lmagna

Someone more knowledgeable on Type VII U Boats may have a more detailed or different explanation on the saddle tanks on the Type VII, but I was under the understanding they were added to the original hull design as additional fuel storage to increase the range  of a boat that as originally designed was little more than a coastal defense submarine. Somewhat a slightly upgraded version of the WWI U Boats. The area fore and aft, above and below the saddle tanks is the actual outer layer of the ballast tanks, (The non pressure bearing layer) and free flooding areas the actual pressure hull is little more than a round cylinder that runs the length of the ship from the forward tube hatches to the after tube hatch. The conning tower also had a pressurized cylinder used as the "Attack center" but the remaining structure flooded when submerged much the same as the American Gato subs. The original Type VII as designed looked like the later Type IX only smaller.
 
Some people also say that the original design without the saddle tanks was a ruse used by the Germans to get around what they were allowed to build under the Treaty of Versailles and the later Washington and even later London Navel treaties. Build and operate what looked to be compliant but was always meant to be altered. The Japanese did much the same with several of their light cruisers and converted them into heavy cruisers just before the beginning of WWII. 
 
Of course as fuel was used up in the saddle tanks it would be replaced with sea water and they essentially became ballast tanks as well except I do not believe they were blown and flooded each time the sub dove or surfaced, like the actual ballast tanks were.  

Someone more knowledgeable on Type VII U Boats may have a more detailed or different explanation on the saddle tanks on the Type VII, but I was under the understanding they were added to the original hull design as additional fuel storage to increase the range  of a boat that as originally designed was little more than a coastal defense submarine. Somewhat a slightly upgraded version of the WWI U Boats. The area fore and aft, above and below the saddle tanks is the actual outer layer of the ballast tanks, (The non pressure bearing layer) and free flooding areas the actual pressure hull is little more than a round cylinder that runs the length of the ship from the forward tube hatches to the after tube hatch. The conning tower also had a pressurized cylinder used as the "Attack center" but the remaining structure flooded when submerged much the same as the American Gato subs. The original Type VII as designed looked like the later Type IX only smaller.
 
Some people also say that the original design without the saddle tanks was a ruse used by the Germans to get around what they were allowed to build under the Treaty of Versailles and the later Washington and even later London Navel treaties. Build and operate what looked to be compliant but was always meant to be altered. The Japanese did much the same with several of their light cruisers and converted them into heavy cruisers just before the beginning of WWII. 
 
Of course as fuel was used up in the saddle tanks it would be replaced with sea water and they essentially became ballast tanks as well except I do not believe they were blown and flooded each time the sub dove or surfaced, like the actual ballast tanks were.  

Someone more knowledgeable on Type VII U Boats may have a more detailed or different explanation on the saddle tanks on the Type VII, but I was under the understanding they were added to the original hull design as additional fuel storage to increase the range  of a boat that as originally designed was little more than a coastal defense submarine. Somewhat a slightly upgraded version of the WWI U Boats. The area fore and aft, above and below the saddle tanks is the actual outer layer of the ballast tanks, (The non pressure bearing layer) and free flooding areas the actual pressure hull is little more than a round cylinder that runs the length of the ship from the forward tube hatches to the after tube hatch. The conning tower also had a pressurized cylinder used as the "Attack center" but the remaining structure flooded when submerged much the same as the American Gato subs. The original Type VII as designed looked like the later Type IX only smaller.
 
Some people also say that the original design without the saddle tanks was a ruse used by the Germans to get around what they were allowed to build under the Treaty of Versailles and the later Washington and even later London Navel treaties. Build and operate what looked to be compliant but was always meant to be altered. The Japanese did much the same with several of their light cruisers and converted them into heavy cruisers just before the beginning of WWII. 
 
Of course as fuel was used up in the saddle tanks it would be replaced with sea water and they essentially became ballast tanks as well except I do not believe they were blown and flooded each time the sub dove or surfaced, like the actual ballast tanks were.  

Someone more knowledgeable on Type VII U Boats may have a more detailed or different explanation on the saddle tanks on the Type VII, but I was under the understanding they were added to the original hull design as additional fuel storage to increase the range  of a boat that as originally designed was little more than a coastal defense submarine. Somewhat a slightly upgraded version of the WWI U Boats. The area fore and aft, above and below the saddle tanks is the actual outer layer of the ballast tanks, (The non pressure bearing layer) and free flooding areas the actual pressure hull is little more than a round cylinder that runs the length of the ship from the forward tube hatches to the after tube hatch. The conning tower also had a pressurized cylinder used as the "Attack center" but the remaining structure flooded when submerged much the same as the American Gato subs. The original Type VII as designed looked like the later Type IX only smaller.
 
Some people also say that the original design without the saddle tanks was a ruse used by the Germans to get around what they were allowed to build under the Treaty of Versailles and the later Washington and even later London Navel treaties. Build and operate what looked to be compliant but was always meant to be altered. The Japanese did much the same with several of their light cruisers and converted them into heavy cruisers just before the beginning of WWII. 
 
Of course as fuel was used up in the saddle tanks it would be replaced with sea water and they essentially became ballast tanks as well except I do not believe they were blown and flooded each time the sub dove or surfaced, like the actual ballast tanks were.  

Someone more knowledgeable on Type VII U Boats may have a more detailed or different explanation on the saddle tanks on the Type VII, but I was under the understanding they were added to the original hull design as additional fuel storage to increase the range  of a boat that as originally designed was little more than a coastal defense submarine. Somewhat a slightly upgraded version of the WWI U Boats. The area fore and aft, above and below the saddle tanks is the actual outer layer of the ballast tanks, (The non pressure bearing layer) and free flooding areas the actual pressure hull is little more than a round cylinder that runs the length of the ship from the forward tube hatches to the after tube hatch. The conning tower also had a pressurized cylinder used as the "Attack center" but the remaining structure flooded when submerged much the same as the American Gato subs. The original Type VII as designed looked like the later Type IX only smaller.
 
Some people also say that the original design without the saddle tanks was a ruse used by the Germans to get around what they were allowed to build under the Treaty of Versailles and the later Washington and even later London Navel treaties. Build and operate what looked to be compliant but was always meant to be altered. The Japanese did much the same with several of their light cruisers and converted them into heavy cruisers just before the beginning of WWII. 
 
Of course as fuel was used up in the saddle tanks it would be replaced with sea water and they essentially became ballast tanks as well except I do not believe they were blown and flooded each time the sub dove or surfaced, like the actual ballast tanks were.  

About those ballasts...was the actual metal cast with that cratered finish as seen in the molded parts? That's an interesting feature I never noticed before seeing this model, but then again, I have never thoroughly researched U-Boats and their construction.

The half hull (Port side is pretty much completed: 

All holes (with the exception of the rectangular openings above the main ballasts) have been drilled and filed.  A few details: 




My camera really sucks in Macro mode....☹️
 
I just have to finalize the gluing of the magnets to secure the two halves together. Then, the main deck can be assembled.
 
Yves

John,the phrase "Lions led by Donkeys"comes to mind.
 
Dave 

Looking nice Richmond
 
This is one of the few model ships I have built twice. Once for myself and again for a friend. In both cases they were converted to RC operation and were very seaworthy and fun to operate. They also looked nice on the pond but tended to get pretty small fast! 

Have a look through this pair's site.  There used to be some "how to's" but their work is top drawer and worth the time.
 
http://www.mb-miniatures.com/pages/en/home.php
 

A little more in this area including staging and lighting.
 
http://www.boxdioramas.com/sheperd-paine
 

PDF from Andrea.
 
https://www.andreaeurope.com/descargas/AP 030I TEXTS ENG.pdf
 

Hi all and...
Thx    
 

Same here in the US. At least for me. My dental insurance is expensive and I still have relatively high out of pocket costs over the year for what is mostly routine work.

Same here in the US. At least for me. My dental insurance is expensive and I still have relatively high out of pocket costs over the year for what is mostly routine work.

Same here in the US. At least for me. My dental insurance is expensive and I still have relatively high out of pocket costs over the year for what is mostly routine work.

A very nice job on one of my favorite types of ships. The oil canning is nothing short of fantastic. Your skill at doing this is getting more and more refined with each model!

Sadly a massive waste of brave young men, led at that time by incompetent British officers. Sadly history repeats itself and we never learn
 
Jim, another nice one.

Still remembered. The sacrifice of all those young men for a campaign pretty much doomed at the start, because the Turks knew they were coming and were well prepared.
 
Steven

Today is ANZAC Day the  anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. Particularly remembered in Australia and New Zealand.
Something to stir a bit of history, a small event during the campaign.
HMS Albion
HMS Canopus tows Albion off a sandbank off Gaba Tepe in the Dardanelles, HMS Lord Nelson approaching to assist.
"......later they got more guns moved up into position and began to belt away fast and furious, many bursting over our heads. At 7am Lord Nelson arrived and by that time things began to hum a bit";

After doing preemptive damage control on my almost forgotten anniversary (Admiral still has the delusion I never forget anything), I was able to continue with trim work. 
 
Flags were prepped as discussed in my blog earlier. The washi paper is extremely delicate when wet, but easy to shape.  I feel I got pretty close to a wavy flag. Used two lines (sewing thread) through them to make them easier to tie to the rope/jackstaff. 
 
I prepped the jackstaff as pre Chuck’s method. I filed down a toothpick, stained it, and added a bead to the top. Looks good. (Same beads I used for the parrels)  I’ll add the simulated iron bands this evening and decide if I’ll put it on the ship or not. 
 

Moving on!!!
 

Nice work on the Fleet, Craig.
 
I had some older cousins who built those size airplanes. They thought I was a lesser modeler because I built plastic. Nowadays, I work most mediums, just no RC stuff. Unless I add in Digital Command Control (DCC) trains. That adds so much to the fun of running trains, especially if you're into sound ops.

Thanks, Ken. I am hooked on big biplane models. They fly so nice, slow, and aerobatic. They have a certain appeal unmatched by more modern aircraft. I suppose a lot of that has to do with watching biplanes work the fields crop dusting when I was a kid. Man, that was exciting to watch back then and stirred the imagination so much.

I know that if I were to paint any of the handles another color,  I would have to grime them up to show use.  like.....when I get to the cap detail,  I will need to apply a dry brush of that dead pan black that I made to show soot around the boiler door.  if I were to paint the knobs,  they would need the same treatment......whatever color I painted them.   I'll be runn'in out for some flat red.........the more I think of trying the gloss,  the more I feel I'll be ruining the model  
 
oh Lou........a what if by any other name,  is still a what if     I haven't visited the site in quite a while,  but there is a 'what if' community that dabbles in these futuristic models.  some are quite good.......aircraft and ships that are armed to the teeth!

Graff Zeppelin!