yvesvidal
-
Posts
3,416 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Events
Everything posted by yvesvidal
-
So, I went back to some of the hatches, removed them and sanded some more. I think the result looks better. One side of the sail is finished and has been primed with automotive primer. The rungs and handrails were a nightmare to put together, due to the size of these tiny parts. The deck is now glued to the finished side. I will work on the other side and will install the navigation lights with micro LEDs. A test fit on the main deck reveals a perfect alignment and position of the sail, on the wart. I still have to add a lot of details on that deck and conning tower. Yves
- 760 replies
-
- 18
-
-
Good point Cog, especially, when comparing the model with the real pictures. To make it perfect, you would have to carve into the sails, the thickness of the PE parts. That would be quite a challenge in itself. The Trumpeter kit provides raised panels for the hatches, which is a stupid idea. Instead they should have done a negative/in depth engraving of the hatch panels. I have tried to sand as much as possible of the existing raised hatches before gluing the PE parts. I cannot sand too much or I will end up damaging the nice riveting on the sails. In addition, the PE parts are very thick because they are made in the same sheets than the decks. I simply wished RCSubz had used less thick brass to print these hatches. I am going to try to prime one side and see how it goes. I may have to backtrack, remove all PE hatches and sand more, risking ruining the sails sides. It is not easy due to multiple mistakes compounding: Trumpeter raised panels and too thick RCSubz parts. Yves
-
I am now working on the sail sides. The transparent side always offers an additional challenge: harder to see what you are doing and the material reacts differently to the grinding and drilling. It is also more brittle so you have to be extra careful. Same treatment as the opaque side: carving the admission vent, carving the lugs to hold the wood planks inside the sail, carving the navigation light openings. As far as the multiple holes near the greenhouse, I am not able to drill them using my Dremel. The material melts with the heat and the drill becomes bigger, even at very low speed. I will just mark them by hand and fill them with a wash later on. The various decks inside the sail, are being completed: Trumpeter forgot to provide an opening for the antennae connection on the front of the sail. I have added a piece of tube that will contain the ceramic insulator, later on: And finally, a little teaser of what is to come: And more pictures of the wart, that will soon disappear forever: I hope you enjoy. I sure do! Yves
- 760 replies
-
- 20
-
-
Any news about that great development? Are you still planning to release this boat as a kit? Yves
-
Yes, simply lack of time. It is a very complicated compartment and I intend to build it with a lot of details. So, it will wait in the future..... Same for the Control room and the kitchen area. It is more important for me, at this point, to prove the feasibility of that big model with all its electric connections. The great stuff about that Trumpeter kit, is that you can take it at your own pace and build the modules as you wish.... well almost as you want... Yves
-
We are now working on the inner hull of the sail. That part of the submarine was built extremely stiff and re-unforced to withstand underwater explosions and air attacks. The inner or pressure hull of a submarine has the shape of a cigar with a big wart on the top. You can also see the large opening just above the Diesel compartment, to allow the insertion of these giant engines (no, they could not pass through the main hatch access 🙂 even through the torpedoes chute 😞 Unfortunately, the inside of the sail will not be visible but I could not resist the pleasure of putting it together with all the provided parts: Here you can see the attack periscope that provided another point of vision for the Kaleunt or officer in charge of launching the torpedoes. That periscope is finally mounted on the deck. It will be used as a guide to position very precisely the inner pressure hull of the sail: Let's not forget the hatch lid: All the above will be of course, completely non-visible, once the lid is placed on the deck: The "wart" is glued with acrylic glue for a very precise and slow positioning. It will provide the correct orientation and height of the sail bridge: In the front is the observation periscope tube. A ladder will be inserted before gluing the sail deck, but will not be visible. That assembly explains quite well, how the U-boot Type VIIc was built. Yves
- 760 replies
-
- 20
-
-
Very impressive model. Museum quality. Yves
-
What you do to his hull is a good thing and an insurance to its integrity if you ever float it on a pond or lake. When I was a kid (6 or 7 years old), I built a PT-109 from a wood kit (Can't remember the brand). The hull was made of planks like yours and I glued it with white glue for wood (there was not much choice at that time). The vessel was powered with a small electric motor and after painting it with a medium grey, I took it to the nearest lake. The boat did well for a few minutes, circling all by itself (no RC) and suddenly started to behave like a diving submarine. The motor quickly stopped when submerged and my father and I tried to recuperate the PT-109. When we could grab it, the planks on the bow, had opened like the petals of a flower, allowing plenty of water to rush in. White glue for wood was not really designed for water usage, even when dry. After that, I was always using two components slow curing epoxy glues and the problem never happened again. Yves
-
Few progress to report. Not much going on but very time consuming. I drilled the opening for the fresh air admission for the starboard diesel and glued the PE grill. The position light was also opened. I am still debating how I will make it working as even 3 mm LED will not fit. I will probably use a micro SMS LED with a colored piece of translucent plastic for the lens. Trumpeter did not care to drill the large amount of holes on the side, either. I wished a PE part was available for that section of the sail, but RCSubz did not include it. On the other side, a few more details have been glued: wood slats to protect the crew from the cold and shocks as well as anti-skidding steps for the vigil. Again, Trumpeter did not care marking the wooden slats with the three lugs to hold them to the side of the sail. I did it with a small drill. It is worth spending some time on the conning tower as it is one of the highlights of a submarine. Most likely, this section will take many days and weeks before it is completed. Yves
- 760 replies
-
- 18
-
-
I like the clear/light oak better, but that is just a question of taste. The dark oak is more traditional. The light oak more modern. Look at what Dubz (Dirk) does with his beautiful stands. He uses something that looks like ashes (or lavis in French) and it is beautiful. Yves
- 550 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- confederacy
- model shipways
- (and 1 more)
-
Mahenke, If you re-read the part related to painting the hull, you will see that I have not used Tamiya but Humbrol/Revell paints. Tamiya was only used for the deck. And no, the main hull is not too big to be airbrushed. I did it with a dual action Paasche airbrush, using one of the largest nozzle I had. It takes some time but can be done actually quite well. Yves
-
The creation of the Swiss cheese is almost over: There is not much plastic left on that part. But the light test reveals that all has been cut accordingly: Time to glue the PE on top of the plastic skeleton and to add the hatch lid: Again, the RC Subz photo etched part are a very nice and close match to the Trumpeter parts. They definitely enhance the appearance of this model. Yves
- 760 replies
-
- 16
-
-
I agree with Katuna regarding the colors of lights. The Blue lights used in the movie Das Boot, may have been used just for dramatic purposes in the movie. The Red lights allow you to keep your nocturnal vision intact and that is why they were used in the control room and conning tower, for the officers and crew in charge of watching outside, during night time. I am not planning to use any Blue LEDs in my model, even though a lot of modelers have been doing it, due to the movie depictions. Yves
-
A few progress, as I am turning the sail floor into Swiss cheese. Again, the fantastic PE set from RCSubs is perfectly designed and provides a very nice fit: Nice instructions from RCSubs too, a lot easier to follow than the Trumpeter manual, which is rather vague: When I am done, that part will just be a skeleton. Yves
- 760 replies
-
- 18
-
-
7Youngs, Thank you for the generous offer regarding the circuit design. Due to the expensive proposition of manufacturing such a small circuit (a couple of prototypes would cost $350-400), I have decided to go with pre-made circuit boards. It is simple enough and works perfectly. As a matter of fact, I am also an Electronic and electrical engineer and have in the past realized multiple complex printed circuit boards as one of my hobbies, is to realize High-End audio equipment. Instead of AutoCad, I have used Eagle and a couple of other programs. My favorite remains Layo 1. I would love to see your model and you should start a Blog. I feel lonely at times with my German submarine, although the followers are very enthusiastic and supportive. Yves
-
It is just incredible what you can do with modern tooling. A CNC machine on three axles is a little marvel in itself. It is even better than a 3D printer, as it lets you pick up the material you want (wood, metal, resin....etc). Yves
-
Decisions...decisions!! I am about to start working on the sail or what is also called the "Conning Tower". The name "conning" comes not from the conical shape but from the English term of "to conn a vessel from a vantage point or from a high structure". On a U-Boot, that was not so high and conning made you very wet, when the sea was rough. So, the Chinese Trumpeter screwed up royally. It is probably the biggest "quack" in the kit. The starboard of the hull is see through, but for the sail, they decided it was the Port side. Duh.... Was this intentional, was it a mistake? We will never know, but the consensus among modelers, is that they got it wrong. Another problem is that the inside of the sail port side is not available or represented, since it was supposed to be transparent. To show it properly, we would have to rebuild entirely, the little tub parts. Besides, I have no idea what the Port side looks like from the inside. Finally, the opening is really small and no larger than a small postal stamps. There would not be much to see. Finally, I kind of like the sail being "solid" as it blends more harmoniously with the bridge and provides a more realistic depiction of the upper part of the U-Boot, than any contraption I could design and which would probably end up far from the reality. With that being said, I think we are going to build that sail "solid" and focus on the visible and outside details with plenty of plastic and Photo-etched parts. We will also add some lights to increase the complexity of the electrical circuit. The sail will not be glued on the bridge, until I figure out how the various periscopes, air intakes, antennas and access hatches work out with the control room, underneath. Yves
- 760 replies
-
- 18
-
-
Kevin, thank you for the compliments. However, rest assured, this is far from being completed and you will read me for a few more months.... ☺️ Yves
-
What a beautiful trawler. Very British in appearance and timeless in its lines. Yves
- 337 replies
-
- 5
-
-
- finished
- mountfleet models
- (and 1 more)
Our Emblem ®
