It’s worth mentioning that there is an after-market set of solid brass props for the GATO; I decided not to use them as I feel that brass is too strong for this scale. You’ll see that I’ve used the really well moulded kit parts spraying them gloss black and painted with a mix of Alclad burnt metal and copper which I think gives excellent scale effect.
More weathering
I decided to do some more subtle weathering on the hull and conning tower after first fixing the guns and some of the railings; I also added the radar and periscopes at this time too. I also replaced the search light from the kit with a Little Cars ‘light’ which are outstanding. I used rust coloured pastels on seams and around the ballast tank outlets. The key here is subtlety as the GATOs were considerably tidier than U-Boats so go easy.