Hobbyboss 1/350 DKM Type IX-C U-Boat

[Bill.B]

Having been inspired by Tobby the Hun’s 1/350 U-Boat diorama I decided to have a go myself as I’ve always had a keen interest in Wolfpack subs. As the title suggests I’ve bought the Hobbyboss type IX (it cost less than a tenner!) and when it arrived on my building board I immediately realised that I should have bought a larger scale because a 1/350 sub is very small (less than 9” long!) for my ageing, arthritic, sausage fingers, but never mind, I like a challenge. Either that or I’m mad! 

 The parts are extremely well detailed considering it’s diminutive size and I wonder why some of the larger AFV’s seem so crude by comparison. Cost I suppose?  Anyway, I didn’t take any pictures of the sprues and PE as there really aren’t many parts to show so I’ve waited until the two main structures have been assembled and primed. The PE parts for the various hand rails were a real challenge to shape and adhere in place, but so far I think I’ve managed to do a half decent job. Next task is the basic colour scheme and marrying the conning tower to the sub. Small details like the guns, antennae and aerial wires will be assembled afterwards. To assist in handling during painting I’ve tack glued some scrap sprue to the two main parts as the PE is very fragile and vulnerable to being clobbered. 

BTW, this is my first sea going craft since I built the little Airfix Mayflower when I was a youngster back in the 60’s so it’s long overdue! 

To be continued.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bandsaw Steve]

Looking good! 😀⚓️😀⚓️👍👍👍

[Courageous]

It's a sub, need I say more. 

[Rob 1]

This look like it's coming along nicely.

Funny thinking about it's size, as after building the odd 1:700 sub, this would seem quite big in 1:350 

[Bill.B]

1 hour ago, Rob 1 said:

This look like it's coming along nicely.

Funny thinking about it's size, as after building the odd 1:700 sub, this would seem quite big in 1:350 

 

Rob, I’m afraid I don’t have the eyes, dexterity or patience for a 1/700 scale U-Boat, or even a Nimitz class aircraft carrier for that matter!   

[Rob 1]

Although you are doing a fine job on this one at 1:350, it's looking very good.

[Bill.B]

Update:  It’s going a bit slower than first anticipated, but I do have a spiffing dose of man flu to enhance my Christmas holiday which isn’t helping matters at all.   Anyway, the whole sub has been given a base coat of light grey and the hull has been sprayed in dark grey. BTW, the conning tower is also the same light grey, but for some reason it looks a darker shade in the photo. The props are painted in a phosphor bronze colour, but they’re far too bright for my liking so I’ll dull them down later when I weather the completed sub. Finally, I’ve been searching high and low for a suitable scale sized product to replicate the fore & aft aerial cables and I’ve found what could be the cheapest most readily available substance. If it all works out ok I will reveal what I’m using, but I have a sneaking suspicion some of you might already be using the same stuff. 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2017 by Bill.B

[Bill.B]

One more photo now the conning tower is married to the hull. It also hopefully shows the three different shades of grey. Next task will be painting the accessories (guns, periscopes etc), followed by painting the top deck metalwork, but first I think I’ll indulge in a bit of the finest Highland spirit (purely for medicinal purposes of course), and a wee rest to try and shift this blasted cold. 

I’ll be back! 

 

[Bill.B]

Despite copious amounts of ‘medication’ the man flu is still being a nuisance, but nevertheless I’ve soldiered on and have progressed with the build in between the bouts of intense sneezing and coughing. The rather gloomy photo shows that apart from adding the VLF aerial wires and weathering, the tiny sub is almost near completion. Once the next two days have been consigned to the history books I should be able to progress a bit more. 

 

 

P.S. Having just looked at this photo again, the PE handrails still look a bit too large for scale. 

[Rob 1]

That looks a truly excellent build - top notch in clean precision, well done.

 

Hope the virus clears up soon, I know what a miserable thing that can be, especially during the festive season.

[Michael M]

For the rigging I'd recommend either 0,06mm stainless steel wire, you can get it fron The Crazy Wire Co, in action looks like that:

 

 

or Uni Caenis 20 Denier Thread, that's available from fishing shops, it's used for tying flies. I got 200 yard roll for about 5 quid  Looks like that:

 

 

Have fun  I'm lloking forward to see this little gem finished.

 

Cheers

Mick

 

[Kev The Modeller]

Some amazing stuff going on here.

[Bill.B]

Thanks for the info Michael, it’s very much appreciated as I’m still getting settled into this hobby and have much to find out about supplies etc. As it happens I’ve used a different substance for the aerial wires as can be seen in the finished sub. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235031262-hobbyboss-1350-dkm-type-ix-c-u-boat/&do=findComment&comment=2904648

 

[Kris B]

Almost finished. Looks good.