U-552 by yvesvidal - FINISHED - Trumpeter - 1/48 - PLASTIC - Type VIIC U-boat

[yvesvidal]

Some progress on the conning tower. There is still plenty to do with the periscope masts and their bases. As you can see, RCSubz offers a lot of small parts to improve the Trumpeter model: 

 After a coat of automotive primer: 

At the top of the sail, I added some railings for the crew. This part is missing from both Trumpeter and RCSubz, but is clearly visible on some of the pictures: 

I feel better about the hatches. It is not as perfect as the prototype but a lot better with the primer. Hopefully, the final paint coat will hide them even more.

The compass casing and the front of the sail will need some putty.

That's all for today, folks.

 

Yves

 

[cog]

On 11/3/2019 at 7:53 PM, channell said:

I thought those little access hatches looked strange sticking out too but with paint on 'em they disappear nicely into the surrounding structure. Nice work! 

You took the words right out off my mouth

[yvesvidal]

I am working on the periscopes and other details of the conning tower. So, the progress are slow and small.

 

I wanted to share with you some interesting facts about the Trumpeter kit and the real need to invest into a Photo-Etched kit from Eduard or RCSubz. Below is the assembly of the Trumpeter kit for the attack periscope and stand for the UZO (surface attack Optics) and binnacle. As you can see, details have been simply omitted: 

In contrast, the RCSubz photo-etched set offers many more details with a challenging assembly: 

I have not looked at the Eduard set, but I suspect they do improve significantly over the Trumpeter kit. So, this is where I stand as this moment: 

Still adding some small parts to the Conning Tower: 

Yves

 

[TOM G]

I just came across your build today...... fantastic work 👍 

[7Youngs]

On 10/21/2019 at 10:06 PM, yvesvidal said:

So, the Chinese Trumpeter screwed up royally. It is probably the biggest "quack" in the kit. The starboard of the hull is see through, but for the sail, they decided it was the Port side. Duh.... Was this intentional, was it a mistake? We will never know, but the consensus among modelers, is that they got it wrong.

Quack isn't the word! A real shame that they got this wrong. I found this video which I thought you may be interested in: -

 

 

Sound is terrible but I wondered if you had seen this as some of his detailing is similar to yours especially the added bunks in crew sections. There is clearly a see-through section of the sail on the Starboard side. Maybe he cut out a small section of the non-clear part or maybe he swapped a section from the non-clear side if that's possible?

[yvesvidal]

7Youngs,

 

Yes I have seen this video and the beautiful realization of this talented Chinese modeler.

 

Yes, he did cut out an opening on the opaque side of the sail and swapped the internal pressure hull sections. It is easy to do although unrealistic as you have to assume that both side were symmetrical of each other, which was not the case. The sail is so small, that I decided to skip this operation and kept it "solid".

 

I admire the beautiful casing he did for his model but do not like the blueish color of the LEDs that he used. 

 

I wish my model could be as nice as Jacky's beautiful submarine.

 

Yves

 

 

[yvesvidal]

4 hours ago, 7Youngs said:

Quack isn't the word! A real shame that they got this wrong. I found this video which I thought you may be interested in: -

Well, I thought a "Quack" was perfect for a Trumpeter.... 🙂

 

Yves

[TOM G]

 I think that model would have look'd better, if he had the flag on it......... after all he has crew members deck side....... of course the way it is say's it's in combat mode.    but having the flag makes the statement to anybody.  that this is a wwII german u boat.

[mtaylor]

Interesting that in that video, there is a "cover" of Playboy magazine by the foreward head which didn't start publishing until the mid-50's.   Otherwise, nicely done but I do agree with the blue LED's.

[amateur]

I was wondering: there are about 20 people displayed in that model, so it looks quite large and 'roomy'. What was the full combat crew? 40 or so?

 

Jan

[Katuna]

Crew compliment was 45-50. Lack of a full crew definitely makes it look a lot roomier. Agree on the blue LED's. That video has been out for quite some time so he must have been one of the first to build one.

[BETAQDAVE]

On 4/25/2019 at 2:35 PM, lmagna said:

That's a great cutaway of the U-534.

    I would like to see the size of the saw that made those cuts!!!!!

[7Youngs]

2 hours ago, Katuna said:

Crew compliment was 45-50. Lack of a full crew definitely makes it look a lot roomier. Agree on the blue LED's. That video has been out for quite some time so he must have been one of the first to build one.

He hasn't included any of the sail and deck crew. I have made and painted all 48 supplied with the kit and intend to include as many as possible without obscuring detail. The subs were incredibly cramped esp at the start of a mission with all the stored food. The kit doesn't show this because you would lose a lot of detail if everything was fitted. It's a compromise.Yves has done a great job of representing this though and i will be interested to see what he does with the crew.

[yvesvidal]

Coming to a closure on the conning tower. First the attack periscope and its strong platform with a compass:

 

Details of the compass. I need to find some print of the compass, scale it down and glue it in place, once everything is painted. 

Below is the front of the platform: Observation periscope shaft, the UZO holder (used to hold all kinds of pointing devices and binoculars), the round Direction Finding antennae (DF) for taking bearings on beacons and for receiving Very Low Frequency messages from the U-Boot Commander In Chief (BdU).

Front Compass:

Attack periscope in place:

I still need to finish the wiring of the navigation lights, paint the whole tower, decals and final matte clear coating.

 

Yves

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2019 by yvesvidal

[CapnMac82]

If you have the time, "Cap't Ted" at eModel.uk did a video series on this kit (and before a lot of the AM was available).  (Note, there's about 11 hours of content spread over 10? episodes.  He is a former submariner and brought a panache to the kit, if not a lot of additional details.

 

There's a build of this kit, also without AM parts, over at Fine Scale Modeler.

 

Yves' rendition will be quite spectacular, with one of the better lighting schemes, I feel.  The lighting inthe battery compartment, and the fuel tankage being particularly excellent--tres magnafique!

 

Trumpter did do an odd thing, though.  If the boat was surfaced, the hatches from the control room to conning tower and the bridge would all be open to help ventilate the boat.  A small detail, but an important one when the intake aire is otherwise limited to the engine induction vent.

[lmagna]

9 hours ago, CapnMac82 said:

A small detail, but an important one when the intake aire is otherwise limited to the engine induction vent.

Even though this would be true as much of the time as possible, I have read in a number of sources that the conning tower of a type VII was so small and the free board so low that in all but the nicest of conditions the open bridge area was little more than a break water. Apparently green water over the combing was quite common. It appears that the open area of the conning tower was a VERY wet environment. So even though keeping the hatch open was a preferred method of surface operation it may not have always been possible as often as liked in the N Atlantic.  

Edited November 10, 2019 by lmagna

[CapnMac82]

11 hours ago, lmagna said:

So even though keeping the hatch open was a preferred method of surface operation it may not have always been possible as often as liked in the N Atlantic.  

I am familiar with such accounts.  I have also read German accounts in such seas wher the bridge hatch was left open, but the conning tower hatch was left only loosely closed.  Most of those reports tend to focus on what happens when the induction valve and conning tower hatch seal up while the diesels are running--severe pressure drops in the boat.

 

The German accounts, too, focus on how that bridge hatch was the only route to safety for the 3-6 people on the bridge in the event of air attack.

 

Not an easy career at sea in the best of conditions.

[lmagna]

On 11/10/2019 at 12:34 PM, CapnMac82 said:

severe pressure drops in the boat.

According to many accounts of US boats this was also an issue sometimes when they were forced to run with the hatch closed. Doesn't take long for diesel engines to suck a boat dry of air.

 

It would not be all that common for an air attack to occur in weather where you were running with the hatch closed but unsecured. That kind of attack would almost always be in mostly clear weather. In fact clear weather and daylight.

Edited November 12, 2019 by lmagna

[yvesvidal]

Just a couple of pictures showing the sail in color, and matte clear coated: 

There is still plenty to do but the lights have been wired and most details installed. I still need to create the lenses (out of clear sprues) for the navigation lights and perhaps do a very subtle weathering. I am representing the vessel in the early days of teh U-552, and as you can see from this famous picture, the sail was very clean: 

I have ordered some blocks from Syren and will try putting together some of the rigging. That should be interesting. Note that Trumpeter have nothing planned or described about the wires and antennae and I did not purchase the Photo-Etched set from RC Subz for the rigging. As you can see from the picture, the blocks are round and not flat as would be photo-etched parts folded on each other. 

 

We'll see how this goes. Another first for me....

 

Yves

 

[amateur]

Hi Ives,

 

Are you sure that those are blocks in the antenna-wiring? They look like black porcelain isolators to me.

 

Jan

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

wonderful progress Yves!    the conning tower looks great! 

[yvesvidal]

1 hour ago, amateur said:

Hi Ives,

Are you sure that those are blocks in the antenna-wiring? They look like black porcelain isolators to me.

Jan

I agree with you that they are not made of wood. However, wood blocks can be made to look like these insulators, better than a flat PE part.

We'll see how that goes.

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

I am waiting for new blocks to realize the rigging of the sail. I ordered some blocks from Syren, but really went way too big with the size ordered (1/4 inch). I was fooled by the size and thought like an imbecile that it was the scale (1/48th). I am trying to depict insulators and not blocks and got carried away with the size. This time I will get the 3 mm ones that should come closer to the 1/48th scale ceramic insulators.

 

So, to spend the time on these rainy and windy weekends of November, it is time to start a new module: the Diesel engine room !!! It is a very complex module and it will take a certain (read loooonnnnggg) time to complete it. I also wish to replicate both sides of the compartment, having the incredible opportunity (sheer luck, really) to have most parts in duplicate. Here again, the "Trumpeter" has taken some regrettable short corners and we will get in more details as we build it.

 

The first task is to build the frame that will support the diesel engines! Yes plural for engines as I have two of them! This is exciting!

 

First, this is how the "Trumpeter" envision the assembly of the frame. Basically, for the observer, you only see a flat piece of framing (T1 on the assembly manual). All the nice ribs are hidden and on the non-visible side. They are used to support the diesel engine. Once again, the "Trumpet Player" could have duplicated the ribs and offered the observers (and enthusiasts) a better rendering of this extremely interesting part of the Type VIIc vessel:

Thus, thanks to the incredible generosity of The Nautilus Drydock (Thank you Bob !), I am able to build a full chassis with symmetrical framing: 

You will recognize that it has more punch than the original design. The two bulkheads are also slightly modified, to accommodate the new starboard framing: 

Once we insert the frame in the hull, it offers a beautiful depiction of that extremely sturdy section of the Type VIIc: 

For modelers who do not have the luxury to use a second set of parts, it is worthwhile to replicate the parts with plastic sheets, but it is a lot of work. Of course, some adjustments will be required as the original Trumpeter kit is not exactly symmetrical  (the starboard - transparent - side being thicker) and I will have to do some sanding of the hull, internally.

Overall, it fits almost perfectly, a little bit tight on the stern side.

 

Yves

 

[BETAQDAVE]

    While the detail on your version of this sub is quite spectacular, my father would probably just shudder to see it.  In 42 he had to risk the dangerous Atlantic crossing on a troop ship to England.  Their convoy only lost one ship, but he was on deck to see it go down.  When his trip started he was apprehensive to be sure, but with a little over half of his journey remaining after that, the fear factor really went through the roof.  He said he never felt so defenseless in his life. 

[yvesvidal]

13 hours ago, BETAQDAVE said:

    While the detail on your version of this sub is quite spectacular, my father would probably just shudder to see it.  In 42 he had to risk the dangerous Atlantic crossing on a troop ship to England.  Their convoy only lost one ship, but he was on deck to see it go down.  When his trip started he was apprehensive to be sure, but with a little over half of his journey remaining after that, the fear factor really went through the roof.  He said he never felt so defenseless in his life. 

Dave,

 

I am with you and have a profound hatred for wars and conflicts in general. They only profit the ones that are behind the scene: the canon makers and international bankers and an elite who only wishes to control and enslave human kind.

 

Now, that being said, like many modelers I have a passion for certain instruments used to fight wars, not so much for their ultimate purposes, but for the engineering that went into them. I abhor all armored vehicles and deplore that current trend in plastic modeling at replicating all these weapons of civilians destruction, in the scale of 1/35th. On the other hand, I enjoy all the sea vessels going on the surface of the water or under it. It is one of these polarities that makes us humans and that we have to reconcile and forgive.

 

Yes, I am compassionate of your father and the sheer terror he may have felt during his Atlantic crossing. The terror was shared on both sides, as more than 75% of the German sailors did not come back. The movie Das Boot, clearly depicts the unbearable life of a German submariner, during WWII.

 

Once Man refuses to fight unjustified wars, then all this nonsense will stop. Women should refuse their bed to all men who are partaking in wars. That would put an end to it, immediately.

 

Yves

[robdurant]

18 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

...Women should refuse their bed to all men who are partaking in wars. That would put an end to it, immediately.

Not a new idea... In fact, Aristophanes did the thought experiment in his play Lysistrata around 411BC! ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysistrata )

 

I too wrestle with loving the craftsmanship and skill that went into making these "wooden walls", when held in tension with the idea of firing tonnes of metal and high explosive at fellow humans. 

 

Anyway - Yves, the model looks amazing. Looking forward to seeing those engine compartments come together.  Thanks for putting so much effort into this fascinating build log.

 

Rob

[yvesvidal]

Before we dive into the model, let's present the Diesel Engines compartment. First, from the official blueprints: 

    

     

The U-Boot Manual offers a technical Comparison between the two types of engines used on the Type VIIc: the M.A.N. and the G.W. The main difference is in the forced induction: On the MAN, the induction is done through a turbine driven by the exhaust (Turbo-charger), whereas on the Krupp engine, the compressor is driven by a belt. The G.W. engines were much better and more reliable and MAN engines were retrofitted  little by little, before the submarines were sunk......     M.A.N. Krupp (G.W.) Number of cylinders 6 6 Piston displacement 57.8. liters 57.8 liters Piston speed 7.2 meters/second 7.2 meters/second Efficiency 82.5 81.0 Speed 470 RPM 470 RPM Supercharger speed 10,900 RPM 10,900 RPM Performance 1400 SHP 1400 SHP Stroke 460 mm 460 mm Cylinder diameter 400 mm 400 mm Length (whole engine) 5630 mm 5600 mm Width (whole engine) 1400 mm 1400 mm Height 2810 mm 2895 mm Engine weight 38.476 tons 43.440 tons Weight to power ratio 13.75 kg/SHP 15.5 kg/SHP Fuel oil consumption (+) 0.165 kg/SHP 0.182 kg/SHP Supercharger Buchi Exhaust gas turbine B.B.C. Roots type charger G.W. Fuel oil regulation Over flow adjustment Chamber volume by means of beveled edge adjustment
From a size and shape perspectives, both engines are very similar:  The fantastic characteristic of these Diesel engines is that they could run in both directions (reversible) thanks to a very ingenious mechanism to change the distribution. You only had to stop the engine, swing a lever to change the distribution at both end of the engine, and restart it. It would then run in the reverse direction. The operation did not take very long (less than a minute) and could be performed with one or two mechanics.

One of the most incredible task during the construction, was the insertion of the massive Diesel engines into the Pressure Hull. This was done through a large opening on top of the pressure hull, which was then welded once the electric motors and diesel engines had been inserted: 

A smaller and similar opening was also made in the pressure hull, for the insertion of the front electrical batteries.

 

Once installed, the Diesel engine compartment was very full and always maintained in a very nice condition (which is not the case with the Swedish crew, as you can see on the picture):

The picture above shows the Swedish crew that took possession of the U-995 at the end of the War. That boat is the only Type VIIc in existence and on display, in Europe.

 

The air intake was provided by the two openings at the top of the sail. These two intakes were funneled through a large duct, running above the Control Room, the rear compartment, the kitchen and entering on the roof of the Diesel room. Thus, fresh air was injected in the Diesel room for the engines (and the crew....) to breathe. I have included the schematic below, for those who wish to understand some of the intricacies of the propulsion system: 

I will be adding more technical data as we move along with the construction. The above should whet your appetite.... 

 

Yves

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2019 by yvesvidal

[G.L.]

My appetite is tickled.

[Katuna]

Where did you find that top photo? I've never seen that one before. It is awesome!

 

FYI, the access plating at the top of the pressure hull was designed to be removable, as in that pic. If you notice the layers of muck on the outer hull, that boat has been in service for quite some time. I'm not sure but I believe the only time an engine would need to be removed is if either the block was cracked beyond repair or if the crankshaft had to be replaced. All other repairs could be done in place.

 

Oh yeah, and using two kits is cheating!

Edited November 19, 2019 by Katuna

[RickyGene]

I have really enjoyed your thread on this beast of the seas.  I have a old Combat Models 1/72 Vacu-form of this boat.  Over the years I have collected bits and pieces to help bring this massive chunk of white plastic to life.  Years ago I had the Revell version in 1/72, wished I had of kept that, much could have been taken from it to improve the Big Vac Attack.  Looking forward to more of your build.

Rick

Edited November 19, 2019 by RickyGene