You know about this website right?
http://navsource.org/

All the pics you ever could need for this project.

Sewing thread works good, but I've come to like headphone wire. Just take a pair of Dollar Store head phones and strip the insulation off. They are strong, bendy and don't sag as much as sewing thread.

I did not know about that website but thank you very much for sending me there :up:

So far...
 

Not much but heres what i did to the conning tower so far

http://i39.tinypic.com/11ijuyf.jpg

Chopped the awkward looking top off and opened the fairwater.
I also cut the railing off and im looking into making a better one with some stripped headphone wire.

http://i40.tinypic.com/a5f7t5.jpg

I think its an improvement over the original in terms of authenticity.

Little preview
 

I'm going to have to keep an eye on this thread. I built this model many years ago as a kid. I still have it, actually, but it doesn't look the best. I always thought it would be good to get another one and do it up right.

Your conning tower is looking pretty good so far. I think it looks better than the standard mold. :ping:

Thank you Syxx, doing the best i can :)

Railing is halfway done!

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...27826406_n.jpg

Just gotta cut them down to the correct height (with a nail clipper) once the glue is dry.

It didnt turn out exactly like i thought it would... They look thicker then what i planned. But we'll see what it looks like once its painted.

Are those toothpick tips?

Ripper do you how to melt a sprue?

http://www.modelaces.com/_scale_mode...enna_wires.php

You can make really fine wires and stuff with it, I've used it on my 1/72nd scale Sherman, Panzer III and Wespe for their radios. Just don't make it as thin for railings.

I thought about it but i didnt think they would be strong enough.

Also since the toothpicks tips were shaped in cones the base made it much MUCH easier to fit then a thin piece of sprue would. I might trim them down later if its possible.

As long as you don't make them thin like a hair they will be strong. Even if they are hair thin they maintain their shape.

But you might need to paritaly streach it and sand the lumpiness out of a sprue to get ones sufficiently big for railings at that scale.

Looking good so far

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...02884092_n.jpg

Another question arises: What color should i paint the hull...

Should i paint it red and grey like this:
http://i44.tinypic.com/2622rlj.jpg
(like the box says)

Or black and grey like this:
http://i42.tinypic.com/1zp74mp.jpg
(like i originally planned)

Which is more accurate for the WWII era?

From the sheeting in the first picture, I would suspect that they were in the process of painting her when it was taken, and what we're seeing might be the primer coat. Even if the hull were red it would only be so below the waterline, sometimes with a black stripe at the waterline itself.

Here is a very old Subsim discussion of this very topic.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom//arc.../t-116853.html

A discussion from a submarine modelling forum indicates that they could be red or black, but again it would only start at the waterline, not the top of the ballast tanks. There is also the chance that in your second picture the waterline area is black and the hull below that is red.
http://s181686668.onlinehome.us/phpB...php?f=6&t=1863

If you want to build more models in the future this book might come in handy.
http://www.submarinebooks.com/USsubmarines.htm

And here is a very nice collection of photos by other modelbuilders. I'm sure they all did their research properly, so you can probably trust their color schemes.
http://steelnavy.com/gallery_submarines.htm

Thank you very much Steve, very informative reply :salute:

I'll be painting it just like i planned (2nd picture)

Conning tower railing is done!

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...18207647_n.jpg

By no means is it perfect, but its much better then originally, isnt it? :)

Indeed, good job! I don't know how much you want to invest in aftermarket goodies, but most likely some etched brass or resin parts are available from model companies, for ex.,

http://nautilusmodels.com/

Carry on sailor!