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1/350 Hobby Boss French Navy submarine cruiser "Surcouf"


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G'day people,

 

Here is my completed HB Surcouf.

 

This is a great kit that went together without any hassles. The only aftermarket items I used were some 1/350 crew figures as the kit includes a small but useful PE fret.

I began this kit in 2014 and it was sitting in the cupboard of doom however I finally decided it was time to finish this one.

 

The Surcouf  was an interesting concept but ultimately she was never tested in combat, and the development of the submarine cruiser concept ended with the loss of the Surcouf and all 130 hands. The fate of the submarine remains a mystery to this day as she was last sighted leaving Bermuda on the night of the 18/19 Feb 1941. At the time she was the largest submarine yet built and it was not until the appearance of the Japanese Navy I-400 class that this achievement was surpassed.

 

I wanted to depict that the main armament  (the twin 203mm guns) was a separate structure from the main main superstructure so the forward section was separated after the halves were joined and a new interior  bulkhead and turret aft sections were added

 

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I also wanted show the two aft swiveling torpedo units. The kit lacks the openings for these two units, so I opened these up and scratchbuilt a very crude representation. The Surcouf was initially equipped with a Besson MB.411 observation plane that was stowed in an aircraft hangar aft of the conning tower, however by 1941 the little seaplane was no longer carried. The kit supplies two complete sprues in clear plastic to enable you to build two of these aircraft (however there are only enough decals for one aircraft) so I built the MB.411 to show off against the sub and opened the aft hangar door. The MB.411 sits on its own small base and the handling dolly was also scratchbuilt but it is a complete work of fiction on my part!

 

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Meanwhile I finished painting up the hull and added the  various bits of deck furniture and the PE railings. Some crew figures were added for scale comparison.

 

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So how much bigger was the I-400?

 

A direct comparison with the 1/350 Tamiya kit:

 

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The I-400 was not a great deal longer but certainly had a greater displacement, and it also carried three aircraft in her forward hangar,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

 

 

 

Edited by Pappy
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Gidday Pappy, I really enjoyed seeing your model here. Until now I never realized that the casing under the turret was part of the revolving structure. And an interesting comparison with the Japanese I-400, which looks quite a bit chunkier (now that's a nautical description!) Plus the extra work you've done, all adds to the final result I think. Very impressive. Regards, Jeff.

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  • 2 weeks later...
13 hours ago, UKPonchoMan said:

Beautiful job Pappy!

 

One question - what did you use for the red pressure hull? I'm working on mine as we speak but not entirely sure as to the "right" colour! :)

 

Chris

 

G'day Chris,

 

I used Tamiya Hull Red (XF-9) which tends to be a less vibrant red but I should also say that over this base coat I mottled variations of the same colour with some orange, brown and some blue, so that eventually there are about five different shades of the same colour. I also added the weathering effects (mostly oils as stains and as a filter) over the top so it is not really just one unifiorm colour. I used the kit painting instructions as a guide and went from there.

 

I also made an error with the painting pattern as the topside grey should extend forwards along the upper surfaces of the ballast tanks on either side of the main hull.  It is not shown in the side profile provided in the kit but is suggested in the plan view. I was aware of the issue when I began the kit a few years ago but overlooked it when I recommenced the build  recentlyso hopefully you won't be caught out,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

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I'm not a ship modeler, but I know an outstanding build when I see one! Unusual subject, to say the least, but the detailing and weathering are top notch. Loved the little observation aircraft, too! The I-400 class build is also outstanding! Thanks for showing your work to us!

Mike

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  • 3 weeks later...

That's a really nice model of a fascinating subject.  I was always intrigued by the Surcouf since the first time I ran across a description of her.   

 

I think your work in separating the gun mount and canting it slightly is a really nice touch and helps draw the eye to this unique feature of the submarine.  The observation plane also adds a nice bit of color to the display.  

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On 8/22/2019 at 4:14 PM, Alpha Delta 210 said:

Excellent model of a type that I was unaware of. I also didn't know that the French operated submarines at that point in the war. Off to do some research!

 

On 8/22/2019 at 10:49 PM, SleeperService said:

Two very beautiful (and large) builds there. Very nice work on the turret too.

G'day Sleeper and AD210

 

Once I found a pic of the turret in its traversed position I knew I just had to depict that feature. I didn,t know anything about either sub before buying the kits as I mainly build modern jets, thanks for the comments

On 8/23/2019 at 3:40 AM, 72modeler said:

I'm not a ship modeler, but I know an outstanding build when I see one! Unusual subject, to say the least, but the detailing and weathering are top notch. Loved the little observation aircraft, too! The I-400 class build is also outstanding! Thanks for showing your work to us!

Mike

G'day Mike,

 

Thanks very much for the kind words. The Tamiya kit is a great build, everything you would expect of the big T. The HB surcouf was also a vice free build, but my 'modifications' did add some extra complexity!

 

On 8/24/2019 at 4:40 AM, Greg Law said:

Those are both  beautiful builds. You could almost call them the survivor and the victim of WW2.

 

On 9/14/2019 at 8:01 AM, mdauben said:

That's a really nice model of a fascinating subject.  I was always intrigued by the Surcouf since the first time I ran across a description of her.   

 

I think your work in separating the gun mount and canting it slightly is a really nice touch and helps draw the eye to this unique feature of the submarine.  The observation plane also adds a nice bit of color to the display.  

Thanks again fellas.

 

To be completely honest, I was not relly aware of the existence of these two leviathans until I saw the kits in the LHS/online. Once I had bought each kit and started doing the research, I was amazed that they were built and that they were not widely known about. The more I read about them, the more interesting they became,

 

cheers 

 

Pappy

Edited by Pappy
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As always Ken, surprising abd fascinating in equal measure, thanks for posting. Also, if I may, what kit is the HMS X.1 based on, I want one!

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

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