Best Type V!! or Gato Kit made...

[rick]

Hi all....I am new to the forum ...I have always been fascinated with Subs since I was a kid....like all of you I am sure....I remember playing with a toy sub where you would put alka seltzer tablets in it..and it would dive and then return to the surface...state of the art then.....boy it has come a long way since.......anyway......I am interested in buying an RC kit and was wondering if you guys could recommend the best kit out there ....considering ease of construction...detail.....etc......I appreciate any and all input....I am interested in either a type VII or a Gato class....something in the 1/94 scale or so...thanx in advance..Rick

[boatbuilder1]

hello and welcome
your question depends

hello and welcome
your question depends on how much you want to spend and how fast you want to get in the water. now with that said, there really aren't much choices in that scale 1/96 is the closest. for a gato or balao I think scale shipyard has great hulls to get you going however they are just that hull's you will need to scratch build virtually everything else. you do get a sail or conning tower, deck guns and fittings, but no deck.
everything you need to get it in the water, you will have to get and make work.
krick has recently released a type VII its has almost everything you need to get going except of course the radio and batteries as well as the speed control's

hope this helps

[chuck chesney]

Hi Rick,
Boatbuilder is exactly right,

Hi Rick,
Boatbuilder is exactly right, you can get model subs in almost any size and price range, from little toys sold at WalMart to VERY sophisticated true scale models. A good resource for real models is www.mikessubworks.com . I have delt with them several times, and found them to be most helpful. They sell a variety of scale subs, parts and equipment.

You didn't say how much model building experience or money you have to spend, but if your starting from scratch, a couple of good places to look is with the SubTech "Albacore" or "Marlin". Neither one is a Gato or one of the WWll German types, but offer the advantage of being designed from the outset as good looking and fully fuctioning sub kits.

The reality is that submarines are more expensive and complex than surface ship models, and you should be prepared to spend several hundred bucks to get into the hobby. The good news is that you will get lots of help on this forum, and joining The Subcommittee will be money very well spent.

[rick]

Hi Charlie.....thanx for taking the

Hi Charlie.....thanx for taking the time to respond....I would prefer not to have to fabricate if you know what I mean....I dont mind spending a little more to get the complete package....any thoughts on the Robbe or Alexander Engel models???

[rick]

Another Charlie.....Hi Chuck......I was involved

Another Charlie.....Hi Chuck......I was involved in RC airplanes for quite awhile...so I did some building there....some crashing too......but it seems I dont have as much time to build as I used to.....nor the room....I am pretty familiar with the cost involved....so I dont think I will be surprised there....I have seen some awesome photos of models here....I am looking forward to getting involved with this hobby....

[chuck chesney]

Hi Rick,
I own an Engels

Hi Rick,
I own an Engels Patrick Henry that I've had for a number of years. My opinion of the Engels ballast system is that it is very space and power consuming, and requires that the boat be a very heavy sealed hull design. It's piston tanks are thirty year old technology, and I've changed the whole thing over to a much lighter and modern wet hull boat with a WTC and Dr. Art Broders RCABS ballast system, which is simple, reliable and inexpensive. Engels piston boats are very popular in Europe, and have their advocates in this country, but they are very expensive for what you get.

Your previous airplane experience will help lots, but subs are still a whole new ball game, and the kits that Mikessubworks sells are still a good place to stat, particularly if building time is an issue. Take a look at the beautiful models that Matt Thor sells there, too.

[rick]

Thanx Chuck....I can appreciate the

Thanx Chuck....I can appreciate the time involved in making these models as authentic as many seem to be.....beautiful stuff....I looked at the Gato sub that Mikes has...doesnt seem quite as detailed as I would like it to be....although I know it is a good place to start...I know the scale is a lot bigger than what I originally stated...but what do you think of the OTW model? It seems pretty complete...although it is a big monster....

[chuck chesney]

Hi Rick,
I've never owned an

Hi Rick,
I've never owned an OTW sub, but I've never heard anything but good reviews about their products and sevice. I think that they use a form of the ballast system that Shearline (another British company) used. It was based on a pump system that used water to compress and release air and water. I've heard that it's a good ballast system, sort of an earlier version of RCABS. I sure could be wrong about the basics of the ballast system, but it's a good one from all I've heard and read.

[rick]

From the pics on their

From the pics on their webpage...it looks to be a very complete kit....although quite large....which isnt necessarily a bad thing.....I think I remember seeing a member who goes by the name of Horrible Harry having a model around this size....personally, a kit around forty to fifty inches is what I am looking for though..

[tabledancer]

Rick,
I to am new to

Rick,
I to am new to R/C subs and wanted to start out with the OTW Type VII,but after I fell out of the Christmas tree on my head I thought I better think about this a while.I ended up doing a ROG conversion with the help of Big Daves kit.Even though this is a great conversion kit and I learned a lot with this kit,my purposes would have been better served if I would have started with a bigger scale kit like the ROBBE U-47.I probably would have spent less money and less time doing that,but it`s all in how much time you want to use and how detailed you want your boat to be.I still want to do a OTW TYPE VII though.I would do a lot of thinking as to what you want before getting wet.Also joining the SubCommittee is the best thing to do first.I received a lot of help here and priceless info.Alot of good people hang around here.
Regards,
TD

[rick]

I have looked at the

I have looked at the Robbe U-47 kit also....although I cant tell if it is as complete as the OTW kit.....From what I have gathered in my short time visiting various websites is that many seem to be constantly tweaking their boats...changing ...modifying...repainting....etc....I absolutely agree with you concerning doing the research before jumping in....I do know that I will not be happy with just a generic model..even though that is where I should start I guess considering my building experience in this area.....It seems a lot of the models I have seen here are uniquely modified...A revell model...that has been "remodeled" for instance....I am just trying to find a fairly all inclusive kit ...that is detailed and doesnt require a engineering degree to assemble....Am I dreaming??

[tabledancer]

No you are not dreaming,there

No you are not dreaming,there are a few kits out there that are fairly complete from what I have seen.The only thing that I disliked wth the ROBBE U-47 was the fact that you have to open the hull by removing the aft part of the hull,I wanted just to be able to remove the deck to service the WTC.There is a good deal on e-bay right now,if you want a late model nuke boat.I was considering it myself.I don`t know what buget constraints you have but that Alfa on e-bay seems rite to me as far as money goes,all you have to do is essemble it,even the radio is there.I have more money tied up in my boat and radio.and my is smaller.If your heart is set on a TYPE VII I would go with the bigger scale boat just for the ease of construction,if you are interested I could shoot you some construction picts of my boat.
TD

[rick]

I would appreciate that greatly....any

I would appreciate that greatly....any pics or info on your project I would enjoy......you can send them to stombujotz@mindspring.com......I kind of have my heart set on a type VII....for some reason I really like the old boats better....seem to have more character if you know what I mean........Rick

[chuck chesney]

Hi Rick,
One of the things

Hi Rick,
One of the things that is often overlooked by folks when they set out to buy/build a boat is the issue of transporting the beast to and from home to the water. You mentioned a boat about 50" long, which is a good maximum size in my opinion. If it will fit in the back seat of the family car and not give you a hernia while your putting it in and taking it out of the water, it's a good size . My Engels boat is about 53" LOA, and it would be nice if it was a little smaller, by about 10" or so.

One of the reasons that nuke boats are so popular is that they have a good beam to length (aspect) ratio. They'e kind of tubby, which is a good thing for a first time boat. You will be astonished at how quickly space gets eaten up in a model sub, and the WWII boats have a very high aspect ratio. There isn't a lot of room in them.

For a first time boat, keep it simple and straight forward. When you read about guys wanting to do exotic things with model subs, they are either absolute experts with years of experience, or much more often, guys who don't have a clue what theyr'e talking about. The jump between talking about something and actually doing it is enormous. Just getting the boat to dive and surface reliably is a worthy challenge in the beginning.

[don prince]

Hi Rick,

The Subcommittee is the

[color=#000000]Hi Rick,

The Subcommittee is the place to be if you are interested in RC subs/U-Boats.... Welcome! Jeffrey LaRue wrote an article on building the OTW Type VIIc and it was published in the SCR December 2003 issue. I wrote an article covering the OTW hull/tower construction for the June 2005 SCR issue. I have posted some photos on the following web site]http://www.81x.com/dprince/PhotoAlbum[/url]

If you download the photos the resolution is very high.

It sounds like you are very interested in the OTW Type VIIc U-boat. This semi-kit will require time, skill, and patients. It's not cheap, but in my humble opinion]