Jeddahbill

Many thanks everyone for the comments! The early VIIB boats do represent a nice change from the more commonly seen wartime U-boats. Most everything available in the modelling world involves the VIIC, especially in larger scales. Amati has an early VIIB in 1/72 scale, but it is a difficult build and suffers from some accuracy issues. Robbe offers an early VIIB in 1/40 scale, but it too has accuracy issues. Bill

More images . . . .

Greetings! Commissioned in June 1938, U-45 was the prototype of the Type VII B class which comprised a total of 24 submarines including some of the most successful U-boats of the war. There are several excellent photographs of U-45 taken at the time of her commissioning which show the pre-war characteristics of the early Type VII B U-boats. Rather than build another wartime U-boat, I wanted to capture the unique prewar appearance of these early VII B boats in 1/72 scale from the Revell and Amati kits using the abundance of clear photographs of U-45 as a guide. The Revell hull parts required a great deal of modification to adapt them to a Type VII B and I had to compromise in a few places. Surprisingly, the Amati photoetch deck fit very nicely into the Revell hull and was a great enhancement. A major challenge was constructing the early type VII B conning tower which involved significant modification to the Revell kit parts along with a great deal of scratch building. I also scratch built an inner pressure hull which is almost impossible to see on the completed model. Several other details such as rescue buoys, 20MM gun mount, KDB canvas cover, and many others were all scratch built from a variety of materials. Painting included enamels, lacquers, and acrylics applied with airbrush, rattle cans, and some brush work for small details. At the time of commissioning, U-45 was immaculate so I avoided any heavy weathering and just applied some subtle hull streaking and a hint of brown to the wood areas of the deck. I decided to place the 20MM gun on the deck mounting rather than leave it unmounted as shown in all of the photographs as it seems to look better. Decals were designed and printed on my inkjet printer. I struggled with several frustrating techniques to scratch build the rigging insulators and would have liked to have done these better. The completed model is mounted on brass pedestals secured to the wooden display base and protected with an acrylic display cover which I made from pre-cut panels. Many thanks for having a look, questions and comments always welcome. Cheers, Bill

The bulkheads can be diffilcult to work with once glued in placed. Perhaps the problem ones can be cut away and replaced to restore the proper hull lines? Bill

Excellent work Winston! Looking forward to more excellent models from you in the future! Bill

Thanks everyone! I do appreciate your having a look and commenting. I paid 385USD for the kit from Scott Alexander on Ebay a few years ago. Not sure if the kit is still available from Atomic City. Other than one or two small issues, the kit was well designed and of good quality. No instructions or construction related information included, but it did come with two sets of very nice decals. A challenging resin kit, very large and heavy. Finding a place to display the completed model was difficult - after checking with the Minister of the Interior (my wife), I obtained permission to temporarily display the model on the dining room table. Bill

Thanks Thorfinn! I really enjoyed this build and look forward to doing some more wood ships soon. A nice change from plastic and a great way to develop new skills! Bill

Thanks for having a look and commenting! Bill

Thanks for having a look and commenting! Bill

Superb work - beautiful paint work! Decals never want to cooperate for me on these corrugated surfaces, but you have persuaded them to be nice and conform! Bill

Very nice to see this kit done so well.

Very nice build and an eye catching finish! Cheers, Bill

Most excellent! Such attention to detail, so wonderfully executed! Respect! Bill

Very nice! The attention to detail is superb, I especially like the finish of the structures. Cheers, Bill

Final group of photos . . . Thanks for having a look! Cheers, Bill