So, a day after I posted that the 3-in-1 688 was back in stock, I figured I may well order one to put into the kit stash.
Hobby Linc set a land speed record shipping it out and it showed up today.
The draft marker decals look better than in the original release.
One thing I did forget about this kit, the fairwater planes have non-skid areas molded into them and you'll want to remove these panel lines prior to painting. On the flt-1 and flt-2 boats, the fairwaters were not a standing area for the crew. The planes are mounted too low to get on to them safely from the bridge. Also, the upper hull half for the flt-1 version has some free-flood "gills" molded into it just aft of the bow dome. I don't recall seeing them on any of the flt-1 boats, so do some research if you plan to build one of them. The first ten in the class had a habit of evolving as they were built.
I'll be doing an authentic build of good old Ustafish with this kit, the USS Bremerton as she looked in the early 90's, which means most of the painting will be easy but the last part- not so much.
Subs that were repainted at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard used special non-fouling coatings for the warmer waters in the Pacific. The bottom half of the hull is painted using Testor's Insignia Red. The top half starts out with a 50/50 mix of Testor's Insignia Red and Insignia Blue- this winds up looking like a dark shade of purple-ish brown, kind of like an eggplant. The tricky part is the hull above the water line. This is just black, Testor's Black Chrome to be exact but the masking for the hull is tricky. Early 688's used a two degree up bubble when surfaced, not that hard to figure out but the rear area of the hull starts to taper like a cone.
This taper forms a kind of a turtle deck and its a head ache and a half to mask and paint it due to some tight and complex curves.
I also ordered another H-B 1/350th scale sub: The Yasen/Severodvinsk class attack boat. At first glance, this is another typical H-B kit.
Mold quality is very good, in fact in some ways its too good.
Panels for hatches and doors are very finely molded into the hull, to the point where I wouldn't recommend using primer before laying down the paint. Rescribing the torpedo and missile doors would be a sin on this kit, but it may prove necessary.
Newer builders may have to live with a slight seam line between the upper and lower hull. Hobby Boss does an outstanding job molding parts in this scale but this kit features flood and drain ports near the seam and, like I mentioned, these details are very finely molded. Using a thick surface primer will hide the seam, but you'll also start to lose detail in a hurry.
Decals look good, however the white waterline/cheat stripe is not included and will have to be painted on.
The kit also includes the option of using a standard screw back aft or a shrouded pump jet.
Hobby Boss says to paint the entire hull Tire Black but I'm thinking more along the lines of painting the upper hull in Testor's Black Chrome (same thing, really, as tire black) and the lower hull with NATO Black. This, to me, gives a subtle change in shade and texture and gives you more to look at. The sonar dome and array panels will be a very dark gray.
This is the latest entry in Hobby Boss's modern subs series and is, once again, highly recommended.
Just watch out for those finely molded panel lines, spend some time dry fitting parts (there is some very minor clean up required), think twice before you start cutting off parts, and this should be a quick build.