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I just received WEN's PE 7233 set for Revell's Gato. It is Fantastic! Here is the email I sent back to WEN:
I just received your PE 7233 set and all I can say is, WOW!! You folks have done a fantastic job of rendering a lot of the hardware to make an excellent model of a Gato submarine with. I can't wait to see it also in 1/144. It is terrific the options you put into the Radar set as far as early and late SJ antennas and offering the SV reflector too. Also, the Conning tower Frame work is superb. It assembles just like the real thing. I can't come up with enough accolades. I have spent a considerable amount of time reverse engineering a lot of these items for a 1/180 Gato I am building out of the Revell Lionfish kit so I know what is accurate and what is not. (I've attached some photos of my work to verify my qualifications.) Your attention to detail is the best I have seen in the aftermarket business. The references you used are the best in the industry.
It is great how you accommodated positioning the SJ radar either for or aft of the periscopes as most boats eventually were modified for aft mounted SJs. One thing that is not included and needs to be added is a 1" x 4" (1:1 scale, approx.) vertical piece for each of the Side Fillets (parts #15) and the Rear Brace (part #17). The structures when viewed from the top are "T" shaped. The 1" x4" forms the top of the "T". The bottom of the "T" is welded against the periscope tube. The hypotenuse of items #15 and #17 are straight, top to bottom. The fillet that you have at the bottom of these parts is on the outside of the 1"x 4" piece. Refer to page 24 in Floating Drydock's "Plan Book of Gato and Balao Class Submarines", upper left-hand corner. FD refers to them as "Periscope Supports". One other item that should have been included to make the set complete is also shown on page 24, the "Top Supports". The name is a bit of a misnomer as these parts actually are located at the bottom of the "Periscope Supports" as can be seen in the "Periscope Supports" view and the complete assembly view below on page 24. They act as a horizontal base-plate for the vertical supports.
Once again, thank you for some stunning work. I will make sure that the Bulletin Boards I am a member of are made aware of these fine pieces of PE. I only wish you would offer the Radar antennas in 1/192 for my project! Radar antennas are the most difficult item to fashon. The ones offered by Nautilus are not very good or accurate, I will not use them.
I just received your PE 7233 set and all I can say is, WOW!! You folks have done a fantastic job of rendering a lot of the hardware to make an excellent model of a Gato submarine with. I can't wait to see it also in 1/144. It is terrific the options you put into the Radar set as far as early and late SJ antennas and offering the SV reflector too. Also, the Conning tower Frame work is superb. It assembles just like the real thing. I can't come up with enough accolades. I have spent a considerable amount of time reverse engineering a lot of these items for a 1/180 Gato I am building out of the Revell Lionfish kit so I know what is accurate and what is not. (I've attached some photos of my work to verify my qualifications.) Your attention to detail is the best I have seen in the aftermarket business. The references you used are the best in the industry.
It is great how you accommodated positioning the SJ radar either for or aft of the periscopes as most boats eventually were modified for aft mounted SJs. One thing that is not included and needs to be added is a 1" x 4" (1:1 scale, approx.) vertical piece for each of the Side Fillets (parts #15) and the Rear Brace (part #17). The structures when viewed from the top are "T" shaped. The 1" x4" forms the top of the "T". The bottom of the "T" is welded against the periscope tube. The hypotenuse of items #15 and #17 are straight, top to bottom. The fillet that you have at the bottom of these parts is on the outside of the 1"x 4" piece. Refer to page 24 in Floating Drydock's "Plan Book of Gato and Balao Class Submarines", upper left-hand corner. FD refers to them as "Periscope Supports". One other item that should have been included to make the set complete is also shown on page 24, the "Top Supports". The name is a bit of a misnomer as these parts actually are located at the bottom of the "Periscope Supports" as can be seen in the "Periscope Supports" view and the complete assembly view below on page 24. They act as a horizontal base-plate for the vertical supports.
Once again, thank you for some stunning work. I will make sure that the Bulletin Boards I am a member of are made aware of these fine pieces of PE. I only wish you would offer the Radar antennas in 1/192 for my project! Radar antennas are the most difficult item to fashon. The ones offered by Nautilus are not very good or accurate, I will not use them.
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