1/700 subs?

[GunnerGreg]

Anybody else picked up many of these?

I built an 1/700 Alfa from the old Dragon/DML kit MANY years ago, but never finished any of the other submarine kits.

I've gotten all of the MRC / Easy Model releases, except the two most recent ones, which I need to order from my local hobby shop.

I've also picked up a bunch of the Takara collectible subs via e-Bay.

If anyone's interested, I'll post a list...

Greg "Gunner" Stitz

[Chock]

I bought a bunch of submarine kits at 1/700 scale that were discounted in a model shop the other day, they were 3.99 each. Judging by the text on the box they are from China (Hobby Boss).
The ones I got were a Russian Kilo Class, the SSN-21 Seawolf and a JMSDF Oyashio Class. They're actually quite nice, with alternate sail parts in the kit so you can easily build them in surfaced or submerged configuration and a dinky little stand to display them on, and believe it or not, the screws in the kit are actually really well done, which surprised me at that scale in plastic.

:D Chock

[Chock]

While I was waiting for a bit of remodelling putty to dry on my 1:350 Akula, I stuck the 1:700 Oyashio together and gave it the base black coat of paint before I start dry-brushing and detailing it, I've made it in 'submerged' configuration and the screw has yet to be added. Here is a pic of it next to a cigarette lighter to give you some idea of the size:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j105/AlanBradbury/Oyashiolighter.jpg

:D Chock

[GunnerGreg]

Unless I'm badly mistaken, the HobbyBoss kits are the kit version of the Easy Model ones, which come pre-built.

I've got the both the SSN-21 Seawolf and the SSN-23 Jimmy Carter, and both the Kilo and Akula.

I've got two Oyashios. One is the Easy Model pre-built and the other is from Takara, a Japanese company.

Takara sells "candy packs", which is kind of like baseball cards here. You don't know what's in the package until you open it up. They've done a BUNCH of submamarines, including a 12-pack "History of JSMDF submarines"

The only Easy Model subs I don't have are the most recent ones, a Type IXB and a Type IXC U-Boat.

I even picked up two of their Type 33 PLAN subs and repainted one to be a Russian Romeo.

[Chock]

Yup, I did a bit of checking and I think you are correct that they are the same as the ones branded as Easy-build and pre-built ones. Not a bad idea actually, as I damn-near went blind fixing the planes onto the sail since they are only about 3-4mm wide!

For the size they are quite detailed, although in the case of the Oyashio, with its hull-mounted sensors, the split for the two halves of the hull in kit form could not come in a worse place, as in sanding the join prior to painting, it is virtually impossible to avoid wiping out some of the sensor detailing, but, enough remains for it to look reasonably okay. I'd recommend these if you have a spare hour or two, as that's really all it takes to knock up something pretty decent-looking, and with some careful painting, I imagine it will make a nice thing. For 3.99 in the UK, you can't really argue.

:D Chock

[nikimcbee]

okay, I need to get my pix posted!;)

[Chock]

Thought you might want to see this, this in an image of my 1:700 Oyashio halfway through the stages of some paint experimentation for the purposes of my Akula model. Since the Oyashio was a cheap kit, I decided to use it as a guinea pig for an experiment. I intend to place my larger 1:350 Akula in a diorama with it on the surface, but in a case with the portion that is underwater also visible, so I'll need to paint the lighting on it to make it look like it is getting refracted light through the water. To do this I a tried various versions of paint mixes on scrap material, and I've now got one that seems to be okay, it consists of a base coat of black, cut back then dry brushed with a mid grey, then ripple light details are painted in two other grey tones and the thing then gets a translucent blue varnish (this is the stage in the photograph), then the varnish gets cut back a little, some translucent green is added, then it gets a matt varnish to remove the shine from the gloss of the blue and green varnishes. sort of tricky to see on this shot because the finish is not fully completed and is still glossy, but you can get the general idea:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j105/AlanBradbury/Oyashiopaintexperiment.jpg

:D Chock

[GunnerGreg]

Very nice!

Best of luck with the Akula.

[Chock]

Sort of tricky to see colour variation from this picture using the macro setting on a crap digital camera under artificial light, but here it is with the sheen cut back and the detailing of the ripple refraction enhanced and overlayed with other colours:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j105/AlanBradbury/Oyashiopaintexperiment2.jpg

:D Chock

[nikimcbee]

I made this diorama several years ago. I have a new one I need to finish and post the photos.
http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/9379/p1030064lv2.jpg (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/)

[GunnerGreg]

Very nice. WWII Japanese submarines never really interested me, and until recently, there have been DARN few 1/700 scale models of modern boats, so the pre-built ones have been alot of fun to collect.