yvesvidal
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Everything posted by yvesvidal
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I started puttying the seams and after a while I just could not tell if it needed some more or not. So, I sprayed some Vallejo Acrylic primer to reveal the imperfections. Not too bad, still a couple of places to refine: Yes, it is a monster but what a pleasure to work on something that does not strain your vision: Yves
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I am a fervent enthusiast of the micro magnets, made of rare earths. These are extremely strong as long as they touch each other. I use them to hold the two halves of my Trumpeter submarine. Yves
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- finished
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Beautiful work Christian. These windows truly change the appearance of the ship. Yves
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Folks, This is the point of no-return: The Stern has been glued to the Port side. There will be a lot of work of puttying and sanding to make a seamless transition. It truly is a big hull, when it is all put together: This will allow me to install all the PE decks, now. Yves
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I installed the two propulsion shafts, made of 4 mm brass tube. The sacrificial anodes have been applied to the shaft holders as well as some more PE rivets around the stuffing boxes: With this, I am coming pretty much to a conclusion about what can be done on the stern section. Introducing the diving planes and rudders would be foolish at this stage, as they are by far too fragile. Yves
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A couple of details on the stern. Preparing the propulsion shafts positioning. I will not be using the plastic shafts provided by the Trumpeter... Instead I will use metal axles of 4 mm diameter. Then the retractable bollards on the deck. I use small optic fiber plugs that fits tightly into a 3 mm hole. The plastic of the plugs allows me to insert them inside the deck or keep them in the erected position. I just glue the PE hat on top of them. Yves
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A few progress on the stern and studying the feasibility of my solution. The whole enchilada: Trying a mock-up of the rear torpedo room. It does fit. I may have to file the bulkhead to allow the insertion of the clear half-hull. It should work. More PEs on the stern. Perfect size as always: And the stern deck: Yves
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I am reaching a point where decisions must be taken. It is also a point of no-return with the hull. Let's consider a few things: 1) The stern section although perfectly matching the main hull is to be assembled last, according to Trumpeter's instructions. The Stern section is in fact the locking mechanism to the entire hull, keeping all internal modules/compartments sandwiched between the opaque and clear sides of the hull. 2) On the PE set (designed to be the most accurate possible with the prototype), one deck piece is overlapping the junction of the main hull and stern section. It means that this PE piece can only be installed after gluing the Stern to the main hull. 3) To finish the painting of the hull, the stern section should be permanently glued to the main hull, otherwise it will not look right and the seam will show, albeit slightly, on both sides of the hull. In light of the above, and trying to keep an access into the hull, I have thought about the following: a) Verify that the rear torpedoes compartment can be inserted from the main open hull into the stern section, and locked into place on the port side of the main hull. This is delicate as the propeller shafts will be attached to the rear torpedoes/electric motor module. I am once again departing from the Trumpeter assembly that glues the shafts and propellers to the stern section. b) Glue the stern section permanently to the port side of the hull and verify that the starboard side of the hull, can be delicately inserted into the stern section and locked in place with all the magnets I installed. c) Finish the cutting of the clear side, to show all modules, inside. d) Proceed with the caulking/puttying, painting and aging of the main hull and stern section, all at once. e) Install the various modules later on, starting by the insertion of the rear torpedoes room and moving forward. f) Seal the beast by magnetizing the clear (now painted) section to the rest of the hull. I think that may work, while leaving access to all modules for refinements. Yves
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Let's not forget the drain holes under the "Conveniences"..... Yves
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- confederacy
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And we are coming to an end with this delicate phase of the construction: The side cut has been completed without any damage: The other side and underneath of the stern have been treated in the same way as the rest of the hull, replicating this rough appearance of the foundry: With the PE: and from the inside: Yves
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A few updates: I am getting close to finish butchering the stern piece. I have drilled all side flood holes and finished the delicate and acrobatic cutting of the area under the shafts and propellers: Two pieces of PE have been glued. I really love these RCSUBS PE. They fit so perfectly, it is a pleasure to install them. For the section under the shafts, I am going wild.... and open! It is going to look good once the PEs are glued. And NO, I am not cutting anymore that what you see. Let's not forget the massive opening on the side, too..... To finish, our now traditional claustrophobic picture: Yves
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How about using a BOLD font? I think you are very close. Yves
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This is superb. The wood aspect is simply amazing. Would you mind elaborating on your techniques to get something so perfect? Are you going to add some scale sailors? Yves
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Cog, I thought about it but the stench of melted plastic and the fact that it is even more brittle when heated (and cooled) turned me off. I developed a technique with a very small grinder and files of different width, that works rather well. It is slow though, but as you can see it creates nice and clean cuts. I am almost finished with this piece: side flood holes have been opened and I am working on the PE pieces that are going under the transmission shafts and propellers. After that, the final and big cut will be the side opening to show the rear torpedoes and electric motors compartment. It takes time and a lot of prayers..... Yves
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While waiting for the torpedo doors to arrive, I started the nerve wracking task of cutting the delicate stern section: I am missing a few openings, but I am not going any further. The material is way too brittle to take any risk at this stage. Once the PE will be glued, I hope to regain more sturdiness. I still have to open the side flood vents and the large openings below the propulsion shafts. Most likely, the next module to be built, will be the rear torpedoes and electric motors room. Yves
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A few little progress. I opened up the three flood holes above the ballast saddles, holes that are missing from most Type VIIc kits on the market. This was done on both sides: I then added a pair of strong magnets, under the torpedoes doors as the hull was slightly apart at that location, due to the length and some inherent warping. The enchilada is starting to come together: A close-up view of the only module I have assembled so far: This is how I want to represent the submersible: all four shutters open, with a torpedo coming out, a tube open and the remaining two tubes closed: The decks, so far. I am waiting to be completed with the torpedo inner doors before making any other progress on the deck. The PE is so fragile and delicate and I need to manipulate a lot the two half-hulls. The torpedo doors bulkhead is waiting for the PE kit from RCSUBS and that may take a few weeks.... I will have to find something else to do in the meantime, which should not be too difficult. To finish our presentation, the claustrophobia picture: Hope you enjoy. Yves
- 760 replies
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A little update: It has been a lot of delicate work but it does not seem like a lot of progress. It is just a tedious phase of the construction, where the time is spent opening ports and vents in a very delicate and brittle material. Finally, it is at the point where I do not see anything else and need some primer to figure out where some fine sanding must take place, and that is true for both half-hulls. On the clear hull, all the flood holes have been carefully drilled, grinded from behind and filed to the correct shape. A coat of primer helps locate the numerous issues: You will notice the two holes on the bow, on the starboard side and three holes on the port side. It is the proper way, instead of the mistake that most kit makers do every time, when trying to replicate early Type VIIc submersibles. Yes, lots of fine sanding and puttying must take place, I fully agree. I am afraid Archer rivets are going to be necessary..... too. Yves
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A pure jewel! Congratulations on a fantastic job, well done and completed. Now, to the next one: Syren...maybe? Yves
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You could use wood putty and sand the hull smooth. Some wood putty can be stained easily and that will help it blend with the rest of the planks. Or you can spend a lot of time adjusting small pieces of wood to repair the damages. Finally, you could paint the hull after repairing it and sanding it carefully. I would try the stainable wood putty first. I am sure other members of the forum will come up with some good ideas. Yves
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I appreciate your attempts at restoring this beautiful ship. It has a lot of potential and you can turn it into a really nice model. Yves
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A few little progress, on the bow. A nice and clean cut, without breaking anything: And a few details. I really enjoy that PE set: Yves
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Folks, I am slowly starting to be more comfortable with the cutting of that transparent material. I will post a couple of pictures when I get home to show the latest progress. You definitely have to be more careful and patient than with the polystyrene side. On the other end, it produces a little bit less dust when working it. I have also decided to show all four torpedo doors (hull doors) open. I really like the aggressive look provided by the the four mouths ready to fire: To do that in a realistic way, I have decided to order a few more parts from RCSUBS in Czech Republic. In retrospect, I should have ordered the whole set upfront. With the Torpedo doors set and the torpedo door framing set, I will hopefully have something that resembles a true Type VIIc submersible. Below is a picture of the the Torpedo Door framing set, that goes inside the hull: I started installing these frames in the Port side of my model and will continue in the starboard side, very soon. The Torpedo inner doors is another set (on order) which is very interesting and allows you to replicate faithfully and accurately what real inner torpedo doors look like. That set is very important if you want to replicate the rear torpedo mechanism, correctly. I will then link the torpedo inner door mechanisms with the Pressure Hull front Bulkhead from RCSUBS (3D printed part), which I have already installed on my front torpedoes room module: The links between the bulkhead and the torpedo inner doors is not something you can find easily and after hours of searching the Internet, I found the following drawing done by a European enthusiast: It shows the levers and commands that are involved to control the outside doors and the external shutters, on the hull. I have to say that this is a big departure from the Trumpeter kit, which presents absolutely nothing of these parts. I am so grateful that the RCSUBS photo Etched sets are available as they allow the demanding modeler to complete a very accurate and faithful model of the type VIIc submersibles. Below is the complete offering of RCSUBS PE sets. Quite a comprehensive set and so much better than the simplified and approximate Eduard set. Each set comes with a complete set of instructions and templates, whenever applicable. Oto from RCSUBS has been enlisting a German veteran and expert on the Type VIIc and newer submarines, to get the most precise and accurate set of PE available. I also have the rear pressure hull bulkhead on order, a new part that was not available when I placed my first order. I like these 3D printed parts as they truly depict and make you understand how the Type VIIc was designed. I wanted to show the bulkheads and the control links and this is why I cut the Torpedo Room window the way I did. Yves
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Absolutely beautiful. Are you going to rig it ? Yves
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