Calling all WW2 Imperial Japanese Navy submarine fans

[Bill Clarke]

I'm motoring along on my 1/350 AFV I-58, and have a question.

Did she carry a cage antenna running from the pole mast on the Stbd rear to somewhere on the bridge? Or did she carry some other form of rigging.
I've not been able to find the answer in any of my references thus far.

Also, was the rigging taking down when at sea? Or was she able to dive and run under the surface with it in place?

Here's a couple of pics of her so far with some weathering done and two of her Kaiten's in place and a wood deck attached, however, the part for the conning tower fell apart when I tried to peel off the backing, so I had to paint it.

[Dan K]

Tall masts were foded down for submerged configurations. The cage aerials were undoubtably stored.

[Bill Clarke]

Tall masts were foded down for submerged configurations. The cage aerials were undoubtably stored.

Thank you Dan

[ijnfleetadmiral]

Offhand,isn't I-174 a Kaidai Type V1 class, like I-168?

I-168 through I-73 were Kaidai 6A boats, while I-174 and I-175 were Kaidai 6B. The latter two were 30 centimeters longer, 25 tons heavier, and had a 50-caliber deck gun instead of the 65-caliber mount of the KD6A boats.

[JamesAPrattIII]

Many years ago I converted the 1/700 scale I-58 to the I-53 using a drawing of the latter found in the book "Japanese naval vessels at the end of the war" In national geographic Oct 1999 there are pictures and a drawing of the wreck of the I-52.

"Submarines of the Imperial Japanese navy has pictures of the I-29 painted light grey with black decks in France. I guess for the trip home. There are also pictures of the I-8 in France which looks like it was painted dark grey overall. If you look up the I-30 on wiki you can find German film clips of the sub heavily weathered and later painted light grey with black decks

I am thinking one day of converting the 1/700 scale I-6 to the I-5
As for the I-174 and 175 I wonder if they differed any way externally from the other I-168 class subs

[JamesAPrattIII]

Is there a 1/700 scale model of a I-200 class submarine out somewhere?

[ijnfleetadmiral]

In the Waterline Series, no. Might be a resin kit out there, but I'm not sure.

Speaking of sub kits, Aoshima will be releasing a 1/700 Waterline Series I-156 in November: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10714043

[Tom Cervo]

Part of a buyout. Supplies vary widely from store to store, so call ahead before you make a long drive--and be patient, it's not a hobby shop.
https://www.ollies.us/home.html

As for the kit, discussion here indicates that it's the right model of the wrong sub.
https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/ind ... nt-1574531

[ijnfleetadmiral]

Part of a buyout. Supplies vary widely from store to store, so call ahead before you make a long drive--and be patient, it's not a hobby shop.
https://www.ollies.us/home.html

Ollie's has never had a Waterline Series kit. They mostly carry stuff by Lindbergh or Revell, and even then usually just cars or aircraft.

[Timmy C]

See the subject heading on Tom's post - he's talking about the Lindberg 1/72 I-53.

[ijnfleetadmiral]

See the subject heading on Tom's post - he's talking about the Lindberg 1/72 I-53.

Huh...I never even knew Lindbergh made a kit for her!

[Heaven One]

Hi, I'm looking to build one of the various B/Otsu class IJN subs (I-19, I-58, I-37, I-27 etc.) but am lost on which manufacturer to go with as multiple all produce this sub class in 1/350.

The options of manufacturers are AFV Club, Aoshima and Pit-Road.

I would buy all relevant photo-etch for each kit whether directly from the manufacturer or aftermarket company.

The Pit-Road kit is by far the hardest to find but the Eduard detail kit is specifically designed for it (although I imagine most parts would be easy to use on the other kits).

I would imagine the AFV club is the best followed by Aoshima then Pit-Road from my general understanding of the manufacturers but I can't find any sort of comparison or comment on the quality of each of the kits when compared or which one to go for.

[Mike C]

I have the AFV (73598 - with Kaiten) and Aoshima (012253) I-58 kits. Both are good, but the Aoshima kit has parts to allow any of three versions. If you go to Hobby-Search ( https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/plamo/ ) you can compare contents and instructions for any of the ones you're looking for, even the sold out and discontinued ones.

Most of the ones on eBay are either 1-19, I-58, or an occasional I-27.

[JamesAPrattIII]

I posted on the combined fleet.com (The IJN page) in their Japanese Ships and Message board a question on the IJN subs I-1 to I-4 and I-5

On the I-1 to I-4 I was looking for info on how the looked after their 1942 refits conning tower details and Daihitsu carrying (see their TROMs)

I-5 pictures ect of the ship after it's 1940 refit

I-1 to I-4 nothing really

I-5 a picture of the sub the conning tower looks slightly like that of the I-58 and the gun deck is longer.

Does anyone have any other info?

[Dan K]

I have almost nothing. There is one photo of I-5 with I-171 in June, 1943 at an anchorage, but it's distant shot. I-5 has only one deck gun, forward. Can't really tell anything else.

[Quincy]

I wish that Aoshima would retool their old I-1/I-6 kit. It is really long in the tooth!!




BobPink

[ijnfleetadmiral]

I posted on the combined fleet.com (The IJN page) in their Japanese Ships and Message board a question on the IJN subs I-1 to I-4 and I-5

On the I-1 to I-4 I was looking for info on how the looked after their 1942 refits conning tower details and Daihitsu carrying (see their TROMs)

I-5 pictures ect of the ship after it's 1940 refit

I-1 to I-4 nothing really

I-5 a picture of the sub the conning tower looks slightly like that of the I-58 and the gun deck is longer.

Does anyone have any other info?

I have one pic of I-5 post-refit...hope it helps.

[Heaven One]

Hi, I recently started my 1/350 I-175 from Aoshima and have found there is very little reference available on the Kaidai 6B submarines apart from a few very grainy images from Maru Special 37. If anyone knows better sources of reference or has any pictures of I-174 or I-175 (I do have Gakken volume 17 on the way from Japan but it will be a while before it arrives)? I just don't trust the accuracy of Aoshima's kit and need more reference so I can suitably super detail the kit. The bridge and aft deck in particular seem to be where the 6Bs differ from the 6As the most, so any details on these areas would be greatly appreciated.

Also, are any of the other Kaidai types close enough appearance-wise to use as reference?

[Dan K]

I have the Nihon no Gunkan plan set for I-68, a sister. PM your email to me; the files are large.

In the meantime, here's a detail shot of I-70, another Kaidai VIa sister. The a's were visually identical to the b's, save for the slightly shorter barreled deck gun.

[ijnfleetadmiral]

I have the Nihon no Gunkan plan set for I-68, a sister. PM your email to me; the files are large.

In the meantime, here's a detail shot of I-70, another Kaidai VIa sister. The a's were visually identical to the b's, save for the slightly shorter barreled deck gun.

That's probably one of two photos of I-70 known to exist, and the only close-up photo.