Reviewed August 2022
by Martin J Quinn

According to Wikipedia:  

"The configuration of V-4, V-5, and V-6 resulted from an evolving strategic concept that increasingly emphasized the possibility of a naval war with Japan in the far western Pacific. This factor, and the implications of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, suggested the need for long-range submarine "cruisers", or "strategic scouts", as well as long-range minelayers, for which long endurance, not high speed, was most important. The design was possibly influenced by the German "U-cruisers" of the Type U-139 and Type U-151 U-boat classes, although V-4, V-5, and V-6 were all larger than these. A raised gun platform was provided around the conning tower, and deck stowage for spare torpedoes was included under the platform and in the superstructure. V-6 and her near-sisters V-4 (Argonaut) and V-5 (Narwhal) were initially designed with larger and more powerful MAN-designed diesel engines than the Busch-Sulzer engines that propelled earlier V-boats, which were failures. Unfortunately, the specially-built engines failed to produce their design power, and some developed dangerous crankcase explosions. The engineering plant was replaced in 1941-42"

Nautilus gained some measure of fame during Pacific War due to her participation in the Battle of Midway, where, on the morning of June 4, 1942, she spotted the Japanese carrier force, but was, in turn, spotted herself.   The subsequent depth charge attack by the Japanese destroyer Arashi had unintended aftershocks, as, in her rush to rejoin the fleet, Arashi led the Enterprise dive bombers right to the Kido Butai.   Nautilus continued to make a nuisance of herself to the Japanese, finally firing four torpedoes at the hulk of the carrier Kaga, none of which did any damage. 

A few weeks after her encounter with the Japanese at Midway, Nautilus took one of the most iconic and dramatic photographs of the war, capturing the sinking of the Japanese destroyer Yamakaze through her periscope.   Further exploits included, along with near-sister Argonaut, participating in the Makin Island Raid in August 1943, and later, in 1944, using her 6 inch deck guns to wreck the disabled sub USS Darter, which had grounded on a reef during the Battle of Leyte Gulf (after skewering Kurita flagship Atago with torpedoes).

After completing her last war patrol in January 1945, Nautilus sailed for Philadelphia, where she was decommissioned in June 1945 and subsequently sold for scrap in November of that same year. 

For more on Nautilus, see her Wikipedia page here.  

The Tom's Modelworks Nautilus

On the heels of their ambitious Nevada and Oklahoma releases, which had resin hulls, but otherwise were exclusively 3D printed parts, Tom's Modelworks has gone all-in, and produced an ALL 3D printed model of the USS Nautilus (SS-168), one of America's "cruiser" submarines, in 1/700 scale.   They've also released Nautilus's sister Narwhal and their half-sister Argonaut.

The kit is boxed in a sturdy white flip-top box, with a photo Nautilus at sea, on the lid.  The contents are well packaged, with the two-piece hull and parts, to photo-etch, secured in separate plastic bags.   The kit represents the sub after her 1943 refit.

The hull of the Nautilus is a two piece affair - top and bottom.  The hull appears to scale out pretty much perfectly in length and beam.  These subs had an overall length of 371 feet, and come in at over 6 inches. 

Both upper and lower hulls - again, the entire kit is 3D printed - come on large print rafts, with some of the longest supports I've seen.  

The upper hull has a ton of detail:  flood holes, chocks, bollards and prop guards.  A few of the more delicate parts - what appear to be antenna leads - were broken, but that could be from me handling the hull and mashing them.   The kit thoughtfully includes some replacements. 

The lower hull, which, by nature, isn't as detailed as the upper hull, includes struts, shafts, rear dive planes and the rudder, as well as defined torpedo tube chutes at the bow. 

There are two other print rafts in the box, both printed as "boxes" to protect the parts.   The larger of the two has the one piece sail, one piece 20mm guns (including one extra), props, the bow dive planes and the 6 inch guns.  The 20mm guns and the 6in guns are particularly nice. 

Nautilus comes one photo-etch fret, which appears to cover all three subs.  The majority of the fret is rails that go around the deck guns and the 20mm gun platforms.   There are also supports for the barrels of the 6in guns, as well as a photo-etch prop guard.  Check the instructions to see which parts go with which submarine. 

The instructions are short and to the point.   They are four pages on 2 double-sided pieces of paper.   Included are a history of Nautilus, a manifest of the PE parts only, and exploded view assembly drawing, along with archival pictures and text.   The last page provides information on painting your model.