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8179/gato6yt5.jpg
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/7665/gato7wk5.jpg
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/356/gato8me2.jpg


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## rokket2001

Very nice, looking great. Thanks fro the pix.


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## Robert Hargrave

*Bridge work*

The conning tower has advanced some more, starting with the mast support legs. I set the mast superstructure in place on the bridge deck and marked where the cut down bulkhead side walls hit along the legs. Next I used a small length of masking tape pressed onto the leg to measure the length of strip styrene I'd need to form the outer flap of the I-beam. Using some .015 X .080 strip styrene I cut 6 new flaps for the outer edge of the support legs. I turned the superstructure upside down and using fast set super glue attached each strip to the top of the legs, and left the rest of the flap sticking out like wings. After I was sure the flaps were dry, one at a time, I applied super glue to each leg down to the mark I measured earlier, then I folded the styrene strip over the outside of the leg and held it in place for just a minute till set, my I-beam is done. For the bridge cowling I have no idea how this is going to turn out but this is what I'm trying to do. Using a piece of .250 styrene tube (1/4 inch) I cut a section off on a 45 degree angle, then marked this around the outside diameter in quarters. I also cut one section off with straight ends and marked this off in quarters. Using hobby side cutters I cut 2 quarter section out of the piece cut on a 45 degree angle and one quarter section out of the piece with the straight cuts. These pieces were super glued together to form a Simi V shape. There are no exact measurements on the length of the pieces I'm just eye balling them as I go and they will be cut down drastically later on. The forward bridge bulkhead I cut down another .145 inches to allow for the cowling and the new deck planking on the gun deck, I still have to cut out the opening for the forward hatch and make a ring for the hatch to seal against. The center section of the cowling needs a filler piece to get it to the same length as the side pieces, the fun will begin when I try to start cutting this piece down to size and do the sanding and filing to shape it to match up with the shape of the bulkhead.

http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/5739/gato9br0.jpg


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## CODY614

Mr. Hargrave...
As I follow your conversion....I saw this posted today...
The SubCommittee 
Then goto the "The Submarine Drydock/The Fleetboat Dock/Late war (1945) Gato fairwater Drawing & Photos"
I tried a direct link,but it went to the main page....
These may come in handy...As well as some other stuff that is popping up over there about the "Gato"....


Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

CODY614 said:


> Mr. Hargrave...
> As I follow your conversion....I saw this posted today...
> The SubCommittee
> Then goto the "The Submarine Drydock/The Fleetboat Dock/Late war (1945) Gato fairwater Drawing & Photos"
> 
> 
> Jeff


Thanks for the link, there is some interesting stuff going on over there, was intrested in the flood holes in the belly of the ship conversation, made a drawing from their information, and can still add that to my kit.


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## CODY614

Your very welcome....

Jeff


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## Tom Wilson

*Interior Colors*



Robert Hargrave said:


> when I went to begin working on the forward torpedo room escape trunk, I had high hopes of adding some nice interior details to make it stand out. ... Looking through the stairwell opening at the new hatch, I very quickly saw any added details inside the escape trunk would never be seen, no matter which way I turned the hull you cannot see any further that the now open hatchway. ...
> 
> 
> Robert, thanks for the great information about your build. I'm converting the Revell kit to the USS Barb (SS220) in late 1944. What would be the colors be of those details that can seen through the opening in the foredeck?
> 
> Tom


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## CODY614

Tom Wilson said:


> Robert Hargrave said:
> 
> 
> 
> when I went to begin working on the forward torpedo room escape trunk, I had high hopes of adding some nice interior details to make it stand out. ... Looking through the stairwell opening at the new hatch, I very quickly saw any added details inside the escape trunk would never be seen, no matter which way I turned the hull you cannot see any further that the now open hatchway. ...
> 
> 
> Robert, thanks for the great information about your build. I'm converting the Revell kit to the USS Barb (SS220) in late 1944. What would be the colors be of those details that can seen through the opening in the foredeck?
> 
> Tom
> 
> 
> 
> Tom
> Camo 1
> 
> Measure 9
> 
> My guess.....The Dark Gray 5-D?
> 
> Jeff
Click to expand...


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## Robert Hargrave

Tom Robert said:


> The escape trunk photos are black and white shots that I'm working from, but compairing color photos and black and white ones here are my observations. The upper deck and superstructure are dark gray, in the photos the escape trunk outer walls seem to be the same color, the floor of the area below the deck seems to be a darker color maybe even black in the photo. The interior of the escape trunk looks to be the same color as the interior of the sub a pale gray color, the ladder, any pipes and gauges are a dark gray or black color in the photos.


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## Tom Wilson

Jeff, Robert,

Thanks! I have the hull assembled to the point where I'm about to attach the foredeck, but am slowing up to see when White Ensign/Nautilus Modelworks will be coming out with their upgrades. I used milliput to fill in the voids from the unused prop guard attachment points, and sprue to fill in the sanded-off ribbing at the stern and the interfaces of the three hull sections. So far I'm amazed at the great fit, considering the massive size of some of the parts. 

Happy Holidays,

Tom


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## Robert Hargrave

Work is continuing on the bridge of the USS Cod. I haven't tackled the cutting down of the forward cowling I scratch built yet, but what I did do was cut out the forward bridge hatch in the bulkhead and add a hatch seal ring. The ring is made out of .010 X .060 styrene strip, I again used a thin strip of masking tape that I ran around the opening to measure the diameter of the opening and marked the spot where the tape crosses over it's self. To install the styrene strip ring I folded the strip a couple of times into the shape of the opening so it would be easier to slide into place, then I put a small bead of Slow set ACC on a small area of the hatch opening. I placed the styrene strip into place and using a round file I held in there until the ACC had set, I let that dry for an hour, then doing a small area at a time I used Super Glue to attach the rest of the ring around the opening. I haven't decided if I want the hatch open or closed yet so it's held in place with a piece of double stick tape.

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/1198/gato10vn2.jpg


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## Robert Hargrave

Tom Wilson said:


> I used milliput to fill in the voids from the unused prop guard attachment points, and sprue to fill in the sanded-off ribbing at the stern and the interfaces of the three hull sections. Tom


Hi Tom, glad your enjoy the build project, I'm half way through a large bottle of Tylenol working on this project. As for the propeller gaurds I'm still sitting on the fence as they say, haven't decided if I want them on or to leave them off. If I do remove them I'll use small pieces of .006 brass wire to repair any ribbing lines as I have never had any luck with streaching sprue. using the brass wire its easy to bend and to install I cement a small area at a time using super glue applied with the smallest broken drill bit shaft I have sitting around.


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## Tom Wilson

Robert,

Considering the degree to which you've augmented the basic kit I can understand the Tylenol! Since the prop guards were removed early in the war and were replaced with removable guards when in port I decided to remove them for the USS Barb.
By the way, have you seen the pics of the Gato build done by Fine Art Models?
http://www.fineartmodels.com
Select "Ships" at the bottom of the page and scroll down to select the Gato. There are some nice pics of the fairwater configured similarly to the USS Cod.

Happy Holidays,

Tom


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## Robert Hargrave

Tom Wilson said:


> By the way, have you seen the pics of the Gato build done by Fine Art Models? select the Gato. There are some nice pics of the fairwater configured similarly to the USS Cod. Tom


Checked it out, that could almost be the COD's twin, the bridge detail is great and it carries the dual 40mm guns just like the COD. I can guarantee my bridge cowling and the wave deflector on the front of the bridge will not come close to that degree of excellence. Do you know of any after market part suppliers that I could get a spare 40mm from? And after studying the discussion over at the "Sub Committee" site on flood holes along the keel, I decided not to risk drilling all those holes after the hull was joined for fear of damaging it during the work, and second if I had drilled the openings I would have liked to inserted some styrene pieces raised above the openings so when viewed you didn't look right through the underside of the boat. So instead I made a template so I can print black decals and attach them to the hull after it is painted to represent the flood holes.


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## Tom Wilson

Robert,

For the 40mm there's a few options. Airfix made a 40mm Bofors kit in 1/72 which goes for around $6.00; it might turn up on E-bay, but it is apparently out of production. White Ensign Models (http://www.whiteensignmodels.com/) currently makes them, listed on their 1/72 photoetched brass page as PE 7217. Wish they would make a set of twin 20mm, which the USS Barb carried. Nautilus Models (http://nautilusmodels.com/Gato/144Gato.htm) plans to make a series of 1/72 Gato accessories, but that might be a few months away.

For the bridge deflector I was planning on using thin brass or even aluminum from a soda can and bending it to shape; I suspect White Ensign will include this piece in their upcoming Gato PE set. I used their S-100 PE set and I was impressed with their quality and good instructions: http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/misc/patrol/72-sboat-tw/sboat-index.html

Happy Holidays,

Tom


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## Robert Hargrave

Just so everyone knows I like to build nice models, they are never perfect, but nice. With that said, work continues on the bridge, the cowling continues to frustrate me to no end. It is very fragile and has been cemented back together twice during the cut down operation and I have more whittling to do on it. Here is where the nice, not perfect modeling comes in, to get the 2 periscope housings in the correct order under the lookout platform, I should have cut them apart and swapped them around, but instead I just turned the piece around and moved the SJ radar post to the rear of the bridge. This process also changed the order of the holes in the wall sections between the periscope tubes and the SJ radar tube, but I can live with that. Next I started cutting down the periscope masts, I removed the radio tower section, and cut away the unwanted support pieces as the SJ radar will go here.  Still lots to do.

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/7025/gato11ix9.jpg


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## rokket2001

LOve the deck, still, really nice, looks like spray deflector/venturi is pretty snazzy too! Everything humming along and more than "nice"!


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## Robert Hargrave

Last night I started cutting up the SJ radar mast and its support parts. Its not an exact match to the photos, but to get the mounting bracket arms to match up with the extensions from the periscope housing I had to make it a little shorter than I wanted it to be. I cut the mast down some its now only 2 inches long, I also cut off but saved the cone shaped attachment with the antenna sticking out of it from the front of the mast (I'll need this later to finish the periscope housing)then using a #56 drill bit I drilled a hole into the bottom of the mast, and inserted a piece of 1/8th styrene rod this will be my centering pin for the hole I drilled in the new lookout deck I made for the top of the superstructure frame. Next I took the (2) V shaped support brackets that came with the kit, on those I cut off all the extra support arms that are cast onto the inside of each brace. For the rest of the support arms I'll make them out of styrene strips, but next I have to make the support arm that run up the back of the last periscope tower and mark and drill the 6 holes that are cut into it. But things are still moving along.

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/3185/gato12wu0.jpg


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## rokket2001

anxious to see more - despite all your ahrd work, the fairwater and scopes and antenna are where it's all at I suspect!


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## Robert Hargrave

rokket2001 said:


> anxious to see more - despite all your hard work, the fairwater and scopes and antenna are where it's all at I suspect!


Yeah, take away the bridge and almost everyone of these boats look the same, in some ways the Captain had a lot of say in the way their boats looked during the war. In reading the books on Wahoo and Tang whenever the boats came in for refit and upgrades between patrols the Captains would also have a list of items they wanted changed or added to their boats, this was given to the yard crews to try to work on between the main projects that were required. The Tang had a deep fat fryer installed that caught fire during the patrol right after it was installed, and mysteriously fell over board shortly after the incident. This was later replaced with an Ice Cream machine that just as mysteriously showed up on the boat. Today the periscope housings have been attached to the lookout deck, a couple of additions that extend the cross support frame out to the forward area of the housing (a couple of antennas will be attached to these). The rear angled brace has been built and the holes drilled out, and cemented into place. Last the SJ radar mast was tacked in place using one of the first top braces, after all parts have dried I'll try to attach the V braces to the radar mast and the lower cross brace and the hardest part of the bridge will be finished.


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## Robert Hargrave

Not all the work is finished, but here is a shot of how the changes made so far have changed the look of the kit.

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/5143/gato13fl8.jpg


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## rokket2001

your changes have really improved it, much more detail and accuracy.


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## Robert Hargrave

The major modifications to the periscope housings and lookout deck are finished, the SJ radar dish has been insalled along with all the other radio antenna types, I did find that the directional radio antenna (the round one that sits between the periscope masts) is either to large or the space between the masts is to narrow, as this antenna is normally stowed aligned between the two masts, but will not fit in the space provided. Lookout and upper deck railings are the only items left be be compleated here.

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/3718/gato14lm4.jpg
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/4231/gato15wg1.jpg


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## Robert Hargrave

Tonight as I was making railings for the lookout positions on the upper deck above the bridge, I started comparing the photos of the bridge and superstructure from my book on the USS Cod, and the model and what a lot of problems I see. Either the bridge area on the kit is undersized, or the periscope masts and housing are way over sized, the periscope masts take up so much room on the upper deck, there almost isn't any room for the lookouts to stand in the area between the periscope tubes. but in the photos there is plenty of room to stand in that area and turn and face forward or toward the stern of the boat. I dug some S-scale figures out of my spare PL Jupiter 2 kit and cemented a small piece of styrene to the base of 4 figures so they could stand up without support on the bridge, the figures range in size from 5'5" to 6' tall in 1/72 scale and added some proportion to the kit. Its to late to worry about it now, but anyone wanting a more to scale look will have to scratch build your own, or wait for someone to come out with an after market replacement. Last option using some sheet styrene like I did with the upper deck to fill in the void in the top of the superstructure when you measure the area extend the sheet out to the edges of the I-beam then add the strips to the end of the beams to form the last section of the ( I ), as I added my strips quite a while back I cannot extend the upper deck now to fix this problem. My mistake, someone else's better looking kit. I can live with that.


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## rokket2001

Still looks fantastic, Robert, and you'll be selling a feel..no one will take out a 1/72 scale tape measure and check! Photos very nice, huge improvement over kit.


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## Robert Hargrave

As work continues more problems seem to crop up, as things seem to go, change one thing and several other's go wrong also. So cutting down the bridge bulkhead sides to go for the WWII look, made the upper lookout deck narrower. The outer ribs of the I-beams are already installed so I cannot lengthen the walkway by extending the styrene out to the edge of the I-beams. Instead I decided to place the railings just off the edge of the upper deck on top of the I-beams, but 2 new problems cropped up. 1-the railings are to tall, 2-the back end that curves around hits the raised deck and angles the railing outward, also the two curved areas meet and close off the search light platform :-(...
So first things first, to make repairs the first thing I did was, where the railing curves around I cut off the lower stanchion where the lower railing extends past the upper rail (save this for piece for later). Next I cut off the lower rail even with the upper rail, then I cut the remaining 3 stanchions off flush with the base they are mounted on. I marked the center of the spot where the stanchions were mounted and using a # 67 drill bit drilled new mounting holes through the base, then I used a reamer to open the hole up where the stanchions would pass through. I cut the lower stanchions down to .470 in length and inserted the stanchion into the new mounting holes with a little ACC on each one till they were flush with the underside of the mounting base. Now I cut the curved end of the mounting base down even with new railing end, and cut the stanchion I removed earlier down to fit into this opening, this makes the end of the railing a straight section instead of having one section extended. I also installed the lookout railing between the periscope masts, this was made from .028 brass wire bent to shape and cemented in place. Now all I have to come up with is a search light deck and railing.

View of superstructure standing alone:
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/8383/gato16xz9.jpg

View of superstructure set on bridge with S-scale figures:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7407/gato17gu2.jpg


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## rokket2001

The mods work becasue the result looks natural and detailed. Figures really add to scale.


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## Robert Hargrave

The conning tower superstructure is finished and painted, it may be the wrong color but I'm looking for a dark gray that will show off the white camo lightning bolt pattern I hope to apply later. So here is the finished section painted in Union Pacific Harbor Mist Gray, this will lighten up when I apply the dull coat later. There are even the two rails on the front of the periscope housing for the lookouts to slide down to the deck.
PS, anyone know if the top portion of the periscope masts are Gray or Black?

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3218/gato19xl0.jpg


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## CODY614

Robert Hargrave said:


> The conning tower superstructure is finished and painted, it may be the wrong color but I'm looking for a dark gray that will show off the white camo lightning bolt pattern I hope to apply later. So here is the finished section painted in Union Pacific Harbor Mist Gray, this will lighten up when I apply the dull coat later. There are even the two rails on the front of the periscope housing for the lookouts to slide down to the deck.
> PS, anyone know if the top portion of the periscope masts are Gray or Black?
> 
> http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3218/gato19xl0.jpg


Mr. Hargrave...
On the Sub Committee webesite under "The Fleetboat Dock/ Late war (1945) Gato fairwater drawing & Photos...are some pic's that Mr. Dougherty took.
These are of the "Flasher"....Fwd Attack scope is black....

Then looking at "Fleet Submarines of World War II" "Warship Data Special" By the "Floating Drydock"...On page 14...They show both 32/3 SSB and 32/9SS.
And both show different schemes on the Periscopes...
But I have one black and white photo that shows her "Early 1945" with what appears to be a very "Lite-Gray FWD scope...and very Dark-Gray AFT Scope?
Colors are the most difficult part of doing a "Fleet boat!"...

Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

So Formal, Mr. Hargrave. Your making me feel old Jeff.
Well then I'll split the difference, I'll paint the top of both periscopes where they begin to taper Black and leave the rest Dark Gray. Who knows I may even be close or off by a mile, but this kit isn't going to Wonderfest to be judged, just up on my shelf for me to enjoy, and I'm enjoying the heck out of this build, heck I have 3 new empty aspirin bottles for storing parts in now.
Right now I'm fighting a head cold that has had me goofy for three days now, but I have gotten some work done on the boat. I cut down and attached the cowling to the front of the bridge and using files shaped it to match the curve of the forward bulkhead, still have a lot of putty work to do to finish it off. Then I tackled the rear Target Bearing Transmitter, the one supplied by Revell I have not seen one that looked like that. So using some parts of their TBT I scratch built something a little more closer to what the one on the Cod looked like. I cut the top section off from the pedestal and using the three fins on the side as my guide I attached 3 pieces of .033 brass wire for legs to mount the device to the deck. Then to give the three legs some support I attached two pieces of styrene tube inside the legs one half way down and the other at the base then attached the unit to the thin piece of square styrene sheet for mounting. The binoculars that come with the kit I cut away the raised piece around the front and filed this smooth, then I filed the front and rear areas smooth and drilled holes in both, to make eye pieces I inserted pieces of .028 brass wire, and drilled out large diameter holes in the back to give the effect of lens openings, I'll add a photo later.


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## Robert Hargrave

Not one of the clearest photos I've posted but all the white areas seems to mess up the auto focus on my camera, but you can see the cowling beginning to take shape the get an idea of how the TBT looks. No, that is not where I'm mounting it, just put it there so you could see both areas I've been working on. Still need to cut a couple of filler pieces for the gaps on each side of the cowling where it meets the main hull, and do the putty in filling and I'll be ready to make the forward TBT and gyro compass for the bridge.

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5690/gato19fu5.jpg


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## CODY614

Robert Hargrave said:


> So Formal, Mr. Hargrave. Your making me feel old Jeff.


Well...It does say "Elder Statesman" under your name... :wave: 
Heck at 20 everybody seemed old...Now at 50...everybody seems young!
And I can tell you have been putting in long hours on the "Conn"....Your guys have fallen down on the job from fatigue!
I sent you some stuff....I hope this helps...Super excellent work so far!

Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

CODY614 said:


> Well...It does say "Elder Statesman" under your name... :wave:
> And I can tell you have been putting in long hours on the "Conn"....Your guys have fallen down on the job from fatigue! Jeff


yeah, when did that happen? I didn't even know I was nominated or anything. Oh well just kill'in time waiting for my AARP card to get delivered by the AFLAC Duck.  As for the crew members, being the slave driver that I am, they are not resting, they've dropped dead and are as stiff as boards. But were so busy we just keep working around them. The cowling is shaped, sanded and drying in place as I write this, and I've started painting the navigation lights and installed the one for the top of the periscope mast. Railings, bridge controls and it will be ready for paint, next photo then.


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## rokket2001

Very slick. Looking like a real boat!

autofocus trick - depepending on your camera, depress shutter button halfway to engage af, and do it on something about tsame distrand away, and then while holding swing over to your subject.

Thos 2 crewman laying down , tsk, tsk!

You'll have to do some macro close-ups, TBT looks very detailed!


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## Robert Hargrave

Work continues, today I'm installing the lookout platforms mounted on the interior of the bridge bulkhead, my scratch built TBT and gyro Compass, the forward gun deck stanchions and railings I'm using .012 brass wire for the railings, threading the wire through the holes in the stanchions then attaching each stanchion one at a time using super glue. After the rear railings are in place it will be time to paint. Could be new photo's by late Sunday.


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## Robert Hargrave

Here is the assembled conning tower with primer applied, the brass wire railings around the forward gun deck turned out good. The kit supplied rear deck railings were a major pain to assemble, being broken up into 3 pieces I had to make a couple of adjustments and several attempts with super glue to get all the pieces together, but it did finally go together. Both TBT's and the gyro compass turned out well and can be seen in the first photo. Final paint tomorrow and add the superstructure and this part is done for now.

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/6610/gato207qx.jpg
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/3233/gato213ls.jpg


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## rokket2001

Looks very slicmwith primer! Love the binocs on the TBT


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## Robert Hargrave

Ah man, I just realized I made a BIG mistake, I used Gray Primer in stead of Red Lead Primer on the hull.


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## rokket2001

LOL - get those slack crewman to scrape, repaint, and the cover!


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## Robert Hargrave

All right painting is completed, superstructure is attached, running lights attached and gyro compass has white paint on dial and Micro Scale Crystal Kleer for glass applied. Here are two photos, Port and Starboard views. The color of the conning tower is quite darker than the Gray color of the molded plastic hull but the flash washed it out some.
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/1907/gato224lm.jpg
http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/7475/gato233nm.jpg
I'm going to wait to do the deck guns for later, and finishing work on the conning tower is on hold until I get to the hobby shop for some .375 styrene tube to scratch build a radio mast out of for the rear deck. So a question for all you 1/72 model and R/C ship builders, I need a couple of lookouts with binoculars and a couple of officers to put up on deck when this project is finished, who sells good looking figures in 1/72 scale, the ones I'm using are from model railroad figures they work for now, but wouldn't look right on the finished kit.


----------



## CODY614

Robert Hargrave said:


> All right painting is completed, superstructure is attached, running lights attached and gyro compass has white paint on dial and Micro Scale Crystal Kleer for glass applied. Here are two photos, Port and Starboard views. The color of the conning tower is quite darker than the Gray color of the molded plastic hull but the flash washed it out some.
> http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/1907/gato224lm.jpg
> http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/7475/gato233nm.jpg
> I'm going to wait to do the deck guns for later, and finishing work on the conning tower is on hold until I get to the hobby shop for some .375 styrene tube to scratch build a radio mast out of for the rear deck. So a question for all you 1/72 model and R/C ship builders, I need a couple of lookouts with binoculars and a couple of officers to put up on deck when this project is finished, who sells good looking figures in 1/72 scale, the ones I'm using are from model railroad figures they work for now, but wouldn't look right on the finished kit.


Figures

Hope that link works!......Lookin good!

Jeff


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## bert model maker

looking great Robert !! that is one huge model.


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## Robert Hargrave

CODY614
Hope that link works!......Lookin good!Jeff[/QUOTE said:


> Checked out the link, and unless my EURO calculator is broken, cost came out to 32.55 EURO's, shipping to the US and 3 figures came out to $42.50 US dollars. A bit steep for my modeling taste.


----------



## CODY614

Robert Hargrave said:


> Checked out the link, and unless my EURO calculator is broken, cost came out to 32.55 EURO's, shipping to the US and 3 figures came out to $42.50 US dollars. A bit steep for my modeling taste.











Try these guys.....
Great Models 

$8.90 for the "Bridge crew"....Still a little steep...But better than trying to figure out "Furr-in" money!  

Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

Thanks for the site, just ordered a set.


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## CODY614

Robert Hargrave said:


> Thanks for the site, just ordered a set.


Robert....If you could....Let me know how good they are.I've not seen any first hand.Some pic's of them unpainted would be great.
I tried to get a local hobby shop to order them for me...But it was like pulling teeth!
I've never used that company(Great Models)....Not yet anyway!
If I keep hitting a brick wall about certain stuff....I may!
I always used "Gunze-Sangyo" paints when I was able to get it here in Phoenix...And they do carry that.

Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

CODY614 said:


> Robert....If you could....Let me know how good they are.I've not seen any first hand.Some pic's of them unpainted would be great.
> I've never used that company(Great Models)....Not yet anyway!
> If I keep hitting a brick wall about certain stuff....I may!
> I always used "Gunze-Sangyo" paints when I was able to get it here in Phoenix...And they do carry that. Jeff


Will be happy to send you a photo of the crew, when they come in. I pick up most of my hobby supplies at "An Affair with Trains" at Bethany and the I-17. Because I do some Model Railroading between projects.


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## CODY614

Robert Hargrave said:


> Will be happy to send you a photo of the crew, when they come in. I pick up most of my hobby supplies at "An Affair with Trains" at Bethany and the I-17. Because I do some Model Railroading between projects.


HEHEHE...Know them quite well...When my father was alive,we spent alot of time and money there!  

Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

All the main decks are installed on top of the main hull, to get the rear section to sit level I had to install tabs to the center section of deck so the rear section would line up when cemented in place, as the deck was slightly twisted. I cemented the area where the two sections butt together and along the top of the hull, these areas were held in place with long strips of tape till dry. Last I spread a bead of cement to the back section of the deck where it meets the main pressure hull and anchored those two areas together with tape also. In the photo you can see the diesel exhaust ports I drilled in the sides of the rear section of decking, the hole locations per drawings I used show the rear most port as being right above where the keel angles up towards the rear torpedo room. The forward exhaust port lines up with the docking cleat locations just forward of that. Now I have several spots where I need to shave off some areas that stick out, fill several seams and I'll be almost ready to prime the hull. I still need to attach some felt to the cradle arms of the display stand, so when the model is sitting there the stand doesn't scratch the paint job.

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/8786/gato24tr3.jpg


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## Robert Hargrave

Work is crawling along on the Gato with the filling and sanding of all the seams between and along the main deck joints. After I had cemented piece #9 the forward deck diagram 10 on the instructions sheet into place, I used masking tape to hold it in position. When I was checking seams and joints I found that piece 8 the right side vent plate diagram 9 on the instruction sheet, was seated way back under the lip of piece 10. It's to late to try and take it apart and shim this area so the vent plate lines up correctly with the edge of the forward deck. So I just applied 3 layers of body putty to the area to bring the vent plate up to the edge of the forward deck, then sanding the area between layers of putty. Finish a couple more seams, add the propeller guards and propeller shafts then I'll be ready to prime the hull and look for any seams or putty areas that need a little adjustment done to them. The finish line is in sight.


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## CODY614

Ohhhhhh Boy.....!
Pampanito DryDock 
Wow!

Jeff


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## CODY614

Note the "Offset" of the TBT!









Really "Busy" under the "Cover"!









Jeff


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## terryr

I was in a local hobby shop getting supplies and they had 2 typeVII uboats and a Gato. Even the boxes were impressive.
Then at the register they had a 1/8 Big T car. I left before I bought something.


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## CODY614

terryr said:


> I was in a local hobby shop getting supplies and they had 2 typeVII uboats and a Gato. Even the boxes were impressive.
> Then at the register they had a 1/8 Big T car. I left before I bought something.


HEHEHEHEEEE....Dont' you love it?
Every time I walk in to the shop...I hear voices....Buy me...Buy me...No,buy me!
You cant' go wrong with 'Gato"...If you are in to U.S. Subs!
Revell/Monogram have given us a product that is "Incredible!'
If this thing doesnt' make "Kit of the year"...there is something wrong!

Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

Great web site and photos of the USS Pampanito will have to keep an eye on that one, and then there is the photo of the TBT on the rear deck posted by CODY614. When I saw this photo with the TBT off center I got to thinking had I made a mistake centering mine on the rear deck of the COD? So I pulled out by photo bible and looked at the pictures from the museum book, and to my relief the TBT was dead center just behind the radio mast. CODY DO NOT DO THAT TO AN OLD MAN, almost gave me a heart attack trying to figure out how I was going to rip the TBT out to move in to a different location without breaking it into ten different pieces.


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## CODY614

Robert Hargrave said:


> Great web site and photos of the USS Pampanito will have to keep an eye on that one, and then there is the photo of the TBT on the rear deck posted by CODY614. When I saw this photo with the TBT off center I got to thinking had I made a mistake centering mine on the rear deck of the COD? So I pulled out by photo bible and looked at the pictures from the museum book, and to my relief the TBT was dead center just behind the radio mast. CODY DO NOT DO THAT TO AN OLD MAN, almost gave me a heart attack trying to figure out how I was going to rip the TBT out to move in to a different location without breaking it into ten different pieces.


Sorry.....  ...Anyway...It's more a "Balao" cuz the 'Shears' and the 'Fairwater' are cut down....I posted it more for the "Electrical Stuff" under neath...


Jeff


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## rokket2001

Robert has done so much good stuff to his fairwater and bridge...wow, the offset just shows to go ya, every boat was different!


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## CODY614

Well this may be interesting to follow....
U-Boat Crew 
Would be nice to see them for the Gato!


Jeff


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## CODY614

rokket2001 said:


> Robert has done so much good stuff to his fairwater and bridge...wow, the offset just shows to go ya, every boat was different!


From what I have read...It was the 'Skippers' that had the final say-so on equipment set up. But again "No two boats came out the same,even sister's!"


Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

Sorry for the almost two week delay in updates on the USS Cod building project. I was helping a fellow Model Railroader come up with a switching layout for his small spare bedroom / office we were able to pretty muh nail down the track araingments but kept coming up short on building placement. Any way my part is finished and now I'm back to working on the Cod. 
I added grab irons to the sides of the main hull using a photo of another submarine, the Cod shows two sets of cut out hand and foot holes in the forward area of the main hull, one set is cast into the deck side walls, but I did not want to risk damaging the side walls trying to drill and file a second set, maybe could use decals, but I opted to add a set of grab irons instead. I used the spare ones from the conning tower as a template and using some .015 brass wire I made 10 new ones in about 45 minutes, I measured the ones from the conning tower to get the correct looking spacing and transfered the measurements to a piece of masking tape, allowing for 5 rungs. I then cut the tape down and applied it to the hull at the last large rounded flood hole just ahead of the conning tower, one rung is located just below the flat area of the flood hole and the other 4 are above the curved top of the flood hole with the last rung set where the side wall curves over to become the upper deck, just like it looks in the photo I have. Tonigh I'll get the prop guards, propeller shafts and bow planes attached, shoot a couple of photos to post and the next time you see her she will be Harbor Mist Gray.


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## CODY614

Robert
Here is one way someone handeled the side steps..Whew...Alot of work.
SideStepMod 

I might try this on the next one!

Glad to see you back at her again....


Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

The prop guard went together without any problems, the prop shaft was a little harder to control, ended up using masking tape to finially get it to stay in place while the cement dries.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/402/gato25jt1.jpg

Here are the wire grab irons in the side of the hull.
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4099/gato26al4.jpg

after this side dries I'll do the other and weather permitting I'll hit it with primer tomorrow after work.


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## CODY614

HEHEHE....Rain in Arizona?
Lookin' good!

Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

I got up a little early this morning to do some last minute touch ups and putty a spot or two, then it was time to give the beast a bath to clean off oils and fingerprints. Won't fit in the sink, guess I'll take it out and use the garden hose, wait a minute. Honey are you in the shower? Could you wash something off for me???? Stop looking at me like I'm crazy or something.
Anyway it's now standing up in the corner of the shower with the nose sitting on a towel drying off, had to ask her to please stop holding it like a bat more than once, but it's clean and ready for primer after work.


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## CODY614

Run...Robert ...Run very fast!




Jeff


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## bert model maker

CODY614 said:


> Run...Robert ...Run very fast!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jeff


 and don't forget to grab the sub


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## Robert Hargrave

Houston, we have primer.... Painting went without a hitch, now let it set for a couple of days and I can hit it with the Harbor Mist Gray. Leaving off all top side details left me a perfect platform for priming the underside of the hull using a 1 foot square piece of scrap plywood set on a large paint can, then a couple hours after that was applied, I laid down some newspaper on the piece of plywood turned the sub right side up and sprayed the topside with primer. All the flood holes I drilled really stand out nice in contrast to the light gray primer color, the upper flood holes will just blend in when I use the harbor mist color, but the lower holes should still be easy to see against the red under belly. Guess we'll find out soon.


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## CODY614

Ran across this?
Only thing is I cant' seem to find anybody 'Stateside' that has them yet.
Robert, How were the figures?...If they looked good,then the guns should be a good addition to a 'Early war boat'.


Jeff


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## rokket2001

Robert, waiting for some paint pix!

Cody - ModelsbyMickster has 5 different CMK Gato crew sets, all in stock:
http://www.modelsbymickster.com/cgi-bin/hobbyshop/hobbyshop.pl?inv=Uboote


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## Robert Hargrave

Can anyone say Harbor Mist GREEN??? I painted the conning tower with a older bottle of Floquil Harbor Mist Gray, and knew I didn't have enough to do the whole model, so I purchased 2 more bottles a couple of weeks back. When I sprayed the main hull it didn't look right, so I got the conning tower and what the heck, this is an off green color. I checked the second bottle same thing off green. Only thing I could do was repaint the conning tower with the new paint to get the colors to match, so here is a pic of my Green not Yellow submarine, Always something that goes wrong don't ask me how this slight color change will effect the finished project, to late to worry about that now.

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/4842/gato27qq2.jpg


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## CODY614

rokket2001 said:


> Robert, waiting for some paint pix!
> 
> Cody - ModelsbyMickster has 5 different CMK Gato crew sets, all in stock:
> http://www.modelsbymickster.com/cgi-bin/hobbyshop/hobbyshop.pl?inv=Uboote


Well...He just became a new source for stuff!
Thanx Rokket.

Jeff


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## CODY614

Robert
Most shops stock from the back of the rack..."Older Paint" up front.
I almost bought a jar of Tamiya paint that was 1 1/2 years old...You could see how it settled and seperated in the bottom...No matter how much stirring you could tell the pigments would not have re-mixed!
I've got jars that go back 3-4 years...I should throw them away!
Any way....For me it took 4 Tamiya 10ml. jars of black just to get the lower black done! And that was primed. I used Tamiya 'Surface Primer(L)' it comes in a 180 ml. spray can and is 'Laquer based'. Gives great coverage and is sandable.Awesome stuff!
This aint' like painting 1/48th scale planes! this thing is huge!


Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

My version of camo is applied, not having any real photos to work from I just winged it and cut a template from heavy paper and started spraying here are the results. Now some red on the belly and a few touch ups and then on to the upper deck details.

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/5313/gato28ls9.jpg


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## bert model maker

Robert, that sub is looking better and better every day ! How long is that sub anyway ? what kind of corrections are needed out of the box ?


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## Robert Hargrave

Bert, it all depends on what submarine you want to model, the kit comes with 4 different boats versions you can build this kit as. All of them are the pre-war configurations on the conning tower. Building the kit I ran into almost no problems with fit or assembly, the biggest problem I came across was joining the two main hull half's when placed together there was an almost 1/2 inch gap between pieces in the middle. I used a couple of large household clamps as seen in the first photo of the kit project to hold the sections together. If you read through all my posts on the project you'll get a good idea what worked and didn't work during the build. Also there are reference sites where you can gather more information about a wide variety of boats you may find a specific one you'd like to model from this kit.


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## bert model maker

it really looks terriffic, I was wondering about the hull halves mating up since it seems to be very long, how long is it anyway ?


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## Robert Hargrave

Oh forgot to answer that question 52 inches long from bow to stern


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## bert model maker

Robert Hargrave said:


> Oh forgot to answer that question 52 inches long from bow to stern


 WOW ! where are you going to display it ? It has got to be displayed because i know when you complete it it is really going to be something.


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## Robert Hargrave

We have an old shelf that looks like rough cut wood and mounts to round headed anchors in the wall, the wife use to put it up at Christmas and display holiday figures on it. After we did some remodeling of our home and the addition of a nice mantel over our fire place to display these items, and hang stocking for the grand kids. I was given the shelf, it sat out in the garage for a long time untill this monster came along. Now the shelf is mounted on the wall of my hobby room about 6 feet up, out of reach of kide but just right for viewing when you walk into the room.


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## bert model maker

Perfect !!!!!


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## Robert Hargrave

I did the red paint today, but I ran out of tape, so I picked up a roll from the local dollar store, BIG MISTAKE!!! Now I have a bunch of repairs to do, the tape during one of my passes spraying the red color blew off the side of the boat exposing the upper deck to direct over spray, mad isn't the word for it. Now I'll have to repaint the area with the gray/green and redo the white camo in that area.

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/1633/gato29us3.jpg


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## bert model maker

that is looking great. Oh man, that hurts when that stuff happens on top of hard work already done.


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## rokket2001

Robert - you must be thriled, it's a boat!


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## Robert Hargrave

Yeah it's really starting to come together, every time I walk past it sitting on the table I have to glance at it. But my 2.5 year old Grandson sumed it up best. "Big Boat". "Go on water"? "With fish"?


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## CODY614

One goes on the shelf....The other goes after fish!











Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

Just make sure you don't get them crossed, or it will be one get's eaten by fish and one tears shelf off the wall.


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## Robert Hargrave

Sorry for the delay in postings, but I had a commitment to take care of with a fellow modeler, and have been studying and sweating through the Sergeant's test and oral boards at work. Last night I worked on repairing the over spray problem from using the cheep masking tape from the dollar store, one side is completed and the other will be finished tonight. I have also painted the railing stanchions, base, propellers and gun parts so they are ready to be installed as soon as I have all the touch ups completed. If I get of my duff and really work on this project I may have it done before next week, my last hurdle is finding a local hobby shop that carries decal paper so I can try and make decals for the COD's flag and war board. My train store quit keeping it in stock, of course just when I needed it.


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## CODY614

Try 'Andy's' (602) 439-1456....15224 N. 59th Ave. #12 in Glendale.He's is heavy into 'Armor and such'...But carries everything!

Or 'Hobby Depot' (480) 968-1880...Mesa...

Robert..Are you 'Active Duty' or 'Gulp'...P.D.?
Sergeant usually means P.D.....


Jeff


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## Robert Hargrave

CODY614 said:


> Robert..Are you 'Active Duty' or 'Gulp'...P.D.?
> Sergeant usually means P.D.....Jeff


No one of sheriff's Joe's Detention officers, "America's Touhgest Sheriff" in his humble opinion.


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## Robert Hargrave

Painting is completed and details have started to be applied to the deck and belly of the Cod. The under water sound heads are in place, along with the props and the first couple of upper deck poles. I painted the display stand steel and for right now I laid a coupe of strips of paper towel across the tops of the support base to keep from damaging the paint on the keel. More work tonight.
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6639/gato30xc3.jpg
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/9893/gato31hm7.jpg


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## CODY614

Robert Hargrave said:


> No one of sheriff's Joe's Detention officers, "America's Touhgest Sheriff" in his humble opinion.


"Whew!"....I drive commercialy here in the valley....Hope to never see the pink stuff and baloney sandwich's!....

The 'Boat' is lookin' real good...I know what you mean about protecting the bottom of the hull!


Jeff


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## rokket2001

Looking mighty fine - so close!


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## Robert Hargrave

Okay, here are the almost finished shot's of the COD, the things not finished yet are: The radio mast hasen't been built, still looking for a couple of sizes of styrene tube to come in at the hobby shop. The rigging for the stanchtions and radio antenna are not installed, waiting to get the radio mast installed before I do that. All three guns and just setting in place not anchored down will wait to see if later I can find a better replacement for the deck gun, the second 40-MM I wanated to install on the rear gun deck there isn't enough room for it to manuver around so I put the 20-MM gun there. Last later when I get my decals made for the keel flood holes and war banner I'll do some more touch up work on the camo stripes to get rid of some of the over spray on the sides of the hull.
Here are the final shots of the boat.
Full length shot of the boat from the side and slightly above the main deck. http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/917/gato32zg2.jpg
From overhead looking down onto the forward bridge area you have a god view of the modified super structure with the radar dish removed from the front of the bridge to the rear, also a nice view of the cut down bridge area.
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/9977/gato33bp5.jpg
This shot is above the main deck and off to the side looking bow to stern again.
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/2480/gato35rk0.jpg
Looking down at the conning tower from the rear, here you gat a good look at the deck guns and TBT.
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3043/gato36lc4.jpg
Last shot is a view of the scratch built underwater sound heads extended below the keel
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/7079/gato37pr1.jpg
When I get the decals and radio mast finished and all the rigging and flags are in place I'll post the compeated boat. But here she sits for now.


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## rokket2001

Looking beuat, mate. I hope you are pleased, she's beautiful! (Tho I am still anxious to se "final" shots). Hope it was a good build for you, is great info for others.


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## Robert Hargrave

After placing my Gato Class Submarine up on its storage shelf which I jokingly told the wife is almost child proof, because it is almost 8 feet high and attached to the wall, I said they can see it, but not touch. The only danger it is in, is if they throw something at it. Anyway it looked so good up there I decided to add one last picture of it sitting on its private display space in my hobby room.
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/6411/gato38kl1.jpg


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## rokket2001

Very well done, Robert, fantastic to see her sitting pretty.

Good hunting!


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## Old_McDonald

Your boat looks great. I hope I can do as well when I start mine. 

on a side note:, I wonder if anyone would ever do one as the pink sub from "Operation Petticoat". That was a great comedy with Cary Grant. That'd be a big pink thang to display.


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## Robert Hargrave

Old_McDonald said:


> Your boat looks great. I hope I can do as well when I start mine.
> 
> on a side note:, I wonder if anyone would ever do one as the pink sub from "Operation Petticoat". That was a great comedy with Cary Grant. That'd be a big pink thang to display.


she sure would be a ting a beauty.


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## Robert Hargrave

*USS COD Finished*

Alright she is finished enough to show off, the rigging is installed not to the instructions guide line but to what I thought looked good. No decals have been applied as for some reason each time I printed a sheet when I soaked them the ink ran. I have made several decals using the same process and all have worked before, but this time no luck so I'm making a couple of paper ones for the battle flag and name plate and using good old double stick tape to attach it.
The first photo is an old shot of the conning tower during the major modifications stage to transform it from pre-war configureation the war time look.
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3078/gato13vh2.jpg

Here is a look at the finished conning tower looking from the rear, the radio mast was made by cementing several different sizes of styrene tube together, then placing this into a drill press and shaping it using a wood rasp and last cleaning it up with sand paper. Wire rungs were added and the kit mast head cemented to the top.
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/5165/gato39pg9.jpg

Here is a forward shot of the modified conning tower, you get a good view of the rearrainged pariscope masts and the cutdown sides and fair weather. I couldn't get a second layer to come out without breaking to go in front of the first angled sections of the fair weather so I just went with what I had. The forward deck railing in the original kit are rope or cable but I changed this to wire or pipe for a better look.
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/3614/gato41di0.jpg

This is a shot of the Bow showing off the forward flood holes behind the outer doors, all hand drilled also it shows off my scratch built sound heads hanging down below the keel.
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9375/gato40jl8.jpg

The last shot shows off the forward half of the boat and gives you a look at the rigging. I still have to make a cover hatch for the forward stairs down the the forward escape trunk.
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/4223/gato42dm7.jpg

The drawing in the backround is a scale set of plans for a future project of adding an updated (what if) the George Washington class of submarines were still in service with heavy modifications and upgrades. I have a Revell GW Polaris sub kit to use for the someday project.


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## thuntboss

*"I'm the Galloping Ghost of the Japanese Coast"*

By: Constantine Guiness, MoMM1/c, U.S.N, 1943. Serving aboard U.S.S. Trigger, SS-237

I'm the Galloping Ghost of the Japanese coast,
You don't hear of me or my crew-
But just ask any man off the coast of Japan
If he knows of the Trigger Maru.

I look sleek and slender alongside my tender,
With others like me at my side,
But we'll tell you a story of battle and glory,
As enemy waters we ride.

I've been stuck on a rock, felt the depth charges' shock.
Been north to a place called Attu,
And i've sunk me two freighters atop the equator-
Hot work, but the sea was cold blue.

I've cruised close inshore and carried the war
to the Empire island of Honshu;
While they wired Yokohama i could see Fujiyama,
So i stayed-to admire the view.

When we rigged to run silently, deeply i dived,
And within me the heat was terrific-
My men pouring sweat, silent and yet
Cursed me and the whole damned Pacific.

Then destroyers came sounding and depth charges
pounding;
My submarine crew took the test.
For in that far off land there are no friends on hand
To answer a call of distress.

I was blasted and shaken-some damage i've taken;
My hull bleeds and pipe lines do, too;
I've come in from out there for machinery repair,
And a rest for me and my crew.

I got by on cool nerve and in silence i served,
Though i took some hard knocks in return-
One propeller shaft sprung and my battery's done-
BUT THE ENEMY SHIPS I SAW BURN !

I'm the Galloping Ghost of the Japanese coast
You don't hear of me or my crew-
But just ask any man off the coast of Japan
If he knows of the Trigger Maru.


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## Steve244

Jeez Robert, I missed this a couple weeks ago when you posted.

Nice sub!

(what's going on behind it? Looks like an Ethan Allen in the works).


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## fantacmet

I am considering this kit in the future. For the person looking into creating PE for this, if there re hole templates for this, then I will make the modification, if not, then I won't. I may use decals to represent them, but I will not drill without a PE guide with all the holes marked in it. Hopefully that will give you some useful input.


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## John Woods

No images available? 403 error ???


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## nautilusnut

Why are all the photos missing?


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## Robert Hargrave

This project was done back in 2007, the web site I used back then I (not being really computer smart) cleaned off many photo's to make room for new one's, silly me thinking the images would stay on the HT page. When I went back to try and open the deleted images (there use to be a tool bar for that on the site) all my old deleated images were gone. So all those images are lost, my computer that I had those images on crashed a couple of years ago.


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## Robert Hargrave

http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx226/booker1067/gato/Sub7.jpg
I can't replace all the build photos, but I can post some new completed shots of the old girl. Here is a Bow on view you have to look close to see the flood holes along the top and behind the torpedo doors.

http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx226/booker1067/gato/Sub1.jpg
Side view of the bow, if you look cloes you can see the scratch built sonar heads sticking out along the bottom of the boat


http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx226/booker1067/gato/Sub2.jpg
Here is the conning tower cut down into its war time configuration, with the periscopes, radar mast and radio tower moved into the correct positions for the USS Cod. The radio mast was scratch built using layers of styrene tube glued together then shaped on a drill press.

http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx226/booker1067/gato/Sub3.jpg
Finished view of the stern.

http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx226/booker1067/gato/Sub4.jpg
Overhead view of the bridge, really hard to see the planking work on the deck but all the new storage locker tubes look great in their new locations.

http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx226/booker1067/gato/Sub5.jpg 
Here is a close up of the bridge and forward deck gun, the model called for string around the forward dexk I used brass wire.

http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx226/booker1067/gato/Sub6.jpg
A view of the keel showing off some of the decals I made to look like the flood holes along the keel.

http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx226/booker1067/gato/Sub8.jpg
A full length view of the boat from the bow, the paint job is from a drawing I found in the shipyards naval vessel web site, cannot say the cod ever looked like this but it sure looks good on her.


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