Los Angeles-Class Submarines: A Scale Modeler Dives Deep
- Mido
- Jan 24
- 5 min read
Since their debut in the 1970s, Los Angeles-class submarines have been the backbone of the United States Navy's submarine force through the 2010s. They are renowned for their versatility and state-of-the-art technology. In this post, I’ll use HobbyBoss's 1/700 USS Greeneville (SSN-772) to explore their features, historical significance, and uncover their often overlooked scale modeling potential.
A brief history and features of Los Angeles-class submarines
Los Angeles-class submarines were commissioned by the U.S. Navy starting in 1976, and were designed in response to Soviet submarine advancements during the Cold War. They were built in three principles tranches, Flight I, Flight II, and Flight III 688(i), that each enhanced the class's capabilities over a 20-year production run. 62 Los Angeles-class boats were constructed. This made them the largest class of nuclear submarines produced, and some of the most recognizable vessels in the modern navy.
Los Angeles-class boats are workhorses. Their main roles include anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, and land-attack missions. That's a lot of mission for a 7,000 ton, 362 foot vessel manned by 130 sailors.
Sources suggest that the class can dive up to 1,500 feet deep, travel at speeds of over 25 knots, and remain at sea for 90 days. Their speed and endurance allows them to travel with Carrier Battle Groups and reinforced conning towers found on the Flight III 688(i) tranche, of which Greeneville is a member, enables ice breaching arctic operations.
The class features powerful bow-mounted sonars, hull-mounted hydrophones, and towed arrays. In combination with four torpedo tubes firing Mark 48 torpedoes or anti-ship Harpoon Missiles, hunting adversary vessels can quickly find themselves the hunted. 12 VLS tubes launching Tomahawk cruise missiles, found on Flight II and Flight III 688(i) boats, unlocked land attack missions. A further capability increase on Flight III 688(i) boats enabled mine laying.
USS Greeneville (SSN-772) incidents
Of the 62 Los Angeles-class boats, only a few are expressly represented in model form. In Greeneville's case, I can only assume that several mishaps, occurring in close proximity, led to this honorific.
In February, 2001, Greeneville collided with the Japanese fishery training vessel, Ehime Maru. The collision occurred off the coast of Hawaii during a training exercise when Greeneville was conducting a rapid surfacing maneuver. Ehime Maru rapidly took on water and sank within five to ten minutes. Nine individuals aboard Ehime Maru lost their lives including four high school students, two teachers, and three crew. Damage to Greeneville was minor and required several weeks of repairs. The incident prompted investigations by both U.S. and Japanese authorities and the U.S. Navy implemented changes to improve training and operational procedures following the event.
Then in August, 2001 off the coast of Saipan, Greeneville ran aground causing damage to her underside which required drydocking to fix.
A final episode occurred when Greeneville collided with the USS Ogden (LPD-5) in January, 2002. In that incident a 5 foot gash was opened in Ogden spilling several thousands gallons of fuel.
Model submarine kits
A handful of parts, a stand, and a few decals. About what you would expect from a 1/700 submarine! There are so few parts that the instruction manual is on the back of the box.
The build
About 15 minutes of build time, followed by sanding at the waterline, then done. During this stage, you may want to consider how to hold the kit while painting. You could 1) glue the submarine to the stand and make things easy, or 2) try to insert a wire hanger of some sort through the propeller shaft. I did neither, and it made painting more, how should I say, "acrobatic", than necessary.
Painting
From a modeling perspective, modern submarines can be trickier to paint than you may realize. The problem is visual interest. Think about it. Most modern submarines look like black tubes. Heck, half the time you can't even see them!
Therefore, a choice will likely be needed between strict adherence to reference photos or an intention to spice things up a little. I chose the latter. Fortunately, Greeneville has sported an interesting tri-color paint scheme for at least part of her service. So for this particular submarine, I won't reach crush-depth with the reference photo purists. Here's what I did:
Primed the sub with a coat of Vallejo's Black Surface Primer (73.602)
Marked off the waterline with Tamiya's Masking Tape for Curves
Pre-shaded the hull with Tamiya's Flat White (XF-2)
Mixed several Vallejo paints to approximate an anti-fouling red
Masked off the lower hull with Tamiya Masking Tape and Tamiya Tape for Curves
Sprayed the middle hull dark grey (Sorry! color lost to time)
Masked off the middle hull with more Tamiya tapes
Sprayed the upper hull an even darker grey (Sorry! Color also lost to time!)
Sealed all the base coats in with a gloss varnish
A quick check of the paint work indicated we we hit a seamount somewhere along the way. Tamiya Sanding Sponges and Vallejo Liquid Mask aided in the corrective measures.
Decals
The decals went on without issues and were sealed in with another coat of gloss varnish. I will note that decals in this scale are by nature challenging. Remember to take frequent breaks to rest your eyes!
Weathering
The weathering options are some combination of shading, fading, salt stains, and marine-growth. Rust is visually limited because modern submarines are coated in sound-absorbing polymer-based anechoic tiles. Ultimately, weathering requires the same question as painting:
How to inject visual interest and balance realism?
I reasoned that shading and fading were covered with my pre-shading effort. That meant salt stains and marine growth required my attention. I used artists oils and a dot filter technique to simulate each. Special attention was given to the waterline whereby I allowed the oil paints to build up a subtle texture to simulate extra marine growth. This was not something I have tried before and was a big risk to take at this point in the build. Fortunately it all worked out and goes to show the forgiving versatility that oils have and not any particular skill from myself.
Final thoughts
Los Angeles-class submarines have formed the backbone of the subsurface fleet since the 1980s and represent a remarkable blend of technology that highlights decades of naval innovation.
On the modeling side, I bet you're slightly surprised by what went into this build. So while many modelers may find modern submarines uninteresting, they offer plenty of creative opportunities for those willing to dive deeper.
Aoooooga! Aoooooga! Dive! Dive! Dive!
Thanks for reading,
Mido
Contact the author: mido@igluemodels.com or on Twitter @igluemodels
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