by Mario Grima
1/200 USS Ethan Allen SSBN-608 (Renwal)
I had this kit originally many years ago and was eventually lost. Recently I found this one on an auction and picked it up. At first, I was not interested in the kit itself, but rather the box art. I wound up building the model and I am glad I did. These very old Renwal kits are no way near the accuracy of the subs depicted. However, they are nostalgically interesting with their fake interiors. I have another old Renwal, a George Washington that I built about 35years ago, shown next to this one. Both Renwal kits are similar, but there is a major difference between the two kits in that the deck structure on the Allen flares past the sail forward, which is correct for that class. Before I saw the kit, I thought I would have to build up that area thinking it was like the old GW . Apparently they must have had two different molds of the outer hull halves. These kits come with the hinged outer half connected to the stand, so you can close and open the sub while its on the stand. I personally feel that the hinges are to intrusive so I omitted them. To beef up some of the internal and external details that were lacking, I added a few 1/172 & 1/144 parts from my own guppy kits. I also added the slit limber line below the missile deck structure. The torpedo room doors and tubes are not depicted correctly on the kit, as they should be on the bow sides. Also, the array masts should not be totally center aligned, but side by side. The Inner color is the Tamiya "Sky". It is actually a form of a mild green that’s similar to the colors used in the insides of that era. I gave the Boat a photo-op measure from the Squadron In Action book. It was a fun nostalgic build, and adds to my collection.
