Finished Photos of a Classic Renwal 1/200 Scale U.S.S. Ethan Allen (SSBN608) Submarine with Complete Interior

Phillip1

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Fellow Modelers,

Below are photos of Renwal's 1/200 scale (25" length) U.S.S. Ethan Allen (SSBN608) U.S. Navy Ballistic Missile nuclear submarine. I built this model in 1995. It was always a dream of mine to build one of these very old kits into a nice display. Renwal issued this kit (and three nearly identical others-George Washington/Thomas Jefferson/Andrew Jackson) around 1962, and although tens of thousands have been sold over the decades there are very few finished builds posted on-line. Revell also issued a smaller 1/260 scale Ballistic Missile cutaway submarine kit around the same time, but I have always liked the Renwal model better. The fit on many of the kit parts is poor and some of the smaller parts are way out of scale. It is also highly inaccurate, as Renwal had to guess at what most of the interior looked like. I mean seriously, the Control Room is the size of a basketball court! However, to me the cool factor of this kit is a 10 out of 10. The cutaway presentation has always reminded me of educational displays you see in museums. Several of the modifications I made are listed below:
Plastic "piping" replaced with small diameter wire-
Cut out sections from the control room floor and bulkhead for a better view of the lower decks-
Scratch built chairs and tables-
Added photo-etched ladders/radar screen-
Ballistic Missile made from "Stuka" airplane bomb-
Many of the decals came from the Revell cutaway submarine kit-
Also attached are a few construction progress photos, as well as great looking box art and instructions from the original issues. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Phillip1

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Wow! Great job on that!
Reminds me so much of the illustrations in my How & Why books as a kid, or Popular Mechanics.
The colours you chose and detailing so bang on!
Cheers
 
Its not just the meticulous paintwork, its all the little signs, and surface details and dry-brushing and fades, and...and...and
Yes the colour assortment really makes it pop. Its fantastic.

Do you have the clear side? how does it look with that?

So, all those Sub kits are the exact same model?
Were all these subs the same model in real life? They all existed?

I love how some areas are completely sealed off, or access is extremely difficult...like everything aft of the Reactor room!
Does it actually launch a missile?
 
Gorgeous work, especially with that old kit. I had, and built one back in 1962—when I think the fit was better! Unfortunately, my psychotic mother destroyed it while I watched, powerless. Neither of my parents approved of the hobby, and eventually it was forbidden. Took it up again my sophomore year in college. Ah, the 60's. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

My eldest son built his first model at age 6. When I die, he will inherit my stash.
 
Yup, back again... sorry for the tangent, your work obviously resonates with a few of us!
Renwal issued this kit (and three nearly identical others-George Washington/Thomas Jefferson/Andrew Jackson) around 1962,

@Phillip1 Your build picts, the colours; the simplistic, tidy view of technology at that time...

Just couldn't shake some memory buried back in my brain...
subs... maybe, a perpetual 'ping'
mermaid?... vague
Thunderbirds?... weren't those flying?
puppets... spooky marionettes?

then I found it!

1964, on TV!

Stingray!

MV5BMTc5NTYzMjgyMF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMDE3ODU1MjE@._V1_.jpg

Following up on my first thoughts, also in 1964,

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

Ping... ping.... ping
download (1).jpeg
 
Just like my pants!

... sorry to hear of the trauma, that must have been devastating.
Thank you for the sympathy. "What does not kill you, makes you stronger." —Nietche. He should have said "can make you stronger—if you let it."

Most abused children are raised by parents who were themselves abused. I managed to avoid that, mostly. (Nobody is a perfect parent.) How I did it, I'm still not sure. :confused: At least that's the testimony of everyone else involved.

Raising a child well is the most difficult, heart-rending, and IMPORTANT thing a human can do.
 
...So, all those Sub kits are the exact same model?
Were all these subs the same model in real life? They all existed?..
Yep, Dave! Later Revell bought up Renwal's catalog and re-released this kit, too. I built the Revell re-release in the USS George Washington boxing back in the 70s. It is a cool model, and as a kid, it was cool to see the interior detail, even if it is...fanciful, shall we say.

@Phillip1 , that is a beautiful job picking out the stock detail and improving on it, too! Beautiful model!

Best regards,
Brad
 
I loved that kit when I was young- at the time my modeling skills never did it justice, so nice to see a full build!
It would be fun to rework the interior to real world hardware but it would be so packed a cutaway would not show much I think...
 
airdave/Littlemarten/BarleyBop/the Baron/urumomo/Richard Baker-Thanks for the compliments and great comments! Below are answers to some of the questions asked.

airdave-When I built this model the idea was to use a lot of different colors so the details would pop out. It would be boring if only shades of gray were used. Only the Thomas Jefferson kit had the clear hull side part. In my opinion adding the clear side would obscure and take away from the interior view.
The missile on my sub is glued in place and cannot be launched by the spring included in the kit. Below is a history overview of the Renwal and Revell nuclear submarine models:
The first kits issued by both Renwal and Revell (around 1961) were named George Washington from the George Washington class of submarine. Revell's exterior shape was more accurate than the Renwal kit and smaller (18" vs 24"). Revell later issued an identical kit named Patrick Henry, also in the George Washington class. Renwal issued the Ethan Allen and Thomas Jefferson kits which were supposed to represent submarines from the Ethan Allen class. Finally they issued the Andrew Jackson kit which represents a submarine from the Lafayette class. On the real submarines each submarine class was different in size and shape but the ONLY change Renwal made to their 2nd through 4th kits was to extend the length of the hull by 1". Accuracy was not really a priority at the time. Renwal went out of business in 1975 and Revell purchased all of their plastic kit molds. Revell has re-issued the Renwal George Washington and Andrew Jackson kits several times over the years.

Littlemarten-Sorry about the unfortunate episode with your parents concerning building plastic models. I have always thought building plastic models was (and is) a fantastic hobby for kids. You learn how to follow directions, become more mechanically inclined, and develop creativity. I also believe most modelers are above average readers with a greater knowledge of history. I have always compared parenting to the Peace Corp motto-"It's the toughest job you'll ever love".

BarleyBop-Yes, the Stingray and my Ethan Allen share a very vibrant color scheme! Ha! Ha!

the Baron-"Fanciful interior" is a considerable understatement. ;)

Richard Baker-I agree, all submarine interiors are too crowded to be practically represented as a cutaway model.

Phillip1
 
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