Goji308 Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 (edited) I have always admired the look and lines on German Uboats and thought how cool it would be to have one on display. I purchased a several of the Revell 1:72 kits and put them aside. I decided to research a little learn a little about the Uboat before construction of my kits. Sooo, I bought a few books on the the Uboats and have been reading some of the history which they were involved in as well as other sub books too. Das boot 04/21, Blind mans bluff 05/21, Twenty million tons under the sea 05/21, Iron coffins 05/21, The luck of the draw 05/21, Operation Drumbeat 06/21, Torpedo junction 06/21, Gunther Prien and the U-47 (reading now). So after dragging my feet for a bit I started the kit last Thursday on July 1st. Edited July 9, 2021 by Goji308 Having trouble posting smugmug pics. Yes I read FAQ 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 look forward to your build 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArnoldAmbrose Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 Gidday Goji, I've read 'Iron Coffins' - Herbert Werner I think. A very good read. I'm looking forward to seeing your model. Regards, Jeff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 9, 2021 Author Share Posted July 9, 2021 (edited) Here is the manual that comes with this particular kit. Drilling out basic holes. Dry fitting aft section. There is a little tension/ spring in the mold that should not be too hard to address later in the gluing phase. For the most part the smaller pieces are going together nice and tight. Actually looking at the guns from the photos, the zoomed pictures help reveal small flash lines still left that I did not see. Edited July 10, 2021 by Goji308 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 10, 2021 Author Share Posted July 10, 2021 (edited) Few updates. The highlight of my week; I picked up a Dremel for $20. I purchased a few tools, pin vise, nail file, sprite dikes, etc.. Over the last week I have made progress dremeling out the flood vent holes. Thanks Andy and his build thread for the idea. I learned a few things going through the process that I will have to remember in the future. I practiced as I was removing the interior material to control my tool stroke so I would not destroy the model's stock vent partitions. In the end, I removed them all out with an exacto knife and made my own vents out of .020 stock. Working with the Dremel was fun and interesting.. there is a bit of a learning curve. Cutting these little triangles took a few hours with a pin vice and exacto blade. Edited July 10, 2021 by Goji308 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 10, 2021 Author Share Posted July 10, 2021 (edited) Once I glued the flood vents in I had to be careful with them exposed. I knocked a few off here and there and had to be careful. I also noticed the small backing that supports the flood vents would have been better if the material was a little thicker, next time. I also cut a few pieces of sprue to support the vulnerable edges and to strengthen the hull a bit for while I'm handling it. The vent support is angled up a bit so when your viewing the uboat from the side you will not see all the way through. I also modified the stiffness so the flood holes could clear them uninterupted. Edited July 10, 2021 by Goji308 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyPG Posted July 10, 2021 Share Posted July 10, 2021 Shaping up Brian. Perform plenty of dry fits with that aft section joint. Use a straight edge to get it as good as you can before gluing. I'm assuming it will be the usual dodgy fit. Watching with interest, Andy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelD Posted July 10, 2021 Share Posted July 10, 2021 Following with interest as I have one of these waiting in the wings along with the Eduard photo etch and a nautilus wooden deck on its way to me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 11, 2021 Author Share Posted July 11, 2021 Andy: Thanks for the tips and the advice. I actually set & glued the aft section last night. Pretty happy with the match. Nigel: Congratulations on your IX kit and upgrades. You have some very exciting components. Arnold: “IC”was an awesome read. I just recently purchased a few more books on some of the uboat Aces. Hopefully there are some new material in these books. Uboat Ace; story of Wolfgang Luthe. Shooting the War; memoir of a Uboat officer. Mick: thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 12, 2021 Author Share Posted July 12, 2021 Today I spent probably an hour total in just blending filling in minor gaps here and there and sanding mold lines off. I spent at least 20 minutes staring at the model with the torpedo doors open and closed trying to decide which configuration I’ll display. I would imagine 99% of the time they were closed unless they were firing at a ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 13, 2021 Author Share Posted July 13, 2021 I think it’s pretty safe to assume anything on the front of this IX U-boat that’s looks like a net cutter most likely is. One part in this kit is serrated. This other piece that attaches to the bow is not. I will carefully remove the excess with and exacto knife and smooth it out. With the modification I think this has been the most fragile part in the build so far. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 13, 2021 Author Share Posted July 13, 2021 (edited) More flash, tag, and seam removal on misc parts. The part above has not been modified yet. The bottom part has. Edited July 13, 2021 by Goji308 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 great work on the vents 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 I’ve been away from the bench for a bit with honey do’s and summer outdoor activity with the kids. Today I tested and played around with some of the magnets I purchased recently. Diameter (.250, .187, .125, & .063). I even played with combinations and also played with several shim to test out the strength of the pull. I also bought another styrene sheet (.063) to creat a sub deck for magnets to be used on the underbelly of the conning tower. I think .040 thick would have been more than strong enough. .063 was thicker than I imagined. I used a hand file and brought them in close to the original shape. Next I’ll find the centerline, drill and counterbore the inside to build a magnet cavity. then mount the magnets and glue the sub floor permanently. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 (edited) Oh yes, I forgot to mention before my last update, I did decide to build this model with all its torpedo doors open. I am not doing PE parts with this kit; I am keeping it real simple. Hopefully my next Uboat build I’ll cross that bridge. I have gone over the model multiple time using filler putty lightly filling minor cracks and crevices. Nothing major to fill. I did find two voids to fill near the flood vent baffles I made. I did not notice the gaps during the build/ gluing process. It filled it in nicely. Edited July 25, 2021 by Goji308 Grammar 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 This morning I laid out the conning tower sub floor on the deck, using the conning tower alignment guides. I then taped them down with painters tape and drilled the holes for the magnets. I used a small drill, medium diameter drill, and then stepped it up to the final finish drill diameter. The magnets went in with glue with a lost a press fit. I triple checked the magnet polarity before setting them in permanently. Probably unnecessary but I also glued in some small pieces of leftover .020 styrene on the back side for hopefully more of and anchor to the magnet. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelD Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 My wooden deck arrived and it looks fantastic. Unfortunately, it is for the previous version of this kit, with the larger conning tower so it won't fit! This older kit is not available anywhere, so if anybody has one they no longer need.... Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 26, 2021 Author Share Posted July 26, 2021 5 hours ago, NigelD said: My wooden deck arrived and it looks fantastic. Unfortunately, it is for the previous version of this kit, with the larger conning tower so it won't fit! This older kit is not available anywhere, so if anybody has one they no longer need.... Nigel Nigel, the wooden decks look so nice on Uboats. It Would be nice if all the wooden deck kits could be duplicated if no one company or source produces the different variants anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelD Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 How true. I'm keeping my eyes open for the correct kit as the deck is so nice. Even revell themselves don't have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyPG Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Hi Brian, What's with the magnets? Can't the sail just be glued on? Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 4 hours ago, AndyPG said: Hi Brian, What's with the magnets? Can't the sail just be glued on? Andy. Yes it could just be glued on. I probably made more work for myself than there needed to be. Originally I thought it would be nice to have display options, be able to break the model down if I ever needed to repair anything etc. the process was just something to do as I was pondering other details that I struggling to finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyPG Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Ah. It will cause some complications with your rigging if it is made removable. Andy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goji308 Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 17 minutes ago, AndyPG said: Ah. It will cause some complications with your rigging if it is made removable. Andy. Ahh. Yes you are right. I did not think about that scenario/ detail. I appreciate you mentioning this. Thank you. I have been so wrapped up in paint schemes, U-boat number research, weathering videos, etc. Good grief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Good all round progress. I'm impressed with the quality of the holes cutout. I've had several goes at mine and always given up after making a mess of it. How did you get it so clean? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Great work on the drain holes, and the sharp interior details. Going to be a classic, I think! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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