Not another 1/144 XX1 U-2540 Submarine!

[Getunderit]

Yep, another one.

From an Internet search, it can be seen that this model has been built by many modellers over the years. Most of them don't look as good as the artwork on the box cover. Even our local maritime museum has this model on display. It reminds me of some of the other models the museum has. Because a model was donated, and accepted by the museum, the museum is obliged to keep it, even if a better one comes along.

 

This is my first plastic kit model. All the parts are already made. All I have to do is assemble it.

I am doing this model for two main reasons:

1) To have a break from scratch-building while still keeping my hands in modelling making. Hoping to give my brain a rest.

2) I have always wanted to build a model submarine showing its interior.

 

Well the first reason has not proven itself yet. I got myself into some brain-pain from the start.

The kit is second hand. Some parts were already played with but not assembled. Soon discovered a few tiny/minor parts are missing.

Also, the local maritime museum did not have all the paint colours (they got a stash of second hand Humbrol colours). Had to convert Revell into Humbrol equivalents. Three colours were missing, so I mixed some colours to suit.

Some of the greys are so close to each other I wonder why they bother. One grey is exactly the same colour as the plastic kit.

 

[Getunderit]

Got stuck into the kit today. Jumped the gun and went straight to the conning tower.

Still have some more painting to do (touch-ups).

The inside side walls are blank. Will try to remedy this.

 

 

 

[AndyPG]

Nice one Getunderit.

Don't know what it is about sub's, they're great.

Love the little DIY colour chart. Clever.

 

Andy.

[Little Timmy]

I built this kit about ten years ago. Picture's are here...

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235034719-type-xxi-u-boat-out-of-storage-box/

 

When you get to the Battery's , save yourself some "Stress"..... just paint them Flat Black and call it done. I went to all the trouble of painting ALL the Battery terminals and strap's  and when I assembled the sub, .... you couldn't see ANY OF IT ! Oh well....

( At least I know it's there..... two hour's of my life I will "Never" get back. )

[Getunderit]

Thanks for the link and the tip @Little Timmy.

[Getunderit]

Does anybody know what R, RB, and U compartments are?

 

[clive_t]

I've never built a submarine, but this looks interesting - I shall follow along if I may?

[AndyPG]

On 5/11/2018 at 11:59 AM, Getunderit said:

Does anybody know what R, RB, and U compartments are?

 

Hi Getunderit,

Not 100% on the Type XXI but on the Type VII (and others) these were tanks.

 

R probably a dive tank (ballast water)

U maybe fuel oil

RB maybe ballast again with an area segregated for the periscopes to descend into.

 

Andy.

[Little Timmy]

I cant find my book on Type XXI U-Boat's ,   but  I believe AndyPG is correct.

But I think They go like this...

 

R: Main Diving Tank.

RB : Fuel oil tank. (when the fuel was used up, this tank could be used as a "Ballast" tank

U : Fuel / Water compensation tank. As fuel was consumed, water would be added to this tank to maintain "ballast" .

These are my " Egibicated" ( purposely miss-spelled ) guesses.....

                                                                                 H O W E V E R ......

I only "Think" I'm smart..... I could be giving you  REALLY BAD fact's.    Please do your own research to confirm / disprove my " Lunacy" !!!

 

 

[Getunderit]

Thank you @clive_t, @AndyPG, and @Little Timmy for your responses. Much appreciated.

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Had a lot of trouble finding anything on the flak guns. From what I can gather is shown below.

 

 

The gunner is enclosed in a column or pillar. There is no window or slot in the turret for sighting the target, so the turret hatch has to be opened to sight the target. This model of the turret does not lend itself to making an open hatch without botching-up the turret. So I have decided to leave the hatch alone, However, there are gaps around the guns which would allow any light within the pillars to shine out. Most probably there is no light within the pillar, but to add a bit of drama I decided to add one.

 

I read somewhere that earlier night vision lights used a blue-green light (before the red light was introduced). So I opted to use a blue for something different. There is a problem with introducing a LED within the sail. It lights up everything, and light escapes through all cracks etc. Decided to eliminate this diffusion by directly attaching the LED to the plastic, and painting the glued LED black. This helped my to isolate where I wanted the light to shine. The below photos shows the light quite brightly. I will dim this down by introducing a resistor for each LED at the power source.

 

 

 

[Little Timmy]

 That look's "Awesome" ! 

I never even thought about lighting my sub....... gonna have to try that on the next one.

[Getunderit]

Thank you @Little Timmy, @Corsairfoxfouruncle, and @robgizlu for your reactions.

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[Getunderit]

Just done the Torpedo racks.

 

[Getunderit]

Thank you @Gorby, @whitestar12chris, @Corsairfoxfouruncle, and @beefy66 for your reactions. Much appreciated.

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Last night, and today, I spent time painting torpedoes. I noticed that some colours did not like the smooth plastic, for the paint spread out ultra-thin. Several coats needed to be applied. Next time I will lightly sand the plastic so more pigment gets trapped and held to the surface.

 

The torpedoes come in four sets of three (fused together). Nearly every modeller of this kit elected to follow the instructions to the letter. I noticed by doing so, the rear starboard wall and its instrumentation gets blocked by the upper rack of torpedoes (the bottom rack, of three, is not used). The racks can handle 16 torpedoes, the kit has 12. Decided to cut one torpedo from the set of three, which leaves two torpedoes for the bottom rack. As a result, I am using the bottom and centre racks, leaving the top one free. This empty space now provides a clearer view of the starboard wall. The two spare torpedoes will be used in a simulation of being fired and just leaving the torpedo tubes.

 

Used a single insulated wire to imitate a shaft and lever for each torpedo tube. This will indicate the mechanical firing lever. Actually, the wire can be turned by the lever. This could actually be used as a contact switch for triggering sound effects of a torpedo being fired 😉. I won't be using that idea on this model, for it will be sealed in a display box.

 

 

 

[whitestar12chris]

Coming along very nicely Peter.

 

All the best Chris

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Im curious since the last submarine i built would’ve been in about 1985. Why the different colored heads to the Torpedo’s ? I wasn't aware they had different types other than aerial, surface, and sub-surface launched varieties ? Unless they're magnetic and Non-magnetic detonators ? 

 

Dennis

[Getunderit]

9 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Im curious since the last submarine i built would’ve been in about 1985. Why the different colored heads to the Torpedo’s ? I wasn't aware they had different types other than aerial, surface, and sub-surface launched varieties ? Unless they're magnetic and Non-magnetic detonators ? 

 

Dennis

Different colours, markings, and access points for adjusting the torpedoes behaviour generally signified what sort of torpedo it is. For instance, steam/gas propulsion left a visual trail in the water, where an electric motor propulsion did not. Or whether the torpedo had acoustic homing, and some were of the passive type. Some were identical in outer appearance, but had a different behaviour than it's previous version.

 

Here is a list of WW2 German torpedoes types: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_torpedoes_of_Germany

 

Unfortunately, my Internet research should little information on colour codes.

Edited May 18, 2018 by Getunderit

[Getunderit]

Thank you @whitestar12chris, @beefy66, @GrantGoodale, @Gorby, and @Corsairfoxfouruncle

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Decided to give the torpedoes a coat of gloss. I think they look a lot better. 
Besides, I am sure they used to give the torpedoes a coat of oil/grease for easier release from the torpedo tubes.

 

 
Worked on painting the torpedo compartment wall. Surprisingly the kit instructions show not decals for this wall. Perhaps they realized that the torpedoes would obscure the wall. But this model has the wall showing. So now I have to paint what I can, and made a rough plan of colours to use on the plastic protrusions. 

 

 
Thought of a way to make the larger dials more realistic. The idea is to paint the dial surface a matt white so pencil marks would be easier to apply. Then paint the white dial with a few coats of clear gloss to imitate glass. I think it worked out well.

 

 
Really enjoyed painting these small bits. My confidence in doing so increased as I progressed. My hand stayed more relaxed and steadier. In that relaxed state I became more aware of what was needed to be done. I feel that my skills will improve as I proceed along on this build.

[Gorby]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You've managed to do a clock face in 1/144!!!!!!!!!

If you asked me to do that in 1/48, I'd laugh in your face and think you were raving.

 

With more practice you'll probably get the hands to move.

[clive_t]

Wow, superb painting!

 

@Gorby If it was me I'd leave the clocks static - they'd still be right twice a day, more than I am in our house, ever!

 

[Getunderit]

Yes, I have noticed that there are several clocks on board. I am sure the kit designer used whatever standard clip-art symbols to imitate gauges 😀.

[Gorby]

10 hours ago, Getunderit said:

I have noticed that there are several clocks on board

It can't have been a happy sub though – the clocks aren't at either 10:10 or 1:50 – the smiling clock-face time (apparently). ⏰

How will the crew sell their cargo of torpedoes with that attitude?

It's no wonder that they have to give them away free.

[Getunderit]

Thank you @Gorby, and @clive_t for your responses. And thank you @Corsairfoxfouruncle, @Gorby, @GrantGoodale, @whitestar12chris, and @clive_t for your reactions.

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Was given an image of a larger plan view of the XXI. Discovered that something is stored under the torpedo room floor.

 

 

The kit's cutaway section shows a partial view. Naturally the cutaway could be enlarged.

 

 

Well that just invited me to add some spares to the model.

Made a spare torpedo from the kit template frame.

 

 

Quickly figured out what parts of the wall is visible after the torpedoes and tubes are installed. 

Used single strand wire to add extra electrical conduit within these visible areas.

 

 

 

The spare torpedo is installed under the floor.

Bottom photo show the extra conduit seen under the torpedoes.

 

[Getunderit]

Thank you @whitestar12chris, @beefy66, @Corsairfoxfouruncle, @clive_t, and @Gorby for your 'likes'.

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Discovered that the embossed instrumentation on walls and bulkheads hardly follow what is actually on the U 2540. So I am compelled to try and use what is embossed and whatever I think I could add to it, in terms of improvement.  While doing the aft bulkhead of the torpedo room I decided against using any decals, and just paint what I can by hand. Since the start of this project I have noticed an improvement in using the fine brush. So I am sure this method of illustration will suffice.

 

I closed the hatch door to make more space in the torp; room.

Added shelf and war heads under the floor.

Refined the spare torpedo brackets.

Assemble the torp; room, hooray! I can now move to the next compartment - the bunker rooms.

 

[clive_t]

That one section is almost a model in itself, damned fine work it is too!