cog

A couple more pictures to situate the action: 

This is the left over space in the hull that will accommodate the two compartments under construction.
 
View of the Control Room floor. Notice the hole drilled and the tube allowing the attack periscope to slide down in the guts of the beast: 

View of the main ballast, before any sea water is poured into it (below): 

The tank located under the control room *below): 

And the two ends of the rear fuel tank: 

You can notice the different appearance of the resin mixed at  (too) low temperature (left) and at correct temperature (right). Since these two sections are separated by the outside hull and not much of them is visible, it does not come as a blatant contrast. Still, I wish I had waited one more day before pouring that very sensitive resin. One day was in the 50's, the following in the low 80's.
 
Yves

The next compartment is the Control room. All these compartments are linked to each other by the fuel tanks located underneath. It is therefore essential to build them almost at the same time for a perfect continuity. Thus, I started the Control room which is probably the most ambitious project as you will see.
 
The lower level of the Control Room is composed of: Front Fuel tank....Main Ballast....Rear Fuel tank. Of course, Trumpeter did not see the need to represent any of these three sections and instead gave us a "semi" container for the periscope mechanism and well, and a few bulkheads. The result is a pale approximation of what this compartment is about.
 
So, let's look at how we can improve on the kit: 

I decided to build a pressure hull and to install in it, the three tanks referenced earlier. I am using a lid from a NEST packaging (cut in half, to represent the convex bulkheads facing the fuel tanks. Tat lid is exactly of the right diameter and fits perfectly against the Trumpeter bulkheads. It does take a lot of fine tuning and adjustments to make it work, but I think I managed to create something that looks realistic. The pressure hull is made with a sheet of 0.5 mm thick, 16 cm long and about 11.5 cm wide.

Above, you can see the front section of the rear fuel tank (extension of what is around the rear batteries compartment). From the other side, this is what we have: 
With both convex bulkheads installed and the resin poured in the rear fuel tank:  

Of course, the level of fuel matches the level we saw in the previous compartment: 

The main ballast structure requires a lot of work, cutting and sanding to bring it to something slightly more prototypical: 

Everything is glued under the control room floor. A tube (left on the picture) is added to represent the well of the attack periscope. That detail is missing from the Trumpeter kit (anybody surprised ?)
 
The main ballast is painted with anti-fouling color: 

And the pressure hull is slightly opened to show the intricacies of the main ballast structure: 

Next step: glue the control room floor and start populating the rear bulkhead with all its details, before installing the front bulkhead and pouring resin in the front fuel tank. 
 
The main ballast will also have some water "poured" into it, for extra realism.
 
Yves 
 
 

I have been doing some experiments with some acrylic resin. I am mildly happy with the results. As some of you who are following closely the development of that insanity know,  I am trying to replicate the fuel tanks located on each side and under the control room and spanning into the living quarters modules, around the batteries compartments. Because we are using that resin on a delicate plastic model, the Polyester resin with its fast polymerization cannot be used: the heat generated during the hardening reaction is simply too much for the plastic parts surrounding the resin.
 
Therefore, I decided to go with Acrylic resin which presents a certain number of good points when compared to the polyester resin: 
- Less toxic
- Less stinky
- Almost no heat during the reaction
- More affordable
- Crystal clear
- Compatible with Acrylic paints
- Long working time (40 minutes)
- Easier to clean (alcohol or soap)
- Very small shrinking once hardened.
 
The only drawbacks I noticed are the following: 
- Extremely temperature sensitive
- Need to mix perfect 1:1 ratio
- Mixing time of at least 3-4 minutes (no less)
- Very long to harden (24 hours to 48 hours at high temperature).
 
What I am using is this product: 

My first attempt was not perfect but gave a very realistic results (even more realistic than when perfect): 
 

The top surface has a lot of small bubbles mimicking the motion of the fuel into the tank, while the submarine is under way. When I did the first attempt, the temperature during the mixing of the resin was a little bit too low (they recommend 72-78). Mixing the resin during 4 minutes created some tiny air bubbles that had a hard time getting to the surface and disappearing. As you can see, the mold is nothing more than two pieces of scotch tape to prevent the resin from running away. Once the resin is cured, the tape is removed and we have a perfect wall of fuel in the tank.
 
Yves

Module is almost completed. A few more details, the ceiling/pressure hull and it will be over. In the meantime, enjoy some shots: 

The fuel tank (below) surrounding the batteries room: 

The sleeping quarter, also used for eating and relaxing (as far as you can relax inside a submarine): 
Galley, pantry and toilet room: 

Lots of magazines (propaganda) and Nazis ideology posters on the walls:


Magazines are made of a cover printed at scale and glued on a thin cardboard sheet. All covers are authentic Kriegsmarine and Adler publications from the early 40's.

Girls are the Olympic champions of 1936, held in Berlin.

Aerial view of the galley:


I still have to solder some electrical wires, glue the ceiling and fill up the tank. Some painting on the outside and the main air hose to be added on top of the pressure hull, and the module will be ready to rest in the hull.
 
Yves
 

Installation of four white LEDs on the ceiling/pressure hull: 

The "Cook Hatch" has been improved with a large wheel (not in the kit).

Wiring of the LEDs in series (4 x 3 volts = 12 Volts).

Some putty blobs to prevent light leaks. Once painted, they should prevent any unpleasant light leaking outside of the pressure hull. All this will not be visible once the hull is closed.
 
Also working on the bulkhead of the control room. Openings have to match: 


All this is to help represent the large rear fuel tank, located around the rear officer compartment and under the control room.
 
Back to the sub-officer and kitchen compartment, Trumpeter screwed up royally by mixing up the toilet room and the pantry. Instead of the necessary appliances, Trumpeter is giving us a wooden box..... Very useful to dump a c...!!! I have built a small platform to install the second set of toilet bowl and sink (which is of course not provided in the original kit). They could have offered a second set to populate that very visible room..... But no!



Let's not forget the toilet paper....apparently a very valuable (and rare) item, nowadays.
 
View on the ducting bringing fresh air: 

Very soon, we will be closing the lid on the batteries room: 


Hope you enjoy.
Yves

Just finished building the six mattresses. These are made with the original Trumpeter part, a layer of thin foam and a piece to wrap the whole thing:

One bed completed.... five more to go: 

Et voila. Pillows are made with white putty. These will be formed more precisely and then lightly stained for more realism, once dry.

 Yves
 

Thank you Bob, your compliments are very well received.
 
Small progress on the living quarters and kitchen. That view will most likely be no longer visible once the front bulkhead is in place. So enjoy that nice genuine poster, sitting on top of the auxiliary fridge: 

Some of these parts are not provided in the kit, but taken from the extra set of parts I have. 

The kitchen sink (below). The sink was equipped with a small basin and four taps: two for cold-warm/fresh water for cooking or drinking and two for cold-warm/salt water for washing the dishes. When not in use, the sink was covered with a large wooden board (depicted here), used as the only plane of work for cooking. The size of that board was 83 cm x 45 cm. It is no wonder the cook was revered more than the officers, in most cases. On the left wall, a cold storage was used as a fridge, and below another storage area was available as well. Trumpeter did not represent the faucets in detail as well as the large cock located above the sink because it is not visible once the module is assembled. Right above the kitchen is also a hatch (Kitchen hatch or cook hatch) that we will see when we put together the roof/pressure-hull element. That hatch was used to pass small food supplies.

Yves
 

In between times I've been continuing on with making shields - due to the time it takes for the glue to dry, I can only make one a day. Here are the latest ones - five completed, two partly painted, one ready to paint and another in the mould.

I now have 26 completed shields - more than half way!
 
I got "on top of" making the oarsmen's arms. Here is the first one. I think I'll be making all the oarsmen with the arms carved separately - it gives me much more flexibility in placing them appropriate to the oarsman's position in relation to the oar handle.

Port pavesade nearing completion. (I miscalculated a bit, so I'm going to need a very short bit of railing to finish off) 
 
Port pavesade complete and starboard pavesade under way:
 
Uprights in place and the first length of railing glued and clamped.

Clamps removed. Note the wood shavings in the foreground, from carving one of the oarsmen.

 And second length of railing scarphed to the first:

So, by spreading my efforts between three different kinds of jobs (four if you count painting the shields as a separate job) I get a steady progress happening, and also don't get bored with the repetitive stuff.
 
Steven

I've been busy.
 
Here are the first steps in mass producing my oarsmen.

This lot makes up just under half the number needed for the ship. Now I just have to carve them all . . .
 
The book "Early Ships and Seafaring" by Sean McGrail contains a lot of interesting information, including the maximum and minimum distance for oared vessels (from archaeological finds) between the thole and the front of the oarbench.

I tried one thole at the minimum distance (5.6 mm at 1:50 scale) and one at the maximum (8 mm ) to see how it all worked

 
I've added the footrests at the back of each oarbench, for the oarsmen to push their feet against as they row. I cut strips from offcuts from deck planking etc. 
 
then cut them to length, trimmed the outboard end to follow the angle of the waterway

and started gluing them in place.


Here's one side complete (a bit hard to see - in the picture they're on the right hand side)

I've put the first upper oar in (temporarily) to test which thole distance to use (turned out the minimum distance was best).
 
Also to determine whether I've got the oarsmen right, and the correct configuration for their arms.
 
Getting the upper oar at the same angle (from above) as the lower oars, (I used a block of wood as a spacer to get the oarblade at the right height) -  

as well as in a straight line between the oarsman's hands, the thole and the surface of the water.
  
Looks like I still have some adjusting to do on the oarsmen's sitting position so their arms will be correct (compared to the photos I have of upper oarsmen on the trireme reconstruction Olympias).

And here are the benches with all the footrests in place.

Slow but steady progress.
 
Steven

About 50/50 or until it is not opaque, it works a treat. Best discovery I’ve made in years. Trial it on on some frets that have been used. 

Wow

Thanks, Edward, Michael and G.L. for the comments and to all the 'likers'. And I apologise for the large number of posts that I put up together -- this was the result of my being unaware of the passing of time and of thinking that each step was such a small one that it wasn't worth posting about! I still have the same aims in mind, though:
 
(1) to stimulate interest in this lovely model which I want to show is manageable by novices such as myself.
 
(2) for all us novices to show that it can be done by taking each small step one at a time, rather than being worried by the apparent enormity and complexity of the build at the outset. This means I try to show each of the steps in reasonable detail, together with the mistakes, rather than try to present a series of nice photos. I find that as I take each individual step I become totally absorbed by it, and enjoy it as much as making an entire model.
 
Tony

Ugh, The dreaded ammo racks...
after thinking about it I decided to remove the tabs at the bottom of the ammo racks.  It will make my life much much easier right now. 

so now I can just rest the tub on a flat surface. Now when I insert the ammo racks they should already be in place at the bottom. 

look at that!! I’m a genius!

Just glue it up.  Now each new rack can just rest on the rack below it. 

I was done in no time
 

though I don’t like that sloppy glue blob. 

now onto paint. 

I assembled the floater net baskets today.  They were a joy to do! Really fun actually. I took a 2.5 mm rod, put it into my third hand and used that for the assembly.  It worked great. 

I accidentally smooshed one before gluing the legs on. 20 minutes of feverishly bending to try to fix it kinda worked. I did the best I could to save it.   I’m sure you can notice which one it was. 

that’s it for now. If you’ll excuse me I have some guitar to play😬

Hey guys.  Just a quick update. I’m all moved in and spending a lot of time at home so hopefully I get a lot done. 

I painted a few more deck fittings, I’m now in the process of shading them. The close up on my new phone is amazing! So many flaws in my shoty work are now visible. 

all I literally have to do all day is work on the MO and play with this. 

more Soon, stay healthy. 

Superb model and details Cathead. I like the painting/poster of the Arabia, that you have on your bench.
 
Yves

I don't think shellac is a good sealant as it is moisture sensitive (think white rings from glass condensation on a French polished tabletop).

one more photo of the reinforcements...
 
Drazen

Looking good, Patrick.  When you replace the ash bucket, don't forget to lower it to the deck to stop it swinging! 
 
John

Hi again folks,
 
I have been slowly progressing some more of the metal work.  first was the 'charlie noble' for the galley stove, which will be fitted just forward of the forward mast.  This was made from 3mm thin walled tubing, filed with a 'V' notch, folded/bent around a flexible internal former, then soldered.  A small piece of .6mm ID tube was also soldered into the top of the bent top to accept the rod for the 'sealing/weather flap',  this won't be fitted until much of the forward rigging has been completed.  It doesn't look it but the bent part is very nicely rounded; just a poor angle I took the shot. 

 
Now that I have made some decisions WRT to what 'may have' been fitted to meet the Contract's requirement ' to fit air shoots to the hold'.  As this was specified under 'Joiners' Work, I have decided the most likely solution will have been similar to "HMS Warrior" which were formed wooden trunks fitted to the bulkhead, with a bent metal air intake on the upper deck.  These will have had vents.outlets at the appropriate points for the Holds and probably fitted with a manually cranked ventilation unit, probably the one designed by Lang (ship's designer) himself based on the one invented by his father ( a copy of a sketch is held by the NMM.  This unit drew the air down and also worked as a 'splitter' with separate piping to various storerooms within the forward and after holds. 
 
These were usually fitted as pairs so I have decided to fit a pair forward and a pair aft.  I am assuming the reason I cannot see one in the photograph of the crew on the after upper deck, is that these intakes were fitted very close to the margin boards close to the bulwark, and as such will have been hidden behind the gun carriage in the photo.
 
I have used a plastic after-market part for the bent pipe, but I am making the base which will be inserted into the deck to hold the upper part.  The base has been made using brass thin wall tubing with an ID the same as the OD of the part.  To this, I have silver soldered a washer with the right ID to fit the tubing (using my resistance soldering vise) then turned the washer on the lathe to get approximately the right 'flange width and height.  The tubing was held in the vise at approximately the correct height while I soldered the washer; but the neck extension was parted while on the lathe to the correct height.  Once assembled I think they will look the part.  I used an after-market part simply for the sake of speed and because it had the right detail for the securing flap.
 
The photos show the parts, and 2 completed base parts (2 more made since), the soldering vise and  set-up, and the unit in the lathe ready to be turned.
 

 


cheers
 
Pat
 
 

Cog, yes and yes. The primer is red Tamiya rattle can but I intend to prime all the PE with the airbrush then give it a further deep red coat then a clear coat to seal before using chipping fluids. 

Mark, there were no reef points in these vessels. It was either furled or unfurled
 
 
I have thought a lot on this, the yard (peciae antennarum) consists of two parts the upper portion or penna and the lower or carra.  From my reading, the carra is always shorter than the penna. This is, I believe, to facilitate tacking or wearing during which the end of the carra must pass in FRONT of the mast base and so, if the carra is too long (equal in length to the penna), this manoeuvre becomes impossible. Hence, it appears that the yard is slung off-centre. The extension to the penna that I have put on to enlarge the sail exaggerates this. The forward mainsail is signicantly larger than the aft mizzen sail.
In regard to the sails, I think a quartering breeze would be OK. 
 
 
I dont know about the weight. It would vary according to the size of the vessel but mediaeval blocks tended to be large. Especially the upper halliard blocks. Double blocks were in-line and so look much heavier than they are.
Cheers
Dick

What a beautiful model, Dick! 
 
Regarding the sails, perhaps if you have the wind abeam with bellying sails off to one side - you'd get the beauty of the sails without obscuring much at all of that wonderful rigging.
 
It's been a while since your last update, but it's certainly been worth the wait! 
 
Steven
 
PS: I see you've got the yards supported off-centre. This has been an issue I've been thinking about for quite a while for my own model. Do you have any reason for doing it this way - and do you think this would affect the performance and distribution of forces around the masts?

Sails will also hide a lot of the detail of the interior.  Maybe reefed or partially reefed so the interior is visable?

Hi Dick
 
That's an astonishing ship, I hadn't appreciated just how dramatic the standing rigging would be. Do you have an idea how heavy the rigging blocks would be?