Hr. Ms. O 19 1938 by Piet - FINISHED - scale 1:50 - submarine of the Royal Navy Netherlands in service 1939 - 1945

[Piet]

Could not do much today due to other things I had to do with the admiral in St. Augustine but that gave me the chance to visit Hobby Lobby there.  Could not find what I'm looking for, it's more of a craft store rather then a hobby store    On to the internet for a search. 

 

As mentioned to Daniel in Spain I'm still working on the AA guns.  Right now I'm in the process of adding some detail items to them such as the elevation and rotation hand wheels and the elevation mechanism. I don't know yet how successful I'll be with either one because it's all so tiny but I'll give it an honest try 

 

I made four of the rims for these wheels but I need two more for the dingy tackle mechanism.  I think I made enough round rings for them all.

I am using 0.1 mm brass wire for the spokes but if that proves too much of a struggle I'll have to resort to a strand of copper wire out of telephone wire and CA them to the rims, we'll see.

 

I have carved some wood away from the gun sides to accommodate these little hand wheels to allow them to go inside the buns. 

 

I'm anxious to start with the deck slats on the gun decks but I'll do these first now that I have started them.  The guns can always be fiddled with at any time because I can lift them out of the buns.

 

This picture shows the brass ring of 0.7 mm brass wire for the wheel rim with the 0.1 mm brass wire for the spokes ready to be soldered.  I may tin the parts first and them hold the .1 mm wire with tweezers to tack them to the rim and then use a steel office clamp as  heat sink to solder the other end.  The second wire can be tacked on in the center, I think.  The diameter of the wheel is 5 mm.  I wound the .7 mm wire around a 5 mm pin punch and snipped a ring off it and then soldered it into a ring.

 

These are the four wheels in process of being made.  Even though the scale at 1:50 is rather large this stuff is still tiny to work with and make it half way decent looking.

 

Cheers,

Edited May 15, 2014 by Piet

[Remcohe]

Piet, maybe it's an idea to look for a simple PE set to add details to the gun or scavenge a 1/48 plastic artillery kit for parts ? I'll have a look in my scrap box for you.

 

Remco

[Piet]

Again my thanks to everyone who visited and clicked on like.

 

Hoi Remco, thanks for the idea for PE parts.  I agree that that would be the most logical way to arrive at a more accurate gun model but I needed to try my hand first at scratch making everything myself.  You think I'm being anal in wanting to make everything myself, including the ship's bell?  Yeah, I'm not happy with that plastic thing, it's a little too big anyhow.  

However, having said all that, realism and accuracy may take the overhand.  Yeah sure, look in your scrap box and when you come up with a set of 1:48 parts I'll gladly accept them       I'll be looking on the internet to find an outfit that makes nice hand wheels in 1:48.  Model trains come to mind.

 

There is a slight problem though, the gun mount I made is not quite like the one on the drawings.  Again, hindsight - - - I received the drawings from you and Boris after I already made the guns.  The upper part is where the difference comes in.  I have been thinking about this all day as I did some yard work.  I may have to remake the entire mount or at least the upper portion.  That last option seem to be the most viable because the lower part is close enough for me to work with.

It's the gun elevation mechanism I'm looking at.  It's a curved rack and pinion system and I can make a decent fixed look alike from brass sheet.  

The little hand wheels are done now and look quite decent.  I cemented them on with CA before I realized that I had to do something with the upper part of the mount.  So, I had to remove them again.  This left some cement residue that needs to be cleaned off or remake them.  This is not too much of a problem now that I have gained some experience in making them   

So for now I'm putting the guns aside till I have finalized my next step with these things, sketches and parts.   I have the time, it's not urgent to complete them right now   

 

I did manage to cement the gun bun lids to the styrene buns though    I'm quite happy with the way they turned out.  I'm ready to paint them and repaint the deck so I can glue the deck slats to the gun decks.  Then the railings.  That'll bring the upper part of the con to completion and on to the bottom part - - - the hinged doors 

 

[Remcohe]

Hi Piet, so I went to my scrap box only to find out I had scrapped the scrap box some time ago when I sold or threw away all my plastic kits. Of the kits I still have left I could not find appropriate sized handwheels. I looked on the internet and I think you guess pretty good that railway supply's are the best place to look. Sorry I couldn't help you out on this one....

 

Remco

[texxn5]

Your hingework is ingenious....looks real....

[Piet]

Hoi Remco, thanks for looking for your scrap box and the parts, no problem.  I'll do some browsing on the Internet and see what the model railroad folks have to offer.  I think that O gauge is 1:48 and on the old freight cars the hand brakes had similar hand wheels.

However, I have no problem with "home build" hand wheels that I can cement to the gun mount, not rotatable, just static.  It's all the other paraphernalia that comes with it.  See pic below.

 

Hi ho John, good to hear from you and thanks for your compliment - - - I lucked out with the hinges and lids.  I have been searching for your progress reports on your Morgan, where are they????  

Remco may need some wale oil for the lamps he should make for the captain's cabin 

 

Pretty much a lost day today, again a dental visit but the end is in sight   

I spend some time in fixing one minor hitch.  The snorkel intake guard was too far aft and interfered with the aft AA gun.  Then I made a bunch 1 X 1 mm slats for the deck planking.  Tedious work but it has to be done. 

Next step is to stain them in some teak looking stain.  I'm very curious in finding out how they'll look but according to the color chart it should be good, fingers crossed 

I also painted the decks again and the gun bun lids, they look quite nice 

 

This is a pic from the original factory drawings of the AA guns on the O19 when it was build.   To look at the pics Boris send they are a few pages back.

 

This is the same factory drawing with my gun model next to it for comparison.  As all yuns can see I need to do some modifying primarily on the top end.  I think I can do it and make it believable.  It'll be strictly stationary and as long as my guns kinda look similar then I'm a happy camper.

 

Cheers,

Edited May 15, 2014 by Piet

[mischief]

That's a nice freshly polished brass bell.....looks like the Bo'sun did a good job...

Piet, where was the bell stowed when the sub was sumered ?

[Piet]

Hello Mischief and thanks for visiting.  A great question for which I don'y have a definite answer.  It was most likely left hanging as a permanent part of the bridge equipment.   Perhaps Gino can tell us more.

Remember that the subs of that era were primarily surface vessels that could submerge for a limited time.  Underwater speeds were very marginal, not much thought about reducing water friction so leaving the bell hanging was no big deal.  Also, with an emergency dive it would be too time consuming.

 

I hope that the crew took the bell with them when they had to abandon the boat when it ran onto Ladd Reef in June of 1945.  If so then I also have no idea where it is now.

 

Cheers,

[Gino den Ridder]

One thing is certain, if the O19 had its bell on Ladd reef, then it's still there (provided that scavengers haven't wrecked the place by now...)

There is no record of it being taken of the boat to the USS Cod. There was some other stuff taken, which is now in the possession of the US Cod Submarine Memorial in Cleveland, OH.

As far as I know, US submarines left their bell in port during WW2, when they went on patrol. That's why you may see some of them still being used during a 'tolling of the bells' ceremony, which is to commemorate those submariners that are 'still on patrol'. Let me also get confirmation on that.

 

Groetjes,

[Piet]

Thanks Gino, I was not aware of the "ship's bell" being left at port during war patrols.  With Hr. Ms. Java the bell was still on the wreck and Kevin Danley, the Ausy diver/photographer who was part of the company who discovered the wreck, removed it and brought it home.  It now hangs in the memorial in Surabaya.

 

For those who may not know, my father was killed in action during the battle on the Java Sea, February 27, 1942, at 23:55 hours.  After his promotion to Opperschipper (Adjudant) he had to be transferred to a surface ship.

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Edited May 15, 2014 by Piet

[Piet]

Today I installed the deck slats to both AA gun decks.  I have to get used to seeing them on but I think it makes the model.

I stained the slats yesterday with a water soluble stain that's meant for leather.  It was not as easy as I hoped for.  The glue caused the stain to weep out and slightly colored the grey deck paint.  It's also not bonding as well as I thought it should.  It tested okay on a piece of scrap, so go figure.  To prevent the stain from weeping out I had to get some thicker Titebond, that helped a lot.  I would have liked to use CA but I needed to have the time to be able to move it a little, thus the PVA.

 

I also started with installing the railings on the gun decks.  All the stanchions are installed but still need to be trimmed.  They are made from 1 mm brass tubing, they are small enough and nice and stiff.  Then the snorkel exhaust pipe shroud need to me made and installed as well.  The aft hatch opens against it.

 

I also started with the AA gun mods, I think it'll work out okay.  I also cut parts for the lower con door hinges, that'll be a real challenge.

 

You can also see that removed some wood from the gun pedestal sides and front.  Next will be removing some wood on the top so I can install the square looking thingies there and the control wheels and the other things on top.  It all has to fit inside the buns.

 

 

Well, that's it for now

 

Cheers,

Edited May 15, 2014 by Piet

[S.Coleman]

It's really coming along great. I love the hatch especially. Good work

[Remcohe]

Maybe seal the stain first with minwax poly before gluing? I had the same issue with my first bottle of stain.

 

It looks great with the deck slats .

 

Remco

[mtaylor]

Just amazing and wonderful work, Piet.  Your details are breathing life into this model.  And just now I noticed the markings on the telegraphs.

[harvey1847]

Must be a great feeling getting closer and closer to the accomplished of the project...She is growing every single day!

 

The effort with the styrene tubes and brass pipes has pay off. With the lids open they look so real.The fit of the AA guns look pretty tight, where is going to be the rail and is it going to be "funtional"?

 

Beautyful Piet! (I mean the sub)

 

 

Daniel.

[popeye the sailor]

she's looking mighty sharp.....you've made a lot of progress on the tower!   nice work.....indeed! 

[Piet]

Let me first thank the many who dropped in and hit the like button, It's really appreciated.

 

@  S. Coleman:  Thank you for your compliments.  Yeah, the hatches came out okay.

 

@ Remco:  Hmmm, didn't think about using poly.  I'll try it on a test piece.  I was not sure whether TiteBond would adhere strong enough to the poly and the paint.  The real big planking job will be on the deck and I'm a little leery starting that.  I'll let yuns know how my test piece works.

 

@ Mark:  Thank you Mark for your kudos, appreciate it.  Yeah, the telegraphs - - - I tried first to actually write the words on them but gave up       Kidding of course, I just put a few lines on the faces to simulate words.

 

@ Daniel:  Thank you as well for your kind words, it means a lot to me.  Well, getting closer to the completion is true but still far off.  There is still an awful lot of work to be done but it's all real rewarding and a pleasure.  I wanted to wait till the railing was completed before I take some pictures.  The railing was fixed as far as I know at the time of the build but apparently they removed them during the war, at least those on the main deck.  

 

@ Popeye:  Thanks my friend, appreciate your regular visits and your compliments.  My door is always open for all you ship and boat modelers.

 

Cheers,

[Piet]

Not much accomplished today.  Had another dentist visit this morning that turned out more then expected.  My upper front bridge came loose and we had to repair that before we can do some more minor work.

 

After lunch I ventured out into the garage, aka shipyard, and fudsed a little more on the railing stanchions and reworked the snorkel intake guard.  I also made two steps for the crew to get up from the gun deck to the bridge at the periscope housing.

 

I finalized the length of all the rail stanchions and squared them up with the deck.  They are now ready for the caps. I'll be using 0.7 mm brass rod for that soft soldered to the top of the 1 mm brass tube stanchions.  According to some of the photos I have there appears to be a chain between the two most forward stanchions where the gun lid folds open.  This was to allow the gun bun lid to fold open and lay on the deck.  Being that my gun lids are a little smaller then scale they could pass under a fixed rail cap.  It was tempting to forget the chain and just solder the brass rod across it but no, that's not the way it was when my father sailed on her.  So, I have to make the necessary hardware for it.  I have the same issue with the aft railing but there I think it'll work with a fixed rail cap, it has a bend in it and the lid will miss the rail cap when opening.

 

Well, let's see, what else - - - no, that's about all I did.  Tomorrow I'll make the front rail chain hardware, install it and hopefully solder the rail caps on.  Oh, yeah, the snorkel exhaust guard, we don't want to burn our hands squeezing around it to the flagpole     

Apparently they moved that flagpole forward and attached it to the aft side of the periscope housing where the snorkel intake pipe is, smart move.  No, I can't do that because that too was not the way my father knew the boat.

 

Cheers, to everyone,

[Senior ole salt]

What a wonderful project. The research alone is outstanding. I bet your dad is viewing it all, giving you quiet  direction and encouragement.

 

S.os

[Piet]

Thank you very much Senior for your compliments, I really appreciate it.  Well yes, I kinda feel my dad's presence when I'm working on his boat.  

 

Cheers,

[Piet]

Thanks to everyone who have visited my shipyard and looking at my progress, it's much appreciated.

 

Today I braved the cold again in the garage but managed to finish the gun deck railing 

I started out by making the hardware for the for the forward railing where the gun bun lid has to fold open.  I made two eye pins that are to slide inside the most forward stanchions.  These are made from 1 mm brass tubes.  Then a hook so we can unhook the chain when needed.  This hardware is made from 0.5 mm brass rod.  I had to make the hook four times, goes to show yuns that things sometimes just don't work out right away   One time I lost the hook when trying to attach it to the chain.  I had it in tweezers and it just popped out and went flying somewhere.  Good luck finding it so it was quicker to make a new one.  So what is another 10 minutes of work - - -  pfffffffffffff  

 

I then soldered these into place and started on the railing caps that I made from 0.8 mm brass rod.  They had to be bend in places to follow the contour of the decks as shown on the photos I have.  I had to remake the forward starboard cap because I didn't like the first one.

When I was happy with them they were then soldered to the tops of the stanchions.  After filing most of the excess solder off and cleaning the railings with MEK I could paint them.

 

When I looked at the pics I made previously I noticed that the top antenna brace was not level, it was a little higher on the port side.  So, I had to desolder this end and file quite a bit off the vertical post and re-solder it back in place.

 

I started to make the template for the snorkel exhaust guard but it was now 1730 hours and time to quit, my legs were getting tired and eyes started to water and burn.

 

I also performed the test with putting polly urethane on a piece of dyed deck slat and then glueing it to a freshly painted piece of wood with TiteBond.  At quitting time I tried to dislodge it and it was holding quite nicely without any dye weeping through.  Thanks Remco for the suggestion, it seems to work.

 

Okay, time for a few pics of today's progress.

 

This shows the individual parts for the removable chain in the forward part of the front gun deck.  A fixed rail cap would prevent the gun bun lid from opening all the way.  The lid should rest on the deck. I found some small chain in my Thermopylae plastic kit I still have on the shelf.

 

This shows all the parts assembled, the eye pins soldered in the stanchions and the hook attached to the chain and hooked to the port side eye pin.  And yes, it is removable   

 

This shows the forward gun deck railing stanchions with the chain installed.  Here you can clearly see that the cross beam of the antenna brace is a little too high on the port side.  That beam is where the ship's bell hangs on.  That'll be fixed a little later.

 

Here is a view with both the front and rear gun deck railings completed and painted.  At this point I have also lowered the port side crossbar of the antenna support  bracket.  Much more better   

 

Another view of the completed gun deck railings.

 

Completed gun deck railings looking forward.

 

Top view of the conning tower with completed gun deck railings.

 

Cheers, 

Edited May 15, 2014 by Piet

[popeye the sailor]

nice overview shot..........impressive 

[Sjors]

Piet,

 

I follow you in silence for a while now and I have the feeling that I enter the wharf Wilton Feyenoord !

Specially dok nr 7.....

It's amazing what people can do with scratch !

My hat of for you !

And now I'm going back in the silence mode......

 

[Piet]

As is my custom I like to recognize all those who "silently" visit my dockyard.  Thank you all for dropping in and leaving your much appreciated "like."  Please keep coming back anytime, there is always fresh coffee and cake and cookies, perhaps even a good Belgian or Dutch beer   

 

@ Anthony: Thank you Anthony for your very astute questions and observations.  Yes, these pre WW II subs and those that were build during and just after that war were not very hydrodynamicaly designed.  They all had a lot of "stuff" sticking out everywhere.  The con, an exposed deck gun, railings, loading booms, rivet heads etc., etc.  The max submerged speed for the O19 was 9 knots but could only sustain that speed for 30 minutes before the batteries gave out.

The thinking at that time was that they are mainly surface vessels that had the ability to submerge for a limited time and a limited depth.

What is generally not known is that the German naval engineers designed and build a revolutionary submarine, the Type 21.  That sub was at least a decade ahead of it's time.  It could move faster submerged then many escort vessels protecting the convoys.  It could fire their torpedoes faster then any other sub for decades to come and dive to over one thousand feet.  It was a technical and hydrodynamic wonder.  Fortunately for the allies Hitler's Nazi war machine could only send two of these subs into the Atlantic when war ended.

Yes, I keep shaking my head when looking at the progress of my model, seeing all those drag inducing things on the boat.  But I'm looking with today's eyes knowing a little more about hydrodinamics and aerodynamics.  It all has to do with the evolution in technology.  How do you keep a sub submerged for long periods of time before running out of of breathable air.  Oxygen generators, fresh water makers,  etc.  How can you increase the submerged speed?

The same evolution can be seen in aircraft design and actually there are many similarities between aircraft and submarines..  

 

Well, let me get off my soap box. When it comes to aircraft I can talk for hours but thanks for the questions and visiting.

 

@ Popeye: Thank you my friend for your compliments.

 

@ Sjors: Following in silence is good, I see your like votes    I also follow your builds in silence, very impressive!  Wilton Feyenoord eh?  I visit so once in a while via Google earth, brings back memories.  You know, there is very little difference between kit building and scratch building.  As long as you have as et of drawings and some pictures it's just a matter of transferring the drawings to wood and cut each part out and glue it together      But thanks for your compliments and dropping in so once in a while, you are most welcome anytime.  Now you can go back and be a silent observer, I can feel you breathing down my neck        and that's a good thing!

 

Did not do much today.  I had a dentist appointment - - - again - - - this morning and it was freezing in the garage.  I did manage to spend a few hours there after lunch though.

I made the snorkel exhaust pipe guard and cemented that on the guide pipe.  It still needs flat black paint.

Then I started with the lower con door hinges.  Managed one set for one door, very tricky stuff, it's so tiny.   I think that I'll do one door at a time, that way I can learn what not to do and improve on the method I am employing.

 

Oh yeah, I also made the AA gun elevation racks.  Next step will be to cement them on and add the little square thingies to the top of the pedestal and some other details such as the wheels and the brackets that come out of the square thingies.  

I looked on the internet with model train part outfits but did not find any control wheels of the size I need.  Those listed with a size were too large and many others did not specify size.  I'll have to send them a message and ask if they have four spoke control wheel of 5 mm diameter.  But then again, I have already made four of them and are acceptable to use.

 

I really looking forward in finishing the con so I can start with the main deck but I'm taking it slow, no rush, it's a labor of love and not a sprint.

 

Thanks agin everyone for visiting and

 

Cheers,

 

 

[Piet]

Hello Anthony,

 

Well, when inquiring minds want to know then the least somebody should explain when having some knowledge about the subject.     Not that I know much about subs but this is kinda basic and I'm glad to be able to inform all yuns.  Thanks for the applause, much appreciated and I'm glad to be of some help.

 

Happy modeling my friend!

 

Cheers,

[Jim Lad]

You're really making good progress on the conning tower, Piet.

 

John

[Piet]

Thank you John, yes, I'm rather pleased with how it's shaping up, even when scrutinizing it close up.

 

The shipyard was closed today for work but I managed to make hinges for two of the lower con doors.  They even have latches that work.

I also managed to cement two elevation racks to one of the AA guns but they need some work before I show them to you.

 

So this'll be a short post with a few pics.

 

This shows the back side of the forward door with all the parts to necessary to hang the door.  I had to cut and install a small piece of 1 mm brass tube for the latch, which is just a piece of 0.5 brass rod bend as shown.  I had to bend the last bend after putting it the tube     The hinge pintels are made from 0.15 mm brass sheet and 1 mm brass tube with 0.5 mm brass pins for hinge pins.  Everything was cemented using CA glue.

The latch shown here is the wrong size brass rod, I made it from the correct rod when I couldn't get it through the little tube.  Me "domkop," but so what - - - pfffffffff as the Dutch say, at least I had a laugh about it all by myself        

 

This shot shows the now completed forward door hung into the frame and is latched close.  Okay, sorry I didn't show it hinged open, some other day when all three doors are done and hung.  It still looks kinda untidy but the light grey paint will hide all of the dirty smudges     Everything works quite easily.

 

This picture shows the center door also installed into the frame and is latched.  This door too works as advertised 

Yes, there is a gap between the deck and the conning tower side plates.  This is to allow water to drain out when surfacing.  The entire conning tower fills with water except for the command center, which is hidden from view by the side plates but is in the center of the conning tower.  Quite a few pages ago I have actually posted a few photos of that structure when the boat was being build.

 

Cheers,

[mtaylor]

Looks great, Piet. Can't wait to see the doors open and those smudges give her a used look. 

[Remcohe]

Nice hinge work Piet, looking at the pictures it's easy to forget how small they actually are. I guest if you used the 0.5 mm tubes, the hinges would have looked to flimsy.

 

Remco

[harvey1847]

Good morning Piet!

 

You should consider to become a jeweler or something... That work with the hinges is amazing. Someday you have to make a practicum about soldering...

 

Thanks for the explanation about how the coning tower rests on the hull. I was starting to think about that gap even before I read the words about it.

 

Happy Sunday!

 

 

Daniel.