Finally finished my Gato!

[OldNoob]

I finally finished my Gato

[NZSnowman]

Very nice!!!

[SG]

What a Beauty! a great work indeed!!
Could you post some more pics? It would give full justice to the boat and all the work behind it!!
Congrats, I like it a lot!
SG
 
 

[OldNoob]

Thank You both.
This was my first submarine model and i decided to go for simple completion instead of detail.
I hope to make the VIIc more realistic.

[NZSnowman]

What a Beauty! a great work indeed!!
Could you post some more pics? It would give full justice to the boat and all the work behind it!!
Congrats, I like it a lot!
SG

Also would love to see more pict's of the CT.

[OldNoob]

What a Beauty! a great work indeed!!
Could you post some more pics? It would give full justice to the boat and all the work behind it!!
Congrats, I like it a lot!
SG

Thank You.
I didn't take many photos during my build, however i will post the ones i did take.

First i would like to start off with an issue i found following the Revel 1/72 Gato instructions. For those new to building models.
When the instruction say to put the railing on first, Do NOT do that. Wait till the very last! Needless to say there was common sense lacking on my part, but i ended up breaking the railing posts or stanchions off while handling the sail.
 I did a repair with paperclips and brass wire.
And for some unexplained reason i carved grooves in the front gun deck. LOL
Please forgive my painting skills, i have shaky hands.

On a side note i would recommend also drilling out the drains on the front of the CT it just looks better.

[OldNoob]

Next I would like to address the issue of the aerial outriggers or antenna outriggers on the sides of the sail, or whatever they are called.
These are so flimsy that they would break with the slightest pressure.

To resolve this i got two sewing needles heated them up over a candle, then slid the needles into the sail along the base of the aerials until the reached the proper depth, then i let them cool down and added glue to the needle and base. finally i clipped the needle points off inside the sail.  (Wear safety glasses for this.) Also, the shorter the needle the better.

I also would like to recommend "Beadalon" for the cabling

[OldNoob]

Also i used aluminium tubes for the scopes and left them extended as if the Sub were submerged.

[OldNoob]

Finally i made the artillery movable. guess it was the kid in me.
 The main gun can be moved side to side and up and down.

Oh and i would like to add , a few gun pieces went missing during the build. That might be a bit noticeable to some. 

IMPORTANT: To anyone starting this model I would strongly suggest washing the hull and sail pieces first. I found that evidently there were lubricants left on the plastic from the molding process which tended to make the paint  not stick.
 

[SG]

Thanks for the extra pics. A great Work indeed, Congrats!

[42rocker]

Nice Finished model. I've got one that I need to finish. Someday. Your finish will hopefully give me some push to do it.

Later 42rocker

[Rokket]

How did I miss this thread since Feb!!! I better check my msg display settings... Apologies for not commenting earlier!

Congrats! Finished and looking sharp! Well done!

I used thread on my VIIC for rigging and railing rigging. I soaked a rag with black paint, and dragged that over white cotton thread. Not a goopy amount of paint, just a bit to turn the white to black (if it was gray I knew there wasn't enough paint). This makes the little hairs disappear. Then tightened the thread as tight as tight could be, and sealed the knots with a tiny bit of CA glue. Held taught for 7 years...

[billp51d]

   Nicely done ,OLDNOOB ! One question, though. I wanted to use "beadalon" on my
Type II but could not find a suitable adhesive. What did you use ?? Many thanks in advance..
  Bill

[OldNoob]

   Nicely done ,OLDNOOB ! One question, though. I wanted to use "beadalon" on my
Type II but could not find a suitable adhesive. What did you use ?? Many thanks in advance..
  Bill

Bill, i ran into that as well. What i ended up doing is looping the wire as much as i could and putting a little crimp tube on the ends. This further took away from the accuracy but it seemed to work. I replaced the aerials with hot needles  which were stronger than the plastic and could hold the tension of the wire.






Sorry for the dusty picture. On the rear i attached the cabling to a piece of plastic and then ran  the cable up though the deck where i  looped it through the post and put a sight amount of tension on the aerial post and then crimped it. I did use CA inside of the tube along with the crimp.

[billp51d]

    Many, many thanks OldNoob..  Whoda thunk it !! Sometimes the best solution
is the most obvious. The best part is the crimped brass won't even be seen by
my application.
 Bill

[OldNoob]

    Many, many thanks OldNoob..  Whoda thunk it !! Sometimes the best solution
is the most obvious. The best part is the crimped brass won't even be seen by
my application.
 Bill

I would recommend steel or hard brass for the crimp tube,, or just use the ones designed for the jewelery wire, they are precut and i think made of stainless steel.