Revell 1/72 scale Gato-class submarine

Kit: 0348
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Revell, 1-800-833- 3570, www.revell-monogram.com
Price: $98.98
Comments: Injection-molded, 274 parts, decals
Pros: Large parts are well molded, prebent grab handles
Cons: Its large size can make it hard to handle, fit problems with 40mm gun

Revell has released its 1/72 scale model of the Gato-class submarine, and boy, is it big. How big? How about 52" long!
All of the parts are packed in a study box. I was impressed that the large hull pieces show almost no molding flaws. The hull is molded in six parts, with its fore, mid, and aft sections molded in halves. The hull features delicate raised weld lines. The deck is molded in three parts. Clear parts are supplied for the running lights, compass, searchlight, and gun sights. Pre-bent wire for the grab handles and mast antenna is a nice touch. Thin black thread is provided for the cable rails on the deck and forward gun platform.
The large instruction booklet contains clear assembly diagrams and almost all of the parts are named. Detail painting notes throughout the instructions do not match the photos of the built-up model on the box, though. The large decal sheet includes a large selection of flags, as well as hull and tower numbers. Markings are provided for four different submarines.
Assembly starts with the main hull. Large alignment pins and bulkheads make the assembly strong, but I still needed several rubber bands and clamps to get a tight fit between the hull halves. The only seam that really needs work on the mid hull is the keel, and this is a flat area that was easy to fill. Next come the fore and aft hull sections. I didn't add the bow planes as indicated in step four, preferring to add them after the hull was painted. I also left the prop guards and prop shafts off the rear hull until it was joined to the rest of the hull.
Before mating the forward hull to the mid hull, I painted the interior sections that might be seen through the hull's openings flat black. The hull pieces fit together nicely, but small gaps do still exist. Rather than using putty to fill them, I used pieces of fine stretched sprue to fill the gaps, since they look a lot like weld seams. Even though some of the stretched-sprue welds exist in places where there weren't seams on the full-size boat, the results blend in nicely.
The fit of the side vent plates and the deck pieces is good, but filling was required at all of these seams, especially where the front deck meets the nose and where the vent plates meet the decks. I used auto-body spot putty. Don't forget to open up holes in the deck for the deck gun before gluing it in place.
Building the sail was straightforward. Some filling was needed around the deck joint. You will need a pin vise and small drill bit to open up the holes for the wire steps. A guide piece is provided to space the steps the proper distance from the sail side. All of the guns went together easily except the 40mm. I had to trim the right gun-mount shaft; it wouldn't let the barrel assembly sit in the mount properly. The clear-plastic gun sights don't look too realistic, and will best be replaced by aftermarket photoetched metal parts.
The measure 32/335B paint scheme indicated in the instructions is a late-war scheme, and by that time most Gatos would have had their towers modified to a cut-down style. For a good look at a cut-down tower, look at the upper photo in the decal-placement guide for the USS Silversides. Notice how the tower sides are lower that the ones in the photo of the USS Cobia.
I used Tamiya sky gray (XF-19) for the light gray sections of the scheme, and neutral gray (XF-53) for the darker gray areas. The rest of the hull was painted with Tamiya semi-gloss black (XF-18) mixed with flat white (about 10 percent) and some Tamiya flat base. The sail and guns were also painted sky gray, then given a wash of dark-gray oils to make the detail stand out. I lightly dry-brushed the deck with some medium-gray oils. I painted the propellers using Testor Metalizer brass. After the deck stanchions and details were added, I glued the deck gun and sail to the deck.
It took me about 28 hours to build the big boat. I thought I would never finish painting that satin-black hull. The finished model matches the dimensions for the Gato class listed in Osprey's New Vanguard U.S. Submarines 1941-'45. Built right out of the box, the model makes an impressive display model of a Gato sub. No doubt the aftermarket companies will be hard at work supplying upgrade and conversion parts for the kit to turn it into a true museum piece.
- John Plzak