The Ship Model Forum

So here is a fun project I took on last month - a welcome distraction/therapy from bigger builds of 2020.

It was an OKB Grigorov kit (I managed to order 10 different subs from them!) - resin, in 1/700 scale. It needed some work - scratch built towed array sonar arm being one. I also had to putty all the numerous overscale doors (why they bother?! - so many 1/700 subs could do without them). I did keep the distinct square torpedo door, if only to preserve symmetry I guess.

With small projects like this you tend to think of ways to paint it in a cool manner to make it unique. On numerous photos I noticed the sheen of metal contrasting with rubber matte surface coating below waterline and on the deck. I simulated this effect by first painting the sub as I wanted (for scale purposes I went with XF24 - a dark german grey we all know) - adding some small oil canning to it. Then it was dull coated, as we know Tamiya dull coat is really satin so this time I was happy to exploit this vice.

After all was done, I masked the hull to reveal only the bits that would be rubber. XF69 does a good matte grey-black impression here. Im very happy with how in light the paint shines or not depending where you look. Weathering was super minimal, more to show the muck line as boat sits higher in port.

There are no decals in the kit also for depth markings. Cue a bit of red pencil just sorta dotted along the place where depth gauges are drawn in distinctive red, much like on British boats. From 20-30cm it really fools the eye and Im happy with how that came out, surprisingly so.

I added bollards from 0.3mm brass wire, and 0.2mm for the railing around sail.

The prop was metal and in the kit, but a bit too stiff for bending smoothly. I did my best, next time I can do better I hope! It was painted using acryllic marker mix of gold and silver for that color whatever material it is. Beige gold-ish.

The base is standard Trumpeter but custom painted to resemble a navy yard floor I saw in some photos. I custom made the cradle out of some styrene.

Enjoy the pics, Im very pleased to make a rare subject of a cool looking diesel Nato boat, a first for me. Penny is for scale only, it is a tiny thing as you cans see!

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- @Shipific on IG
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That's fantastic!

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De quoi s'agit-il?

GREAT BUILD! This could be an inspiration for me to build one of the 2 Walrus class sister ships currently in service with Taiwan's Navy/ROCN: the Hai Lung (Sea Dragon) class SSKs. (2 Walrus class sold by Holand to Taiwan in the 1980s)

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"Haijun" means "navy" in Mandarin Chinese.

"You have enemies? Good. It means you stood up for something in your life."- Winston Churchill

Thank you Haijun, yes there are those in Taiwan navy indeed so it would be cool to see your take on it!

Thanks Timmy C!.


For the progress pics, I have these to share: out of the box, and in the process of "fixing" it.

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- @Shipific on IG
my gallery

Taiwan, not Thailand. Sorry to nitpick. Happy New Year!

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"Haijun" means "navy" in Mandarin Chinese.

"You have enemies? Good. It means you stood up for something in your life."- Winston Churchill

That was my embarrassing mistake, sorry about that!

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- @Shipific on IG
my gallery

Great model!

Do you used any references for improving the kit parts?

I recently got the kit of the Taiwanese Hai Lung class by Snowman Models (a variant of the Dutch Zwaardvis class) and wonder if it would be possible to convert her to a Walrus class.

The Snowman kit contains parts for two models - full hull (which I will not use) and waterline.

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Thank you! ehm... I have used photos - and built the towed sonar array bracket near the port upper rudder using pretty much my my eye estimate. It felt like a big omission. Than I added the bollards but there were recesses (just wire that was bent out) - and the railing on the sail was added again, using own eye. I did make a small dent/cutout near the end of the railing on the sail (aft part) that wasnt in the kit, again using pictures for references. All of the "doors" were puttied over because they were super over scale. So this would be all. I really cant help with Hai Lung though - the dimensions seem same based on drawings, but the superstructure and bow shape are different, and the length of rudders seemed also different? No clue regarding towed sonar array.

So to put it short, I just studied photos of the real model and tried to make things a little more accurate.

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- @Shipific on IG
my gallery

Thank you! I could have been that you had found detailed drawings. Photos are more reliable.

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Luckily the boat is not so secretly disguised anymore, so we get to see it greater detail.. Oh, and there is a 1/350 model out - I always check 1/350s when doing 1/700 as there is detail they omit in 1/700 but it can easily be added back.

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- @Shipific on IG
my gallery