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The Turtle - First Combat Submarine


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Here we are then, The Turtle.

 

By using a search engine you'll find loads of stuff about this little craft so I'm not going to add anything here.

 

The Box

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Nice artwork - Might be able to use that for reference.

 

The Contents of The Box

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Not many parts = Shouldn't take long

 

Contruction Begins......

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Some light sanding to the mating surfaces prior to gluing and I'm hoping it'll fit reasonably OK, as it's moulded in clear it's tricky to tell at the moment. The "conning tower" was then added.

 

The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed something already. The model and the artwork don't really match! Alongside that, I'm no cooper, but I'm assuming that the hull would require some banding to hold it all together? Perhaps not a quick build after all but hoping to have fun while I do this.

 

It's certainly different.

 

IanJ

 

 

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A barrel effectively has bands on the outside to prevent the outward force of the liquid inside.  As the water is on the outside for The Turtle "theoretically" the staves would be held together underwater by the water pressure, so bands would not be required.  However, up to the point it was fully immersed, something would probably be needed to hold the thing together. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

This really certainly is different Ian.

 

My apologies for not popping in before; I've been trying not to make it so that my icon isn't  up all over the GB main page, but I'm throwing htat to the wind today!

 

Thanks for entering such an amazing subject, truly in the spirit of the GB :thumbsup2: 

 

Id be interested to see it next to a 1/35 figure or something else in scale, to get an idea of how much room there was inside the craft. I suspect it was very little?

 

Great stuff; looking forward to this :)

 

Best regards

TonyT

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20 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

I'd be interested to see it next to a 1/35 figure or something else in scale, to get an idea of how much room there was inside the craft. I suspect it was very little?

.

Hi Tony, I'll stand someone next to it next time I work on it - Been looking for a suitable figure but I fear it'll have to be a WWII figure for illustrative purposes.

 

5 minutes ago, Colin W said:

Where on earth did you find this kit? 

Hi Colin, picked it up from Telford Nationals - Think it was 2015.

 

Currently available at the Big H and HLJ, probably other places too.

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1 hour ago, whitestar12chris said:

Hi from the model i have in the stash there is a central band, see link, the conflicting thing is some show the band inside some outside?

 

http://cottageindustrymodels.com/?page_id=172

 

Hope this helps Chris

 

Hi Chris, thanks for the link, I fear that as it's been the best part of two and a half centuries since the Turtle was built, no one can agree about how it looked beyond the very basics of something approximately barrel shaped.

 

KR's IanJ

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And here is the Turtle,

 

32847684034_88c9be320e_c.jpg

 

With a 1/35 figure alongside for size comparison - think average heights were way taller in the 1940's DAK than in the late 18th century.

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Forgot to mention in the last installment, such as it was, 2 coats Tamiya dark earth brushed on as a base coat / primer.

 

Anyway, bit more progress.

 

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A band has now appeared around the Turtle's belly, courtesy of a strip of thin aluminium which came from the sealed lid of one of those catering size tins of coffee, followed by an overall coat of Vallejo Mahogany Brown.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the pictures - Wikipedia mentions the hull being painted in pitch to seal it.

 

My plan is to use a very dark brown oil paint to darken the overall colour but still show a tiny bit of grain underneath.

 

Might try and get in the shed tonight to do that.

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And here we are,

 

34019655455_1530dcfb4b_c.jpg

 

Mixture of black and brown oil paint liberally applied and then a lot taken off afterwards, grain courtesy of the paint finish.

 

Guess I need to wait for a couple of weeks for it to dry off now.

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That's a very nice finish; I like the grain effect you've achieved :thumbsup2: 

 

The picture from the RN Submarine Museum is absolutely fascinating. The whole device seems very ahead of its time.

 

I read the Wikipedia entry about it and viewed a couple of YouTube videos, to try to understand how it actually worked. In case others are as curious and puzzled about it as I was, I hope it's ok to put the link here?

 

 

This really does, as far as I feel fit to say it, take the biscuit for historically earliest and most unusual first, in the whole Group Build!

Great Stuff!

TonyT

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  • 2 months later...

Have been concentrating of my DH-2 build over on the DH GB but got a chance last night to add the PE portholes, hinge for the "Conning Tower" and paint up the bands in Citadel "Boltgun Metal"

 

34644950683_11db8e30ae_c.jpg

 

KR's

 

IanJ

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Really good to see you back on this. I love those portholes Ian. The hinge looks great too.

 

Your external oil paint finish now really looks the part. It now looks very old, waterproofed and mysterious.

 

I like this a lot.

 

Submarine and related subjects have done really well on this GB. I had hoped for it, but the contribution has been even better than hoped for :).

 

Looking forward to the next instalment 

Best regards

TonyT

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  • 2 weeks later...

In danger of getting this finished in time!

 

35358727770_6e032e7b12_c_d.jpg

 

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Will need to find some fine chain to join the drill to the explosive charge. I fear a trip to "Claires Accessories" may be required. Never looks in the least bit dodgy, a bloke in his 50's, in a shop surrounded by teenage girls....

 

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Work continues....

 

34996136273_a06fbd998b_c_d.jpg

 

Bit more painting and hopefully we're done.

 

35637036502_ac5a0578e5_c_d.jpg

 

Made a little base to display Turtle. Coffee stirrers glued to a piece of plastic card and stained, representing a quayside.

 

Was going to pop into Claire's Accessories for some fine chain, but just as I was plucking up courage to go in I bumped into my father in law and chickened out.

 

Back home I made a rope instead by twisting two pieces of cotton thread together, painting the thread in a buff colour and then reinforcing the threads by applying CA

 

35806188195_b50e87518d_c_d.jpg

 

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And she's done.

 

35691845491_fec58ca49d_c_d.jpg

 

 

 

Will take some proper pictures and post in gallery over the next few days.

 

Thanks for watching

 

IanJ

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52 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

I'm sure my old Auntie used to have a perfume bottle the same shape...

 

Must admit - I thought the same while I was building it....

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I like this a lot Ian :).

 

Until the photographs with the bottle and paint jar I hadn't realised how tiny it was!

 

That makes the detail you've put in all the more impressive.

 

It must have been incredibly claustrophobic in there under water :o!

 

Thank you for this excellent thread on a fascinating subject. Very educational and quite unique.

 

I would have loved to have gone into Claire's boutique myself.... :wicked:

 

Best regards

TonyT

 

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