uncarina

Just resurrecting this thread to see if any of you have photos of DC Gordons MV256 bubbletop with the white rudder. Any evidence is much appreciated! Cheers, Tom

John, I’m resurrecting this as I’m interested in building this aircraft (MV256) in 1/32 scale. The IPMS link no longer works. Would you happen to have a photo available that confirms the white spinner and rudder? Sincerely, Tom

Yes, option six depicts an Operation Corporate aircraft used in the Falklands War: https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/6/1/6/1250616-50-instructions.pdf Cheers, Tom

Very nice start! Thanks also for sharing your reference photos, which will come in handy when I build mine. Hope this is of use: https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/92545-132-italeri-gr4-to-gr1/#comment-1333792 Cheers, Tom

Thank you! That’s very kind. Between my work and other distractions I’ve slowed down a bit, but not much further to go! Cheers, Tom

Winston Churchill once wrote that, "the only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril". It has been a few weeks, but I have been plugging away, albeit slowly since I am glad to write that I have a new job keeping me busy. I've added the jackstaff and the 2 cm Flak C30 twin guns. The latter has been by far the trickiest part of the entire build so far, with a myriad of pieces that could hold a rave on the head of a pin! Almost done with the upper wintergarten, and then I'll focus on the lower level. Until next time, Cheers, Tom

Not there yet! But I do have an update that I can post this week. Cheers, Tom

Thank you! Yes the Revell kits have a reputation for over-pronounced rivets, and a gentle sanding can tame them nicely. The Accurate Model Parts website (https://amp.rokket.biz/books.shtml) have some excellent reference articles about paint and finish, and Dougie Martindale suggests that only some of the Type VII boats had the rubberized coating. U-510 left the docks for her Indian Ocean mission just a few weeks prior to U-505, so I’m choosing to paint her in a similar fashion. Note also the fairwater/tower had much of its surface made from galvanized steel, and paint tended to preverentially peel from these surfaces. Cheers, Tom

"The Monsun U-boats were perhaps the most special "wolfpack" in the war as they operated very far from Germany and its occupied countries, namely in the Indian Ocean out of japanese provided bases in Indonesia. They operated out of Penang, Jakarta and Sabang in 1943-1945 and scored some hits against allied shipping. In the beginning the Monsun operations were almost like the "Happy Days" or better as most shipping in the Indian Ocean was conducted like in peacetime, however in 1943 this started to change and eventually these waters became just as dangerous as the North Atlantic." --U-boat.net I've made a bit more progress, concentrating on the upper railing. The kit offerings are definitely too thick for scale, but I believe they are salvageable with some judicious filing, which I've commenced here on the right: I've also taken the first steps towards making U-510 different than the kit by scratchbuilding the ladder which extended on the port side of the fairwater/tower, which can be seen from this photograph from VinBizz4786’s excellent build: And an overhead photo: Cheers, Tom

I appreciate it! I’ve been curious about the colors and have been using this reference: https://amp.rokket.biz/docs/u-boat_colours.pdf Cheers, Tom

Thank you! Your build looks great as well. We can help each other along! Cheers, Tom

Thank you! I’m looking forward to posting another update soon. Cheers, Tom

Thank you! I appreciate the encouragement. Thanks Jeff! Cheers, Tom

"The distances to pass between Europe and South East Asia were huge, ranging from 11,200 nmi and 12,500 nmi depending on the point of last departure and first arrival. The duration of the voyages reported from the U-boats ranged from 84 days (U 511) to 171 days (U 188). After the Japanese submarines had carried out already by and large two-way transport missions between the Far East and German bases in occupied France as early as 1942, German U-boats were reassigned for that type of mission in mid-1944 as well, since the voyages of blockade breaking German merchant vessels between Europe and South East Asia and return to had to given up at the end of 1943. Ultimately, U-boats were the last remaining means of direct communication between the war allies Germany and Japan, in particular for shipping war essential material." --http://dubm.de/en/the-voyage-to-the-far-east/ I've been making some rapid progress lately, and managed to finish adding the all details to the upper fairwater except for the railings and guns. The UZO was particularly challenging, but I love the added details: And a couple of perspective photos: Cheers, Tom

"Kapitänleutnant Alfred Eick began his naval career in April 1937. Later he served for more than a year on the destroyer Hermann Beitzen, and he undertook 16 patrols in the first year of the war. In November 1940 he transferred to the U-boat force, where he accompanied U-176 on her first two patrols. In May 1943 he became commander of U-510 and received the Knights Cross on 31st March 1944. After a successful patrol in Brazilian waters, U-510 left Lorient on her second patrol assigned as one of the Monsun boats. Eick operated for a few months in the Indian Ocean before heading back in January 1945 with a load of important goods (tin, quinine, etc.) on board. After being supplied with oil southeast of Madagascar by Krvkpt. Jürgen Oesten's U-861 (who was short of fuel herself), U-510 ran out of fuel in the North Atlantic, but managed to reach the U-boat base at St. Nazaire in France at the end of April 1945 (at that time the base was still in German hands)." --http://monsun-uboats.blogspot.com/ I can only imagine how U-510 reached St. Nazaire from the North Atlantic without fuel. Rowing? Progress is a little more rapid now, and I am almost done building up the top of the fairwater: Next up is the periscope housing, UZO, and other fittings. And I'll finish up this post with this photo of the Monsun Gruppe in Japan: http://monsun-uboats.blogspot.com/ Cheers, Tom

Thanks Mick, I appreciate the encouragement. Cheers, Tom

U-510 sailed from Lorient to Penang on November 3rd, 1943 for her fifth patrol, rounding the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean then operating off the Arabian Peninsula, sinking two ships. From there she sailed to Penang, sinking three more ships along the way. When she arrived she had been at sea for 155 days. --Uboat.net I've been slowly but steadily working on the fairwater details. First up was the hatch, an exercise in extreme photoetch. The design allows you to theoretically be able to open and close the hatch, but the interior details are incredibly fragile. I added them (just because), then glued the hatch shut since there is no interior anyway: After adding more details to this section I moved aft to the wooden sections, which I applied after once again cutting out each slot: Still a ways to go, but I'm anticipating things should move faster as I actually add parts from the original kit! Cheers, Tom

Nicely done! Cheers, Tom

Dennis, it’s great to have you aboard and I hope this build can be useful. Thanks Johnny, that deck sure was a lot of work but I’m glad it was worth it! I’m currently toiling away on the wintergarten deck. Thanks also for the correction! Cheers, Tom

Well done! That housing looks like it will work very nicely. Dougie Martindale at AMP came out with a paper on the late war deck configurations for Type VII boats, including a list of which boats had a planked vs. slotted deck: https://amp.rokket.biz/docs/late_war_configurations.pdf Hope this helps! Cheers, Tom

Thanks! It’s great to have you aboard. Thanks Brian! I appreciate the encouragement. Cheers, Tom

That deck is looking very nice! Cheers, Tom

The Monsun Gruppe was formed as part of a cooperative effort between Germany and Japan to exchange strategic raw materials and to sink allied shipping. Both German and Japanese submarines operated in the Indian Ocean, and due to difficulties in identification, both forces were not allowed to attack other submarines. Forty one German submarines participated, and U 510 sank six ships of various nationalities before arriving in Penang, the base of operations. She was one of the few submarines that survived to return to Europe. (Wikipedia) I've reached the milestone of adding almost all of the hull details. I'll be holding off on assembling the 120cm deck gun until I've reached the stage of addressing the Wintergarten armament. Despite all of the effort, the build has gone relatively fast to this point (though it didn't seem like it, it's been less than three weeks), and the engineering and fit of the Pontos set has been amazing. Even without the set the kit is a pleasure to put together! Here you can see where I've addressed the seam between the fore and aft hull sections, and once I have a primer coat applied I'll be restoring the rivet detail using Archer's Rivets. On to the fairwater next. New territory at last! Cheers, Tom

Just saw this. Spectacular build! Cheers, Tom

Exceptional build of this great subject! I’ve also always liked the look of the late war Gato boats and you’ve certainly done the Cobia justice. Cheers, Tom