637 Class (Stretch) 3D Printed Submarine in 1/72 Scale

[X Bubble Head]

Just completed one of my favorite boats, the USS Parche (SSN-683) - the most decorated ship in the history of the US Navy. Being a highly modified "SSN Unique," the Parche underwent two conversions. This is the first converted version completed in the late 70's. The second version, finished in the early 90's was lengthened by 100' forward of the sail. It's on my build list after I finish a couple of higher priority builds.

Designed, 3D printed, and assembled by me. There were about 90 keel blocks with each individually embossed on the bottom with position and location. Each has a pad bonded to the mating surface with the hull to prevent scratches. Parche will get another paint job, (weathering) before it's sent to its new home. Total length (including the base) is 60" x 8".




CC

 

[bowwild]

That is so neat!

 

[John McQuaid]

Beautiful job, I spent 4 years on one of the of the other 637 stretch hulls, the Archerfish SSN678 lots of differences.

 

[SSMM1]

Fantastic model . Are you going to ever sell copies of the files? I'm trying to make a 637 long hull boat.

 

[BradNSW]

Beautiful work!! Love the dry dock dunnage/bracing you made!

I served as the Dry Deck Dept Head on three 637s (Tunny, Cavala, and Bates) in the early 1990s!

The Dry Deck shelter was basically a parking garage, for our SEAL Delivery Vehicles (mini-subs). It looked similar to your DSRV but larger/closer to the sail. See photo of the Bates below:


Your propeller 3D print is compelling! It might have landed you in prison 50 years ago !

Thanks for sharing!

 

[X Bubble Head]

Beautiful job, I spent 4 years on one of the of the other 637 stretch hulls, the Archerfish SSN678 lots of differences.

Archerfish was a hot runner!

 

[Phoscar]

Je suis absolument émerveillé par ce que je découvre aujourd'hui dans le domaine du modélisme. Vous êtes l'une de ces personnes, monsieur.

 

[X Bubble Head]

Fantastic model . Are you going to ever sell copies of the files? I'm trying to make a 637 long hull boat.

Thanks! Parche was the first prototype for a series of hulls based on the original 637 design to allow building them in their various configurations. It was a fun build, and I learned a lot. Making a 3D model is much easier than designing a 3D model that prints well.

The hull design that followed (for Seawolf) incorporated many Lessons Learned from the Parche build that made 3D printing and assembly a lot easier. With that in mind, I'm going to re-design the 637 class with these changes included at some point, but . . .

At the moment, I have a very busy US Cold War submarine design schedule. I get a lot of requests for the George Washington class, (my qual boat) and since it has many similarities with the Skipjack class, the build will produce two classes.

When I complete my US Cold War Nuclear Submarine Collection, I'll consider selling my work online.

You can purchase an inexpensive 637 short hull STL here: https://www.rc-submarine.com/product-page/us-sturgeon-class-submarine-3d-stl-files

CC

 

[X Bubble Head]

Beautiful work!! Love the dry dock dunnage/bracing you made!

I served as the Dry Deck Dept Head on three 637s (Tunny, Cavala, and Bates) in the early 1990s!

The Dry Deck shelter was basically a parking garage, for our SEAL Delivery Vehicles (mini-subs). It looked similar to your DSRV but larger/closer to the sail. See photo of the Bates below:
View attachment 581595

Your propeller 3D print is compelling! It might have landed you in prison 50 years ago !

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Brad!

The admiral who was our guest speaker that night said the same thing - but let his hand do the talking!



I still need to design a DDS to add to my 637 and 688 topside accessories. It's on the list!

CC

 

[X Bubble Head]

Je suis absolument émerveillé par ce que je découvre aujourd'hui dans le domaine du modélisme. Vous êtes l'une de ces personnes, monsieur.

Merci beaucoup ! Je serai toujours un élève de l'artisanat.

CC

 

[John McQuaid]

Archerfish was a hot runner!

Thank you, she was, I served from 1982 to 1986. IMO I lucked out, the experience set the tone for the rest of my time in the navy and government service. I plan on looking into the link below and building one as a future project. Attached is a image and scale version I built from a piping tab and wire. My first northern run in between events.

 

[X Bubble Head]

Very creative!

I use piping tabs and other official drawings to ensure the models are created exactly to scale using orthographic views superimposed in each axis.

While 1/72 scale is ideal for showing off tiny details, (and RC conversion) 1/144 scale is better suited for shelf-mounted displays at home. I'll include the Parche's second revision in a future build once the 637-class re-design is complete.

I was onboard, (as the Bangor Ship's Superintendent) when this pic was taken as she arrived in Nov '94 after changing homeports from MINSY to Bangor.

I was an STS/SS as well; left the Navy and worked in the TRF Sonar Shop, (mostly Q-6 and visiting SSNs) for ten years, before switching positions, then moving to the private sector.