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

[yvesvidal]

The torpedoes room is coming together....

Yves

 

[cog]

very realistic

[yvesvidal]

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

[RGL]

I’ve got 2 Anatomy Of the Ship books on subs, my brain would just explode given the amounts of pipes inside of them and having to replicate it

Edited April 3, 2019 by RGL

[cog]

Yves,

Normally one would take a metal or wooden rod (I've got an aluminum set for that) and roll those access plates on a cutting mat or press them in a matching form. I never use a hard surface, as it can (and most probably will) make your parts get a life off their own and go searching for the carpet monster. After shaping glue them on. I usually take a size smaller rod than de required size.

 

You need to take into account that attaching them on, and then rolling the cigar may:

1. damage the cigar itself
2. have the plates jump all over your workspace/place
3. if used with considerable CA won't bend the plates

tool I use for it

 

Those added details, do make them look a lot better ...

Edited April 3, 2019 by cog

[RGL]

Don’t own one, but would love to get one but geez they’re expensive 

[cog]

Gotta make a choice between tools and kits ... or should I say detailup sets

[peveka]

1 hour ago, cog said:

Gotta make a choice between tools and kits

 

Do you mean kids and kits?

 

Sorry, coudn't help myself ...

 

Cheers

Pieter

[cog]

the first is not possible no children .. no choices

[yvesvidal]

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

[cog]

Glad it did, they really look the part

[popeye the sailor]

wow Yves!.......that quite a kit!  your progress thus far looks awesome!  look'in forward in seeing more   

[yvesvidal]

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

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by yvesvidal

[mtaylor]

The film "Das Boot" also has that very dark feel to it along with the emotions of the crew.  When watching it, one is drawn into the submarine and can feel part of it.   Very dark and moody but well worth the time to watch it.

[yvesvidal]

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

Edited April 4, 2019 by yvesvidal

[CDW]

Is there some creative way to display a few of those torpedoes outside the model? Very nicely detailed indeed. 

 

Is there any basis in truth to the story of occult researchers on U-boats, or is it strictly a work of fiction? Never heard of this before, but it sounds like a great story line.

[yvesvidal]

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

[CDW]

Right now (the last day), one can buy the 1:48 Trumpeter U-boat from Squadron for 25% off their regular price = $357. I would snatch one up if I had the space for it.

[yvesvidal]

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

[CDW]

9 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

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

Yes, you are correct. Squadron offers it "for order", meaning they will eventually get you one if you order it, for the discounted price. However, I don't believe they charge your card until they actually ship the kit to you. To do otherwise would be illegal, or at least against the rules for the banks who back the charge cards.

[yvesvidal]

On 4/4/2019 at 8:30 PM, CDW said:

Is there any basis in truth to the story of occult researchers on U-boats, or is it strictly a work of fiction? Never heard of this before, but it sounds like a great story line.

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

Edited April 6, 2019 by yvesvidal

[CDW]

1 hour ago, yvesvidal said:

An obvious example is the B2 bomber which is an enlargement of the Horten Ho-229 German plane.

 

Yves

And the early version of the modern bomber was the B-35, which is older than the Ho-229. The USA issued contracts for the plane in 1941, long before the war ended and any HO-229's were known of.

[Jack12477]

Jack Northrup's YB-35 flying wing in 1940 was the precursor to the B2 Spirit

[yvesvidal]

On 4/6/2019 at 8:35 PM, Jack12477 said:

Jack Northrup's YB-35 flying wing in 1940 was the precursor to the B2 Spirit

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

Edited April 8, 2019 by yvesvidal

[yvesvidal]

The front torpedoes room module is pretty much completed. I just have to attach the structure for the anchor windlass and build a simulacrum of pressure hull, under the front control link to the bow planes. Most likely this will be visible through the louvers of the main hull.

This a big module and most likely the biggest in the assembly. I finally got rid of 3 sprues out of 29 !!!! Yeah.

The 3D printed front bulkhead helps a lot in making the kit more realistic and prototypical: 

 

The protruding outlets are used for the control of the tube external doors. I will see what I can re-create when the module gets inserted into the  hull.

If you are building this kit, I strongly encourage you to purchase that 3D printed bulkhead. It is unfortunate that the rear bulkhead is not available. I probably will have to fabricate one, when the time comes.

Below is the top of the module, with its air tank (right) and main storage tube for extra torpedoes or other things. All this will be slightly visible through the deck openings.

I realize I forgot to add the watertight door to the storage area. Pictures help reveal mistakes or mishaps.

 Below are a few shots of the inside of the compartment, showing its intricacies and extremely tight arrangement: 

 

The "Trumpeter" only provides one winch to lift the torpedoes, whereas two (at least) are necessary. I had to build another one, using spare parts. I also had to rework the original winch which is totally incorrect and incomplete as provided in the kit. These winches use a closed loop chain for the control by the hands and a beefier open chain to lift the rail carrying the torpedo. Two little brass straps have been added to brace and lift the torpedoes. The longitudinal movement of the torpedo is done by the two sliders mounted on the rail. Each slider is connected to one brace and moved on the rail, using the small hand wheel (the rail has a geared column on the upper side) This system allows a close approach of the tube opening and a slow and careful insertion of the eel in the tube. Note that eels were always installed with their fins in a vertical position and the plates facing upward, for the final settings. As indicated before, a piston was pushing the eel outside of the tube, once the water pressures had been equalized. The grease was used to prevent the torpedo from being stuck inside the tube and to help its penetration of the water (drag reduction).

To give a little bit more action, I decided to represent the loading of a torpedo in the lower tube. One man is busy watching and controlling the insertion of the torpedo into the tube, while his bearded (and sweaty) companion is lathing the marine missile with heavy grease and oil. A third lad, probably a petty officer, is in charge of controlling the rear winch. One sailor tries to sleep, while another one just woke up, disturbed by the maneuver. The original torpedo room had 24 people in it (12 sleeping or trying to and 12 working). A real nightmare of promiscuity and claustrophobia.

Below is an extremely rare picture of the front of the pressure hull, showing the characteristic shape of the bulkhead: 

Finally, some original pictures showing the living conditions of the German sailors: 

Out of 40,000 underwater sailors, less than 10,000 survived. A terrible outcome, illustrating the absurdity and insanity of wars in general.

 

Yves

 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2019 by yvesvidal

[yvesvidal]

A final picture for this module, inserted into the main hull:

I still have a couple of details to finish: The Pressure hull under the front planes link, some weathering and a couple of details inside the torpedoes room, to make it even more realistic. Most likely my next efforts will be directed towards the hull. It is a big piece, to say the least.

 

I hope you have enjoyed the building of the first part of that enormous kit.

 

Yves

[yvesvidal]

I decided to start working on the hull. Port side first.

 

There is an enormous amount of work to make it presentable. There are hundreds of holes and openings to drill and file. I wish the "Trumpeter" would have done these for us. Maybe he should play less Trumpet and complete his casting work.

 

Anyway, I am working from the bow to the stern, little by little:

I wish to give the hull a slightly  beaten up appearance with some oil canning. I started scraping each panel with a round X-Acto blade. We'll see how this goes. I have never done anything of that nature yet.

 

The bridge is a daunting task as well. I filed the bow deck and drilled a large hole for one of the vent. I thought about it twice before butchering a kit of that magnitude.... and finally went for it. This is just the beginning as far as butchering the hull, as we will see later on:

The Photo-etched parts from RCSUBZ fit perfectly: 

Next, I will concentrate on the front torpedo doors, which is a puzzle in itself.

 

Yves

 

 

[CDW]

The work you've done to open the vents on the hull looks great so far. Photo etch is very nice as well.

[cog]

Yves,

 

I got this link through a friend of mine, looks a lot like the same boat. maybe interesting PE wise

Edited April 16, 2019 by cog

[peveka]

On 4/4/2019 at 9:35 PM, yvesvidal said:

For the claustrophobic lovers: http://www.phillipkennedyjohnson.com/comic/bremen/

About 100 pages of pure terror.... 

@yvesvidal

Thank you very much for the link, I thoroughly enjoyed reading!

Cheers

Pieter