1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

[jefftytoo]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

Well done, Paul. I did this for a lot of Seaview's white metal parts myself. Just dipped a few seconds (in Ferric Chloride—from Radio Shack), then agitated in soapy water, then thoroughly rinsed. Worked fine.

JeffP

[PaulC]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

Thanks. Wasn't a big deal. I just don't enjoy working with the chemicals. However, it did get me interested in trying out the photo-etch kit I've had forever.

[jefftytoo]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

Now THAT—whatever you come up with—I'll wanna see!

JeffP

[PaulC]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

Success! We have bow plane retracts. Bow planes down...



A turn of the coupling and... bow planes up.


It took an afternoon of tinkering to get things fine tuned: filing out the superstructure holes just right for the retract arms to clear everything; beveling out the holes on the dive planes themselves for max travel of the retract arms. But they are working well now. Note the scale anti-fouling coating applied to the inside of the bow plane wells (actually JB Weld used to strengthen the joints in the filler plastic that made up the corrected flood holes )


Yes, everything is glued up as a unit. The only work left is the upper deck which I'm holding off on for a bit. Note I added wheel collars on the forward side of the retract bulkhead to hold the gears in place instead of the press fit resin collars. They work much better. Hopefully I can find a similar part in nylon to save weight.

[jefftytoo]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

*Sigh*

SO impressed.

SO envious.

JeffP

[PaulC]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

We'll get there, Jeff. Don't you worry none.

[ssn705]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

Wow, absolutely love the work there for the retraction system. I'm impressed it only took you the better part of a day to get it all worked out. I could see myself doing it for a week.

Cheers,

Dave

[jefftytoo]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

And BTW—not that this is any news flash—your added hull work in the form of those non-kit little forward openings below the plane wells, and of course those added bow plane weld lines, just make this beast JUMP to life. Such little things make SO much difference. (A lesson I learned with Seaview.) Again, it's really amazing; can't wait to see what you focus on next. I truly tip my hat to you, my dear old friend.

BZ,
JeffP

[PaulC]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the kind words.

Dave, I'm with you -- it normally would've taken me much longer too. It all just seemed to come together. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes.

I'll try to get some video at some point.

[boomerfunker]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

Nice!

[PaulC]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

Thanks, Tom.

The upper deck piece... needs some work. The kit details are nice. And I remember opening up the kit and thinking, "Cool, they put in the metal fore and after deck." Unfortunately, a lot of it is wrong -- for Wahoo anyway.

Below is detail from actual Wahoo drawings made by Mare Island during her post 5th war patrol refit in July of '43. They aren't strictly to scale but they do reveal all the details that made her unique in her own way.



Al lot of which is shared by her sister Silversides which still survives in Muskegon. JeffP was kind enough to take extensive deck photos of her several years ago. They will go a long way in getting things right topside. Unfortunately, one of the things that made Silversides unique was the fact that she was one of very few boats that had a 2/3 wood deck. Her foredeck is entirely made of wood, unlike Wahoo's which had metal fore and aft. Despite this, I feel pretty fortunate to be so well armed with images and drawings when working on a lost boat.



To begin with, I need a blank canvas. So I started sanding off the incorrect (for Wahoo) deck features such as doors, the postwar emergency marker buoy, etc. You can see a stock kit part below, and the chastised part I will use above. Haven't figured out how I'm going to tackle the perforated deck part just yet. But first things first -- I'll start at the bullnose and work my way aft.



Here's a detail shot of Wahoo's bow during her 7-43 refit. This is what I'm shooting for.

[PaulC]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

Using a bunch more photos for reference, I began to map out the major features of the Wahoo deck. Right off the bat I realized I would need to move the windlass, which is in the wrong position and off-center, and duplicate the bow buoyancy vent. The escape trunk opening is to port rather than starboard so I plugged the kit opening with scrap styrene. The emergency marker buoy is also going to be reworked. The holes in the kit deck are roughly twice as many as I need. Wahoo only had every other row. Not sure quite how I want to go about fixing it. Rather than think too much about the work involved I focused on something I figured would be a bit easier to pull off -- the windlass and BBT vent.



I could use my spare deck piece as a sacrificial part and carve them out. But I didn't want to destroy it if I didn't have to (who knows, I may want to build Tang someday). I decided instead to use them as masters for molds from which urethane parts could be cast. I broke out an unused Alumilite mold making kit I picked up a while back and commenced. I built dams around the desired features and poured on the RTV. Hopefully, I got the mix ratio right and I'll be able to cast up the needed parts when it is all said and cured.

[jefftytoo]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

I'm running out of superlatives.

(Mold new parts: what a great idea!)

JeffP

[scott t]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

Great work Paul.

Scott T

[jefftytoo]

Re: 1/72nd Revell Gato Wolfpack

Scott,

Don't just compliment him, give him a harmonica serenade!

JeffP