by Richard Wonderly
1/72 USS Cobia SS-245 (Revell)
I enjoyed building the first of the Revell Gato class 1/72 scale subs so much, I had to build another one. These are impressively massive models and when you add a display case, they become gargantuan.
And the quality of the kits, at least in the two I've built, is great. That's the joy of working with something from a fresh set of molds - no flash, no pin marks etc. And the fit on all parts of the two that I've built has been excellent.
This time I decided to build the USS Cobia, again mostly because it is a wartime survivor, preserved as a museum ship. And although the kit supplied components are great, I decided to add some more to this boat. I fabricated a back railing/guard for the Bofors 40 millimeter mount and then I extended the railing completely around the hull/deck to mimic the railing configuration I've seen in photos of the subs in harbor. And I added the grab rails/rungs I've seen in photos of the boats that served on plane guard/lifeguard missions rescuing downed aviators, which is what the Cobia seems to have spent a lot of time doing.
