I want to start building Subs. What is a good one to start with? I've been building aircraft and armor models from 1/85-1/48 scale, so the scale doesn't really matter.

So many questions.

What kind of sub? WWII, modern? Nationality?

Plastic or resin?

1/700, 1/350 or bigger?

Revell of Germany has re-boxed the ancient Aurora SSN Skipjack. I have one of the original Aurora ones, a Monogram reissued one I built in the 70s and one of the RoG reissues. The latest one runs about $7 and is a decent build.

DML also does several submarines in various scales. I got a Hunt for Red October USS Dallas kit that is neat and can be built in almost any Los Angeles class attack sub variant.

I do not know anything about accuracy, but these two subs are fairly "sexy".

The kind of Sub doesn't matter.

Time period: Cold War to Present

Nationality: USA, UK, or USSR

Plastic or resin: Plastic

Scale: Doesn't really matter


I'm really just looking for something to start off with.

Your best bet would be the DML/Dragon kits. The 1/700 kits are good and come with two subs from different nationalities. The 1/350 are very good kits and they have a US Los Angeles and Ohio class, and a Russian Alfa and Typhoon class. The only problem is there limited availability. You can get them on e-bay, but be prepared for a bidding war.

Good luck,

I have a question, I am also a newbie to subs. I have a couple U-boat models, other than washes, what are some other methods I can use to detail them?

With a U-boat, probably a lot of rust colored pastel chalk rubs.

This is a great starter sub.

Thanks SABOT, I'm just about done with it and now that I got a digital camera I'll try to post some pic.

Glad it worked out for you. I first built it in 70s when Monogram released it after Aurora went out of business. I remember painting it black and putting shark teeth decals that came with a B-26 Marauder. I added some modeling clay for ballast and gave it a gloss coat. I then tossed it in the pool and the sucker would shoot through the water like a bullet. I did the same thing with the Aurora/Monogram I-19 IJN sub. It travelled through the water very well, but not nearly as fast as the Skipjack.

I bought an Aurora issue off of Ebay a few years ago and grabbed the first Revell of Germany reissue I found. I had always wanted the Seaview sub as a kid, but the skipjack was my first and favorite sub.

Here are the pic's of the Skipjack.