All,

Still working on my Los Angles Class sub and plan to finish by the deadline. Here's my question - the USS Hampton model by Dragon that I'm building has both vertical and horizontal seams. The vertical seams that circle the hull are molded in and the horizonal seam results from the joining of the hull halves.

Does anyone know which seam(s) are prototypical and which one I should fill? I would like to model the USS Tucson, but I can't seem to find a picture of her out of the water. The kit includes a couple of differnt bow planes as well, but no indication which would be correct for the Tucson.

Thanks for any assistance. I'm enjoying the build and seeing everyone's progress.

Regards,
Lou N

Hey Lou.

Fill any seam where two parts meet. That's how I did mine.

Kenny

You'll want to fill in all the seams. While the vertical ones MAY be where various hull sections meet (I don't know), it doesn't matter, because the entire hull is covered with tiles and so you can't see any of those seams.

The Tucson is the SSN 770, and is therefore one of the Improved LA Class. You'll need the stuff on the sprue "D" to build her. To do it correctly, you'll need to revise the locations of the tomahawk missle hatches (add two and fill in two), and use the small rectangular planes for the front of the hull. I filled in the holes, did a lot of filling and sanding and then went back in later and added the hole to insert the planes.


Additionally, you should probably scratch build the two pods on the stern where the decoys are deployed. I know that Columbus (SSN 762) and Boise (SSN 764) had them, and I suspect that all subsequent boats were built that way as well. And they've got the shape of the sail wrong as well, it's flatter on top and a lot more blunt/rounded on the front end compared to the back.

One final touch would be to add a circular shroud around the outside of the prop.

You will have a difficult time finding pictures because the Navy doesn't like people to see what it looks like back there. (But I've got some shots in my gallery )


My son spent two years on each of the two boats mentioned and provided a LOT of good advice on how to correct the kit.

I'll be happy to answer any questions you have.


Tom

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. Tom I appreciate the advice, you are obviously better informed about these boats than I am. Given the tight deadline I'm reconsidering building this ship as shown in the directions ie: as the Hampton. I can always pick-up another model at a later date and make the appropriate changes.

With that said can I build the kit as shown in the directions, filling the seams as you described, with little or no additions? I must admit I hve been distracted and not doing the appropriate amount of reseach. To date I have followed the directions faithfully, so hopefully my model will be somewhat accurate.

I do appreciate any advice you may have.

BTW I apologize for starting a new topic rather than including this in the regular sit rep forum. I said I was distracted!

Thanks,
Lou

Yeah, as long as you follow the instructions that call for substituting the parts off sprue "D" for their counterparts from the original kit, you'll be OK. The only really glaring error is the placement of the tomahawk vertical launch tubes and that's really not too hard to fix. Drill out two holes, file them off square, and putty in the two that don't belong. The rest of the fixes are a lot harder to notice.

Tom