British K- Class Submarine

[Courageous]

Good day people.

As the Astute draws to an end, I thought I'd give an opening salvo of the next build. The next submarine subject was selected by my better half because it has more 'sticky up bits' than the other ones, so here it is.

Extract borrowed from Wiki:

The K-class submarines were a class of steam-propelled submarines of the Royal Navy designed in 1913. Intended as large, fast vessels with the endurance and speed to operate with the battle fleet, they gained notoriety and the nickname of "Kalamity class" for being involved in many accidents. Of the 18 built, none was lost through enemy action, but six sank, with significant loss of life, in accidents.

 

The obligatory preamble:

 

Boxart showing 'sticky up bits' which I think means masts, funnels and guns...looks interesting.

 

Sprue shot.

 

Some PE and stickers for three subs.

K15 sank at her mooring in Portsmouth. K16 sank in Gareloch after colliding with K-12. K-22 was originally K-13 which sank but salvaged.

 

Instruction sheet.

 

Hopefully I will start this after SMW

 

Stuart

 

[Flankerman]

Nice one Stuart - the K-Class make interesting builds - and MM do two different versions.

 

The earlier, low bow K4 & K5 :- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/model_submarines_350_scale.html#British_K-Class_Submarine

 

.... and later 'Swan bow' K-15/K-16 & K-22 :- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/model_submarines_350_scale.html#HMS_K-15

 

With a bit of conversion, you can also build the last of the line HMS K-26 :- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/model_submarines_350_scale.html#HMS_K.26

 

I also converted the K-15 into the slightly different HMS K-12.

 

Obsessive?? Me ?  Never!

 

Looking forward to your build.

 

Ken

[Courageous]

Thanks for links to your builds Ken, should be useful. Looks like I'll have to get myself a couple more K's 

 

Stuart

[Terry1954]

Another submarine!. 👍 👍

 

I know very little of WWI submarines but this looks very interesting. At first glance I thought it was something out of a Jules Vernes epic! A sobering thought however that so many were lost to accidents. Goodness knows what these were like to live and work in. 

 

Terry

[TallBlondJohn]

I've got K5 on the slip, it will take a while (I build very slow) so watching with interest. So far I've replaced the bridge windows with PE railing and mapped out where to drill for the railing stanchions. I'll replace all the masts with brass if I can find tubing of the right size. Will definitely do a swan bow K though one day.

[Courageous]

@Flankerman, or others, can I ask what you used as reference for your K's, plans or is their a lovely book of some description?

 

Stuart

[Roger Newsome]

Looking forward to seeing this develop Stuart. 

WWW submarines are an interesting subject and not something I'd read up on till very recently after visiting Ripon cathedral to see the WWI commemoration display and saw the memorial plaque and sword belonging to Lieutenant Ingleby Stuart Jefferson. He was youngest submarine commander during WWI and sadly killed in 1917 when his boat, C34 was torpedoed by U52.

http://riponcathedral.info/commemoration-centenary-wartime-death-youngest-submarine-commander/

[whitestar12chris]

Stuart there is a very helpful book on the K class, "The K boats" by Don Everitt

 

The real challenge comes with adding the railings which will have to be scratch built.

 

All the best Chris

[Courageous]

Cheers Chris for book reference and railings. Just purchased a copy for £1 plus postage!

I have never been 100% happy about displaying my 'boats' on blocks, so I may very head towards a waterline job, we'll see.

 

Stuart

Edited November 6, 2018 by Courageous

[Dave Swindell]

14 minutes ago, whitestar12chris said:

Stuart there is a very helpful book on the K class, "The K boats" by Don Everitt

I'll second that and add K Boat Catastrophe by N.S. Nash for a good account of the the Battle of May Island in which 2 K boats sank and 4 were damaged

[Chewbacca]

I've always thought the Ks were the most interesting of the early submarines ever since reading a fascinating book about them when I was about 15.  I look forward to following this with interest.

 

I must admit I agree with you on the issue of displays.  Not just submarines but any maritime subject should really be shown in a seascape as that's how we see them normally (okay I admit we often donlt see the submarines at all but a sea scape with nothing in it would be boring!)

[beefy66]

Certainly a more interesting look to it than the modern day Submarines very cool looking kit  

 

beefy

[Courageous]

9 hours ago, beefy66 said:

Certainly a more interesting look to it than the modern day Submarines very cool looking kit  

They certainly were more interesting but then like most things in their infancy they get developed and refined into what we have today.

 

Stuart

[Courageous]

With the completion of the Astute, it's tine to get building this one.

 

First sprue gone after cutting these hull halves off. The plastic is a hard and shiny type, I don't I don't like it. Sprue gates on the hull took some sanding to get flat, also had to tidy up some flash. Ho-hum, that's modelling.

 

Halves joined and alignment was good.

 

Stuart

[Courageous]

Back from York and a little progress on the 'K'

The 'holding' tape has been removed from the hull and a little PPP is needed to tidy up the seem but unfortunately that's at work with the tug, so that'll have to wait.

 

'Till the PPP arrives, thought I'd tackle a bit of PE and the use new weapon bought while at SMW. The PE parts in question are the funnel boxes and here the have been folded and CA'd into position under the main deck. The purpose of the boxes is to house the folded down funnels when the sub goes submerged, a bit of dodgy situation if you ask me. The little bits at the top are a couple of funnels that will need some cleaning and thinning, and part of the sail/ bridge.

 

Stuart 

[Courageous]

Had an hour or so in the cave doing some odds and sods.

 

A little work on the bridge; a PE deck and a couple of masts. The masts were supposed to be bridged by a PE part but 'PING'... So, working within the confines of the PE fret, I fashioned something that fits the bill out of a bit of copper wire. 

 

Here we have the PE bridge screen but I just couldn't form it around the bridge and it seemed a little short in length. So, I grabbed a bit of thin plasticard and using the PE as a template, I cut myself a slightly longer, more flexible version that I'll use instead. Before I can fit this to the bridge, I will prime and paint it as it will be a bit awkward to paint later.

 

Stuart

[Flankerman]

Great work on the bridge Stuart.

 

Looking good so far.

 

Ken

[Courageous]

The paint call-out states a dark grey below water line, grey for hull above waterline and ocean grey for vertical elements.

A question for @Flankerman. What colours did you use on you K Class and how did you decide what colour the deck and bridge deck was?

And a question for @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies. I have your ocean grey as part of RAF colours, would the RN ocean grey be the same? Also, I notice that you have GW26 as the standard grey for RN WW1 subs, would this be the upper hull grey?

 

TIA

 

Stuart

[Flankerman]

13 hours ago, Courageous said:

What colours did you use on you K Class and how did you decide what colour the deck and bridge deck was?

Stuart,

 

I have to confess that I am very lazy when it comes to colour matching on my subs - there is so little definitive colour information readily available - the whole subject is a minefield with conflicting information in different publications..

 

On my K4 I just used Halfords rattle cans - Grey Primer for the upper works and Volvo Dark Grey for the hull.......

 

 

The Colour Police would have a field day - but it works for my easily satified standards.

 

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

 

Ken

[Courageous]

54 minutes ago, Flankerman said:

The Colour Police would have a field day - but it works for my easily satified standards.

'Tis alright Ken, I won't tell.

I thought the upper hull looked familiar as it's my 'go to' primer and the Volvo Dark Grey is familiar on your builds.

 

This the one I plan to paint and according to the instructions, the verticals should be Ocean Grey but what about the 'Gun Deck', logic says that it'll be the upper hull colour?

 

Stuart

[Terry1954]

I have to say Ken, your approach gets my vote. 👍

 

Although I strive for accuracy in model building, when it comes to colour, you are right about it being a minefield. The mantra of "If it looks right" is so often one of the best lines to take, and your model above certainly looks "right" to my eyes. Matching paints to their exact prototype specification is all well and good, but what about batch variations in the original colours, ageing (in the tin) of the original colours, locally applied interpretations, chemical ageing of the original once applied, sun bleaching, weathering from the sea, light conditions and that good old bone of contention, the adjusted effect of "scale colour". IMHO all these factors can affect the scheme you end up applying to your model, so precise correctness is not the point, but aesthetic looks and representation are.

 

Terry

[Terry1954]

On 11/25/2018 at 8:28 PM, Courageous said:

Had an hour or so in the cave doing some odds and sods.

 

A little work on the bridge; a PE deck and a couple of masts. The masts were supposed to be bridged by a PE part but 'PING'... So, working within the confines of the PE fret, I fashioned something that fits the bill out of a bit of copper wire. 

 

Here we have the PE bridge screen but I just couldn't form it around the bridge and it seemed a little short in length. So, I grabbed a bit of thin plasticard and using the PE as a template, I cut myself a slightly longer, more flexible version that I'll use instead. Before I can fit this to the bridge, I will prime and paint it as it will be a bit awkward to paint later.

 

Stuart

And slightly out of sequence, but great work on the bridge there Stuart!

 

Terry

[Bandsaw Steve]

On 06/11/2018 at 20:33, Courageous said:

 

I have never been 100% happy about displaying my 'boats' on blocks, so I may very head towards a waterline job, we'll see.

 

FWIW I vote for waterline too!

[Courageous]

31 minutes ago, Terry1954 said:

The mantra of "If it looks right" is so often one of the best lines to take

I tend to agree. I also take the same line about accuracy, I will go so far before so much needs to be done for so little gain, as long as you main chunks right...

24 minutes ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

FWIW I vote for waterline too!

I am torn between the two; on blocks for conformity or waterline because 'where it should be'...choices, choices, choices.

 

Stuart

[At Sea]

 

I presume you have read this.