hello all, I got a DML kits for Typoon, Ohio, LA and Alfa. When ur done building them, how do u paint it and weather it? what other finishing techniques should i do? if i sanded of the panel lines, how do i reproduce it?

newbie here

Hey Tanker25! :-) I did my first submarine - a Revell 1/400 Typhoon class SSBN - for the Twilight 2000 campaign of last year. You can see the pix at my gallery link, under the album Twilight 2000.

The Revell kit's hull was in two, the joint running horizontally separating the top and bottom halves. What I did was use tube cement (yep, that cement which some users now forget to use #:-) ) and applied a fairly liberal amount of it on the surface to be joined. I then pressed the halves together, deliberatly causing some of the cement/plastic to form "bubbles" along the seam. The reason? To erase the seam as much as possible. When dry, I use my hobby knife with a new blade to scrape them off.

Now, it wasn't perfect, and there was still a visible seam (actually, some gaps were still apparent), and so what I did was place tape above and below the seam. This would protect the anechoic tile detail from the putty and later sanding of the cured putty. For putty, I used Milliputt, because I can remove it with just water before it cures. Having done that, I then proceeded to sand off the putty. The result was that much of the anechoic tile detail was not harmed by the heavy sanding. The seam was then gone. Of course some of the detail was lost, so what I did was rescribe the panel lines with the blunt end of my hobby knife.

The only way to reproduce panel lines is to rescribe them. Lils Parksquare sells some scribing tools by Hasegawa (but they'll cost you some pesos). JMN also has a scribing tool by Bare Metal, but unlike Hasegawa which has a set of scribing tools, the one by Bare Metal is a single tool that makes a relatively big panel lines. So, for finer lines, I suggest getting the Hasegawa set. Or, you can use your hobby knife, but you'll have to sand down the plastic that was "pushed aside" when you sliced it.

My Typhoon was a clean build. I only gave it a slight wash of black tinted enamel thinner. The anechoic tile is rubber or a rubber-like material, so there shouldn't be any metal scratches on them IMO.

Many modern submarines are covered with rubber acoustic tiles to dampen emitted noise. Since these are rubber they won't rust. However, after being at sea and coming into port for a few days, there will be light discolorations at the waterline from salt deposits and marine growth. There are non-tiled metal areas such as the towed sonar array ridge which runs along the side of a Los Angeles class sub, sonar domes, or maintenance panels on the sail. During maintenance periods, access panels to these areas are removed and the wear and tear on the edges and the fasteners will strip the paint off and expose them to sea water. These areas will sport some rust, some of which will drain off vertically as the water runs off of the sub after it surfaces. Try to find photos of submarines in drydock and look at the weathering closely.

As far as color is concerned, most modern submarines are various shades of dark gray or black. Periscopes, snorkels, and antennae are usually just gray or wear some sort of camo pattern. The screws (propellers) are made of brass and become quite tarnished in sea water. The funny looking white target-like markings you may see on the tops of subs in photos are actually only there during sea trials (they help DSRV's find the hatches in the case of a rescue) and are removed shortly thereafter... after all, they are supposed to be stealthy! You'll have to do some research here to figure out just what colors you should use. Don't trust the box art or the instructions though!

A 12 year sub vet,
Todd

Foxroe is correct.
I can add that the decks are painted with non-skid paint and that the paint topside as applied is semi-gloss black. It quickly begins to fade and may appear to be gray.
Ohio class boats don't have anechoic (acoustic) tiles. LA class- depends on the boat.
Ohio class topside is rarely all painted at once. Too much surface area vs. too little time inport. so it would look like a patchwork with some areas more faded than others. In 1/350 scale this effect would be very subtle so don't overdo it.
Hope this helps,
v/r,
Cob