Ok, Well here goes. As I said, while technically not a true scratchbuild, there are some areas that will be. Not much, but enough to make things interesting. I usually don't do kits, haven't for a long time.So this is a sort of break from true scratchbuilding. This will be a kit conversion. The Gato Class boats and Balao Class boats are very similar. In fact, the hull is about the same. The main differences are in the sail / conning tower arrangements. Other differences are structual and mechanical, and a few changes in the deck arrangement, but for modeling purposes these have no real bearing in the outward appearance of the boat.
Lets do a little history first... The USS Capitaine was built by the Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT. and was laid down Dec. 2, 1943, launched Oct. 1, 1944, commisioned Jan 26, 1945. She was laid up Feb. 10, 1950 in the Pac. Reserve Fleet at Mare Island. Re-entererd sevice Feb. 23, 1957. She was then reclassified "Auxilary Reaseach Submarine AGSS-336"on July 1, 1960. Served with the US Navy until March 1966 at which time she was transferred to Italy and renamed "Alfredo Cappallini S-507". Sold to Italy and struck from US Naval registry Dec. 5, 1977.
The model will be in the 1963 timeframe and is being built for a staff member at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Ill. His name is Grant Haring and was in charge of the exhibit for the CVE-60 / DE-133 project I recently completed.He had the Gato Revell kit and I offered to convert and build it to the USS Capitaine, which he served on during the 1960's. He and his family were very gracious to me in my trip to Chicago, so I figured one good turn deserves another.
I was not planning on doing a build up of this, so I am pretty far along now. Being a plastic kit, I figured it would not go on this forum. But considering the replies, I'll try to illustrate what I am doing to date.Here's a listing of the modifications and changes to the Revell Gato kit:
1. Cut hull to waterline configuration.
2. Cover perforated decking with wood decking as per photos.
3. Delete all guns and railings.
4.Add cover plates where 5" guns were originally mounted.
6.Add engine exhaust ports, port and stb. side.
7. Replace Gato Class sail / conning tower with short Balao Class arrangement.
8. Add marker bouy stowage on stb. side aft, remove same from portside aft as molded on Revell kit.
9. Relocate fwd. accomodation ladder and marker bouy location.
10. Add a few scratchbuilt items to new sail / conning tower arrangement to match SS-336 as close as possible.
11. Add shutter doors to aft torpedo tubes in closed position.
Thats about it for the changes and modifications.Lets move on to photos......
- Here's the Capitaine off Mare Island in Dec. 1945. Note the two 5" guns, and the AA guns on the sail. At this time she also has a third mast aft on the sail. Railings are also visible.
- Here she is again, about 1949. Note all guns and railings removed, and no third mast.
- Another view, this time in the 1960's timeframe I am after. Note the ship number is removed from the bow, and the ones on the sail are now shaded with an "E" added.
- Good view of the sail / conning tower arrangement, 1963.
- In order to make this waterline, the first order of the conversion was to cut the hull at the waterline after assembly. I left the decks and side plates off at this point. Shown here is the lower half, cut in three pieces.
- Here's a closer look. The plastic here is real thick, almost 1/8". As cutting, the plastic melts due to the heat generated by the cutter. Slow going here. I used a variable speed Dremel and a reinforced cut-off wheel for the job.
- After cutting the hull, I then took the kit decks and taped paper over the top of them. Then using the side of a pencil, I got the lines for the edges of the new wood deck which would follow the kits molded perforated decks. I then transferred the paper patterns to posterboard and cut them out, making the appropriate changes in locations of deck items, using photos as a guide. This is the fwd. deck section.
- Heres the center section. The patterns were transferred to .020 scribed styrene, and then cut out. This center section is wood on the Gato class, also. Note the cutout for the kit conning tower/ sail assy. This area will be removed from the kit deck to facilitate the installation of the new conning tower / sail assy.
- Here's the aft section.
- The new wood deck added forward. I have changed the location here of the accomodation ladder and the fwd. marker bouy well lid. On the Revell kit they are reversed. Note the resin sonar dome, from IBS.
- Here's the aft section. I have added the aft marker bouy well here. Note how it protrudes out from the hull. The one on the Revell kit is on the port side and not near as pronounced. I sanded that one off. This was made from a shaped balsa block then wrapped with .010 styrene sheet. A tricky little part.
- For some reason, Revell did not represent the exhaust ports for the engines. There are two on either side of the boat. I drilled these out straight first, then angled the drill aft to make the hole somewhat elliptical. Styrene tube was then added, cut at an angle, and inserted in the tube.
- One of the round bolted plates covering the 5" deck gun locations. One fwd and one aft. Made from .030 styrene sheet and hexagon tube.
- Aft. torpedo tube shutters added here, resin from IBS. In their closed position.
Thats it for this post. More to come....Stay tuned! I continue on.
Been off the board for awhile, but I am busy with another project. I am converting Revell's 1/72 scale Gato Class sub to a Balao Class circa 1963. While not technically a scratchbuild, there is quite a bit of that involved. Ok to post here, or somewhere else? Your thoughts.........Thanks, Bill W. 
How large will the base be ? Rough water or calm ? 