Revell Germany VIIC/41 "Atlantic Version" 144:1

[Osmium Steele]

Picking it up in a couple of days! Can't wait! Too excited!

Just had to share with someone, and my wife just doesn't understand... :03:

LINK TO MY BUILD PICS (http://imageshack.us/g/27/img0963s.jpg/)

[Castout]

:DL

I've got their biggest scale encased in a display case. It's for longevity. I mean mine, my life :D

So I understand.

[Osmium Steele]

I've pretty much decided I'll be building the U-297.

Someone needs to build a memorial to that hard luck boat. :cry:

Now, for the research. There are some great pictures of her out there; full port and starboard sides out of the water, but my IT dept. at work blocks many of them.

Just have to do it at home.

EDIT: Turns out these pics are of another boat, :-(

[Castout]

I've pretty much decided I'll be building the U-297.

Someone needs to build a memorial to that hard luck boat. :cry:

Now, for the research. There are some great pictures of her out there; full port and starboard sides out of the water, but my IT dept. at work blocks many of them.

Just have to do it at home.

If you really like U-boat you should build a bigger scale model of it and preserve it. :DL. I mean from the sound you seem to be quite dedicated with building it.

Here's mine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VBSI3MYG_Y

[Osmium Steele]

In my youth I was a fairly skilled modeller, intermediate with a few advanced skill thrown in. The only ship model I ever built was the USS Ranger, and it was a poor job, believe me.

Cars, planes, HO scale trains and various military vehicles were my thing. My favorite being a 1/8 scale '32 Ford Coupe, until my 8 yr. old cousin rolled it down the stairs while I was at school. :damn:

Sold everything when I joined the Navy. Built an M1 Abrahms about 18 years ago for my father. It turned out very nice. Built nothing but model rockets, a couple of wooden ship models, and a small scale Space Battleship Yamato since that time.

So this model will be a chance to shake the rust off my skills, re-stock the modelling kit, and test out some new skills prior to finding a 1:72 model to build.

Hey, the wife's always saying I need another hobby. :rotfl2:

[Castout]

In my youth I was a fairly skilled modeller, intermediate with a few advanced skill thrown in. The only ship model I ever built was the USS Ranger, and it was a poor job, believe me.

Cars, planes, HO scale trains and various military vehicles were my thing. My favorite being a 1/8 scale '32 Ford Coupe, until my 8 yr. old cousin rolled it down the stairs while I was at school. :damn:

Sold everything when I joined the Navy. Built an M1 Abrahms about 18 years ago for my father. It turned out very nice. Built nothing but model rockets, a couple of wooden ship models, and a small scale Space Battleship Yamato since that time.

So this model will be a chance to shake the rust off my skills, re-stock the modelling kit, and test out some new skills prior to finding a 1:72 model to build.

Hey, the wife's always saying I need another hobby. :rotfl2:

:DL

Oh after this 1/144 done do get a bigger U-boat and protect it. I got a feeling from your story you're not a bad modeler at all.

PS: I just take a look at 1:144 U boat model kit. It's not as small as I thought it would be. Looks quite detailed in fact. Don't forget to post pictures of yours.

[Platapus]

Revell Germany VIIC/41 "Atlantic Version" 144:1

144:1? That is going to be one big model! :har:

Good luck with it. One of these days I would like to get in to model building. One of these days....

[Osmium Steele]

Revell Germany VIIC/41 "Atlantic Version" 144:1

144:1? That is going to be one big model! :har:

Good luck with it. One of these days I would like to get in to model building. One of these days....


9681.12 meters. I suppose they could build a pier out to the shelf for it in Hawaii. The draft is gonna be a bit much, methinks.

Anyway, just started on it last night by opening up the free flood vents with my Dremmel.

I'm leery about opening up the lower MBT vents. It'll make those areas quite thin, and my thick irish fingers will crush it for sure.

I may drill those out if I can find a bit that incredibly small. Hmm.... hot wire perhaps?

Sorry for thinking out loud... Pics tomorrow or Friday.

EDIT: Added a link to my build pics in the first post.

[Osmium Steele]

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/9725/img0940df.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/577/img0940df.jpg/) http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/5606/img0942mx.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/651/img0942mx.jpg/) http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/8858/img0951u.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/818/img0951u.jpg/) http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/228/img0952ry.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/96/img0952ry.jpg/)

This is the kit.

The kit cost $28.00 and change with tax at Rider's Hobby Shop (http://www.ridershobby.com/loc_grandrapids.php) in Grand Rapids. Oh, how I love this place.

Edit: I should say first, that the kit is perfectly buildable right out of the box, and will give the builder a fine, though generic version of the type. It is a high quality kit, surprisingly so. /edit

The hull is surprisingly detailed for the scale, though the kit has the same flaws as the 1/72 scale. Various vents wrong shape/location, anchor well misplaced and too deep, Peri/Uzo bases quite basic, etc.

The rest of the parts are quite clean with almost no flashing except on the railings, which I won't be using anyway. The rails on the 1/72 kit are too thick, you can imagine how bad they are for the 1/144 version. I'll be building jigs to bend and solder wire for a new wintergarden and other rails.

I am having trouble finding photo-etched parts for this model, though I have found some for the standard VIIC, many of which should be appropriate. We'll see how that goes.

I'd be remiss if I didn't stop to thank Siara for his stickied thread on building his 1/72 scale model (http://174.123.69.202/~subsimc/radioroom/showthread.php?t=123846). It gave me the impetus to get to work on my own. Tips/tricks learned from reading his thread have already stood me in good stead on this project. Thank you, sir.

LINK TO MY BUILD PICS (http://imageshack.us/g/27/img0963s.jpg/)

[Osmium Steele]

Opening the limber holes and other free flooding areas


http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/3951/img0953os.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/221/img0953os.jpg/) http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/5231/img0954nw.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/713/img0954nw.jpg/) http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/8339/img0948iuo.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/836/img0948iuo.jpg/) http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/3397/img0956x.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/39/img0956x.jpg/)

Using my ancient Dremel, with a new cable attachment. The old one had rusted and snapped a couple of years ago. I'm not sure what I am going to do with the diesel exhaust port shown in the first photo, between and above the two lines of open holes.

There are, at least, 4 types of exhaust ports used on VIICs, and I am having serious trouble finding any photographs of any VIIC/41s from the batch to which my subject (U-297) belongs, let alone of the boat itself.


http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/8136/img0946jz.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/23/img0946jz.jpg/) http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5122/img0958b.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/148/img0958b.jpg/) http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/269/img0959ve.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/836/img0959ve.jpg/)

Didn't want to use the dremel on the aft holes. I was afraid to thin this area out too much, so chose to drill and file the holes instead. I have no pin vise, so I used a trick learned while reading Siara's build thread. An X-acto knife works very well with a small enough drill bit. 1/32" in this case.

Still have a little cleaning up to do, as the first pic shows. Can't seem to locate my needle files. Probably still packed in a box somewhere. Don't want to just start scraping with the x-acto knife.


http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/658/img0962uk.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/339/img0962uk.jpg/) http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/8206/img0961y.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/695/img0961y.jpg/) http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/1585/img0950m.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/97/img0950m.jpg/)

I'm not sure what to do with these areas yet. The aft floods are the wrong shape/size/locations. Any grinding there will make it terribly fragile.

The bow floods should be oval shaped, and the saddle tank flood vents need to be opened and grates fashioned from stretched sprue. Each piece as thin as a human hair. That should be ALOT of fun. :nope:

The drainage area above the saddle tanks (the dark, horizontal line in the above photo) needs to be opened up and supports glued in place. More on that later.

Enough for now. Today I will order the only photo-etch set I could find for VIIC in 1/144 scale. Hopefully I'll be done with modifications on the hull by the time it arrives.

LINK TO MY BUILD PICS (http://imageshack.us/g/27/img0963s.jpg/)

[TLAM Strike]

Enough for now. Today I will order the only photo-etch set I could find for VIIC in 1/144 scale. Hopefully I'll be done with modifications on the hull by the time it arrives. There are a couple but they are quite expensive:
http://www.megahobby.com/1/144scale_1.aspx

...been thinking about building one of these (This is the older version with the 8.8 cm gun) my self to go with my other 1:144 scale subs (Type XXI Wilhelm Bauer, Type XXIII, Type 206A)

[Osmium Steele]

Yep, I'm looking at the Griffon Models set for the VIIC. Good thing today is payday, the wife might not have a coniption when I order it.

:salute:

[Osmium Steele]

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7600/limberflub.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/204/limberflub.png/)


Had a minor dremel tool accident. Made one of the vents look like the above pic. Never perform touchy grinding operations while watching a comedy.

Putty alone wouldn't hold, so I glued a piece of quarter-round styrene stock to the back side, and will try again when I get home from work.

Picked up some styrene sheet stock last night to form the pressure hull. Will firm up some plans for that over the weekend. :salute:

[Osmium Steele]

The patch on the aggressive grinding fiasco worked like a charm. Pics on the way.

Ordered the Griffon Models VIIC photo-etch set Saturday. Will pick it up in a couple of weeks. I will decide what to do with the lower flood vents when it arrives.

Also ordered Anatomy of the Ship: Type VII U-boat by David Westwood. Hoping it will give me the info I'm looking for to scratch build the parts needed to complete this project.

If anyone out there has pics of U-boats 292 - 300, or 1271 - 1279 please give me a heads up. I'd love to take a look at them. These are the VIIC/41 boats built at the Bremen-Vagesack Works and pics are extremely hard to come by for any of these boats.

Will post again when the PE set arrives.

[Penguin]

I'm reading your building report with great interest, keep on posting! :up:
This will be my next mode, as the Revell VII in 1:72 is unavailable now :(


If anyone out there has pics of U-boats 292 - 300, or 1271 - 1279 please give me a heads up. I'd love to take a look at them. These are the VIIC/41 boats built at the Bremen-Vagesack Works and pics are extremely hard to come by for any of these boats.


So far I had no success in finding some pictures. What sources did you look up? It helps if we post them, so we don't check the same ones over and over.

I looked for pics in these books:
- Lakowski: Deutsche U-boote geheim
- Bagnasco: Uboote im 2. Weltkrieg
- Möller/Brack: Enzyklopädie deutscher U-Boote
- Nowarra: German U-boat type VII
- Wiper: Warship Pictorial Kriegsmarine Type VII U-boats

the last book confirms that the mentioned boats were indeed the VII/41s built in Bremen-Vegesack

I'll keep looking!

[Osmium Steele]

* SIGH * I've juts lost any excuse I possibly had to avoid opening up some vents and to minimize oil-canning due to the 1/144 scale of this model.

This is AMAZING! Click the picture for a link to his Spanish language site.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee108/Grimsby_01/VIID_025_039.jpg (http://www.u-modelismo.com/foromodelismonaval/index.php?topic=1340.0)

[Osmium Steele]

What sources did you look up? It helps if we post them, so we don't check the same ones over and over.

Thank you for your interest Penguin. I'll certainly keep 'em coming. :)

All of my research, so far, has been online. I started with Google images, and branched out from there. I've hit all the obvious websites on uboats/modelling, including a couple of german sites. I don't speak german, but have picked up just enough over the years to get the gist of what I'm looking at, given enough time.

The only book I've checked was an online scan of Type VII U-Boats by David Westwood.

The only pic I can confirm from the above batches is one of U-295:

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/8223/u295appareillagele7janv.jpg

The vent pattern below the turm is clearly the Bremen-Vegesack pattern.
(Thank you Dougie Martindale (http://www.rokket.biz/models/modelsweb/rokket/u557/images/flood_patterns_dm.pdf))

The only pic I've found of U-297, is a pic of the bridge area on the surface. The pic shows the correct turm and fittings for a VIIC/41, but I'll have to confirm the kaleun in the pic is that of Wolfgang Aldegarmann.

http://www.uboat.net:8080/media/men/commanders/aldegarmann_wolfgang.jpg http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/2627/u297.jpg http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg833/scaled.php?server=833&filename=kraker.jpg&res=medium

EDIT: This is the only pic I could find listed as U-297. The chin is the correct shape, the width and height of the mouth above the chin, the nose appears correct. I'm going to say that this is correct. This pic tells me a bunch about the boat.

The small pic is Kurt Kraker, the 1st officer of U-297. Looks a great deal like the individual on the right.

I'll soon be ordering the booklet on the discovery of the U-297. Hopefully it will have some decent pics of her.

2nd Edit: The book arrived! While not as helpful as I'd hoped, it has cleared up a few questions I had.
The picture above is indeed u297, but the Kaleun is actually the shorter figure at the right and Kraker is wearing the peaked cap! The author confirmed this with Aldegarmann's widow.

It also led me to German Warships 1815 - 1945 Volume 2 by Groner. This book reportedly has the exact scuppers/limber holes used by this batch of VIIC/41s! Keeping my fingers crossed.

[Fish40]

That guy does fantastic work! He must have a hell of alot of time on his hands. He's not in prison is he?:haha: Osmium keep the pics comeing! I love threads like this:yep:

[Penguin]

The only pic I've found of U-297, is a pic of the bridge area on the surface. The pic shows the correct turm and fittings for a VIIC/41, but I'll have to confirm the kaleun in the pic is that of Wolfgang Aldegarmann.


Check out this site about a diving expedition to U-297: http://newfrontierdiving.com/u297.html
The guy here is the same guy as in your pic:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/2646/wolfgangkn.jpg
The caption also says it's Wolfgang Aldegarmann.

And I found a report of a crew member of U-300, though only in German:
http://www.kbismarck.com/u-boot/ugast_u300hschmiedel.htm

There are two pics of her sinking on this site, but they are grainy pics taken against the sun, so not too many details to see there.

[Osmium Steele]

Thank you so much for the link to the kbismark.com site. I found this:

http://www.kbismarck.com/u-boot/udeadlight-lisahally.jpg

While I've seen that pic before, I've never seen the hull numbers listed before! The 2nd from the left is listed as U-293!

From the left: U-802 (Type IXC/40), U-293 (Type VIIC/41), U-1105 and U-826 (both Type VIIC). Note that all 3 type VIIs have the atlantic bow.

I cannot seem to open this link from work. Perhaps someone else might have better luck? It supposedly contains more pics of u-297. Thanks!

http://www.ubootwaffe.net/crews/crewalbum.cgi?id=ALDEGARMANN1916-06-24Z297Z

[Osmium Steele]

Remember the aggressive grinding incident? I made one of the limber holes look kinda like this:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg204/scaled.php?server=204&filename=limberflub.png&res=medium

I cut the top of the hole until it was even all the way across. Not sure if this was neccessary, but hey, I'm learning here.

I then CA glued a small piece of quarter round styrene behind the hole, trimming it away from the neighboring holes.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg88/scaled.php?server=88&filename=img0973mo.jpg&res=medium

This is the finished repair after filling with Squadron White putty and shaping/filing/sanding.

The bottom of the hole is kinda ugly. I'm thinking of melting a bit of sprue and using it to fill that spot, using a tiny jewellers screwdriver as a putty knife. Will test it out a bit before I make the attempt.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg37/scaled.php?server=37&filename=img0972f.jpg&res=medium

Started opening up the lower vents. WOW, was scraping/sanding the aft vents intense. I kinda botched it a bit, but it should be a simple fix. Pics next week.

The order for the Griffon Type VIIC PE set went out yesterday. Should pick it up next Friday (payday). Also, waiting for a copy of Type VII Uboats by David Westwood to arrive at the house.

See you next week.

[Osmium Steele]

The book arrived yesterday! It is going to be quite a help.

As promised, pics of opening up the lower mbt vents on the port side.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg856/scaled.php?server=856&filename=img0975z.jpg&res=medium

Oops! Turned two vents into one long vent on the forward end. Should be a simple fix.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg840/scaled.php?server=840&filename=img0978ye.jpg&res=medium

Forward vents worked out OK.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg268/scaled.php?server=268&filename=img0976lu.jpg&res=medium

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg231/scaled.php?server=231&filename=img0979a.jpg&res=medium

[Osmium Steele]

Been almost a month now. The research is going slower than hoped, but still moving along.

I just picked up the 1/144 scale PE brass Type VIIC kit from Griffon Models. Obviously I cannot use all the parts, but many of them will work.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg846/scaled.php?server=846&filename=img1040bc.jpg&res=medium http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg845/scaled.php?server=845&filename=img1041g.jpg&res=medium

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg28/scaled.php?server=28&filename=img1043y.jpg&res=medium http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg822/scaled.php?server=822&filename=img1045o.jpg&res=medium

Resumed working on the limber holes/vents on the hull this weekend. I'm going to be making a couple of drill patterns for a few vents. Now that I have the PE kit I can make a step-by-step list of tasks required to complete the model!!

There are no 1/144 scale wooden decks that I know of, but I consider myself a fairly skilled wood modeller, so... ...gonna have a go at making my own. Hardwoods are surprisingly durable at that scale, and since it will be stained/painted dark, any light/medium colored hardwood should work.

Wish me luck!

[TLAM Strike]

Never mind, Your making the 1/144 scale... (duh!)

[Osmium Steele]

Ok, here we go. Opening the various vents/holes on the starboard side didn't go quite as smoothly as the port side.

The plastic was so thin in this area, much moreso than the port side, that it was not possible to save the horizontal division below, but it was a simple fix using .75MM quarter round styrene. Still some filing to do to clean up all the holes in this area.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg41/scaled.php?server=41&filename=img1048lv.jpg&res=medium

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg20/scaled.php?server=20&filename=img1067u.jpg&res=medium

OK, I thought I had ruined the model with this one. I didn't see any way to fix it. A little aggressive grinding turned the red circled area below into one big hole. The thicker vertical part was still there, but slit through the middle.

Note: this pic is obviously post-fix. I was too mad at myself to think to take pics of the botched job.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg801/scaled.php?server=801&filename=img1066sb.jpg&res=medium

Here's a pic of the fix from the back side.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg17/scaled.php?server=17&filename=img1046eo.jpg&res=medium

Using an X-acto knife and #11 blade, I thinned a piece of .75mm quarter-round. The thicker piece below, used for reference, is the remainder of the piece. (I forgot I had .50mm quarter round)

Using 3 drops of Model Master Plastic Cement held the piece in place until it would hold by itself, about 60 seconds. Came back in an hour and trimmed off the excess.

The curved black line above the fix is one of my eyelashes. I'm very pleased with this one. (the repair, not the eyelash :O:)

We'll see what it looks like after it is primed.

More later.

[Osmium Steele]

Back to the port side aft vents I Borked a few weeks back. Simple fix with the .75mm quarter round.

.50mm would have been better, but I found it after this repair was complete, and I seriously didn't feel like cutting this out again.

It looks fine. Just a little sanding so it isn't quite so proud.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg405/scaled.php?server=405&filename=img1050k.jpg&res=medium

Upcoming projects:

1. Opening the existing flood holes below the tower, port and stbd, and adding a few holes so the pattern will be correct.

2. Moving the 4 bumps, 2 per side, forward one frame and raise them a bit. Not sure what these are exactly, but they are definitely misplaced.

3. Sand and fill the louvred vent on the bottom of the saddle tanks. I've come to doubt these were original equipment. I believe they were added to U995 after she was raised.

4. Locate and drill the new limber holes above the forward end of the saddle tanks. Both sides.

5. Relocate the diesel exhaust port below the waterline. Time to head to the party store to find some of those tiny straws used in mixed drinks. Cut at an angle, it should mimic the new exhaust perfectly.

Better idea, take the wife out to dinner tonight and order a few cocktails! Keep the wife happy, and obtain building supplies! Two birds, one stone!

That's all for now. Have a great weekend! :up:

[Osmium Steele]

Glued resin piece behind the exhaust ports. Ground the ports down and filled the holes. Still need to fabricate new ports below the waterline.

Drilled 4 new limber holes below the old port location on each side. The first one was ugly, but I get better with practice. :up:

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb460/OsmiumSteele/IMG_1094.jpg?t=1314713346


Opened the small holes below the tower. That worked out fine on both sides.

After a bit of research, I need to fill the three bottom holes on the left of the photo, and add another to the top row. Also need to add a couple further back along the side. (Using U-295 as a model) These are tiny holes, and my smallest bit will barely do the job. Wish me luck.

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb460/OsmiumSteele/IMG_1092.jpg


The area marked by the red oval is charachteristic of later batches of VIIC/41s and VIICs with the type IV turm. The only 2 photos I've seen of U295 clearly show no bulge in this area. Looks like I have a bit more alteration to do here. Also note I filled the louvred grate area on the RFO/MB tank. Need to add a skim coat and finish sand the area on both sides.

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb460/OsmiumSteele/IMG_1089.jpg


Drilled the two ports seen above, and was test fitting the PE pieces for this area when it occured to me that these ports may not have had louvred grates as the PE pieces would suggest. If they were intakes, they probably would, but if they were discharges, they would not.

*sigh* more research

More later!

[Osmium Steele]

I just found out that U-297 had the 4 barreled 20mm flakveirling 38. U-745 is pictured below. Hrm, I just noticed U-745 has no lifeboat canisters under the wintergarden. And, the research never stops.

http://www.uboat.net/media/photos/flak1.jpg

Of course the kit comes with the 3,7cm flak cannon. If I cannot find a kit in 1/144 scale, I'll have to scratch build until I get one I like. The finished piece would be smaller than the circumference of a quarter.
:damn::damn:

[Osmium Steele]

I've located a wonderful resource. German Warships 1815 - 1945 Volume Two by Erich Groner shows the limber hole patterns for every batch of u-boat. for Type VIIs, it shows the openings beginning aft of the diagonal row at the bow, under the deck gun (if any), and under the tower.

As a result of the info in this book, I only need to fill these two slots at the bow:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg560/scaled.php?server=560&filename=img1099f.jpg&res=medium


I filled the holes I had drilled earlier. I can find no evidence of any intakes/discharges in these areas, with the exception of the Stbd side of U-995. I can find no technical drawings or schematics showing hull stops in this area. All discharges/intakes on the drawings are connected to one tank or another, or lead directly under the exterior decking.

Note the bulge at the top. In later boats with the turm IV, this bulge allows a tad more room to get around the wintergarden 20mm guns.

Unfortunately, pics of u295 do not show this bulge, and the book referenced above lists 4 slots in this area. All later batches have 0 or 1 slot here.
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg220/scaled.php?server=220&filename=img1097n.jpg&res=medium


Eliminating the bulge. The deck will also have to be altered here, if I end up using the original deck.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg694/scaled.php?server=694&filename=img1104ni.jpg&res=medium


http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg849/scaled.php?server=849&filename=img1102g.jpg&res=medium

Will glue some resin and fill this area over the weekend. The plan is also to correct the layout of small slots beneath the tower, open up the long slot over the saddle tanks, and begin framing. Once that is done. A final decision on how to represent the pressure hull is in order.

Until next time...

[Osmium Steele]

Might as well resurrect this thread since I've pulled myself from a watery grave and rejoined the Kriegsmarine!

The model sat idle for a number of years as I was unable to find/build a suitable 144th scale Flakvierling 38. 3D printing has now made a suitable piece. I'll simply have to replace the thick barrels with metal rod.

The turm is complete, the hull nearly so. Now to mate the two, add finishing touches and finish the paint.

Pics when I get the chance. I'm a busy bee these days. :Kaleun_Wink:

[Commander Wallace]

Glued resin piece behind the exhaust ports. Ground the ports down and filled the holes. Still need to fabricate new ports below the waterline.

Drilled 4 new limber holes below the old port location on each side. The first one was ugly, but I get better with practice. :up:

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb460/OsmiumSteele/IMG_1094.jpg?t=1314713346


Opened the small holes below the tower. That worked out fine on both sides.

After a bit of research, I need to fill the three bottom holes on the left of the photo, and add another to the top row. Also need to add a couple further back along the side. (Using U-295 as a model) These are tiny holes, and my smallest bit will barely do the job. Wish me luck.

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb460/OsmiumSteele/IMG_1092.jpg


The area marked by the red oval is charachteristic of later batches of VIIC/41s and VIICs with the type IV turm. The only 2 photos I've seen of U295 clearly show no bulge in this area. Looks like I have a bit more alteration to do here. Also note I filled the louvred grate area on the RFO/MB tank. Need to add a skim coat and finish sand the area on both sides.

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb460/OsmiumSteele/IMG_1089.jpg


Drilled the two ports seen above, and was test fitting the PE pieces for this area when it occured to me that these ports may not have had louvred grates as the PE pieces would suggest. If they were intakes, they probably would, but if they were discharges, they would not.

*sigh* more research

More later!

The model looks great so far. I saw in the forums a while back where someone had made their model/ U-boat look weathered and battle weary.


Nice work. :up: