I suppose it's only natural to see progress in anything you've continued to work on, trying to improve. But this latest rake-off of sub-bashing options look so much better than any of the others identified so far, that I really wish I'd discovered these, to begin with.
Example I being the Accura 200-scale SEP mold - revealed, as (even more than) expected - to be very probably the best-avaliable-anywhere starting point for kitbashing a Dutch K14-class sub:
Click on Image for FULL-RES
Note on the above (clickable) full-resolution original, a projected scale of 1:172. That's one-seventy-WHAT DID YOU SAY?!! Yes, that's right: this mold naturally wants to build-out within 5% (oversized) of 1:178 - the scale precisely matching the classic Revell Gato(/Balao) and also (for that very reason) my S-37 and Trenchant builds, as well. To hardcopy the above drawing of K18 at exactly 1:178, simply print the full-res drawing at 60.35 dpi - remembering to ignore/cross-out everything regarding the Accura SEP mold, labelled scale and scale bar (all of which will now be off by again, about 5%). Note for this 178-scale conversion, the SEP mold should now lose 0.56" in length - easily chopped right off the tip of the stern (and again, technically should now have its beam expanded by 0.04" - well and truly a negligible amount). This is exactly the kitbash I intend to perform on my Accura kit (Thanks Again, Gus!).
For a smaller-scale K14-class build, also identified - also as expected - was another very good candidate kit:
Click on Image to Enlarge
However for an even wider inter-compatibility, I would take this conversion larger - by the still-minor amount of 9.8% - to 1:350, for which the (total) additional required LOA is 0.85", and extra beam 0.18-inch. Again, to get a hardcopy at exactly 1:350, print the full-res original now at 118.66 dpi - again, remembering to ignore/discard everything representing the Encore mold, labelled scale and scale bar.
The above matches/conversion ideas are as good- and better than any identified so far. But perhaps most-appreciated (by me) are the following trio - highly promising in their own rights - which additionally make great use of some otherwise (IMHO) very uninspiring kits. Including, firstly the Encore 400-scale Soviet L-class mold - for bashing into a Dutch O21-class sub:
Click on Image to Enlarge
Already the above is a within spitting distance - just 4.4% shy - of 1:350-scale, and perfect compatibility with all the kits in that genre. Again, a drawing scaled perfectly to 1:350 can be had - again, with all the usual caveats - by printing-out the full-res version at 112.58 dpi. The required hull-insert length then increases to 0.76", and the beam-expansion to 0.06".
Admittedly, a better match with the O21 hull's roughly heart-shaped cross-section - and perhaps much of the rest of the hull as well - can already be expected from a USN Gato/Balao mold - of which there are many, readily-available in a vast range of scales - including 1:144 (Trumpeter), 1:178 (Revell), 1:250 (Lindberg) and 1:350 (Hobby Boss) - so bashing any of these into an O21-boat certainly bears looking-into. But - for best-use of an obscure and (again, IMHO) uninspiring mold - the above kitbash of the Encore 400-scale L-class will, no doubt continue to reign supreme.
Ditto for another obscure - even (IMHO) ungainly - mold: Encore's 400-scale ShCh-class submarine - recognized from the very first, for its resemblance to an RN S-class sub:
Click on Image to Enlarge
While it could be expanded - by exactly 10% - to a perfect 400-scale, this kitbash is also within easy striking distance (only 12%) of 1:500 scale - and compatibility with all the Pacific Theater classic ships, particularly all the Nichimo cruisers, BBs and carriers, in that scale. To downsize to 1:500, the LOA would now need to lose -0.48" (and the beam technically to lose -0.01" - but this is truly negligible). To print out the full-res version at 500-scale, change the (printer or image-) settings to 188.94 dpi - which I will definitely do, as this kitbash is of major interest to me: so much so, that I may well switch my HMS Stygian build to use this hull.
Exciting as the above is for a 500-scale/classics enthusiast, there is an even more exciting (IMHO) potential use for the Encore ShCh kit in the following, last-identified option:
Click on Image for FULL-RES
Though on such a (roughly 7-inch) build, a difference of 2% is all but undetectable, to remain consistent with the above, note the full-res drawing can be printed out at exactly 1:500, if done at 148.13 dpi. The (again, combined-total) extension of LOA would then be 0.95", and the (again, combined) maximum beam-expansion, 0.09".
As I already have a build of Trenchant well underway (in 178-scale), I will not be trying this above kitbash - at least, not anytime soon. But only for that reason - as I find it one of the most exciting possibilities yet encountered - and again, had I known of this option to begin with, I would certainly have started one - first and foremost - before anything else. (So for the future, who knows...)
If anyone(s) is inspired to take on any of the above projects - and/or just has a line on any further/better drawings (particularly any of the still-needed overhead ["plan"-} views) - do let me know!
Cheers,
-Matty
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