Any body have a link to a good site to "fix" the revell 1/230 Skipjack - the kit is just plain awful and i would really like to do it justice!

Hey John


the kit is just a little simplified, and needs a little fixing, but it's not a bad kit for it's price... or should I say it's not a bad price for a bad kit..
The only thing that needs a lot of attention is the reactor hatch. mine was'nt even aligning with the hull at all, so I closed it up with putty and sanded it to align with the hull.

I don't have any links for you, but there are a few pics to be found online..

Here's what I finally made of it...




good luck with the build, keep us informed on your progress...


brgds
warvos

Ahoy Warvos,

Great looking sub, you got there! The paint job and the water effects really
impress especially the "wet look"....don't see that often.

Have a nice day,
Joe

Ahoy John,

Did some looking around and could not find much on the Skipjack.

As Warvos suggested look around the net, many sites with general
info and general photos of the sub.

Here is a link to a very nice paint job....this fellow took 3rd in a show.



http://www.ipms-phx.org/2004/413.htm

Enjoy

Joe

It is a great paint job - if it was the Scorpion or the Shark the Skipjack was black topside from all the info I can gather Looks like I may have info coming in from a sub expert I used to know when I lived in Hampton Roads- I'll let you know it it gives any real clues!

I've got the original Aurora release from 1960 and the Monogram reissue in 1977 was my first submarine kit I ever built. To date, it is still my favorite sub kit.

Ahoy John,

Found this site showing the SKIPJACK with a 2 tone hull and interestingly,
the upper hull is darker than the lower hull.....sort of the reverse of the other
photos and Revell's suggested paint scheme.

http://ussskipjack.org/

Go to photographs and look for the photo of the SKIPJACK returning from the builders trials.....
and the second photo of the commissioning.

Very good collection of photos showing may details.

Must do more research

Later
Joe

Great link - thanks - there are some great shots of the sail and the nonskid buried in there ..this is a big help! Isn't it odd that the Gato class is easier to research than a sub that was decommisioned in 1990?

Actually this kit was modeled as a "what if Kit". It is only accurate in basic shape. There was no "Reactor Hatch" on the Skipjacks or any U.S. Nuke boats for that matter that I'm aware of. The Skipjacks also had a 7 blade screw.. Some may have had a 5 blader very early on.
The two tone finish is actually fading/alge/basic staining below the waterline. This class of boats with the "albacore" hulls were very poor performers on the surface and designed for max performance submerged. So I' can say with some confidence that they all had the overall black finish and never had grey topsides.
Of interest these early attack boats were to remain the "Hot rods" of the deep until the 688s came about. In fact some 598 class Boomers (which were Skipjacks cut in half with a missle section added) were used as SSNs late in their service life when the Polaris Weapons systems were outdated.
Yankee Modelworks does a nice Skipjack marketed as the late Scorpion in 1/350 scale.
Model on....

Sorry I can't help, but warvos - excellent build and display! Captures a sub in action!

Here are a couple of photos that I found when I was researching the Skipjack a while back. The first is a photo of the Scamp (sister ship) with a 7 blade prop in dry dock. And the second is a photo of a model Skipjack I ran across with a black topside and red bottom. The photo of the Scamp is, I believe, the same paint scheme, and the one I would lean toward doing. If you look closely you can see the demarcation line with the lighter color on the bottom and darker color on the top, about even with the horizontal stabilizer.
I don't know who the builder of the model is, but it is not mine. Who ever he is, he did a great job. He installed an earlier 5 blade prop on his kit. I wonder where he got that prop. It must be photo etched.....

I served as a Radioman (RM2SS) on the Snook from '82 to '85. So it's nice to see the USS Skipjack modeled here. By 1980 all 5 Sboats(Skipjack, Shark, Sculpin, Snook, Scamp) were stationed in Groton, Conn. You may remember the Scorpion was lost in '68 & the Thresher in '63. Snook was decomissioned the following year I left. I have been looking for a model of the Skipjack with the intentions of implimenting the hull # of the Snook (592). Can anyone help me finding a kit as well as decals?

Thanks,
Dom

Revell of Germany recently reissued the old Skipjack kit. Mind you, the basic model is 50 years old. It is kit #05065.

There is a decal set that covers all boats from that class: http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=YM01010

The decal set goes with the new, high end resin Skipjack kit:
http://www.greatmodels.com/~smartcart/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=YKM35037

Many thanx Sabot!
Dom

That pic of the Scamp should have had the screw covered w/ tarp as this equipment was considered as Top Secret. I worked on Snook as a seaman ganger (even though I was an E-4 non qual) and pressure blasted the hull to remove barnacles, algae and old paint.

I remember applying red lead paint by roller and brush beneath the hull...ugh whatta messy job!! The second photo (model) depicts what the sub looked like after the paint job and is accurate...

Dom

Try

http://www.caswellplating.com/models/rvskipjack.html

They modified the nose to get the shape right.

Yes - problem solved http://www.caswellplating.com/models/rvskipjack.html