USS Torsk 423 Submarine Sail Conversion for 1:72 Gato Class Revell Hull - 3D

[Iceman 29]

Tks Dave!

 

Problem of the periscope N°2 solved, reprint with a larger hole, the piano wire fits by itself. The solid now, I left a little more gap for it to fit with the paint.

 

The sail one came out very well without a hitch, in one piece, like what, you have to spend time on the whole process. 

 

The porthole and the bubble will be printed separately in translucent resin.

 

By the way, I tested Bernard's friend method which consists in repainting the resin transparencies with a glossy varnish, the result is unexpected, no more yellowing and you can see through. Thanks for the trick.

 

I'm going to test this method with a professional high gloss car paint (2K) in a spray can, the result should be even better than with Humbrol.

Nothing is stuck yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Iceman 29]

3 minutes ago, Adm Lord De Univers said:

He's one very lucky friend. I bet he forget to tell you of his new address however, typical Vincent, it is now:

 

Vincent Surname

Adm Lord D'Univers' House

London

G1V3 1T

 

David

 

I have a copy for you, it just has the English Channel to cross. 😂

 

Switzerland for Vincent is much further. 😅

[ssn705]

Where does the queue/line form?

 

Dave

[Iceman 29]

In PM.

[Courageous]

Great stuff as usual Pascal, great looking prints that fit very well indeed .

 

Stuart

[Iceman 29]

Tks Stuart, It makes me want to build this submarine on my side. But we still need to find this box which is not produced by Revell anymore. 

 

 

For the paint I found some interesting things while searching as always, but it's never easy:

 

The grey is probably modern Haze Gray. Do not confuse with Haze Gray ww2 type 5H.

 

http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08492.htm

 

A brief illustrated history of submarine camouflage:

Excerpt:

 

"The decade of the 1950s saw a return to the overall black of pre world war 2 days. The changes took place in a peacetime environment, so individual boats may have started the period wearing a #27 haze grey and progressed through dark grey to black by 1960 with the color being changed during each yard refit period. Refits usually took place on a 3 year rotational basis. 

A particular boat might be in light grey at some time during this period while her sister, fresh from a yard period, would be in black. There were also special cases where paint was changed to match specific circumstances. 

For example; in 1958 Halfbeak (SS-352) was painted white for arctic operations and submarines assigned to the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean were often painted in lighter grey because the color was regarded as more suitable for that environment. Entemedor (SS-340) is known to have been painted in light grey as late as 1969.
"

I also noticed this interesting info while doing my research, a new LifeColors set has just been released for the following period including UA 655 US modern Haze Gray:

 

 

 

Here you can see the size of the sail which takes up the entire large width of the Photon Mono X's tray. 190 mm long.

 

 

[Iceman 29]

3D printing of the bubble of the quarterdeck.

 

I printed several bubbles and ports to test the varnish, method recommended by my friend Bernard to remove the yellowing of the transparent resin after printing and give it much more transparency.

 

The best method after test is to paint this bubble with 2 or 3 coats of Humbrol gloss varnish n°1 and then paint again once dry with 2 coats of 2K professional body shop varnish. The Humbrol paint is used as a primer, because the body shop varnish had a tendency to react by making micro-craters with the resin. Humbrol gloss alone is not satisfactory. The 2K varnish stretches much more and is super smooth and shiny.

 

I am currently reprinting bubbles and scuttles with the Phrozen Mini 4k but at 20 microns instead of 50. This printer is dedicated to transparency.

 

It is good news to know that you can print good quality canopies with this process.

 

I plan to print seaplanes one day and I will need cockpit canopies then.

 

I think there is still room for improvement in transparency. But it's not bad.

 

 

 

You can see the difference here on the left, without Humbrol varnish, only 2K.

 

 

Here you can see the ports at the print output, not varnished. They are yellow and opaque.

 

 

 

[Iceman 29]

Well, this is it, the floor of the kiosk watch room of this submarine is the final point of this exciting drawing/project of this sail.

 

I didn't go into too much detail on this part because I only have one picture of the interior of this place.

 

I will start the sonar soon and then it will be finished.

 

 

Oil canning galore!  😓

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Knb.1451]

I really like the way the sonar dome hangs off the bottom of the bow, it somehow seems right. Your sail though is incredibly impressive and it makes me want one so I can convert my kit to that style of boat. 

[Iceman 29]

Thanks! 

 

No problem, it is possible to make copies. 👍

[Iceman 29]

A little problem with the sonar.

 

The bow of the USS Torsk Revell ( 1942 ) is not identical to the one after conversion to Guppy Portsmouth type.

 

This poses a problem. Because one can suppose that the bow was modified to install this sonar, pure speculation on my part.

 

I checked with the original plan of the USS 376 Mapiro, converted into a Guppy, the plan dates from 1969. The bow has not been modified, but does not have this type of sonar.

 

 

Revell Plan: 

 

 

 

On the hull, some other differences listed here by Mario Grima:

 

A good friend of mine sent me a nice picture showing the Torsk in the twilight of its active career. It shows an aerial view of the PM's stern, with a dark two-tone measure that is overhanging. What really impressed me was the way the aft deck structure folded inward. The USS Pampanito also has this feature. In the photo, the Torsk had lost its rectangular sides. 

The Torsk in today's museum differs from the photo. The shark's mouth on today's Torsk was not an active pattern, so while I would like to put one in, it would not historically match the configuration of this ship. The deck has also been restored but is missing the original 4 exhaust squares on the aft deck.

The Hull - The Trumpy's hull is an excellent hull for the guppy, as it is round below deck towards the stern. The torpedo doors have been reworked mainly by deepening the holes in the ends. The bow profile was widened and rounded for the Torsk. The deck has been installed in the manner of the 1950s by placing jacks under the panels.

Mario Grima

Photos: 
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/ss/ss-423/144-mg/mg-index.html

[Iceman 29]

The sonar is finished. It's not going to be easy to integrate it in the hull, a lot of adjustment work ahead.  

 

 

 

I enlarged the sonar a little bit as it was a bit too thin according to the dry dock pictures.

 

The printing went well, it hollowed out with reinforcements on the inside.

 

This project for Vincent is now finished. I will just paint the second booth that I printed for myself as it is in the museum. 

 

I found these old pictures with this livery:

 

 

 

And these very interesting documents, you can see the tilting starboard side antenna.

 

https://annapolismaritimeantiques.com/products/a-uss-torsk-brochure-and-lighter?variant=42524026798295

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Courageous]

A nice bit of canning on the sonar doom.

 

Stuart

[Iceman 29]

Tks Stuart, yes it's a challenge in 3D with Fusion360..

 

An afternoon of painting for the massif yesterday. I had received the Lifecolor set to start this step before yesterday.

 

UA655 U.S Modern Navy HazeGrey #2106

UA660 U.S Navy Submarine Black #7106

 

The aging process is not finished. The decals are to be put on for the numbers, if it doesn't suit me ( I'm not a fan in general, it will be done with paint with stencils cut with my Profile machine. 

 

The camouflage of the front periscope is done with a black Bic indelible marker for the marking of clothes, top, followed by a veil of gray airbrush from afar, very diluted, I varnished in matte after. It gives exactly the consistency of the original. Off-white N°5 Humbrol at the base.

 

Remain some rust "cankers" to realize, not too much, and a general matte varnish layer to integrate the whole in a set. . The black is a little satin, too much for my taste, which does not fit with a paint worn by UV or / and the sea.

 

The navigation lights are to be painted, the bottom of the bubble in black, the ports to be mounted, and the floor of the quarterdeck to be glued after.

 

I was careful not to draw too much straight for the limit of the black with the grey, you can see that this delimitation is done by hand on the pictures, sometimes even on the old pictures with a spray gun, see above. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Courageous]

Looking very nice. Question...do you know what that angled 'rail' on the left/port face of the sail is, just wondering ?

 

Stuart

[Iceman 29]

@Stuart This rotating bar is normally used to support another antenna which can be seen here in horizontal position:

 

 

Thanks to the followers, it encourages me for the continuation of the painting and especially the lettering.  

 

 

My USN decals in stock are either too small or too big, 8mm is needed here, so I decided to do the thing with paint and my Silhouette Profil 3 cutter. Also there is some shading to do.

 

The decals I have in stock are white without shading.

 

I still found in China and ordered for stock the rare pearl, but it will take a long time to come:

 

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/174705688389

 

So I started the "building site", one afternoon was not too much . But it's so much better painted.  

 

Cutting of the mask with a USN font that you can find here: 

 

https://fontmeme.com/polices/police-usn-stencil/

 

 

 

 

First, airbrush the black background. Do not dilute the paint, at least as little as possible, apply it with low air pressure, to avoid possible drips under the mask. If this is not successful, the gray should be repainted etc..

 

 

Put a new mask to paint the white (Tamiya XF-2, too white). Do not dilute it, it is already very liquid in this brand. Low pressure and go gently without hurrying in several small successive layers, wait 1 minute between each layer.

 

 

Attenuation of white and shading with Modern Haze grey, a very light veil well diluted is enough once the last mask is removed, low air pressure.

As a result, the lettering fits better aesthetically in the bed, it should not dominate, a good balance must be found. 

 

Concentrate on this last step and don't fall, otherwise...  

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

I think that looks great to my old Mk.I’s 👀

[Adm Lord De Univers]

Now that is just simply stunning.

[Courageous]

On 7/23/2022 at 9:18 PM, Iceman 29 said:

This rotating bar is normally used to support another antenna which can be seen here in horizontal position:

Thanks for that but what you mention is on the right/starboard side.

This angled bar?

Nice paint job on your numbers by the way.

 

Stuart

 

[Iceman 29]

Probably a wire antenna that unrolls., Stuart.

 

I drew a support quickly this afternoon. 

 

The sail will remain removable, if one day I decide to mount the sub completely.

 

 

 

 

 

[Iceman 29]

Printing the hull section. I'll reprint my cleats to get it just right. 

 

Then paint.

 

 

 

[robgizlu]

Every time I look in, I'm just over-awed!

Some lovely weathering on top of all the design and finishing  

Rob

[Iceman 29]

It's coming, Rob, Tks! 

 

There is still the weathering, a little rust to apply, the cleats, a little gray paint on the sides and maybe one or two submariners to give the scale and a little animation..

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Thunderbird77]

Hello Iceman 29,

 

I had specifically joined this forum to ask about this build. I used to work at Historic Ships in Baltimore, the current caretakers for the USS Torsk (SS-423) in Baltimore, Maryland, in fact, I am one of the stars of the video posted at the beginning of this thread with World of Warships. I spent four years working aboard the USS Torsk and sharing her history. I have been seeking a way to replicate the vessel as a model kit as I am also an avid model builder. There used to be a company that was producing resin sails for boats like Torsk for the old Revell 1/110(or whatever) USS Lionfish, but they had long been defunct and the only other option has been to mount the 1/350 AFV Club GUPPY II sail on another 1/350 AFV Club Gato Class, but of course, that wouldn't be perfect. I am posting here to ask if you have made the STL files that you so diligently created for the sail and sonar dome available anywhere or would it be possible to purchase them directly from you as I would think mounting them on the large scale 1/72 Revell Gato class would be fantastic! In any case, thank you so much and thanks for sharing your fantastic work on behalf of myself and Historic Ships Baltimore crew past and present. Along with the USS Torsk Volunteer Association. You've built something that many a museum educator whose worked aboard Torsk has wanted to make.  

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Thunderbird77
Added more

[bissyboat]

Impressive design on the coning tower. Not seen this version before. Big thumbs up on the colour swatches. Love them. ⚓🙌