Trumpeter
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History
This is the second release of the Trumpeter 1/144th scale USS Gato (SS-212) kit, but as she appeared in 1944. Needless to say four years of war brought a number of changes to the boat. Probably the most apparent are the cut down sail, the addition of a significant number of new limber holes along the sides of the deck, (to facilitate faster diving capability), and the addition 20mm antiaircraft deck guns
The history of USS Gato (SS-212) itself, which was built at the Electric Boat yards, launched August 1941 and commissioned on December 31, was covered in previous IMs “First Look” and “Build” reviews.
The Kit:
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As noted previously, construction is very straight forward if not simple and the revised parts will not change this. Likewise, the only problems I can see, as with the original version, is that the aft upper deck section might have a tendency to sag a little in the middle, and there still are no retraction arms for the forward dive planes when in the extended position. Both these things, as well as a few other minor nits are easy fixes and are covered in the initial “Build” review. The only other thing I would add to this later version is that by this stage of the war the anchor arrangement on most, if not all, of the earlier Fleet Boats was reduced from two down to one. In most, cases the port anchor was removed and the area plated over.
Conclusion:
As I noted previously this is a good basic kit that makes into a nice size model. It is a very easy build and with its late war color scheme rather colorful. Although some of its details such as the deck guns are simplified, after market updates are available. Also this kit is just big enough to readily lend itself to super detailing if desired. I definitely recommend it.
My thanks to Stevens International for this sample copy.
