Great Stuff Julian,

The figure really gives a sense of how small the beast is.

Si

Hi Simon, Jesper, thanks guys
Jesper, Guido is right: you would get a build up of sand on the side the current comes from and a gouging effect on the other side of the object. Would make an interesting dio
Cheers,
Julian

Several people have remarked on how small the Beaver was. Here is a photo of the Beaver next to Italeri's S-boat in the same scale:

Julian

Gentlemen, I've never explored the larger scale kits and didn't know there were so many cool little subs. This may become a problem in the future...
Guido, what a great idea for a dio. That has to be the bare minimum for this campaign!
Julian, The paint on your Biber is fantastic and the figure makes the whole kit.

Due to the fact that my Arsenal is brimming with under-utilized armaments (my kit stash is over 450 un-built kits) Congress (my Wife) will not authorize any new acquisitions.
The only kit that fits the build is the Revell Gato and I have the Eduard PE sheet for it. This leaves me, El Presidente, with 2 problems:
1. I have less than 3 weeks to build it
B. Where the heck am I going to put a 5 foot sub model?

I wanted to portray the Cavalla either right after she sunk the Shokaku or in Tokyo Bay. Thinking quickly, I emailed Seawolf Park (where she sits now and about an hours' drive from the house) to see if they were interested in having it donated.
Their reply: Where the heck are we going to put a 5 foot sub model?

But It's sooo SEXY!
I'm going to give myself a couple of days to make a decision but any opinions are welcome,
Charlie

Great idea, Charlie. Sounds like it would indeed be a sexy build. I would definitely go for Tokyo Bay - especially if you are thinking a diorama in the future. Although time and space are obvious restrictions

Looking forward to see more

Thank you, Charlie!
I like the idea with your Gato, but I see that 3 weeks seems awefully short. I wouldn't be able to do it. Maybe in 1/144, but not in 72nd with all the tinsle from Eduard. You should ask Carl for an extension before starting it. 7 weeks does sound a lot more comfortable, but you'd still have a lot of work to do in that time.
This's been a short campaign, so extending shouldn't be such a biggy.
Cheers,
Guido

Certainly a build that merits an extension!
Go for it
Julian

Hi Charlie!

I agree with Julian and Jan--let's have an extension, so long as MSW has no objections. I want to see a Gato dio surface in this campaign!

--Karl

A Gato can be buildt in 3 weeks time, provided that you don´t do anything else and you can pursuade "congress" to serve dinner etc. at the workbench

I have buildt a Gato - its huge and soaks up unbelieavable amounts of paint, glue and wash - but in many ways its quite straitforward allthough its not without its errors.

I will suggest that you get a glass or acryllic box done for it to protect it.

Extension sounds fine, might get my Biber done and fill the space until the Seads of Death build.

Good luck !

Cheers/Jan

Got some paint on the Biber - not so sure I´m that happy about the result, but washes can do a lot.

First a sloppy basecoat:





Followed by the lively scheme from Norway. These boats are pictured in U-boot Im Focus N0 5 from luftfahrtverlag Start in germany - splendid books.

There seems to have been at least 3 boats in this color - no evidence of other markings than the shark mouth - and its unclear from the pictures if the camouflage extended to the cutouts for the torpedoes - I choose to leave this area in the base gray color to create a little more variation.

Camo is brush painted on, and like on the originals looks rather rushed and with bad coverage.





To tone it all a bit down it got a coat of future mixed with a very little gray.

That is a very nice coat of paint Jan ! Nice Beaver
Julian

Looking good!
Mat coat and washes will do the trick, I am sure!
Guido

Thanks Julian and Guido.

Getting closer with some washes:

Excellent stuff folks.

Al

Jan, When I saw the sharkmouth on your Biber the Beatles Yellow Submarine immediately popped into my head. That camo is wild for a sub, great idea! I like the stands too!

Jesper, A dio of Tokyo Bay? In 72nd scale? Hmmmm…

I'm not sure what the Proteus would scale to but I estimate that the dio would be a little over 16 feet wide by 10 feet long the way they are spread out. Figuring the sub kits with the PE would cost approximately $85 each, the Proteus would ballpark at $300 for materials, plans, and whatever else I could find to speed up the build, 3 sheets of plywood for the base plus water materials and paint at approximately $150 that puts an unprotected Model diorama taking up the majority of one bay of my garage for $1470 on the low side. Not in this lifetime but maybe on the next go-around when I come back as an eccentric billionaire shieks' son in Saudi Arabia (at least I hope! With my luck, I’ll come back as a goat herder in the Himalayas).

Y'alls "GO FOR IT" affirmations are not what I wanted to hear. Still, I thought about it and after deep soul searching and introspection I decided that yes, I’m a fool, and yes I’ll try to do it by the original deadline if the corrections are relatively minor. Besides, it’ll be a challenge!

Guido, Julian, Carl, and Jan, Thanks for the votes and offer of an extension. Carl, maybe you could give me a little cushion in case I come up shy in the end.

To pull off a dio I’ll need some coaching/help (or hep as it’s pronounced here) with the water effects. I haven't figured out what the dio should have happening and have no figures as of yet. The first thing that came to mind was a broach but I think Carl is the guy to pull that off. Maybe I can hustle up some figures off Evilbay.

Charlie

Thanks Alan, Charlie - the stands are only to take the photos, I am planning on a small diorama including a few figures to show the size of the sub:






Charlie, the "yellow submarine" is a natural thought, theres something about the Biber thats both cartoonish and steampunk - it could be fun doing one in a steampunkish finish..

Good luck on the Gato, Warriors do a five man crew for it thats pretty sharp - I used it for my Barb.

Cheers/Jan

Nice Work Julian / Jan.

Looking forward to the Gato Build Charlie.

The Maiale is Finished. Photos uploaded onto the campaign page.











Si

Excellent builds by Jan and Simon ! The figures on your Beaver are great Jan.
Simon, the dio has worked out great ! Two poor divers who have to sail in the tiny death trap and an officer all dressed up telling them what he expects from them.
Really good,
Cheers,
Julian

Nice "pig" Simon!

Somewhere in one of Slartibartfasts award winning Norwegian fjords....

Work has begun on the diorama and some paint on the figures, still lots of work on both figures and base...

Magic Jan, looks really good!
Julian

You should get a special award for working in a "Hitchhiker's" reference, Jan!

--Karl

glad to be of service ...

Yeah- Jan really knows where his towel is!
Guido

Upper right corner is soaked in "bier vom fass"

Had a productive evening, and being a bit impatient and having the time at hand, I finished the figures with a little touchup, wash and a light drybrush - I also dicided to hit the base with some color - even if it hadn´t cured completely - but since its acryllics airbrushed on, it won´t hamper the drying process:

The rocks are decorative bark - propably some pinebark - used for potted plants.

Excellent!
Of cause it is crying out loudly for a wooden frame now!
Guido