U-boat Type VIIC/41by mikegr - Revell - 1/350 - PLASTIC

[mikegr]

My first brand new ship kit assemby after 30+ years. I am taking it easy nowadays so a 35 piece model is all I need. 

 

Edited December 26, 2024 by ccoyle
corrected log title

[yvesvidal]

Can't go wrong with a submarine.

 

Yves

[wemattson]

Sub kits are always cool!

[mikegr]

Priming with airbrush began. Or I thought so. After half a bottle spended, airbrush would only spit paint, or spray on watery consistency. For a 2 minute job it took me two evenings to solve it.

Steps taken.

-all gun parts clraned

-needle changed twice

-nose changed

-Airbrush changed

None of the above worked. Miraculously after changing the nozzle cup and polishing the needle tip with a rotary tool airbrush worked like new at even lower pressures.By then, deck has been done by brush already.

I focused on the tower. Using a low rpm rotary tool again I cut the fragile pieces. This thing is amazing useful for 8$.

There's no available PE set the mini one from Eduard doesn't worth 16$ nor the 10 days waiting for delivery. I had to improvise. With a mini file set I trimmed the railings and removed some imperfections

Most noticeable detail was the radar. This was replaced by a IJN type 21 radar in 1/700. But it was 1mm wider so I cut 0.5mm from each side.

The result was nice, made me almost happy. Ι do better with PE than painting.

Edited December 30, 2024 by mikegr

[ModelerJoeC]

I built a Hobbyboss 1/350 Type IX, and was amazed how small they are even compared to 1/700 warships.

This seems to have more details on the sail.  Thanks for the report.

 

[king derelict]

Nice work on the details Mike. The radar was definitely worth the trouble.

alan

[mikegr]

For those into subs there is a Czech specialized  seller, from little 1/700 models to 1/72 RCs as well as PE set for every kit. The one available for my kit is far better that Eduards

 

Anyway, one AA gun was lost. I designed it on my printer. The barrels were made of hard paintbrush hair. Paint was done by my enamel without primer. Little job done today but nice detail added.

 

[Canute]

Mike, what's the name of this Czech PE source? That fret is chock full of parts. Thanks.

[mikegr]

15 hours ago, Canute said:

Mike, what's the name of this Czech PE source? That fret is chock full of parts. Thanks.

Here

https://www.rcsubs.cz/index.php/photo-etched-sets/63-sets-for-kit-viic-viic41-1-350-revell

There ate two full versions for Revell C and C41 editions

 

Edited January 3 by mikegr

[Canute]

Thanks, Mike.

[Thukydides]

Looking good. Uboats are a fun little builds. Are you planning on putting it in a seascape or just the sub?

[mikegr]

On 1/3/2025 at 5:21 PM, Thukydides said:

Looking good. Uboats are a fun little builds. Are you planning on putting it in a seascape or just the sub?

I came across this model randomly, thought it as a quick build as I'm not fan of WWII submarines. However I decided to make a rough sea diorama even I have limited space available.

So assembly was done. Next was the paint fading effect. I sprayed vertically the hull with light gray, then dark again, light etc. About 4-5 times. Then acrylic pencil was used for salt effect as well as rust effect in 3 tones. Because of the rough hull texture and the lines, the effects were applied easily and successfully.

Next day added a bit or rigging.

Lastly, I sprayed over a glossy varnish as this is going to be a very wet boat

 

 

Edited January 5 by mikegr

[king derelict]

Lovely details and nice rigging Mike 

alan

[mikegr]

On 1/8/2025 at 3:23 AM, king derelict said:

Lovely details and nice rigging Mike 

alan

Thanks for the comment

Indeed I used a new material, fake hair. Got a got a huge amount for 1.99 and most important the thickness is ideal for both 1/350 and 1/700. Very thin but quite visible because of the black color.

[mikegr]

I want to build a nice diorama. But  feel lazy and running out of space.

After research, I  found a sea template file. After few hours of process, it turned to a printable seabed suitable to work with. It was printed in two pieces and glued together. Most u boat layouts out there are in rectangle space but because of limitations both in available space and printing capacity it came at 7 cm wide

After a more digging with a dremel and two layers of gesso it looked like this

I think the stern need to go lower a bit more to highlight the "U boat riding the waves" scene. Then paint the base with basic blue, attach the kit by filling the gap with a material and go for the final details.

[mikegr]

I made a new base, I want to have a natural effect as much as possible.

Sprayed with primer and dark blue. I fitted the sub and filled the surrounding gap with putty then thick gel. Kit was given a starboard list

[mikegr]

The sea was painted

After some work and gloss varnish it is done