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A quick conversion from the 1/350 HMS Trafalgar from Airfix. I tried to use oil colours for some variation in the paint work but I feel I don't work in this small scale. I don't like the stand in the kit. I have to do something about it. Time to go back to my Trafalgar and the boring job of masking. Build pics: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235050191-another-1350-hms-swiftsure/

I have thought of building an URF (UbåtsRäddningsFarkost) or Submarine Rescue Vessel used by the Swedish navy. It would probably be easiest to build it from scratch but I find it mentally easier to start from something with similar basic shapes. I looked at the drop tank from a 1/72 Italeri SAAB Gripen and found that I could use it. It was to flat so I had to add some plastic strips between the halves. I then cut it and used the front part. I filled it with Magic Sculp and also reshaped one side for less rounded corners. This has now became the tail so I started to build a new nose from Magic Sculp. The basic shape is getting there. More Magic Sculp building and a piece of plastic tube added to the bottom. a maritime match stick for size. It comes from a Cunard ship Next will be the fins

Inspired by some builds here I bought another Trafalgar that had been started and with some parts for the rudders missing. I started by shortening it, cut down the height of the rudder and adding a second outlet. I tried to get some life in the all dark grey hull. This was a rather quick build. Finished kit: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235050193-hms-swiftsure-finished/

Finished out of the box. The only thing that I disliked about it was the lack of instructions for decal placement. There were two small pictures on the side of the box. One partly hidden by a sticker. I have a couple of other submarines going on right now. I'll be back when they are finished.

Here I present my latest build, an OOB build of a Vanguard Class SSBN using the Bronco kit. The only bit of work needed was the mating of the hull halves. Primed using Halford's grey primer, German tank grey for lower hull and Halford's satin black was used overall. The sub was 'Kleared', decaled and coated with Tamiya satin varnish. Das Boot was masked to leave the deck exposed, with VERY low tac masking over the two decals and painted with Humbrol matt black and the sonar array was glossed with Klear. Five masts were fitted into fin and a couple of Tamiya figures were added to complete build. WIP here: Stuart

* "ORP Sokół (Polish: Falcon) was a U-class submarine (formerly HMS Urchin) built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness. Shortly after launching in September 1940 she was to be commissioned by the Royal Navy as HMS Urchin, but instead was leased to the Polish Navy due to a lack of experienced submarine crews.[citation needed] A sister boat to Dzik, both boats operated in the Mediterranean from Malta, where they became known as the 'Terrible Twins'." * 1/400 scale Mirage kit contains PE and resin upgrades. Only resin part is nose. And it does not fit well. So it needs alot of filling and sanding. * I scratchbuilt ladders, gun barrel, weld marks, exhaust covers etc. Thanks for viewing... Çetin

Hi everybody, I started to make the Hobby Boss 1:350 - PLAN Kilo class submarine WIPKilo001 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr Some technical info: The Kilo class is the NATO reporting name for a military diesel-electric submarine that is made in Russia. The original version of the vessels were designated Project 877 Paltus in Russia. There is also a more advanced version, designated as Improved Kilo in the west, and Project 636 Varshavyanka in Russia. The boats are mainly intended for anti-shipping and anti-submarine operations in relatively shallow waters. Original Project 877 boats are equipped with Rubikon MGK-400 sonar system, which includes a mine detection and avoidance sonar MG-519 Arfa. Newer Project 636 boats are equipped with improved MGK-400EM, with MG-519 Afra also upgraded to MG-519EM. The improved sonar systems have reduced the number of operators needed by sharing the same console via automation. Project 636, sometimes called "The Black Hole" by the US Navy for its uncanny ability to "disappear", is thought to be one of the quietest diesel-electric submarine classes in the world. Type warship SSK - Attack Submarine Displacement 3.000 tons Crew 52 complement Length 70,00 meters Beam 9,90 meters Draught 6,20 meters Speed 20,0 knots Range 13.900 Km Propulsion 2 X Diesel resulting in 6.800HP Weapons 4 Missile 3M-54E Klub-N (AN; range:220 km; speed:3000 km/h; caliber:533 mm;) 18 Torpedo YU-6/9 (AN-ASW; range:45 km; speed:65 km/h; caliber:533 mm;) I would make a Kilo-class submarine #372 Yuǎnzhēng 72 Hao of PLA Navy First steps: WIPKilo002 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr WIPKilo003 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr Assembled, painted and ... ready for weathering ... WIP-Kilo001 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr WIP-Kilo002 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr WIP-Kilo003 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr WIP-Kilo004 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr

Hi mates, I assembled a classic Revell Kit: KitImage by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#01 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#02 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#03 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#04 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#05 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#06 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#07 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#09 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#11 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#12 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#13 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#14 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr [ url=https://flic.kr/p/29sxPMY]U-Boot#15[/url] by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#16 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#17 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr U-Boot#18 by Rodolfo Masti, su Flickr

There are some accuracy issues with this kit, such as wood cladding on the metal cones which I had to replace with smooth iron. I'm trying to make realistic wood and iron plate textures. I still have to apply rust and weathering and detail parts, it looks quite flat and cartoony until I do so.

Ever since finding this photo of the Balao-class sub USS Sealion, I have wanted to try and model her...... All I needed was a 1/350 scale model of a Sikorsky HRS-3 helicopter to place on her widened deck aft of the fairwater..... Then I found that Shapeways Models made a 3D-printed S-55 heicopeter - so I was ready to start... I'm using the AFV-Club Gato-class sub as a starting point....... Sealion is a Balao-class sub (improved Gato), so I needed a late-style fairwater - also made by Shapeways..... The S-55 helicopters are sold in blocks of 4 - and they are simply stunning.... Here's a single example - all of 36mm (1.5in) long....... I just hope my failing eyesight and fat fingers can do it justice... All I need to do now is widen that decking aft of the fairwater........ watch this space. Ken

I'm working on converting Airfix's 1/350 Trafalgar to a Swiftsure class. I thought I had read somewhere that all the Swiftsures used the shrouded pump jet propulsor, does anyone know if that is correct? If not, do we know which boat used which propulsion method?

It's finished, and on an underwater vignette. To be honest I know I can do better but I rushed this one out as I was getting bored with this model. I have a rule of only ever starting/working on one build at a time, so I quickly finished it so I can start something else. I just didn't get much satisfaction from this kit, can't say why, I'm glad it's done.

Dutch O-16 Submarine Pacific Crossroads 1:350 History The Inter-War Dutch submarine fleet could be split into two categories: O, (Onderzeeboot) boats, designed for the home waters and K, (Kolonien), boats, for deployment in the vast East Indies colonies. The main differences between the two types were size and range, which was greater for the K boats due to the operational area. The O-16 was the first submarine which combined the range, size and speed of the colonial boats with the handling and armament requirements of the boats designed for the European waters. The keel for the O-16 was laid down in December 1933 at K.M. De Schelde shipyard in Vlissingen. She was launched on January 27th 1936 and commissioned on October 26th. In early 1937 O-16 sailed to the United States, visiting Norfolk and Washington D.C. with stops at Bermuda, the Azors and Lisbon. In 1939 she was attached to the Dutch East Indies submarine fleet. When war was declared on Japan on December 8th 1941, O-16 was already on patrol in the South China Sea and commenced attacking Japanese forces that were invading northeast Malaya. On December 10th she damaged a troopship. Two days later O-16 attacked several troopships in the Bay of Soengei Patani on the East coast of Malaya, sinking three in shallow water and damaging a fourth. With only one torpedo left she sailed for Singapore. On December 15th O-16 struck a mine exiting the Gulf of Siam during her voyage to Singapore. She was nearly broken in half and 41 men perished. Only one crew member, Boatswain Cornelis De Wolf, survived. In October 1995, the wreck of O-16 was found and three years later was filmed and photographed. The Model This kit is the first submarine from Pacific Crossroads and it was a very pleasant surprise when it arrived in the post, as I wasn’t expecting it, so thanks for the this Boris. The kit comes in a very sturdy cardboard box with a picture of the O-16 moored alongside a Far Eastern jetty in a very dramatic light and a War Cross medal with Nederlandsch 1941-42 Bar in the right hand corner. On opening the box the modeller is presented with a very well protected hull form, wrapped in bubble wrap, a clear plastic box with all the other resin parts carefully protected, a sheet of etched brass, (although like the other kits from Pacific Crossroads it still looks like copper), a small poly bag containing a small decal sheet and the turned barrel of the main gun. The instructions come with a short history section, reproduced above, some period photographs and colour plan view of the starboard side and top. The instructions themselves are in a pictorial form of coloured drawings. They are very clear and well annotated, showing which parts go where. The modeller will have to scratch build the radio and periscope masts, but there are clear plans for these at the rear of the instructions. Whilst the protection of the main, single piece hull is very good some of the bollards had broken off, but these can easily be replaced with suitably sized rod or even aftermarket parts. The detail moulded into the hull is very nice, but there are some scratches on the sides that will need to be sanded down a bit. The wooden slat decking appears a little over scale and would benefit from a light sanding to reduce the depth a bit, this goes for the deck piece that covers the external torpedo tubes too. The hull isn’t connected to heavily to the moulding block so once removed it shouldn’t be too difficult to clean up ready for the build. The rest of the parts comprising of the single piece tower, propellers, complete with shafts, external torpedo tubes, aft pair of dive planes, rudder, and ships guns, two AA and the single main are all very nicely moulded and will need only a minimal clean up after removal from the casting blocks. As stated above the main gun comes with option of using a turned metal barrel. This will require the resin barrel to be removed and a small hole drilled into the gun to fit. Etch The single etched sheet provides the rest of the parts required to complete the build and included the various railings for the hull and tower, two cranes, one fitted forward and one aft, vertical ladders and two “accommodation ladders”. There are also two aerial spreaders/supports, the bow cable/net cutter, watertight doors for the tower, aft AA gun gratings, two plates that cover the external, trainable torpedo mounting, which can be posed either open or closed and the two foreplanes. Two quite large plaques are provided for attaching to whatever base you decide to mount the completed model on. The build is quite simple, but I can imagine a little fiddly, but one everything is removed from the casting blocks and cleaned up it shouldn’t cause too many problems for the more experienced modeller. I would assemble the masts first in preparation for fitting at the appropriate point. Once these are done the tower can be fitted to the hull, followed by the trainable torpedo tubes, which are fitted into the well on the foredeck and cover by the separate deck piece. The propellers/shafts are then fitted, along with the aft diveplanes, which come complete with prop guards, and rudder. The ships guns are then fitted to their appropriate positions before the etched parts are fitted. The railings are particularly fine and along with the aerial supports great care should be taken to fit them in their appropriate positions without damaging them. The three periscopes and main mast can then be fitted before painting begins. Of course this is only one way of building the model and the modeller should choose what’s best for them and the way they tackle it. Decals The small sheet contains two Dutch flags, which I presume are fitted either side of the tower, although some research will be need to determine the correct placement, and two very small, (I missed them completely, until Boris pointed them out), white identification codes. Make sure you don't lose them when dipping the sheet in water. Conclusion For the first submarine release Pacific Crossroads have chosen an unusual and exciting example. Even the colour scheme will make it stand out from the crowd in a display. Whilst every effort has obviously been made to ensure the parts are well protected there are bound to be some breakages as evidenced on the review sample, but there is nothing that can’t be scratch built to replace these small fragile parts. If you like submarines, you’ll love this and it really should be included in any collection. Very highly recommended Review sample courtesy of

I have been impressed by some of the previous conversions of Airfix's 1:350 scale HMS Trafalgar kit that I have seen on this forum; so much so that I felt a desire to do one myself. This one will be a waterline version of HMS Spartan, set in the Falklands during 1982, which I plan to incorporate into a diorama, possibly with other vessels later. Much has already been said about shortening the hull length by 7mm, to get the correct dimensions for the Swiftsure class SSN's, so I am starting this with the hull already converted. Herewith the modified kit. The horizontal indentations on the forward hull sides have been filled, as they do not appear on photo's of the period I have planned for. The model needs the twin baffles to be installed on the hull, alongside the fin; plus the tail fin and other kit parts. As this is a waterline setting, the tail fin will appear separated from the hull; therefore I have placed the model onto a card base. This base will be trimmed to the width of the hull and will be hidden by the sea setting that will surround the model. My intention, hopefully, will be to have Spartan berthed alongside another vessel; probably the Stena Seaspread which was used for repair and maintenance of vessels after the conflict had ended. Well, it's a start and I hope that I can turn this into an acceptable representation of this fine submarine. Thanks for looking. Mike

Good afternoon. I present to you my build of Combrig's re-boxing of U-Boat Laboratorium's UB I type coastal submarine in 1/350, painted as UB-2 (though the plaque says UB 1). From the kit's instruction sheet: "UB-2 entered service on February 18, 1915 and was attached to training Kurland flotilla. An experienced sailor oberleutnant-zur-see Werner Furbringer, future high-scoring U-boot commander and 'Blue Max' winner, became her first captain. "Having successfully completed training UB-2 passed to Flandria to a first line unit. Sincethe beginning of May 1915 up to the end of December 1916 she completed 40 combat cruises and sunk 11 vessels. In January 1917 the submarine transferred to a training flotilla and served there until the end of the war." My first resin ship kit, and was very simple to build; she's barely 3 inches long! The hull was a single piece with the other parts being the rubber assembly, rigging, railing and various other parts. And I lost the propeller. I scratch-built the masts from brass rod and some of the rigging wires with nickel wire. I used Mig Ammo Medium Grey and Citadel Abaddon Black for the paint scheme, and a Copic liner for the face. Weathering was done with an oil paint dot streaking method and Mig Ammo's Rust Oilbrusher. Enjoy!

Hey Guys, This is the old(ish) Zvezda offering boxed under Flagman, which also have their Hotel Class K-19. The kit is not necessarily basic, but its one one sprue and most of the parts go into the various masts on the sail. The kit is curiously designed in the way that the two hull halves go together to leave a gap on the top, where the decks are later fitted. Even more curiously is how they give you a flat deck piece thats meant to bend down over the bow. Furthermore the conning tower was left separate in two halves. Two towers were provided so that you could either produce the Project. 627 or the Project. 627A which was a later (and more common) variant with a different sonar set up including a German-esque chin sonar bulb. The rest of the kit was simple enough but I must say the fit was poor. The bow hydroplanes and the various stern planes locating pins were oversized when compared to the holes they were designed for. and where the hydroplanes aft of the propellers were, they seemed to be too far forward and had to be adjusted to allow the fitting of the propeller. The model was painted with colourcoats (ex-White Ensign) Hull red and NATO Black from Tamiya. Then using oil paints I streaked from all of the major inlet valves for both the main and trim ballast tanks finishing with a coat of Xtracolour Matte Varnish. And here she is with some of her contemporaries as well as successors As you may have/haven't seen my photo set up is pretty rough so hopefully you'll be able to at least see the outline! Thanks for looking Sam

Hey guys, This is MikroMir's very nicely detailed but poorly fitting Alfa. I say poorly fitting because you attempt to put the hull halves together and you end up with something that looks like a poorly peeled banana. The main fin is moulded to the upper hull half because it's so streamlined that there's no point having it separate I'd like to guess. The little (well unusually large on the real thing compared to other submarines) windshield-like thing on top of the sail was photoetch. The idea of the part was to fold it over and sandwich a piece of clear acrylic between two impressions of the windshield, creating the fold up screen that stops you ending up with a bunch of wet Russians. But I may suggest simply cutting one of the windshield pieces away and going at it without the acrylic, mainly for scale appearance because mine appears slightly too thick. The model was painted with the colourcoats (ex-white ensign) hull red and Tamiya's NATO black. This black I feel gives a better representation of the rubberised anechoic tiles the Russians slathered on the submarine to reduce the noise. The models decals were interesting to say the least. The red and white disk which is the protruding dome of the emergency buoy came in separate parts which then separated further at the first look of water. Not to mention the various other decals had about as much strength as the Warsaw Pact in 1991. Finally I added the photoetch propeller blades for both the two trim propellers and the main one of which it was mainly guestimation because the main hub-bulb thing which the blades hang off of was moulded smooth. Again, with some of my other posts you may have/have not seen, my photo set up is rough to say the least so I hope you can at least tell its a submarine! Many Thanks Sam

Lots of extras, check out build thread below. Build thread!

After serving in RN subs on and off for 9 years, first serving on HMS Courageous, a brief period on Conqueror and lastly on Renown, I thought it was remiss of me not to have better collection of subs. I have some of these subs already in 1/700 scale by OKB but they're just too small and with little else on the market, I drifted to the 'dark-side' of aircraft. I have recently read threads about converting the 1/350 Trafalgar Class to the Swiftsure Class and was wondering if the same donor kit can be used to get a Valiant Class, Dreadnought or is it a none starter? Stuart

Inspired by Andrew's excellent conversion - and prompted by an observation that I didn't have an 'S-Boat' in my collection, I decided to make a model of HMS Splendid. This was a Swiftsure Class submarine that preceded the Trafalgar Class. With notes from Andrew (many thanks ) the hull was shortened by 7mm, the upper rudder was also cropped and the single vents on the hull sides of the Trafalgar were replaced by two smaller vents per side. The finished model..... Comparison between Trafalgar and Splendid..... More photos here. Ken

Swedish submarines I had earlier built the HMS Gotland in 1/350 from OKB Grigorov and started a search for the other Swedish submarine that have been made as a model. That was the HMS Västergötland from Sea Wolf. The searchtook a couple of year but finally I got one. It isn't a very large kit in 1/350 scale. The finished kit. Two of the submarines in this class got modified with Stirling engines and I wanted to build one. I was lucky to find a second kit so I could start one. This conversion fought me. After all work with putty and sanding was done I managed to break it apart so I had to glue it together again and start all over. To finish it I had to make a similar propeller as on the HMS Gotland. (Plastic card and the tip of an aircraft missile) Here they are together. Gotland, Södermanland an Västergötland. Named after provinces in Sweden. (The Gotland build: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234930841-hms-gotland-finished

A Danish expedition has found the wreckage of a German submarine from World War I. The wreckage was found around 10 kilometers (six miles) off the west coast of Jutland, Denmark. It includes 18 intact mines and six torpedoes, according to the diving expedition firm, JD-Contractor, that found it. The submarine is reported to be UC-30, but this is yet to be confirmed by the Danish Maritime Authority. UC-30 was a German minelaying submarine used during World War I. The U-boat was ordered in August 1915 and commissioned the following year. In four patrols, UC-30 was credited with sinking five ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-30 was mined and sunk off Horns Reef on April 21, 1917. In June 1917, the remains of a man in German uniform were washed ashore in Bjergehuse, Denmark. The remains were buried at the local parish and later identified as the captain of the submarine, Kapitänleutnant Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Maximilian Stenzler. In November that year, Stenzler’s remains were returned to Germany and buried in the family grave in Stralsund. The Danish Ministry of Defence will now assess what to do with the unexploded ammunition on board the wreck. General characteristics Class and type: German Type UC II submarine Displacement: 400t surfaced, 480t submerged Length: 49.45 meters (162 feet 3 inches) o/a Beam: 5.22 meters (17 feet 2 inches) o/a Draught: 3.68 meters (12 feet 1 inch) Propulsion: 2 × propeller shafts, 2 × 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engines, 2 × electric motors Speed: 11.6 knots surfaced, 6.7 knots submerged Range: 9,410 nautical miles at 7 knots surfaced, 53 nautical miles at 4 knots submerged Complement: 26 source and video: The Maritime Executive

Having just started the Blue Ridge resin kit of the USS Albacore - I was struck by how similar she was to the Royal Navy's first submarine, HMS Holland. The same teardrop-shaped hull, rear mounted propellers etc - it seems that nothing is new. Anyway, I thought I'd have a go at scratching HMS Holland - so I found some drawings and photos online and scaled them down to 1/350 scale. Conveniently, the hull is 10mm dia in this scale - so I carved out the teardop shape using a 10mm dia plastic knitting needle.... The flat decking is from plastic card cut to shape - and blended in with filler - (it still needs work)...... It won't be museum quality - it is only 56mm long and my eyesight isn't what it was - but it will show just how small she was and will add to my growing submarine collection. Ken

I have just been having a trawl around on Google Earth and found, what appears to be, a WW2 or early postwar era submarine in Malta Dockyard's basin, Grand Harbour. At first I thought it was a U-Boat but I don't think any survived to be in a floating condition. Does anyone know more about this and confirm the class, better still the name, of this submarine which is afloat? Mike

Look what's just 'surfaced' in my mail..... It is a solid resin model of a Soviet Golf-I class submarine. Made by Polar Bear models of Severodvinsk - they are sold as ready-made models - but they also sell the parts as 'kits' - minus instructions or painting details. This is not a problem as there isn't much to construct, the parts are self-evident and a view of the ready-made model shows the colours :- http://www.subs-n-ships.com/pics/subs/ussr/golf/400_golf.jpg The hull is a one-piece solid chocolate-coloured resin casting with a joint seam along the centreline, but is superbly moulded with no flaws or air bubbles... There are large holes in the keel to take the brass stands of the ready-made model - so they will need to be filled.. Once cleaned up it should prove simple to build.... A decal sheet, rear deck dome, forward dive planes, shnorkel, masts and propellers are included. I ordered the kit on-line and payed via PayPal - delivery took a while - but not a problem. I shall certainly be purchasing more of these kits from Polar Bear Ken