Calling all IJN I-400-class (伊四百型潜水艦) fans

[Timmy C]

I'm tempted to suggest just make your own - there really isn't that much stuff in the kit that requires PE asides for railings.

I just added some generic Lionroar IJN railings to my I-400 a few years after the initial build - the only thing you can't easily do with generic railing is the outward-slanting railing for the single 25mm platform. For segment length/size reference, I just found the best resolution version of the Tamiya set on the web and resized it to fit.

[jaysond13]

Now that White Ensign has canceled their planned PE set for the Tamiya I-400, what's the best alternative? Toms Modelworks, Eduard and Tamiya all have sets, and Voyager is coming out with a set. Any opinions on which is best?

I am starting my 1/350 I-400 and have the brass from Tamiya, Eduard, and Voyager. In my opinion, Eduard's set is the best if you want to go brass crazy. The Voyager set has a pretty good level of detail, and looks easier than the Eduard set. The Tamiya set is pretty light, but it does come with brass torpedos if you want to re-arm your Serians...

-Jayson

[captpuckett@yahoo.co]

modelshipmaster Stay away from these guy. They do stay true to model scale and equipment. Take a close look at their picture on the model they have for sale. It took over a year for them to complete the model shown. It's constructed in Vietnam and they really don't understand what a trus "scale model" is. Their I-400 bears only a slight resmeblance to an acutal I-400. The props, diving planes and other details are all wrong. These guys are crooks.

[Carter]

Can someone advise me, please? It is my understanding that I-400 was not painted red below the waterline, but was coated with a sonar-absorbing coating that covers the area from the waterline to the keel. What should the color be? Dark Gray, maybe, but is it darker than the rest of the hull (which is Kure Gray)? Lighter? Same shade? Any ideas? Any opinions?

Thanks!

[herrmill]

According to Hikoki's I-400 Japan's Secret Aircraft-Carrying Strike Submarine it was very close to same color as the rest of the sub, with a slightly brown shade, possibly from the triple layer of anechoic coating used below the waterline.

[Carter]

Thank you, herrmill. This is very helpful. I am going to mix a tad of Dark Brown with the Kure Gray for the coating--a drop or two to warm it up--and leave it at that. Maybe mixing in some clear flat will enhance it as well. I've got the 1/350 Tamiya I-400 waiting under the bench. Soon as the photo etch gets here, I'll begin.

After looking at the pthoto etch options, I decided to go with Tamiya's after market set. There is already a small fret that comes with the kit, and the Tamiya aftermarket set also has torpedos.

[Raverdave]

Ok........ now I am a tad confused. The picture below taken in 1945 shows an I-400 in dry dock at Pearl and clearly shows a lighter colour on the lower hull.

The next drawing also submitted by herrmill shows a dark lower section for the hull.


Finally would anyone hazard a guess at what colour the interior of the hanger should be?

[Dan K]

I would consider the all black scheme highly unlikely, and a departure from IJN practice regarding the hull paint under the waterline.

[redoctober27]

I would agree with Dan k , if you go to the calling all Japanese submarine fans and go to the 6th page look at the last two post of mine. I found a bunch of good in color film of the I-400s and I-13. Some of them you can see just a little red but its real quick... i uploaded like 6 videos for you guys

here you go!
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=57470&start=100

[doog_k]

The timing of the discussion on paint finish is most useful, though the references do seem to vary, even for colour could be function of the film-stock of the day.

But anyway, the reason for my interest in colour can be seen in the attached pictures. My r/c 1/144th scale I-400 had her first sea trials today. Sadly not as successful as the bath test which preceded the sanding of a sharper angle on the bow - I seem to have created a crack and she was going down a little at the head due to taking on water as well as the main batteries being a little too far forward. She also needs to ride a little lower further aft.

So some internal sealing of the crack with Johnson's Clear (Future in the US) and multiple coats of Tamiya acrylic should sort that out along with some trimming to the waterline. I hope and she'll have her regatta debut at the National Warship in Glasgow in July.

[doog_k]

A few pics of the first proper sea trials of my new I-400.
The model is "stand-off" 1/144th scale as I didn't have full drawings, she has 2 channel 40MHz radio and seem to perform ok, a wee leak but as she's all styrene this isn's a major surprise. The aircraft are Gashapon collectors kits bought in Tokyo.
She's not finished, no markings or weathering as yet but this was the first outing at the Model Warship Weekend in Glasgow this weekend.

[Dan K]

She looks great to me. Well done.

[doog_k]

I finally remembered I shot these completed pix of my 1/144th I-400. Scratch built from plastic sheet, finished in Tamiya acrylics and featuring Gashapon models of the two Seirans (don't ask how much the second one cost me in Tokyo in May!).

She's in company with my Akitsushima.

[Dan K]

Scratchbuilt? Let me repeat, really great. Thx for posting.

[doog_k]

Thanks Dan, you can tell the scratch build by the inaccuracies!

[Haijun watcher]

Looks like they found the wreck of the real I400

There were only 2 in the Sen-Toku class that were ever operational?

Yahoo news

HONOLULU (Reuters) - Scientists plumbing the Pacific Ocean off the Hawaii coast have discovered a World War Two era Japanese submarine, a technological marvel that had been preparing to attack the Panama Canal before being scuttled by U.S. forces.

The 400-foot (122-meter) "Sen-Toku" class vessel � among the largest pre-nuclear submarines ever built - was found in August off the southwest coast of Oahu and had been missing since 1946, scientists at the University of Hawaii at Manoa said.

The I-400 and its sister ship, the I-401, which was found off Oahu in 2005, were able to travel one and a half times around the world without refueling and could hold up to three folding-wing bombers that could be launched minutes after resurfacing, the scientists said.

The accidental discovery of the 1-400, an aircraft-toting I-400 mega sub, on the rock- and debris-littered ocean floor, some 2,300 feet beneath the surface, has solved the mystery surrounding a ship long thought to be further afield.

[Timmy C]

There were three I-400s built - I-402's history can be found, as usual, on Combined Fleet: http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-402.htm

[Pappy]

Ok........ now I am a tad confused. The picture below taken in 1945 shows an I-400 in dry dock at Pearl and clearly shows a lighter colour on the lower hull.

The next drawing also submitted by herrmill shows a dark lower section for the hull.


Finally would anyone hazard a guess at what colour the interior of the hanger should be?

G'day Dave,

Regarding the first pic of I-400 in drydock at Pearl, the 'lighter colour' in that pic is not paint but in fact the layer of barnacles and other accumulated sea life that has built up on the hull under the waterline. Other pics in the book mentioned show this more clearly, and indeed this is even referred to in one of the book captions,

cheers,

Pappy

[josephm635]

Hello,

I'm finally working on one of the many ship models in my collection. I 've always wanted to build some ships. But I've never done so. My first endeavor is the nice Tamiya I-400 IJN Submarine. I have the regular version with an Eduard PE set. I'm modeling it with the hanger door open and one of the Seiran on the catapult. The regular version of the kit has the Seiran molded in a green styrene. I was wondering if anyone here has the Limited Edition version with the clear aircraft and is willing to give up one of the clear aircraft, with the wings out, for my project? I don't want to buy a whole other kit for just one aircraft. I know it's a small detail, but I thought the clear version would make the canopy look nicer. I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. I usually take quite some time to finish a kit, so I'm in no hurry.

Cheers!

-Joseph

[D-Boy]

Looks like they found the wreck of the real I400

There were only 2 in the Sen-Toku class that were ever operational?

Yahoo news

HONOLULU (Reuters) - Scientists plumbing the Pacific Ocean off the Hawaii coast have discovered a World War Two era Japanese submarine, a technological marvel that had been preparing to attack the Panama Canal before being scuttled by U.S. forces.

The 400-foot (122-meter) "Sen-Toku" class vessel � among the largest pre-nuclear submarines ever built - was found in August off the southwest coast of Oahu and had been missing since 1946, scientists at the University of Hawaii at Manoa said.

The I-400 and its sister ship, the I-401, which was found off Oahu in 2005, were able to travel one and a half times around the world without refueling and could hold up to three folding-wing bombers that could be launched minutes after resurfacing, the scientists said.

The accidental discovery of the 1-400, an aircraft-toting I-400 mega sub, on the rock- and debris-littered ocean floor, some 2,300 feet beneath the surface, has solved the mystery surrounding a ship long thought to be further afield.

New video of I-400 off Hawaii: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a25_1430333223