The box doesn't give any indication of how old this model is but my guess is it's got to be pushing 30.
The kits consists of a whopping 46 parts molded in a dark gray plastic. The Instructions are written in multiple languages but they aren't really needed, just follow the steps in the pictures. There are six steps. The Conning tower, less main gun turret is nine pieces. Main gun turret is five pieces. Step three is the spotting aircraft, in six pieces. Steps four and five are the left and right propellers, each of three pieces. Final assembly is step six and consists of the five sub-assemblies plus sixteen remaining pieces, and the three-piece stand.
The instructions give paint numbers for both Heller and Humbrol. I'll have to dig up my Humbrol paint cross reference as my French isn't good enough to tell me what colors like "Vert Armee" or "Gris Perle" are. There are only seven colors used, with one of those being for the blue in the French flag. That's right, there are no decals, the instructions include a "flag" you're supposed to cut out and paint red and blue, leaving the white from the sheet showing.
My one written source of information on the Surcouf, Richard Worth's Fleets of World War II, indicates the Surcouf had 12 torpedo tubes, four underwater 21.7inch, four above surface 21.7 inch, and four above water 15.7 inch. The instructions only mention six of the 21.7-inch tubes, and only clearly show four of them at the bow. No indication is made of any above water tubes and I have no idea how to model these.
The Surcouf was a "Cruiser Submarine." It was the only boat made with two 8-inch guns, as it's main armament. Weighing in at 3250 tons on the surface, and 4304 tons submerged the Surcouf was the undersea "Yamato" of her day. She compares to 768-ton S boats the British were building at the time, 250-ton German Type IIA boats, or 1310-ton P boats of the Americans. She wasn't eclipsed by any other nation until the Japanese came out with their 5223-ton I-400 boats.
My first plan was to try to make this kit as a waterline model in a diorama. As soon as I saw the lines of her under the water though I figured to make her a full hull boat. Besides saving me having to cut down her hull this will give an indication of what a weird looking boat this sub was. She looks like Jules Verne designed her. Besides her distinctive big gun turret she had two masts that I have no idea what they did with when she submerged. Underwater she reminds me of the hull shape of German World War I battle cruisers.
I have no P.E. for rails in this size, and I'm too cheap to buy any. I'm going to try to limit myself to giving her a realistic paint job; with some weathering I have in mind.
I plan on posting more images once I've put the main hull together. I doubt the actual build time on this model will be more than a couple hours but I've got some "honey dos" to do later.
