TOP SECRET ... Revell Gato pics.

[georget]

Ok, just got back from Revell. Everyone was at lunch so I snuck a quick shot of the Gato. The official progress is that there is still some minor issues with the molds, but everything is still on track to ship during the forth quarter. See yu all at the Regatta.


George

[PaulC]

Okay, let me be the

Okay, let me be the first to say, "That looks sweet!"

[tabledancer]

I`ll be the second http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_biggrin.gif

I`ll be the second See if you can sneak one my way.
TD

[joe ellias]

Georget
From what we can see

Georget
From what we can see from the photo, the model looks good. By comparison, how would rate the detail as compared to the Revell Germany Uboats?
Thanks,
Joe

[sam reichart]

what an armful of model...awesome!

what an armful of model...awesome!

[rustysub]

George Thank you for the

George Thank you for the preveiw, However it appears from the photo that the submarine appears smooth, Is this so ? Mario

[rustysub]

George, What I mean about

George, What I mean about it being smooth, is it lacking the riviting & weld lines???

[anonymous]

I'm sure it's there guys.

I'm sure it's there guys. You can't see detail at that scale at the distance the photo is taken from. I have to say the shape of this boat looks great so far and right on the money.

This will be a prefect choice to RC for those of you that don't scratch build. But being a scratch builder myself I still won't pass up buying one of these at such a very low price.

It's taken for ever. I've scratched built 3 boast for kits since they started. But that could be a good sign that they are trying to get it right and not make that generic boat we all worried about. That would have been a disaster had they done it. People who build models want a scale boat. Down to the last weld line. If Revell would ever pat attention to the other forums on static building they would know this. Maybe they did. after all they came here to ask us. Good show.

Although they might have still sold a few we would be adding all the things they missed anyway. But from the looks of it you have a great starting point to build your dream Gato class.

Steve

[georget]

Well, all the weld lines

Well, all the weld lines seem to be there. As for the rivets, I really did not look for them. It was the small parts detail that I was mainly looking at. The foreward dive planes are 100% operational! Retract and pivot. Awesome! The tower detail is incredible. As for a comparison, the level of detail is much higher than the type v kit.
George

[rustysub]

George, I may speak for

George, I may speak for myself when I say this, but if the upper structure is not riveted as it should be then it would be a big disappointment for it would be a big lionfish. I am saying this for I know the amount of work it takes to rivet a sub this big even if its the upper structure and tower , its very tedious , not pleasant. I am really hoping that revell rivets this gorgeous submarine as they did with the 1/144 and 1/172 uboats. It would be a sin if they don't do it here and it would not be within standard of their uboats.

[georget]

Hey Rustysub, relax. Lets not

Hey Rustysub, relax. Lets not bash something you did not see. I model looks great. If I have time I will check out the rivets next week. To me this is very trivial. Hey Revell made a 1/72 scale Gato. Be happy with that. They could have made another car kit!
George

[rustysub]

Hi George, I'm relaxed, and

Hi George, I'm relaxed, and don't like being a devils advocate, but then again, I would hate to see this kit come out rivetless or detail less on the skin, and only reason why I bring this up is after seeing the model in your photo it looks as such. If revell is going to do corrections better now then latter. You see unlike other corrective upgrades, riviting upgrades would be a pain. I am kind of supprised that revell didn't let ROG do the master for the riviting. The uboats are excellent and at the 1/72 scale the riveting stands out. So hopefully the production gato will have the riveting. Thank you Mario

[hakkikt]

Well, if Revell has not

Well, if Revell has not put those rivets on, maybe Revell AG of Germany will issue an upgrade
In fact, the rivets seemed a bit overscale to me on the 1/144 VIID. Not warranting sanding them off like with old airplane kits, but the impression was there.

[stark]

George , Brian Stark we

George , Brian Stark we met at the Regatta , enjoyed your take on the boat ! Glad you puter up here , and I dont care if she comes with no rivets !! I plan to have a fleet of those puppies ! Built every way they came, gona be a weathering mans, Dream Boat. Next years Regatta you will see one on every tabel ! Again, Thanks for sharing with us all !!! BS

[tom dougherty]

Just to put things in

Just to put things in perspective, since I drive by the USS Flasher Memorial in Groton every day, I stopped and looked carefully at the sail. Flasher, like Cobia, is an EB Gato class product. While Flasher received further cut downs, one can see the general construction principles of the conning tower fairwater. Flasher's major plating joins are mostly welds, with rivet heads in a few areas, notably near the main induction housing and under the bridge cowl. So, if the rivets are not present on the kit, we are not looking at hundreds of rivet heads that would need to be installed.

Anyone who would like some digital photos of the Flasher conning tower, just drop me a line. Again, Flasher had even more plating removed than Cobia, hence Flasher represents late war Gato, whereas Cobia is more mid-war.



Edited By Tom Dougherty on 1154696093