yvesvidal
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Everything posted by yvesvidal
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The YB-35 flew in summer 1946. The Horten flew in March 1944. YB-35 has 4 propellers. Horten has two jet engines located exactly like the B2. Anyway, it does not matter and everybody is entitled to his opinion ☺️ Let's go back to Type VII c submarines. Yves -
There are many stories of secret techniques, treasures (Gold, art pieces) and other occult artifacts being transported towards the end of WWII, when the Nazis realized that the end was near. For instance, Dr. Mengelle ended up in Argentina (if I am not mistaken) and a lot of his research and discoveries were used by the American Government shortly after the end of the war. Through the Project Paperclip, the American Military-Industrial complex appropriated the best German scientists and discoveries and has been developing and perfecting what the German could not do. Most of these techniques have been hidden from the (American) public for a long time and still are. The Nazis were technologically very advanced and Hitler was versed and obsessed by occultism. An obvious example is the B2 bomber which is an enlargement of the Horten Ho-229 German plane. Yves
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Surprising to see such a poor fit from Trumpeter. They have a reputation of excellent fitting, usually. Yves
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Squadron does not have this kit in stock. I had an order with them and they told me it could be months before they get some kits. So, I cancelled and got mine on E-Bay for a better price (despite the 20% off). The good thing is that Micro-Mark has it back in stock, but with a steep price increase. Yves
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It is now time to install these torpedoes into their cradle: Of course, it is not easy to find information on how the torpedoes under the floor of the front compartment, were stored. I happen to have a book with a very rare picture showing the main floor with some eels stored on it. I can only suppose that the four torpedoes located underneath were held in a similar way. You can see that the torpedoes are secured with steel braces. This picture clearly illustrates the horrendous conditions in which these sailors operated. Keep in mind that each electric torpedo had to be reached every day for recharging. Anyway, once assembled, not much remains visible: I wish the "Trumpeter" had designed a half pressure hull to place behind the module. It is a lot of opened area that may have to be masked. We will see how it goes once the module is in the hull. Yves
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The eels are almost completed. I just have to apply some wash and the silver scratches of the loading: Most of the torpedoes with one or two exceptions, will be invisible. Rather sad! Yves
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For those who like U-Boot graphic novels, there are two (and probably many more) which are quite striking and depict so well the confinement and suffering of the sailors during WWII. These stories are not for the faint of heart, as they refer to the darkest side of the Nazis occult researches using U-Boots. The first one is drawn by Jean-Yves Delitte who is the official painter/artist of the French National Marine Museum, in Paris: This story relates the secret transfer of Dr. Mengelle who is a Nazi researcher working on cell mutations and cloning. He was nicknamed the Angel of Death, an extremely Machiavellian and dark being. The second story is in English and is very nasty. For the claustrophobic lovers: http://www.phillipkennedyjohnson.com/comic/bremen/ About 100 pages of pure terror.... Yves
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Thanks for the rods recommendation. Being careful (me) and being thin, the PE just rolled rather easily and conformed to the shape of the eels. Yves
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I worked on the 12 torpedoes and placed the 36 round access plates: The photo-etched plates are glued with CA. I then roll the torpedoes on a flat surface to bend the plates along the body. To be honest, these are my first attempts at using PE parts and it is kind of nice and realistic. I still have not decided how I am going to paint the "eels". I tried light gray and brass and may end up with light gray and black. Not sure yet.... Yves
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CDW, you will soon see what it takes to load a torpedo into the tube. Not for the faint of heart, for sure. G7e torpedoes used by the German weighted about 1 ton (2200 pounds) with close to 300 Kg of destructive charge in the head. Yves
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Some progress on the big "Guns": Unfortunately, most of the intricate details will not be visible once the module is placed in the hull. What we will see is quite limited: In the meantime, we can enjoy the details: You may wonder how to operate and launch torpedoes on a submarine. It is not an easy task and is quite similar to using the "John" on a U-Boot. The following is inspired from Wikipedia. Keep in mind that the torpedo is ejected with the help of a large piston, pushing it out: Make sure outside door are closed and tight. Drain the tube if needed. Open the breech door in the torpedo room. Load the torpedo into the tube. Shut and lock the breech door. Turn on power to the torpedo. A minimum amount of time is required for torpedo warmup in the case of chemical propulsion. It is faster for an electric engine. Flood the torpedo tube. The tube must be vented during this process to allow for complete filling and eliminate air pockets which could escape to the surface or cause damage when firing. Open the equalizing valve to equalize pressure in the tube with ambient sea pressure. Open the muzzle door. The slide valve allows water from the ejection pump to enter the tube. When the launch command is given and all interlocks are satisfied, the water ram operates, thrusting a large volume of water into the tube at high pressure, which ejects the torpedo from the tube with considerable force. The drain cycle is a reverse of the flood cycle. Water is returned to the ship's tanks and can be moved as necessary. The tube must be vented to completely drain the tube since it is usually by gravity. Open the breech door. The tube must be wiped dry to prevent a buildup of slime. This process is called "diving the tube" and tradition dictates that "ye who shoots, dives". Reload, Shut and lock the breech door. Finally, here is an excerpt of the Type VIIc Maintenance Manual, depicting the intricacies of the Front Torpedoes tubes: Yves
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Cog, The wires are supposed to be run on the outside. Trumpeter even provides some type of channels to arrange them. As you will see, the inside id full of details and there is no room for electrical wires. They won't be visible from the outside, especially with the intricate deck, and all paint in dark gray, underneath. Yves
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More work on the torpedo bulkhead and on the tubes: Unfortunately, all the details will not be visible once the module is in place. I think it needs some patina as it is way too clean. For the torpedo floor, I am modifying the Trumpeter kit. The kit calls for a flat floor with two air tanks on the starboard side. I am replicating the ramp and raised floor that is visible on the port side. Plus, that new floor will be used later on for a surprise: Yves
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A few small progress on the torpedoes room roof. I have installed 4 white LEDs (connected in series giving close to 11 Volts): As is common, the white LEDs are too bright and the temperature of the LED does not mimic very well a bulb. I am painting these LEDs with Tamiya clear Yellow and will place a resistor to adjust the intensity later on: Since I will be using the Photo-Etched set from RCSUBZ, it will be possible to see through the deck easily. Therefore, it is essential to paint all the details outside of the pressure hull and make them look as realistic as possible. I will try to disguise the wires and add some more tanks and plumbing on the visible parts. The above is painted using Tamiya Dark Grey XF-24. Yves
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On the Trumpeter kit, the way the pressure hull was treated is rather vague and imprecise. It is unfortunate that the kit did not provide a clear delineation between pressure/inner hull and outer hull. The original pressure hull on a Type VII submersible was composed of one circular section and seven cone shaped sections. The whole enchilada was made of steel and arc-welded. Thickness was about 10 mm. The steel used to make the inner hull was of the same quality than what was used for the battleships. Both ends of the pressure hull are terminated by outside-cambered steel plate of 35 mm thick. The Trumpeter kit provides a flat bulkhead in the front that would collapse as soon as the submersible dives. On the picture above, I have tried to create a delineation for the pressure hull by linking the bulkhead inner hull. The mini bulkhead (see picture below) has also been drilled with multiple holes allowing the flooding of the space between inner and outer hulls. I have also added some "kind" of separation to hold the spare torpedoes sitting under the floor. Who knows how this dark corner of a Type VII was made...? There are probably not too many sailors alive who could describe what it looks like. Once the floor is painted, I will dirty it with oil and rust, before cradling the torpedoes. Yves
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As indicated earlier, I am starting (slowly) the front torpedoes room. It is most likely the biggest module on this kit but it is very interesting and suggested by the instructions. The good part about this enormous kit, is that you can approach a module at a time....and this is exactly what I will be doing. The roof has been airbrushed with Tamiya XF-24 to provide that light grayish color. The U-995 (only salvaged type VII in existence in Germany) has been repainted white internally, to offer more light to the public and reduce the claustrophobic syndrome. It is difficult to say exactly how these U-Boot were painted inside and most likely a light gray color was used as in most military equipment. The U-995 even has push rods on the engine, painted in blue... The ribs of the the pressure hull were covered with small planks of wood and varnished, to protect the head of the sailors and prevent injuries when touching the hull in very cold waters. I have painted these with raw umber acrylic to imitate the wood and coated them with high gloss varnish. I have started working on the bed bunks and port wall. This torpedoes compartment was housing some 24 to 27 crew members. There was 12 beds and the non-resting members were working or eating. Work involved moving each torpedo and recharging it on a daily basis, an extremely strenuous and awful job, as each unit was weighting more than a ton. The crew bunks were set with linen and cotton mattress. A small wooden storage allowed each crew member to keep some clothes and personal items. As is common, various pin-ups were displayed on the wall to help with the extreme tension of the sailing campaign. The pictures are from original German magazine and were reduced to an approximate scale of 1/48. The main portrait is a picture of Maria Orsic, the great priestess of the Vril Secret Society. Others are young women of the Hitler youth displaying their assets. I pushed the details to staining the beds a little bit, as the life inside a submersible reeked of sweat, blood and fear. Yves
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I just received the set of Photo Etched parts from RCSUBS.CZ as well as the 3D printed Pressure hull bulkhead for the front torpedoes. Everything is just perfect and the fitting is exceptional. This set, although expensive is a lot better than Eduard's and allows the demanding modeler to assemble a submarine that truly looks like a Type VIIc prototype. The set came in less than two weeks from Czech Republic. If you want to order it, send an e-mail to RCSUBS <rcsubs@seznam.cz> and address it to Oto. Customer service is perfect. Front and rear decks: Main Deck and conning tower: External Torpedoes doors, Hull details and the infamous Enigma machine, to be placed in the Radio compartment: The Front Bulkhead for the Pressure Hull. The fitting is incredible and the torpedo tubes just slide perfectly: The kit comes with a 25 pages assembly manual as well as the templates to cut and remove parts of the main hull: Lots of great stuff..... Yves
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Great progress. Yves
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I have started a little bit this large kit with the front torpedoes room (basically following the instructions more or less). The first step is to put together the roof of the front room. Ceiling is drilled with 3 mm bits for the White LEDs that will provide some light in this cramped compartment. The Trumpeter kit is short of a few details which I have added after studying some interior pictures and the movie Das Boot. The modifications are made with Evergreen pieces: The added pieces are the rails used to move and support the torpedoes holder. The whole roof will be painted with a very light gray. Yves
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Amazing work and such an educational endeavor. I hope this masterpiece will remain visible for the Public to enjoy and learn. Yves
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