--Originally Posted 11/7/12--

Yet another just excellent reference pic:


Click on Image for FULL-RESShown here on 1/7/53, Tactician displays some apparently post-WWII mods: streamlined, full-height splinter shield around the main (4-inch) gun, some heavy external piping to the saddle tank, and again the enlarged blister (fairing?) around the base of the forward diving plane. Otherwise, she remains largely unchanged from the WWII T(3) fit seen earlier - notably the bow casing, which is revealed to be not simply a flat-sided (vertical) wedge, but is pinched at the diving plane and again at the external torpedo tube, to resume its straight taper abaft the tube door, forward to the bow.

This contour is also shown particularly well in the following:


Click on Image to EnlargeAt left, in 1948 after transfer to the Dutch and rechristening as Dolfijn, the ex-Taurus retains the bow casing seen during WWII - viewed on Templar at right, from almost the identical angle, in 2/44 at Ceylon. Note between them the above 3 pics show all contours of the top casing particularly well.

Which will be especially needed by this next conversion - in pursuit of a decently large T(3) model - by bashing on (of all things) the Revell-Germany 144-scale Type 206A:


Click on Image to EnlargeAt left, pics of my boneyard hull will (hopefully) make the point: the Type 206A, like the T(3) is not only based on largely a straight tube (good, though this could be provided even better by many a modern nuke) but also shares other features that make this conversion, at right, less of a stretch than it might first appear. Before working out the specifics, though, it was crucial to correct extensively Revell-Germany's downright offensively-inconsistent drawing (which even disagreed internally with itself [!]) so as to conform (middle) to the actual - and presumably more accurate - hull of the mold itself (medium-gray overlays).

At which point it was then possible to confirm that the 206A's asymetrical aft taper - when inverted, as shown (bottom) - presents a remarkably good match with the T(3)! Likewise, the 206A's large bow (sonar) housing, again when reversed as shown, and even some casing abaft the sail, together make for a pretty decent foundation for the T(3)'s upper bow casing. The rest of the T(3) pressure hull can be about half satisfied by the remaining 206A hull section and its blunt, rounded chin, with the other half composed about two thirds of just straight (i.e., easy-to-install) tube. Meanwhile the 206A sail provides plenty of foundation for the T(3) sail/main gun platform - coincidentally even including the rounded splinter shield as on Tactician, above.

Finally, once again the rest of the upper casing and entire saddle tanks will need to be added from scratch.

While still more involved than either of the prior two conversions, this idea of course presents the great advantage of size, finishing at a very respectable 19.46" LOA. Which makes it 1:170.5 scale - and a jackpot (especially if you're me ) near-match to 1/178; the scale of the classic Revell USN Fleet Boat (and now also my S-37 build)! It would even be easy to go the last step - pinching the beam slightly (4.2%) and shortening to 18.64" - to match 178-scale precisely.

In the other direction, it's a much further stretch - 18.4% larger - to get to 144-scale, at 23.04" long (though it could certainly be done).

This is definitely my conversion of choice - you can see above, I even have already the boneyard hull on which to get started - to end up with a decent-sized T(3) model (again, my current preference leaning strongly towards building Trenchant), in 178-scale!


Cheers,

-Matty