Hr. Ms. O 19 by Piet - 1939 - 1945, scale 1:50, submarine Royal Navy Netherlands - Finished

[Kevin]

lovely work, so many builds I follow are now coming to the end, but then again I would be if I had not made so many mistakes and excuses to be in the man- cave,

whats your plans for a next project

[Piet]

Thank you Kevin for your continued support and kind words in following my build.  Coming from a real submariner it means a lot to me, not that any of the other visitors are less meaningful.

 

Yes, all our builds must come to a, hopefully, successful conclusion.  Just the dingy is left to do and then a few crew members and some spare parts.  The display board and cace will be a daunting task because of the size but I have a few ideas on it.

 

Next project - - - well, I still have the VOC ship "Surabaya" to work on, which will keep me busy for a few years.  I also want to build a Dutch fishing boat or VOC Jacht in a lamp.  However, I really want to make a painting or two or three of the O19.  Oil?  Water color?  Colored pencil?  So many thoughts, so many ideas.  I have already started a watercolor painting of a VOC ship several years ago and can make that into a pic of my model   

 

My dear bride Gwen would like for me to build a model of the KPM ship he made captain on, the MS Musie.  I need another lifetime added to this one in order to do everything I have planned  

 

Please don't fret about your "lost time."  It's all a learning curve, the journey should be fun with some frustration thrown in but it's the final destination that counts.  Your Vic is outstanding and certainly is something you can be rightfully proud of.  It's a privilege for us to be able seeing your artistry.  

 

Cheers,

[Piet]

Hello everyone and thanks to all who visited and clicked the like button.

 

This rainy morning I made a soldering jig that also functioned as a step rung guide for bending the little lips.  I also made  new rungs for the boarding ladder from 0.4 mm brass shim stock.  Now they are all the same size and fit very snugly in my little jig. 

I just clamped the side braces to the upended parts of the rungs and soldered them nice a tight.  It worked like a charm.

 

Next came the more delicate and trying job in soldering the boarding hooks and the railing holder tube fixtures.  I used a few steel office clamps as heat-sinks and was able to solder these parts on without loosening up the step rungs.  

 

A little cleaning by removing some of the exposed solder, then fitting the railing.  That worked okay as well.  I used some 5 minute epoxy cement to keep the railing rod in place on the stanchions, which make the railing more like one piece.  I can still remove it so the crew can stow the entire boarding ladder away inside the lower part of the con or below decks.

 

The ladder still needs to be cleaned with a cleaning solvent so I can paint it dark grey.  That'll be done tomorrow after I come back from the doctor's office.  (Nothing serious, just a pre-op visit for my next biopsy later in the month).  

 

Okay, here are a few pics of today's work.

 

I took a piece of poplar out of my junkbox and made it 11 mm wide in order to get a 133 mm wide ladder.  I marked the location of the rungs 5 mm apart and sawed slots to a depth of just over 2 mm.  I had to adjust this several times with a 2 mm piece of brass to get the right depth.

Now I could make all 5 of the rungs but after the ends were bend to allow enough solder-hold to the side braces I used my duckbill pliers to make the bends sharp 90 degrees by tapping on the bend with a small hammer.  

 

Here I have inserted all 5 rungs into the jig and clamped a side brace to the jig assembly.  I soldered one side at a time to prevent shifting of the side braces.  This worked real fine.  After both side braces were soldered on I removed the little of the extra solder that usually seeps out or used too much of.

 

This is a close-up of the above picture for more  detail,  You can just see one end of the side brace.

 

Here I have laid out the deck hooks and railing attaching fixtures.  I'm sorry for not having made a few pics of all the steel office clamps that functioned as heat sinks but suffice it to say that it worked great.  Nothing got desoldered and all the parts are nice and square.

Next I assembled the loose parts for the railing and while they are on the boarding ladder, nice and straight, I cemented the railing rod into the stanchion tops.  I used two of the deck railing stanchions for this, waste not want not   

 

This shows the completed boarding ladder on the cutting board looking from the left.  No photo etch here, all hand made 

 

This is looking from the right side.

 

I have made two small holes in the deck for the ladder hooks to fit in and here I have hooked the ladder to the boat.  This is on the starboard side and looking towards the bow.  I still need to make the holes on  the port side.

 

This is looking towards the stern.

 

Cheers,

[mtaylor]

Beautiful metal work and well documented.  Another mini-tutorial.   Looking great Piet.  I can actually visualize you climbing that thing at age 7.

[BANYAN]

Almost there Piet; not many more things you could add this very nicely detailed model (or is there?)  I know you still have the rubber boat to come and I am looking forward to how you solve that question.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Omega1234]

Beautiful Piet!

 

Now, all you need (apart from the dinghy, crew and spare parts), could be a full sound track featuring the sounds of a sub underway, interspersed with the sounds of maintenance being undertaken in the shipyard, commands from the captain and crew, etc, etc. Just press a button and, hey, voila , the sounds of the sub will appear. The soundtrack could be an interactive feature that admirers could use to bring even more 'life' (if that were possible) to your wonderful model.

 

Oh well, it's a thought, anyway.

 

...truly love your model....

Edited October 2, 2014 by Omega1234

[FreekS]

I'm sure Piet could make a 3D model of his father, to scale! freek

[popeye the sailor]

Piet.......never though of making a ladder like that!   looks so cool!  you must have some mixed feelings,  getting so close toward being finished.  I've enjoyed this build a lot!

[harvey1847]

Hello Piet!

 

I thought you and your O19 was almost done or done... But not it does not! When are you going to stop deteiling her??

 

It´s amazing the amount of detail and the sizes you deal with, really admirable. I still remember the discusion about putting or not the rivets and bolts on every single iron plate (hard paper). Way to go Piet!

 

From the "future builds" you have at the bottom of your log, which one is going to be the first?

 

Happy modelling.

 

 

Daniel.

[cog]

Be-a-utiful work Piet. I like the submarine-ladder-solder-jig

[Piet]

Hello everyone and thank you all for your comments and the compliments, I really appreciate it very much.

 

Hi Mark, thank you and yes, in all the months that I have been working on the O19 things keep popping into my mind of happy times I had with my mom and dad.  Gwen and I talked a lot about both our fathers during this build.  I am fortunate to have met her father when I was going to the High School in her village.  Captain van Vulpen was a very nice gent and I got to chat with him whenever he was home.   All that is an extra bonus to me, bringing back good memories.

 

Hello Pat, thanks for dropping in.  Yup, not many more details to add but what is left to do will keep be busy for a while yet.  To clarify the dingy, it was actually made from wood, at least that's what it looks like on the photos.  I'll make it also from wood and in this scale it's going to be a challenge because everything has to be rather thin and light.  But so far I have not shied away from a challenge and hope to make a respectable model of it.

 

Hi Omega, good to see you here.  Hmmm, a sound track with sound effects, commands by the CO and responses by the crew.  Love the idea but then I'll have to do it in Dutch and not too many here can then understand it     Besides, when I speak Dutch I have an American accent    Hey, I ca do a pretty good immitation of the dive claxon    No, a log will already be taxing enough but thanks for the thought my friend. 

 

Hello Joe and thank you for your compliments and good thoughts, appreciate them very much.  Yeah, well, seeing that the O19 carried a boarding ladder I figured that it would be appropriate to show it.  It was a rather easy and straight forward modeling job, after I fixed my first try   I'll do my best in modeling a Skulpy figure that resembles my father.  The only photo I have of him in uniform is when he was "bootsman" (boatsman in English)  This was taken somewhere in the Netherlands but I have no idea what year.  I think that a 3D model would look better though but don't know yet where to put it.  At the time He served on the O19 his rank was Schipper, which is a non-com position.  He could very well be supervising the loading of the torpedoes.  Hey, time will tell but the thoughts of all yuns keeps the brain churning.

 

 

Hoi Freek, yes, I'm going to try my hand at modeling figures.  Remco steered me to a nice book on the how-to's.  I'll be using Skulpy for this and try to get a likeness.  I have only two photos of him.  See above for one of them.

 

Hello Popeye, thank you very much for your compliments.  Yup, this is a little different as far as ladders go but I just mimicked the ones I see on the photos I have.  Yeah, I do have some feelings of sadness now that she's almost completed but also a great sense of satisfaction by how she turned out.  There is still a lot of work yet to do when I count the display.  

 

Hi Daniel, so good to see you here as well.  No, I'm still working on her my friend.  Thank you also for your kind remarks.  Yes, I remember the rivet discussion too and now in retrospect I probably could have added them as well.  Could I still do it at this stage?  Yeah, I think so but that would require months of very tedious work that I'm not really up to anymore.  

As far as future builds, I'll continue with the VOC ship Surabaya and perhaps start the VOC Yacht in the lamp.  As mentioned in one of my previous posts I need to make a few paintings of the O19 and finish a painting of a VOC ship I started several years ago.  I also need to finish a few paintings of flowers and wildlife I have also stated.  Sooooh, stay tuned.

 

Hoi Carl en van harte dank!  Yeah, I figured all yuns would get a kick out of my crude wooden jig    Hey, it worked for me and freed up both hands.

 

Cheers, 

[Piet]

First of all my sincerest and heartfelt thanks to the may who visited and clicked the like button.  Thank you all for dropping in.

 

After arriving back home from the doctor's office this morning and a cup of coffee with Gwen I ventured back into the garage and painted the boarding ladder dark grey.  It looks a little better this way all dressed up in a coat of paint.  I also did some touching up on the paint here and there.

 

Next I grabbed the lines drawings for the dingy and put them on my drafting table.  Yup, that means that I have to redraw these to my scale of 1:50 but that should pose no particular problem.

What's daunting in my mind is the size of it and how frail it is at this scale.  It'll be a challenge alright so wish me luck.

 

I have made one photo of the freshly painted boarding ladder for yuns to see.  Hope it carries away with your approval.  I may need to add a pair of stand-off's at the bottom ship side to keep it angled out a little more.  Hey, I have plenty of this dark grey paint left   

 

 

Cheers,

[Remcohe]

Sweet looking ladder Piet! And good luck with the dingy

 

Remco

[amateur]

Good luck, but we're all very sure you can make it!

 

Jan

[PacificCrossRoads]

Hi My Friend Piet !!! 

Let's make NEXT model !!! 

And it will be the memory of your father - Hr Ms "Java" ... .

I am ready to start from January 2015 ... 

Boris. 

[harvey1847]

Good luck!

 

The ladder looks good to me! Someone could say is from a photoetched metal sheet but not it is not. Was it removable in real or was soldered to the sub?

 

Cheers!

 

Daniel.

[PacificCrossRoads]

This...

 

 

Scan00003.PDF

Edited October 3, 2014 by PacificCrossRoads

[Piet]

Thanks fellows for your comments and accolades, much appreciated.  And thank all others for visiting and your like vote.

 

Hoi Remco, thanks and yes, I need all the luck I can get.  Just to tell yuns that the keel is 1 mm wide for my dingy model.  Now you can imagine how thin the rest of the frames and planking has to be.      I guess I'll have to fudge a little here and there 

 

Hoi to you too Jan,  you have more confidence in my abilities then I but we'll try to give it a bloody go     

 

Hi Boris, hmmm, Hr. Ms. Java eh?  Well, yes, that was my original idea and still listed on my bucket list but - - - I will most likely not do that one.  I did purchase the drawings for the model through Remco, just to have them.  You know - - - and to tell all yuns the truth, my father hated that old rust bucket with a passion.  It was the second time I saw tears in his eyes when he was transferred from his beloved O19 to that old ship when he was promoted.  So, I'm just thinking that if he knew that I build a model of the ship he hated and was killed on, what he would think.  Would he be pleased?  There is a beautiful model of that ship in the Navy museum already, it should function in the honor of all who served on her and gave their lives for country, Queen and family.  You on the other hand must go ahead and make the most beautiful model available in kit form with the story of her last heroic stand against a more powerful enemy.  I'm sure that your model will be one of the best available because your heart is in it and for the lives of the crew.    

Thank you for the suggestion but if I would build another ship model it'll have to be the KPM ship Musi.  That's ship my wife's father served on as captain before his retirement.

 

Here is a picture of her.

 

 

For those who are interested in seeing a fine model of the cruiser Java here is a picture of her.

 

My father's battle station was below the # 9 gun, that's the second aft gun looking forward, the one just behind the long room.  That's also where the torpedo hit.

 

hello Daniel, thank you for comparing my ladder with a photo etched one.   A very great compliment indeed. Well, the pictures show that each part was hand made so there is no argument   Yes, the ladder was removable and stowed somewhere in the sub.  My guess is that the crew would usually not even bother using it.  Being young and agile  - - - ladders are for sissies 

 

Cheers,

[Jim Lad]

Hey, Piet, the 'Musi' will make a beautiful model.  I remember the type from when I was sailing around Indonesea.

 

John

[harvey1847]

Same scale as the O19? Would be beautiful with all that rigging and functional cranes. I have count seven. The only problem is that you might buy a bigger blue bucket to paint it on the backyard...

 

Happy weekend!

 

 

Daniel.

[cog]

Piet,

 

I like the KPM ship as a next build, you can sink her with your sub and cash the insurance ;-)

 

Dinghy ... from balsa ... I recall having shaped one for the Smit Rotterdam decades ago.

Edited October 4, 2014 by cog

[Piet]

Thank you folks for your comments and suggestions.  Also my thanks to all who visited and clicked the like button.

 

Hi John, yes indeed would the Musi make a real nice model.  That way my dear bride has also something tangible to link it with her father.  

 

Hello Daniel, you just cracked me up with your blue bucket comment, that is very funny indeed      Yeah, a scale of 1:50 will make a nice BIG model, problem is - - where to put it   The KPM had patents on their loading boom system, quite ingenious.  I can buy a lot of stuff off the shelf for that project, which would help.  But, but, but - - - wait a minute now, we are talking like I'm actually going to build her   Well, it's nice to talk about it and dream.  I would also need the plans and right now I'm hitting a brick wall.

 

Hi Carl, Yeah, it would make a nice model but - - -   Hey, she would be an easy target for the O19    In one of my next posts I'll show you a photo of a Jap Maru type she sunk.  

I haven't decided yet how I'm going to tackle the dingy.  Most likely the hard way.  You can explain how you made yours from balsa, yes?

 

Cheers to all,

[PacificCrossRoads]

Hi Piet. 

Model in the museum Den Helder - perfect !!! 

But it is up to the cruiser modernization:-(

I want to make a model at the time of the sinking (28.02.1942) 

I will try. 

Wishes. Boris.

[cog]

Piet,

 

See image. Draw the shape on a block of balsa, cut it out, shape it by filing/sanding it. If the aircompartment is all the way roud you don't need the rear piece, just make the bottom ...

 

 

[Piet]

Thanks Carl, I'll have to keep that in mind for when I need to make a model of a rubber raft, however - - - there is one difference and a big one with the O19 dingy or jol - - - it's a little rowboat!   It's 4 meters long and 1.4 meters wide. "A noten dop," or "nut shell." 

Here are few pics of what the KM (Royal Navy) Submarine Service used.  These are the same type that was on the O19.  Even the crew of the Cod were surprised to see a little rowboat.

 

Dingy (jol in Dutch) on the O21

 

Dingy (jol in Dutch) on the O21

 

Dingy (jol in Dutch) on the O21

 

Dingy (jol in Dutch) on the O27

 

The O19 dingy (jol) being lowered during the rescue by USS Cod, July, 1945, when O19 ran on Ladd reef in the Spratly Islands.

 

O19 dingy (jol) in the water helping transferring O19 crew during rescue by USS Cod, Joly, 1945.  The rubber boats are from the USS Cod.

 

Cheers,

[harvey1847]

I do not know which dingy look more risky if the US one or the one your father used...

 

One thing is sure the rubber US boat can fit much more sailors than the wooden make boat and they could have more than one. Did the Ductch subs have rubber boats as well?  Is there any reason to have such a wooden boat aboard? Cold water, ice, rocks...?!

 

Happy journey!

 

Daniel.

[amateur]

In Dutch shipbuilding, the answer usually tends towards: 'we always did it this way'.

Alternatively: 'we know the other alternative is better, but this is cheaper.'

btw. I don't know whether or not the dinghy was wooden build. It could have been steel.

 

Jan

[cog]

Piet,

 

Is it flatbottomed? If so you could do it with four very thin pieces of plywood, there doesn't seem to be much curvature from top to bottom ...

 

P.s. It seems that the navigational skills weren't that good ;-)

Edited October 6, 2014 by cog

[Piet]

Hello all and thanks for your comments and likes.

 

Hi Daniel, yes, that little dingy doesn't carry many people but it was mainly used to ferry officers to shore and do outside maintenance on the boat.  

 

Hoi Jan, yeah, that sounds like what the airlines said, "we've always done it this way, so why change."  I ran into that same philosophy with the US Government.  When I was operating my aircraft repair facility in New Jersey and wanted to use a new and proven product I had to jump through many hoops and paperwork before they would approve it.  I'm still wondering why they didn't stow a few rubber life rafts on board during WW Ii.  They must have seen plenty of the US and Ausy boats when based there.

Yeah, I guess it could have been made from steel but looking at the drawings it seems difficult to do.  

 

Hoi Carl, no, it's not flat bottomed, at least not according to the drawings I have.  See next post.  It's quite a sophisticated little boat.  Yes, they made an error and lost the boat.  It was the thickness of a pencil line on the chart.  And that just a few weeks before the war ended.  Oh well, stuff happens.

 

Cheers to all,

[Piet]

Hello everyone,

 

The last few days I have been trying to make a set of work drawings for the dingy.  I am rescaling a set I obtained some time ago and transferring it to a blank sheet of paper.  I'm not being very successful with it due to the small scale.  

If I go with these then I'll use the trial and error method.  Making the frames a little larger and then shaping the form with a sanding block.  I can also remove extra wood from the inside with a small rotary file in my flex drive adaptor.  I'll have to do that after the planking is on to have some rigidity.

 

Another way would be to draw a set in a larger format and then reducing the drawing to my scale.  

 

I'm planning to use boxwood for the keel and all the frames.  The planking will most likely be done with veneer that'll remove from some maple plywood.  I have a few nice blocks of boxwood and can slice off a 1 mm board on my 10 inch table saw.  Well, actually I'll cut a 1.5 mm slice off so I can sand it down nice a smooth.  

 

To show that the dingy was not flat bottomed but had some rather nice lines I'll attach a few pics of the original manufacturer's drawings.  I'll also show my first attempt at drawing a 1:1 drawing for the dingy.  Most was done by eye and hand from the actual lines.  

 

 

As you can see this is a photograph of the drawing because of the distortion.  It's the measurements though that count.  Nice looking body plan.

 

 

This is my hand-drawn version 1.0.  Not too bad but unusable as is.  Just for the halibut I'll draw one up to a larger size and then reduce it on my printer.  I have nowhere else to go except for some standard home maintenance and cooking a few meals for my dear bride Gwen.

 

Cheers,