Hi all,

Well, it is about time I started this one off. Before I do though, I should mention that this model is the one that got me back into modelling after a 10 year gap. I read a lot about U-boats, saw a model, and thought 'I want to build' that. Before I was allowed ( :-) ) I had to build some planes sitting in the loft, well that turned into me buying and building a few more, and here we are some 6 months later...

I'll be doing this pretty straightforward, quick, simple build.

Before I started though I needed to build a modelling board, as I have decorated the living room, and cannot afford to spill things on the new table, so an A3 cutting mat, a bit of MDF and wooden 12mm strip, and here we are, perfect for sitting on the sofa with:



Right, here are the bits. A Revell 1/144 U-boat, some Eduard PE for a VIID boat (I'll be using common bits and pieces of it), and... a 1/144 Aero 144 Mosquito! What I hear you say? Well, this will be built as U251 which was sunk by Mosquitos in April 1945. I always wanted to add scale to the 1/144 model, and everyone knows how big a Mosquito is, so I thought I would display them together as adversaries.



The PE looks a bit fiddly for someone who has not used it before:



Here are all the bits out of the box, note how perfectly the board fits the U-Boat hull, anyone would have thought it was designed for this build...



Well, I have made a start on the stand (not sure what I'll actually be doing yet as a base, but it needs to be special to tie the two models together I think, I do love MDF and a router though...).
Probably not much progress this next two weeks, I have 4 countries to visit next week, hope it stops snowing so much...

Thanks for looking,

Dan

Hi Daniel,

Your diarama should look really neat!

It's not often you get to see aircraft and subs combined.

Looking forward to watching your progress!

Ted

Ted

I hope so, it's to give scale and tell a story, it will not be so much a scene as a joint display.

Dan

Looking forward to see your U-boot .

If any more members start building U-boots,then we could start a "wolfpack" .

Small Update:

Managed to find time to put the hull together. Was not a great fit, as all of the location pins did not fully line up, but a bit of patience and it gets there. Also noticed that there is about 4mm of 'tip' of the hull missing on one piece. I guess it was transportation that it happened, as the parts are quite loose in the box.

Also, I could not resist laying the Mosquito out next to the hull to give it some proportion.



I should make a bit of progress over this weekend as well I think...

Dan.

Good to see more floaty things!

Looks a good kit that one.

I was tempted to add a build of the 1/72 sub but I'm worn out on big kits atm!

Stebos,

I also would like the 1/72, but it is big, expensive, and I could never do it justice after having seen this one (warning 15 months and 39 pages of WIP!)

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=123846

Dan

More progress:

The 1/144 photo etch is fiddly, but I have done a fair bit of it now. There is a lot of the deck, and also on the conning tower. I still have some of the smaller pieces to do. I now have the plan for the base to display it with the 1/144 Mosquito also, watch this space!








I will make a lot of progress this weekend, and hope to get it fully assembled and primed.

Dan

Well, she is mainly all assembled and I have sprayed the undercoat on. I'll take pictures tomorrow.

Dan

Hello,

Here are the pictures, everything fitted and undercoated except the anchor and screws. The pictures are not that great this time, as I used a different camera that struggled in macro mode. Next step is of course painting, I'll get the other camera boack out for that.

Dan

Very nice

I can't belive that's 1/144, the detail on the conning tower looks exellent.

I do like your portable work bench, I'll have to think about getting myself one.

It'll stop the missus complaining that I spend too much time in the man cave!

Chris

Chris,

Thanks, it is small, but not too bad, I'll try and put better pictures up tomorrow. I have started preparing for painting, by practicing on some scrap: I want to get the shades right (for me).

The board is brilliant, I can sit in the living room with all I need.

Dan

Looking very nice indeed Daniel

Looking forward to seeing her all painted up

Thanks Seamus,

Me too; although when I finish her I've got the Mossie to do (I WILL have questions) and the base.

Dan.

Looks very good !

Well,

I got a fair bit done over the weekend. All primary colours on, still needs some touching up, then it will be a matt coat and oil weathering (that will be a first for me). I have also made a start on the 1/144 Mosquito that will be displayed on the same base, to help tell a story, and give scale. The 1/144 figures for the Mosquito are small! No real cockpit as such in the Aero kit, so I'll use a bit of plasticard for the floor, two seats and crew will be enough I reckon at that scale. Anyway, here are the pictures:







Dan

Well,

Sub is painted. Weathering could be better (read less pronounced), but have never used oils before, so lessons learnt for the future. Work is now on the Mosquito and base, hope to have something to show in a week or so on that front. For now though, see the pictures of the sub:

Dan

First class modelling tray, Daniel. Who built it? <G>

Edit: I have, somewhere, an article in Aeroplane about a Mosquito FB XVIII (Tse Tse Fly) scrapping with a U-boat. The Molins gun damaged, but didn't sink, the U-boat, and the U-boat's 37mm blew the nose off the Mosquito. Many years after the war, the Mossie pilot and U-boat Kapitan shared war stories. I'll see if I can dig it out for you to peruse.

Brews,

Thanks. That'd be great if you could!

Dan

Quick update, though no pictures:

- Sub is done except for a matt coat
- Mosquito has just enetered the painting stage. I have scratch built the pylons for the rockets and the guns. Its a bit small is this 1/144 stuff.
- I will not start the base until these builds are done.


I need to make progress, as I have an exam, two foreign trips, a long weekend with the wife and a diving trip in April, so time will be limited.

Dan

Hi all,

Hope someone is finding this worth reading? Any how, I have done nothing more on the submarine (still needs a matt coat), as I need to design the support from the base before I finish it. The Mosquito is about done, I found the following profile of a Banff 248 Squadron Mosquito in April 1945. I of course cannot be sure that this exact airframe was involved in the sinking of U251, but it is from the right squadron, was in the right place, and the profile is the same month and year, so that will do for me!

Banff Strike Wing, 248 Squadron Mosquito, April 1945:


I used a combination of the Aeroclub decals and homemade decals. I liked the home made decals, it is not hard and I think it looks ok, I'll be doing this again! Anyway, on to the pictures:









I will spend today making the supports for the sub (think shiny!), and then think about how I am going to finish the base, I have an idea, but how to actually do it..?

Dan

Certainly is worth reading Dan It looking very nice indeed and that Mossie looks great.

Definitely looking forward to seeing how it all comes together

Thanks Seamus, I got the sub matt coated today, and I should make good progress over the next couple of days.

Dan

Work on the base begins, I am using cross sectional drawings of the U-Boat and a cutaway image of the Mosquito glued to the wooden base and then sprayed with a fixer. Final jobs are to create an edging and finish the supports for the U-boat.







All for now, Dan.

All finished!

Full post in the 'Gallery' section of the group build, http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...mp;#entry325568



Dan