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

[michael mott]

Interesting work Piet.

 

Michael

[harvey1847]

Hello Piet!

 

Excellent job and work. Beautiful! Your log it´s much more than a log ¿? With all that info you clever post it´s like reading a piece of history.

 

Keep going! I´ll be here clicking likes and reading and re-reading your log. It´s a pleasure.

 

Best wishes.

[popeye the sailor]

looking good Piet.......

[pete48]

Amazing Work Piet, looks like you have your work cut out for you  ( regarding the torpedo launcher ) I am sure it will turn out excellent , You do such incredible work

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[Piet]

Thanks to everyone for visiting and your likes.

 

@ Michael: Thanks Michael, interesting indeed and a real challenge too.

 

@ Dave: Good to see you again and thanks for your kind words.  Well, yes, this is actual living history that goes with this build.  I was actually on this submarine in 1940 when my father took me on board for a visit.  Sweet memories.  Not too many people can add their own personal involvement with the models they are building.  Although EdT who's building a model of Webb's extreme clipper "Young America" gives us also a very detailed description of the ship, although not from personal experience - - - is that not so Ed  .

 

@ Popeye:  Thank you - thank you 

 

@ Pete48:  You are too kind - but thank you very much for your kind words.  I can say the same for your work, amazing!   I'll try my best to make it look as realistic as possible.  Just somewhat concerned about the deck rework though 

 

Cheers to all,

[Piet]

Didn't spend much time in the shipyard today    Had to do some domestic chores, mow the back yard and trimmed a few shrubs.  Then some needed correspondence but was able to spend a few hours in the shipyard 

 

I'm still pondering the rework of the deck structure sides though but I started by removing the doors and cut down the lower side of the opening on the starboard side and removed some wood on the forward and aft ends.  Like I mentioned in a previous post this'll have to be an as I go project, slow and carefully trying not having to remove a large portion of the side plates.

Making the hinges for the doors will also be a REAL challenge now that I have very little access to the inside with the top deck closed.  All yuns please keep your fingers crossed for me.

 

I found that I couldn't install the pivot pin so had to drill a 1.7 mm hole through the top deck where the inboard rails meet to allow me to insert the pivot pin.  Well, I lucked out - again - in that the hole lined up perfectly with the hole in the hull

 

Next I started making the tube flanges.  The launch tubes are made up of four separate pieces that are bolted together, which is a rather obvious part of the launcher and can't be missed.

I had been thinking for days how to make these flanges but then I remembered I have some 0.4 mm brass square rods.  So, I bend them around a scrap piece of 10 mm tubing and finalized them on a wooden dowel to make them fit snug on the launcher tubes.  Lucked out again and am ready to tack solder them to the tubes.  This I'll do tomorrow afternoon after I have done some shopping for hardware and a set of earphones and a microphone.  I may have a problem with my iMac build in mic and can't talk with our kids via Skype.  So I'll try an external mic and see if that works.

 

After these flanges are soldered on I may have to dress them a little as well as cleaning up some of the solder.  I need to make two more flanges at one of the ends for the tube doors, I ran out of time and besides my eyes were getting tired.  He, they are also 80 years old, so what can you expect 

 

I took only two pics for my archive and sorry to say, I didn't make a running series on how I made these flanges, I figured y'all know how to do that.  Perhaps tomorrow, when I make the next two, if I don't forget.  

 

Okay, here are the pics and don't forget that they are still not soldered on yet but just loosely stuck on for the pics.

 

This shows all 8 flanges loosely placed on the tubes at their desired locations.

 

This is another view of the flanges stuck on the tubes.  Here you can also see part of the square brass rod at the top of the picture.

 

Cheers,

Edited July 16, 2014 by Piet

[Remcohe]

Looking good Piet, I can't wait to see the launch tubes finished, but I'll be patient

 

Remco

[pete48]

Nice work Piet, it's looking like a torpedo launcher, well done

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[popeye the sailor]

launcher looks good so far.........with the surgeries you've had to do in the early stages, this will be nothing more, than a nip and tuck ....I'm with Remco on this

[Piet]

Thanks everyone for visiting, your comments and likes.

 

@ Remco:  That makes two of us my friend, I can't wait either till it's finished.  This thing is complicated and takes some thinking when to attach what part so I don't have to desolder them.

 

@ Pete48:  Thanks Pete, yep, it's taking shape already but the real tough jobs lay still ahead.

 

@ Popeye:  Thank you my friend, she's very slowly progressing but that rework is really bugging me but that's all part of scratch building - - - they say  

 

No work on the launcher today, as a matter of fact no work in the shipyard at all   Been busy shopping, running all over town trying to find a lapel mic for the computer and some hardware.  At least I was successful with the hardware but the mic is another story.  

Trying to connect via Skype with our daughter and grandson is failing.  I can see and hear them but they see me but cannot hear me.  I checked all the settings in my iMac and they seem to be correct.  Perhaps, maybe, my internal mic bit the dust.

 

I did buy a headset with boom mic and try that tomorrow, I hope.

 

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

Cheers to all,

[mtaylor]

Piet,

 

Have them call someone else.  It could be their settings.  And same for you... call someone and verify it's the mic.

[Piet]

Thanks Mark, we'll be pursuing this further.  I forgot to mention that even the Skype test call didn't hear me, that's why I'm suspecting my own build in mic.

 

Cheers,

[Piet]

Hello everybody and my thanks to all who visited and clicked on like, it's much appreciated.

 

Was not able to accomplish much today.  This thing, the deck torpedo launcher, is slow going, because of the painstaking detail work.

I soldered the tube section flanges and cleaned the little excess solder off with a small file.  So far I'm happy with them.

 

Next I had to fashion flanges for the aft and the front of the tubes.  I used some round brass rod of 0.3 mm instead of the square rod.  After I dressed them down they looked square as well.  I'm happy with them as well.  I didn't need a thick flange because the aft end is only for solderen the end plates to it.  The front flange is for a seal of the tube doors.

 

Talking about tube doors, I made two and used my oak mandrill to press them into a dome shape.  This is the same tool I used for the crew hatches and torpedo loading tubes, way back when.

 

Another reason why I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted to is that I was pondering on how to make the hinges for the tube doors.  Just sitting there and looking at the launcher and thinking.  I think that I have to make a few brackets from brass sheet stock for the stationary hinge tubes and solder them to the front ends of the tubes.  I would like to finish the front end first before tackling the aft end.

 

Also still pondering the deck side openings.  May have to buy another large sheet of 0.5 mm plywood or make my own plywood.  I don't need much if it's only for the doors.  That in itself doesn't bother me, I have made plywood before and it won't set me back much and besides, it's kinda fun.

 

Okay, I made a few pics for my own archive and like to show yuns what has been accomplished today.  It first look there doesn't seem any difference with the previous post but believe me there are about 5 hours of work involved.

 

This shows all the flanges soldered to the tubes with the two doors in front of the launcher assemblyThe small piece of tubing and the wooden dowel is what I used to bend the brass rods around for the flanges.

 

This shows the launcher assembly with the domed doors laid loosely on top of the tubes.

 

This shows the launcher assembly with the aft end closed off.

 

Cheers, 

[pete48]

Hi Piet, your  torpedo launcher is looking good , nice work

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[texxn5]

Looks really nice my friend. Ecellence as usual.....what will you do for an encore?

[Piet]

Thank you all for visiting and your likes, wow, I'm overwhelmed.

 

Hello Pete, thans for looking in and your kind comment.  I'll try to do it justice.

 

Hi John, good to hear from you and I hope you and Diana have a great time traveling.  Encore?????  Well, there is still my VOC ship waiting and then a Dutch fishing boat or jacht (yacht) in a lamp.  I may not have the time to do everything I want to do.  Time seems to be just flying by.

 

Didn't do anything on the O19 today, just looked at her and my torp launcher project as I walked by this morning to go to Ormond Beach to the urologist.

I had an appointment for the second series of BCG treatments for bladder cancer.  Long story and you can read it in "What Have You Done Today."

The good news is that the cancer is most likely gone but the doc felt to do the BCG treatment anyhow with interferon added. 

 

We'll be back in the shipyard Sunday, after mowing the lawn first and trimming a few hedges.  Hey, if it's not Sunday then it'll be Monday.

 

 

[pete48]

You will do fine Piet

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[Piet]

Thanks Pete for your encouragement, I'll surely try.  

 

Cheers,

 

 

[Piet]

After I mowed the front yard and trimmed a few bushes and shrubs, it was time for lunch, check the mail and look at the news on the computer.  I'm also doing more research on cancer and specifically bladder cancer.  But my model keeps calling me 

 

After lunch I ventured into the garage, aka shipyard, and started with fashioning the center fixed part of the torpedo door hinges.  That turned out to be a very difficult and trying job.  Too many already soldered parts that needed heat-sinks but eventually I managed to solder the 1.6 mm copper tube to a separate copper flange to the front of the torp tubes.  

 

Next I'm in the process of making the two side brackets for the outer fixed hinge tubes.  They'll be soldered to the upper outsides of the tubes and then the small pieces of copper tube will be soldered to them and hoping that everything lines up.  I'll shove a piece of stainless steel wire through them all to keep them lined up.  A light coat of grease on it will prevent any possibility of it sticking, one never knows.

 

Sorry, no pics.  I got so involved with this thing that I plum forgot.  Next time better because they are for my own archive for remembrance.

 

Thanks everyone for your visiting and your likes.

 

Cheers,

[pete48]

Hi Piet, I am sure it look's Amazing , I look forward to seeing it

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[torpedochief]

Good looking torpedo tubes! I should know I spent 22 years working with launch tubes.

 

Best

 

Chief

[Azzoun]

I look at this build log and definitely get the feeling that I still have so much to learn.  Thanks for all the detailed postings, very educational for this novice modeler. 

[SawdustDave]

Piet....your metal working skills are truly amazing. I am thoroughly enjoying your work. This is one of my favorite builds in progress.

Dave

[Kevin]

Piet Just caught up again, lovely work, and a fantastic build in memory of the crew of 019 and all the other submariners who gave there lives in the deep

[Piet]

Thank you all for visiting and your likes, it's truly appreciated   

 

@ Pete:  Well - - - amazing it's not but acceptable to me but thank you.  The extreme close-ups do make it look kinda crude but in reality it's rather nice.  It'll be covered by a coat of primer and paint, that'll hide a few flaws 

 

@ Chief Don:  Yes, I know you are a "Bubble Head."  This is meant with the highest respect and not meant in a derogatory manner!   My father was a Bubble Head extraordinair and I have the utmost respect and admiration for all who have served and are still serving in the "Silent Service.  I must have half salt water and then high test aviation gas and JP-4 in my vanes, I'm an "Airhead,"  aviation   Just tell me when I'm doing something wrong.

 

@ Azzoum:  Thanks for visiting my shipyard and your very kind words.  We are all still learning my friend and if you are not happy with the first try do it again, and again - - - till you are happy with the results.  I have a pile of rejected parts too,

 

@ Dave:  Thank you too Dave for stopping by and your very kind words and compliments.  I guess the metal skills may be attributable to 65 years of working with metals, both theory and hands-on.  I just love working with my hands, whether it's metal, wood or whatever.  I love to see you around my shipyard any time.

 

@ Kevin:  Yep, I saw all the likes and figured you caught up with my work, thanks for dropping by.  Thank you Kevin for your kind words and also coming from a submariner it means a lot to me.  

 

Cheers to all,

[Piet]

This morning I had a dental appointment, just the bi-annial cleaning.  After lunch I had to do some correspondence but then I mozied into the garage, aka the shipyard, and started fabricating the outside fixed hinge pintel tubes.  I didn't like the brackets I made the other day and "redesigned" another set that should work better and looks better, considering some of te other hardware coming behind them.

 

These brackets are just small strips of 0.2 mm brass sheet stock that I bend to 90 degrees.  I then cut two small pieces of 1.5 mm copper tube and soldered them to these little elbows and filed them even narrower.

 

Now came the job soldering these small brackets to the torpedo tubes without desoldering the front flanges and the pintle tubes.  I strung them onto a 0.6 mm brass rod as the locating fixture.  This assures me that all the hinge pintles line up.   I clamped them to the torp tubes with very small wooden clothes pins to hold them in place.

Now came the delicate task of soldering these small brackets with the pintel tubes already soldered to them to the torp tubes, without desoldering the whole mess.

I used a dab of solder paste to distribute the heat evenly and quickly, hoping that the clothes pins will do their job.

 

Well, it worked as I hoped it would, nothing shifted, everything lined up and had very little solder to clean up.  I guess I just lucked out - - - again

 

Next on the agenda is fabricating the hinge brackets for the doors.  These have to be soldered to the outside of the doors of course.  I cut two small strips from the same 0.2 mm brass sheet and formed them into the same bow as the doors and bend a 90 degree angle at one end for the pintle tube, which will have to be soldered to the bottom of these strips.  I got only as far as cutting and shaping one of the strips and cut two pieces of copper tubing for the hinge pintles.  By this time it was close to 1800 hours and time to go inside.  I'll have some pics tomorrow of that operation.

 

The description of today's work may be a little vague but I hope that the pictures below will make it somewhat clear.

 

This shows the center hinge pintle I soldered to the launcher assembly a few days ago.  This'll serve as the steady fix for locating and holding the two outside pintle tubes.

 

This shows the small brackets and the pintle tube for the outside part of the hinge assembly.  The #11 Exacto blade is an indication of the size.  There are two of these brackets.

 

This shows my crude soldering jig to solder the tube to the bracket.  As it turned out I had to the soldering freehand using a strip of wood to hold it in place.  The solder tip would just glue itself to the little tube and not let go    However,  after both parts were tinned this worked out just fine.

 

This shows both the outside pintle brackets pinned and clamped to the torp tubes.  It may be hard to see the 0.6 mm brass rod through all of them but it's there and everything worked as planned.

 

This is the result of today's work.  All the fixed pintles are now permanently attached to the launcher.  As you can see I have not cleaned all the brass filings away, that'll come later.  I'll most likely keep fiddling with this some more.  After looking at it a day or so later I usually see some things that need more dressing.

 

Cheers, 

[harvey1847]

Trully amazing work Piet!

 

I have been working with plasticard and plastic rods and CA but watching all that tiny jewel parts made out of copper, that will last years and years amazed me... What a beautiful work.

 

Best wishes.

 

 

Daniel.

[NenadM]

How much to learn, and how much ideas to pick up in this log !

 

Nenad

[Piet]

Hello everyone and thank you all for visiting and your likes.

 

Hello Daniel, good to see you again and your very kind words.  Well, to tell you the truth card and plastic are somewhat of a mystery to me except then for the standard plastic kits.  Let's hope my model will last for some time, my grandson will inherit it when I check out for the great shipyard above 

 

Hi Nenad, also good to see you here at my O19 shipyard!  Thanks for your comments and glad to be able to contribute a little in the art of modelmaking and history.   My plating went a little faster then your CS - - - fewer and larger platse      Another advantage is - - - no masts to rig     

 

Cheers to all,

 

[Piet]

This morning I figured to continue with fabricating the torpedo tube door hinges and soldering everything together to complete that project.  However, looking at the launcher again, triggered by the pictures I took, I was not in the least bit happy with the center and right pintel tubes.  I decided to replace the center one and cut the right one down a smidgin.  Here is the reason for my rework.

 

 

 

Here you can see that the door hinge tube space is off center and larger then the left side.  I just couldn't leave it like that.

 

You'll see a vast improvement in pics #5 and 6 below.

 

As mentioned in yesterday's post, I started fabricating the door hinge bracket and used the domed door jig I made for all the round hatch doors.  Picture 1 shows how I did it, I just laid the strip of brass in it and with a small ball-peen hammer carefully tapped it into a nice curve that'll match the door's curve.

Pictures 2 and 3 show the result and also I added the hinge pin tube.

 

Next came the task of soldering the hinge pin tube to the bracket.  Picture 4 shows that I placed the launcher assy in a small Proxxon vice so I could have both hands available.  I put the hinge tubes on the launcher with a drill bit as pin.  First I tinned both parts and by holding the bracket between my fingers I laid it onto the hinge tube and soldered - - - -       Yeah, and you believed that       No, I held in in a very small pair of needle nose pliers and then laid onto the tube.  That way I had control in centering the brackets and I didn't have to use a heat sink.  It took very little heat, which is a good thing.

 

Well, that part worked, lucked out again.  Now I had to solder the brackets to the doors.  I tinned both parts here as well, slid the doors under the brackets and holding it tight against the tube flanges I just placed the soldering iron tip on the brackets till I saw the solder flow.  The tubes acted as a heat sink.

 

Now came the task of cleaning everything, filing the extra solder away and dressing it up a little with fine sandpaper.  Yes, it'll need some more extra fiddling but the major part of the door installation is completed.

 

Now i'm pondering whether to make the doors operate simultaneous or one at a time as it was done on the real boat.  Okay, before everybody jumps on me, I'm going to try to do it as was on the real boat     Note that I said try.

This means a lot more little hardware and wizzywigs to make     This means of course that I have to drill a hole in the door hinge tube on both doors so I can solder that to the hinge pin and leaving the pintles free.  

 

I started with making the hinge pin arms and the "nut" that locks the arm to the hinge pin.  The "nut" is just a piece of 1.6 mm copper tube cut to 0.5 mm long.  I accomplished this by putting a 0.6 mm brass rod inside the tube and with a razor blade rolled it over the tube till it separated.  Then I had to debur this tine piece of tube without it collapsing on me.  I had to hold it between my fingers and then with my other hand used a twist drill bit.  It worked    Lucked out again but now I have to make sure I don't loose it or sweep it away.

 

I made the little arm from a small / narrow strip of 0.2 mm brass sheet, drilled the hole in it for the hinge pin and started to shape it to make it look like what's on the original launcher per the manufacturer's photo.  When I took it out of the pliers I was holding it with a pair of tweezers I heard a - -  twang - - and it went flying.  It bounced against my chest, dropped to my leg and - - - - - - disappeared under my work bench or floor or - - - somewhere.

I spend half an hour looking for that little bugger but it vanished.

Then I figured, I'll try to mimic the drop by dropping another small piece of brass the same way - - -  and wouldn't you believe it, I can't find that either.         There must be a brass eating monster hiding under my workbench.  

 

Sooooohhhh, that ended my afternoon work session.  I'll have to start all over tomorrow making new hinge arms.  I was thinking of attaching a sheet to the workbench and draping that over my lap.  But with my luck i'll forget it's there and when getting off my stool I can drag everything off the bench.  

 

Okay, no sense in crying over spilled milk and forge ahead - - - making new hinge arms.

 

Here are a few pics of today's efforts.

 

Kinda self explanatory - a simple way of making a smooth curved part that matches the previous part made with it.

 

Here are all the parts laid out needed for the doors and hinge assemblies.

 

Just added the #11 Exacto for size comparison.

 

This shows how I soldered the the hinge brackets to the hinge tubes and then the doors to the brackets.  

 

The completed tube door project with doors closed.

 

 

The completed tube door project showing the doors open.

 

 

I just stuck the launcher inside the hull for a look-see.

 

Cheers