I know it's not accurate, but I'm one of those "it looks like a sub, it is a sub" people.
Plus, I got it for $100 with free shipping from Amazon. So a monster chunk of plastic for that is pretty cool I've also never built a sub before, so sorry about me just making up names for stuff. LOL
Couple things to start with:
Under the forward torpedo tubes there is a series of rings in a half moon shape. Are these some sort of flooding ports? If so, I was thinking I should drill them out and insert some tubing to suggest they're actually pipes.
What color should the wood deck be? It's wood, but soaking in salt water is probably going to discolor it (I'm guessing wood colored, but then greying it out some?).
Securing the Kaiten. The "straps" in the kit are wrong from what I've heard. I've seen that I need more wood "blocks" between the straps and the kaiten. What were the straps? I was thinking steel cable or chain. Rope seems like it wouldn't work and would basically decay and let go of the kaiten in that environment.
"Panel lines" (I usually build planes) that run vertically on the sides of the hull. These seem large. Should I sand them down a smidge or even engrave them?
My idea was to overlook the basic shape of the sub and some of the problems but improve it somewhat but then really work on weathering it to overcome the inaccuracies.
I'll post some pics when I get a little further along. So far though, the fit of the sub is pretty nice. Some putty will be required, but I don't think too much. I don't think she really deserves all of the criticism she gets, but that's just me.
John
