Revell VIIC 1-144 scale by Subguru

Bill Nichols · 04-20-08, 02:03 PM

Having watched with awe the amazing job Siara is doing with his 1/72 scale Type VIIC U-boat from Revell, I decided to build one of my own. Unfortunately, I can't afford the room needed for the big boat, so I'm going to build the more manageable 1/144 kit instead.

Here are the pieces as they come out of the box:

I'm always impatient to get an idea of what my projects will look like when finished. Below you see the two hull halves clamped together. The deck is a prototype wooden, laser-cut item produced by Nautilus Models and gratiously provided to me by Siara. In the background you can see another of my unfinished projects, Heller's 1/100 scale HMS Victory.

One of the first things I noticed is that the free-flood holes need to be opened up. The plastic is quite thin behind the holes, as this somewhat blurry photo taken with a strong backlight shows.

Instead of drilling out the holes, I experimented with grinding out the holes from behind. Here's what it looks like:

I'm quite happy with how my experiment turned out:

You can also see in the above pic some of the surface detailing (rivets, weld lines) in the kit. It's well out-of-scale and I'm going to have to do something about it before I'm done.

More to follow...

Hitman · 04-20-08, 02:46 PM

The level of detail is very nice for a 1:144 model

I have here around the old 1:125 U-99 waiting to be completed, and while the size is larger, it can't stand any details comparison...no rivets, weldings...anything, the U-99 is flat

Siara · 04-20-08, 03:34 PM

Im glad You started it Bill. It realy is as good as people are saying. The detail is almost identical with the 1-72 scale. Realy nice kit there...

Bill Nichols · 05-09-08, 09:31 PM

Progress report: May 9, 2008

Continuing to cut and grind. All of the kit's molded-in limber holes and freefloods are now open. I've also moved the anchor well forward 1/8-inch. The kit's torpedo doors are too long, so I've scribed a new after edge. A little putty and everything will look a-ok!

Here's what it looks like from the other side. The lower free floods were opened by careful (read tedious) sanding.

Here's my attempt to open up the free floods at the stern. Things are tough when working in this scale and not having advantage of aftermarket photoetch!

Here you can see that I'm going to have some repair work before I'm done. My fumble-fingers have cut away a bit too much, especially on the port side free floods.

Having opened the 'slot' above the saddle tanks, it's necessary to extend the curve of the tank inward. I've also temporarily removed part of the fairwater for access.

A closer view. I decided to use the kit's two 'bulkhead' pieces to ensure I keep the correct shape of the hull. I've had to do some cutting of these pieces, though, to minimize chance they can be seen through the now-open limber holes.

A "Bird's-eye" view of the starboard saddle tank:

To be continued...

04-20-08, 02:03 PM	#1
Bill Nichols Master of Defense Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 1,502 Downloads: 125 Uploads: 0	Revell VIIC 1-144 scale by Subguru Having watched with awe the amazing job Siara is doing with his 1/72 scale Type VIIC U-boat from Revell, I decided to build one of my own. Unfortunately, I can't afford the room needed for the big boat, so I'm going to build the more manageable 1/144 kit instead. Here are the pieces as they come out of the box: I'm always impatient to get an idea of what my projects will look like when finished. Below you see the two hull halves clamped together. The deck is a prototype wooden, laser-cut item produced by Nautilus Models and gratiously provided to me by Siara. In the background you can see another of my unfinished projects, Heller's 1/100 scale HMS Victory. One of the first things I noticed is that the free-flood holes need to be opened up. The plastic is quite thin behind the holes, as this somewhat blurry photo taken with a strong backlight shows. Instead of drilling out the holes, I experimented with grinding out the holes from behind. Here's what it looks like: I'm quite happy with how my experiment turned out: You can also see in the above pic some of the surface detailing (rivets, weld lines) in the kit. It's well out-of-scale and I'm going to have to do something about it before I'm done. More to follow... __________________ My Dangerous Waters website: Last edited by Bill Nichols; 04-20-08 at 03:40 PM.

04-20-08, 02:46 PM	#2
Hitman Pacific Aces Dev Team Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Spain Posts: 6,099 Downloads: 109 Uploads: 2	The level of detail is very nice for a 1:144 model I have here around the old 1:125 U-99 waiting to be completed, and while the size is larger, it can't stand any details comparison...no rivets, weldings...anything, the U-99 is flat __________________ One day I will return to sea ...

04-20-08, 03:34 PM	#3
Siara Grey Wolf Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mitcham/London Posts: 818 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Im glad You started it Bill. It realy is as good as people are saying. The detail is almost identical with the 1-72 scale. Realy nice kit there... __________________ Master Models

05-09-08, 09:31 PM	#4
Bill Nichols Master of Defense Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 1,502 Downloads: 125 Uploads: 0	Progress report: May 9, 2008 Continuing to cut and grind. All of the kit's molded-in limber holes and freefloods are now open. I've also moved the anchor well forward 1/8-inch. The kit's torpedo doors are too long, so I've scribed a new after edge. A little putty and everything will look a-ok! Here's what it looks like from the other side. The lower free floods were opened by careful (read tedious) sanding. Here's my attempt to open up the free floods at the stern. Things are tough when working in this scale and not having advantage of aftermarket photoetch! Here you can see that I'm going to have some repair work before I'm done. My fumble-fingers have cut away a bit too much, especially on the port side free floods. Having opened the 'slot' above the saddle tanks, it's necessary to extend the curve of the tank inward. I've also temporarily removed part of the fairwater for access. A closer view. I decided to use the kit's two 'bulkhead' pieces to ensure I keep the correct shape of the hull. I've had to do some cutting of these pieces, though, to minimize chance they can be seen through the now-open limber holes. A "Bird's-eye" view of the starboard saddle tank: To be continued... __________________ My Dangerous Waters website: Last edited by Bill Nichols; 05-09-08 at 09:47 PM.